By Timothy D. Holder
There has been a lot of media coverage recently regarding a talk show host who made some sexist jokes about Sarah Palin and one of her daughters. The host offered a half-hearted apology because of the crassness of one of the jokes then he followed up with a lengthier apology after the storm against him had intensified. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Internet I read about a guy who made a racist remark about Michelle Obama. Actually, there have been a lot of sexist jokes about Palin and racist jokes about Obama.
For people who care about politics, there is oftentimes a tendency to see jokes about the opposition as harmless fun, but the humor coming from the other side is viewed as mean-spirited, offensive hatemongering. My position is that if someone can’t be funny without being mean then maybe that person should give up on telling jokes.
Do Christians live by a higher standard in this area? Is a Christian who cares about politics less likely than a non-Christian to trash talk the opposing political party? I don’t know that I have observed much of a difference. What a good opportunity to live by the Golden Rule. If I belong to one political party, and I chastise a friend who says something cruel about the other party, it’s a good thing twice over. I have encouraged my friend to live by a higher standard, and I have demonstrated fairness to the opposition. Fairness can lead to dialogue, which can lead to understanding. I’m not naïve enough to think that such a philosophy will lead everyone to the same political outlook, but it can increase our insight into each other.
I’m not a stick in the mud who is anti-humor. Okay, actually, I am kind of a stick in the mud, but I am also very pro-humor. I’m just saying that people can be funny, and people can tease their friends, but mocking and verbally abusing our political enemies is not a good thing. Christians can do better. Christians need to do better.
