The Importance of Being Barry

I never realized till today what a talent Dave Barry is.

For those of you who know Barry, congrats on being up on him before I was. For those who don't know him, Dave is a syndicated columnist heralding from The Miami Herald, who, for those who may not be able to put two and two together, is a newspaper in Miami, Florida. Barry considers himself a Humor Columnist and not a real Journalist (He says so in the introduction of his book Boogers are my Beat, which I am currently reading) and his topics cover everything from town fairs to politics--something that I have a slight interest in. I have to admit, after years of trying to get his gist, I think I finally found it. But before I tell you how I found it, and what it is we have to go back in time a couple of days.

I was walking down the street with a good friend of mine, and we were both slightly inebriated so of course of conversation turned from women to politics. That's when my friend said something that ticked me off. He called me preachy. Do you think I'm preachy?

Whatever.

Seriously, I was upset then, but today, after thinking about it for a while, I realize that he had made a valid statement. Not that I consider myself preachy, but I can see how my passion for certain subjects (and yes...I suppose my tendency to dominate conversations as well...God I hate honesty!) can be interpreted as preachiness (Is that even a word?) I'll admit that.

But the things we're talking about are important. Discussing American foreign policy, tax reform, civil rights, the law, so forth and so on, rate, I feel, a bit more talk than who the hell Britney Spears is dating, or what the new fall fashions are this year. Imagine--more people, about three times more actually, voted for the 1st American Idol than the 2000 presidential election. It sounds amazing to me that people choose to remain ignorant about the things that affect them the most. And when I think about it, when I get a chance to get these ideas out there (and unfortunately, it usually happens when I get drunk--that seems to be the only time people want to discuss politics nowadays), I get angry, and well...preachy.

Fast forward to now.

So I'm thinking about my preachiness and reading Dave Barry when the gist of his work hit me like a shotgun blast. I take the political thing extremely seriously, and true enough it is people's lives were dealing with here, and--to me--life is the most valuable resource in the universe, but--and here's the gist--people, as bright and beautiful, as evil and malicious as we can be, are also inherently funny.

Think about it. People are really really, humorous creatures, up there with the Dodo bird or the platypus. Farting is funny. Even children laugh at farts. Love making is sorta funny (As well as sorta hot). Some of those faces we make look like something out of a Jim Carey skit.

But what about our advanced intelligence? You may ask. What about the brains that gave us bridges, and automobiles, and the space shuttle, and the atomic bomb? What about all the greatness of the mind? Well, I believe in the greatness of the mind, and I believe that as a tool, it is quite wonderful. However that doesn't stop it from being a ton of laughs. Look at stutters and lisps that arise from our power of language. Elmer Fudd is a household name. Then there's silly putty (see, the silliness is in the name) the pet rock (although God may have to get the credit for that one, the packaging was us), play-doh and Republicans (just kidding...sorta).

And the things we say and do! The hypocrisy that seems to infect us all, is absolutely hysterical. In fact it's so funny that there are some comedians that do nothing but point out this hypocrisy and wave it in our faces. (Really that's all George Carlin does, the man hasn't told an original joke since 1901. Just kidding--Carlin wasn't born then.) How funny is it that we have this whole political race--millions of dollars spent, and people's names dragged through the mud for a job that only pays 300,000 a year. For the 2000 election the two parties combined raised something like 26 trillion dollars! (Ok, I'm joking--it was more like 13 trillion) Which would mean that for Bush to have broken even, money wise that is, he'd have to work for the next 12 centuries to repay his election supports. (And yes, I know it wouldn't be that long, but you wanna do the math on that?)

And not to be fully partisan, remember when John Kerry rode that dumb ass bike on to the set of the Tonight Show and nearly drove over Jay Leno's chin? I mean seriously, unless you're the Fonz, that shit only makes you look like a dork. Or what about when Kerry went to Vietnam, only to come back and PROTEST the war! That was so...ok maybe that wasn't so funny.

The gist that I got from Barry is that sometimes, even in the most serious situations, we have to learn to poke fun at ourselves and others. We may feel that what we believe in may be the most important, vital and interesting idea ever in the history of the universe, but while creativity and imagination is a segment of our lives, so is the humor that we are all subject. It will surely be a great man who will be able to temper their passions with laughter, for they will truly know the human condition. That is except for me of course...I really do have the most perfect ideas on Earth, and every one should listen to me.

So I tip my hat off to Mr. Barry(...well I'm not wearing a hat, but you get my drift) and thank him for lightening up the situation for me. I suggest to you all to check out Boogers Are My Beat. It really is perfect reading when the weight of the world seems too much to bear.

Or you can drink heavily, I suggest that as well.