Comedy Saved My Soul

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Robin Williams, Sam Kinison, and a Demon walk into a bar…

Is this a joke?

No. It’s a dream I had.

Robin Williams and Sam Kinison

You see, in the dream, the Demon was there for my soul.
He came into the bar while I was chatting with Robin and Sam.
Being a well mannered spawn from hell, he joined in on the conversation.

The demon seemed pretty huge when he entered, and I was sure my soul was forfeit.
But then something odd happened.
The funnier the conversation got, the smaller the demon became.

By the end of the dream, he was just a tiny little runt.
Looking dejected, he slunk out of the bar.

… and then I woke up …

After the dream, I felt a bit sad. Mostly because I never had the chance to really chat with either of these comedic giants. But as the sleep ebbed away, I realized that the dream had left me with a valuable lesson about the power of comedy.

Comedy has a very real power in our world. It can bring down the mightiest among us. It tweaks the nose of the king and gets him to laugh about it… if he’s got a sense of humor, that is. If not, then comedy can also be a dangerous occupation.

It’s comedy’s ability to shine the light of truth on evil people, governments and organizations that makes it such a double-edged sword.

Never trust anyone who can’t take a joke… or even make fun of themselves. It shows a willingness to be open to criticism, and an ability to step back and get a wider view of situations.

Those who condemn comedy, or worse, outlaw it – they are to be feared. The Despots, Radicals, Fundamentalists who take themselves *way* too seriously. They are the target of comedy, because they are a threat to the world at large. Humor is the weapon that exposes their folly to the very people who they would rule over. And that’s why it is both powerful and dangerous.

As Bugs Bunny says
“Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive”

I can only hope that humanity as a whole can allow themselves to laugh. To heal. To reform the things that are broken into something more beautiful. But maybe that’s just a dream…

I’ll leave you with two quotes from Robin and Sam – G’nite everyone!
Joe

Robin Williams QuoteSam Kinison Quote

 

All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com

 

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3 thoughts on “Comedy Saved My Soul

  1. Pingback: Comedy Saved My Soul - Joe's Dump | Voiceover B...

  2. Actor Joe Actor! Thanx for this post. Timely in that just last month I added two “comedy channels” to my Pandora.com site. So much in my real world life going on – most of it just work, work, and ‘hey where’s all the work?’ stuff – that i was actually getting tired of listening to music…really. Comedy was always my joy, even from childhood. As a kid I had George Carlin and Bill Cosby routines memorized, and loved anyone who was funny. Kinison was there of my adulthood, and man did he help me out. so YES. dig somebody funny, go out to a comedy club, watch or listen to something that used to make you LAUGH. I support this behavior. Good on you, Mr. Joe (aka The Dumpster)

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