Just humor me

I was talking to my friend Jill the other day when the conversation turned, as it tends to do, to the topic of these trying economic times. I heaved a sigh, scratched the back of my neck and concluded, "Well, it's hard to know what to do to fix things, really." "Nope," she responded, "I know. Here's my idea-Bernie Madoff: too big to fail. We gotta bail him out."

OK. Was she being facetious? Yes, but on some levels the humor resounds because in the recesses of our minds, we know that part of it may actually be true. Madoff made $50 billion disappear, and people who were planning to pay other debts with their share of those $50 billion can no longer do so. Their lenders can no longer pay their own obligations, and the cycle continues. The statement "Bernie Madoff: too big to fail" I think is indicative of the way many of us have begun to feel about the economic crisis. It feels so surreal that the only way to get a good handle on it is to lighten it with dark humor.

The Atlantic Council of the U.S. published a piece several months ago regarding humor in times of stress in which it quoted psychologist Mark Lowis: "Logic is the first way of coping. And when that fails, then the coping mechanism switches from the more rational left side of the brain to the more creative right side of the brain." The full extent of the economic crisis is beyond our comprehension-beyond the comprehension of most experts-so it makes sense that we would start to favor humor over cold analysis. But I think the trend might go even deeper than that.

I find it bizarre that Jon Stewart is the only person who has been able to criticize the popular media's coverage of financial news and solicit any sort of response; I am referring of course to his denouncement-cum-roast of Jim Cramer on the Daily Show last week. Stephen Colbert and NBC's Kenneth the Page have also effectively neutralized via lampoon of Michael Steele and Bobby Jindal of the GOP. President Barack Obama's public outrage at the AIG bonuses seemed laughable in and of itself, but nevertheless his emotionless delivery has become easy fodder for late night talk shows. If the real journalists fail again and again to put the guilty on trial, whoever they may be, they may find that the public will simply turn to the comedians. In this era of irrationality, it may be that humor is the new fourth branch of government.

As a guy who appreciates a good belly laugh, I'm pretty content with this new direction. And to show that I am doing my part, allow me now to share a couple of the best jokes I have heard (from a variety of sources, I take credit for none of these) about the economic crisis:

What do you call an investment banker ironing five shirts on a Sunday evening? Optimistic. What is the capital of Iceland? About $4.50. What is the easiest way to start a small business? Buy a large one and wait. Then my personal favorite-this one from Ben Bernanke earlier this month-the recession should end later this year with strong growth returning for 2010.

I'm sure there are those who might consider that last one to be "too soon," but I heartily disagree. It's humor that can keep us grounded in times like this. Sometimes events transpire that are just so ironic one can't help but be drawn in by the absurdity of the environment. This past October, for example, the National Debt Clock, a 1989 installation in Times Square which displays the national debt on a digital face, ran out of room.

There is a lot of irony in the economic crisis, and yes, even some humor, but there is also a great deal that is not funny at all. Though his attack on Cramer struck a definite comical tone, Stewart was quick to point out that "finance is not a joke." The impulse to poke fun at that which we don't understand is indicative of the fact that we are in a situation that requires some explanation.