Erma Bombeck was born 95 years ago today in 1927. She was a writer that had a great wit and style. One of her quotes goes right to why it is important to have a sense of humor.
“When humor goes, there goes civilization.”
Erma Bombeck Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2022. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/erma_bombeck_131317, accessed February 21, 2022.
Erma Bombeck
A few years ago, the editor at a blog I write and draw cartoons for interviewed me about why I contribute. One quote from that article sums it up:
“The one thing I love about humor, if you’re dealing with a serious topic, humor can ease the blow.”
Kevin Spear
Yes, I just quoted myself. No, I don’t think I’m that important. On the contrary, the nice thing about quoting yourself is that it is easy to verify the source!
The Healing Power of Humor
Humor is important because it can break the tension in a situation. It can bring healing when we are able to see there is something in a tragedy that we can laugh about. When we feel stuck by a malady, or by circumstances out of our control, humor has great power to ease the blow and be a healing balm.
I may not know what your situation is or what you have experienced. In fact, I may not have had as challenging of a situation as you have had. But one thing we can all agree on is that we have all experienced tragedy, heartache, and situations that have broken other people.
How do some go one while others break under the pressure? I have observed that those with strong faith and a strong sense of humor can make it while others cannot.
Humor is not some frivolous act. It can get us through a lot. As Erma said, humor is important because civilization needs it to survive. We need it. I am going for the trifecta and adding a third quote for today.
