Ms. Smith (and K-Rock, Special K, NayNay and The Suz) Go to Washington (Part Troix)


If Jon Stewart can't restore my sanity, I don't know who's up for the job. I know he's the only man on the planet who can lure me off the interstate into the festering heap of sleaze and competition that serves as the nerve center of the free world.

Yeah, don't much care for D.C. This is problematic for my journalistic aspirations, but I'd rather labor here in obscurity and keep my sense of humor.

I was down there for a few days over the summer, and I could not discern a sense of humor of any kind that I'm aware of. I could discern soul-crushing heat and humidity, though. If those people in charge are going to hell, they should feel right at home. Got to see live Giant Pandas in captivity, though, so that made the experience worthwhile.

Turns out I'm too apathetic to make a sign. I'm too apathetic to even get the materials to make a sign and then neglect them in my kitchen for six months.

And clearly I'm bitter.

There's been a lot of press about this rally talking about how it's a genuine political event. Maybe it's not just the capital of our fair nation that's lacking a sense of humor.

For a culture that seems to prize humor so highly, we don't have much understanding of the purpose it serves. It's a genuine political event insomuch as it's satirical, but most people understand that word about as well as they understand irony-- probably because they learned about irony in the lyrics of a dumbass song.

The whole point of most humor, and especially satire, is to point at what's ridiculous in the world and say, "Look how ridiculous that is/you are... Now, go FIX IT!"

And the FIXING IT is the genuine political event-- or it would be, anyway, if anyone ever got serious about fixing anything. And there's the punchline.