In today’s age, there has never been more political correctness in our country. If someone says something that offends anyone, regardless of its factuality or veracity, they will be questioned and challenged. Because of this borderline-censorship, we must still have a way to engage audiences and get our point across. Humor provides this. Humorists are able to dive into topics that can be very polarizing and, with the way they communicate, can bring people together while expressing certain opinions. That’s why Alain de Botton is correct and why their role is as vital as ever. In order to understand humorists and their relationship with society, it’s important to understand their relationship with history. What does the United States, America, …show more content…
Their goal is far deeper than to just make someone laugh or feel emotional. They use humor and emotions as a vehicle to drive their message home. For example, Jonathan Swift didn’t write A Modest Proposal just to make people feel horrified at the thought of eating humans. He used that argument to show that those in charge weren’t doing a good job at reducing poverty, so he relayed this message by coming up with a ridiculous way how to. At that time, very few had the audacity to question authority, and those who did certainly wouldn’t be well-received. However, humor allowed him to get his point across in a way that would be quite engaging. Now, there are people that believe, especially in today’s political climate, that it isn’t the job of “Hollywood” to push an agenda or be political, but rather make us laugh and temporarily forget about the hardships in our daily lives. Regardless of politics, they’re already making us laugh. That’s why they’re humorists. Why should they have any less of a voice or a right to express their opinions than anyone else? Isn’t that why we have the First Amendment, to ensure our voices aren’t censored? And someone can’t just be humorous or satirical. By definition, it’s being used to express something