The Death of Humor...

Those of you much under the age of about 50 have no idea what the word "humor" really means.

I had the great good fortune to have grown up in the "Golden Age of TV."  It was brand-new, it had just being "colorized," everyone was filled with post-War exuberance, and our folks still believed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Before the Corporate Media had successfully divided us into warring camps.  Before we devolved into various tribes.  Sort of like the Hatfields and the McCoys, writ large...

The black and white 1950's were filled nightly with variety shows and comedy hours.  And the news and some professional wrestling.  And a TON of cowboy shows.  And everybody watched them.  Because there were only three channels back then and we had nowhere else to go.  So these channels commanded yuuuuge nightly audiences!  

It was a reality for everyone; finish the family dinner (everyone sat down for the family dinner), wash the dishes (alternating responsibility), turn on the TV (a chore handled by the youngest amongest), and sit down on the couch.  And watch "Gunsmoke."  Or "Superman."  Or perhaps "Wagon Train." *

The final episode of "Mash," for instance, brought in more than 54,000,000 viewers.  And that was back when our population was a whole lot less (it was 117,342,566 on the day of my birth).  And before half the world had shown up on our doorstep.  Streaming past that "Welcome" sign put up by Joe O'Biden and his Band of Merry Socialists.  

(Did you know that 1 in 5 New York City hotel rooms are now filled with illegal aliens?  Yeah, that's why the rooms now average $307 a night, up from $277.  Thought you'd like to know.  Just had to insert that factoid.  Couldn't help myself).  

And the all-color 1960's brought us the greatest and most entertaining productions imaginable.  You could see stand-up comics, and ventriloquists, and dancers, and singers, plus a guy who threw knives blindfolded, and folks who spun plates on sticks.  You would watch from start to finish, while heading off to the bathroom or getting a snack only during commercial breaks.  

There was no stopping it with a button on a remote while you peed.  Because there was no "remote."  There was no DVR.  There was no way to "see it over." 

I counted up more than 250 such 50's and 60's TV shows!  If you weren't a witness to this, here are but a few of our recurring shows, in no particular order:

     -  The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

     -  "Your Show of Shows"

     -  The Jerry Lewis Show

     -  The Spike Jones Show

     -  The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour

     -  The Carol Burnette Show

     -  The Dean Martin Show

     -  The Dick Van Dyke Show

     -  The Nathan Winter Show

     -  The Andy Williams Show

     -  The Steve Allen Show

     -  The Burns and Allen Show

     -  The Jim Nabors Show

     -  The Colgate Comedy Hour

     -  The Dinah Shore Show

     -  The Gary Moore Show

     -  The Frank Sinatra Show

     -  Jimmy Durante Presents

     -  The Eddie Fischer Show

     -  Your Hit Parade

     -  The Perry Como Hour

     -  Liberace

     -  The Chevy Show

     -  The Ed Sullivan Show

And remember, these are but a few.  There are literally dozens more.

I might add that then-President Richard M. Nixon appeared on "Laugh-In," a show filled with nothing but jokes and sight gags, opening himself up to be lampooned.  Which he was.  With great good nature.  Many pundits believed his doing so secured his election victory. 

And you should know that the "Ed Sullivan Show" is where the Beetles first auditioned for America.  All this was don't-miss stuff.  People talked about it the next morning around the water cooler.  Before they were paid to stay home in their BVD's and stare at their computer screen.  Back when people actually worked for a living.

Face it, Fellow Patriot, there is no more humor.  Certainly not like we enjoyed in past decades.  If "Progressives" were forced to sit through a loop of "All in the Family," they'd have a caniption fit!  In fact, maybe that should be the sentence we impose on our political prisoners...

That's one of the most important single problems we face.  The Death of Humor.  Except for all those almost-but-not-quite, but-we're-pretty-sure-they-will-be-soon, melting icebergs, of course... 

If you're a member of the Gen-Z Generation, and don't understand any of these words, you might want to look them up...

*   For those of you who don't know, one of our most loved movie stars had his start on this program.  His name was Clint Eastwood and his character was named "Rowdy Yates."  "Roll 'em, roll 'em, roll 'em, keep those dogies rollin,"...