When humor returns, sanity comes with it. Maybe the insane era of political correctness is nearing an end. Not only have comedians been poking fun at it for a few years, but even academicians are getting into the act. To wit, The Mirth of Nations by sociologist Christie Davies, who defends that most-hated enemy of the PC Police, ethnic jokes.
According to reviewer Anthony Daniels, Mirth "comprehensively demolishes the received notion that ethnic jokes are inevitably the antechamber to active discrimination." Daniels also points out that, contrary to PC dogma, "history demonstrates that humourlessness is more to be feared than any joke."
Humorlessness leads to all sorts of problems, from murderous dictators to the banning of perfectly legitimate words from the public sphere. Call me a hopeless optimist, but I dream that someday we'll again be able to use the harmless word "niggardly" without fear of reprisal.
