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December 5, 2003/Kislev 10 5764, Vol. 56, No.11
Democracy through comedy
BARRY COHEN
Editor
Two months ago, I wrote a commentary critical of George W. Bush and the criteria he used to convince the American people and the world for regime change in Iraq.
I asked where were the weapons of mass destruction? I wondered why someone in Bush's administration leaked the information that the wife of former U.S. Envoy to Iraq Joseph C. Wilson IV was an undercover CIA operative in Africa - after he voiced skepticism about the existence of Iraq's fully functioning weapons program.
As a result, two readers chastised me with letters, not only for my reasoning, but for daring to question the president. Who knows how many others I angered.
Recently, I witnessed a group of people make the same arguments I made in my commentary. The reaction? Laughter. And lots of it.
The Capitol Steps - the comedy troupe that puts the "mock" in Democracy - performed at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts on Nov. 30. Skits and musical highlights, ranging from the facetious to the semi-serious, included:
- Bush hired private detective, Hugh Jim Bissile (say it fast out loud), to find the source of the leak. "I'll be sure to find it, Mr. President," said the PI, "just like you found Saddam Hussein, er ... Osama bin Laden, er ... the weapons of mass destruc-"
- Bush told Cheney that he has heard of another country that does have WMDs - New Mexico - that are hidden in a place called Los Alamos. Heart attack after heart attack, Cheney pounded on his own chest - resuscitating himself.
The punch lines crossed political parties. They spoofed Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman in a song titled "The Lieberman-can." (sung to the tune, "The Candyman Can") One line claimed that Al Gore chose him as a running mate because compared to Lieberman, Gore actually looks alive.
A song between Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat - to the tune of "You Don't Send Me Flowers" - concluded that they desperately need each other, if only to stay in power. (If I had made that claim, readers would have condemned me as a traitor.)
At the start of the performance, the comedy troupe asked by a show of applause how many Democrats and Republicans there were. The split sounded close to 50-50. But we were united in laughter.
While the audience paid for the evening and expected to be entertained, we were able to put aside our passionately held political beliefs, and laugh at each other and at ourselves.
The Capitol Steps' brand of critical thinking comedy forced us to take ourselves less seriously and conclude that maybe, just maybe, people who disagree with our political opinions have a point.
Behind every joke there is a kernel of truth.
Capitol Steps challenges us to consider viewpoints that are often diametrically opposed to the political beliefs we have embraced and defended throughout our lives - whether we like it or not - and laugh.
At the end of the evening, when the laughs are tallied, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans win. Democracy does.
Contact the writer at barry_cohen@jewishaz.com.
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