Humorous or Humorless?

"The United States has been going through some difficult times of late, even when it comes to humor. Like many greybeards, I remember simpler days when the bulk of our laughter was exchanged between close family and friends, or directed at bumbling, but lovable, cartoon and sitcom characters. It was almost always sympathetic laughter. It raised our spirits, brought us together, and gave us respite from the grim reality that comprised 75% of the hour-long nightly news programs we watched each evening."

"Today, with thousands of cameras and microphones laser focused 24/7 on our increasingly divided sociopolitical environment, it's little wonder we feel on edge. The nation's founders could not have imagined the microscope today's leaders would be placed under, with every misapprehension and mispronunciation broadcast around the world in minutes. Or how lies regularly get the jump on truths in virtually every corner of the Internet."

"Given our tendency to take sides, us versus them, it's not hard to understand why our sense of humor has also become polarized. Those on both sides of the political spectrum believe highlighting the shortcomings of "noncooperators" will expose others' incompetence, hatred, corruption, and hypocrisy. They find the players on their team wholly justified in poking fun at their "enemy", and take great offe"

American political humor has surged as factions use jokes to call out perceived incompetence, disloyalty, and injustice. Constant media scrutiny and ubiquitous recording devices amplify missteps, mispronunciations, and rapid spread of falsehoods across the internet. Humor is frequently weaponized to terrify or rally voters rather than to uplift. Public figures sometimes mask harmful or slanderous statements as jokes to avoid accountability. Audiences tend to find amusing those performers whose worldview they believe will advantage them. Sympathetic, communal laughter has diminished as partisan mockery replaces unifying amusement and respite.

Read at Psychology Today