Since the last election, I have been thinking about the incivility that reigns in the public square and the fact that people who strongly hold a position or support a candidate--irrespective of red state-blue state, liberal-conservative, Democrat-Republican, etc.--just don't seem to be able to enjoy good political humor or satire.
Advocates seem totally unable to laugh at themselves or their candidates or issues. I know one can find similar periods in American history [e.g., the Jackson-Adams presidential race] where political rivalries were especially bitter, but they didn't have mass communication in the 19th century. Maybe it is the internet that has caused all of this. For whatever reason, I have "friends" on different sides of the contemporary American political scene and for over a year have received a variety of email political humor. Obviously it reached its zenith in the fall of 2004. The quality of such "humorous" attacks or labelling has obviously varied in quality.
It is probably a result of having angered or alienated "friends" on different sides by forwarding emails that I thought were particularly good, insightful, or maybe especially insulting of particular candidates but that in some way captured or depicted an inconsistency. I thought that somehow this would be an enlightening educational exercise for all involved. Now I wish I had saved all of those emails--I am sure there was a paper waiting to be written.
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