Robert Reich is Correct: Laughter is Good for Us

A Rise in Joy

In a very recent post, Robert Reich correctly observes that we had forgotten the joy in politics and the value of laughter. He reasons, in essence, that VP Harris operates from a positive position filled with laughter; Trump wallows in meanness and deprecatory statements. Quite the contrast.

And for the record, laughter is not a sign of a lack of seriousness. It is a sign of empathy and humanity to laugh WITH others. More on that momentarily.

That Trauma Lens

I want to think (and express feelings) about this from a different angle: the lens of trauma, a topic about which I write with regularity.

To say trauma in our youth is abundant is an understatement. From COVID forward, far too many youth have been struggling with the absence of mental wellness. It manifests in behavior, including dysregulation, dissociation and overregulation. Many educators are struggling to help students as they themselves wrestle with their own demons.

In a forthcoming book co-authored with Ed KS Wang titled Mending Education (releasing 9/27/24 by TCPress), we point out the power of hope and creativity. We recognize the immense need for play. We observe the importance of our senses to delight. In essence, we see trauma amelioration as deeply rooted in the restoration of joy and a firm hope in a bright future.

We know this: Laughter is but one of many ways to express and share joy. And the key word there is “share.” I’d add in that laughter communicates and oft-times is reciprocal. And both communication and reciprocity are key trauma amelioration strategies. Reich rightly notes that we should and can laugh “with” as opposed to “at” others. Harris, he observes, laughs with not at others as she laughs at herself; her opponents do the opposite. Think cat ladies and overt adoption of meanness.

An Ironic Location

The oddity in all this is the last place I would have thought to look for joy and laughter and reciprocity and communication and hope and creativity was politics. Like many others, the narcissism, the anger, the absence of human decency were getting to me. I was mired in the lack of hope for our nation’s future.

And then, it is as if a storm came through and cleaned some of the air, there was a new candidate who (at least as best as one can tell as an outsider looking in) appears filled with joy and hope and energy to the tasks at hand.

And so, we can teach yet again, as the new school year approaches, with our heart and mind filled with hope that we can, together, help our children succeed. And, we can breathe with the potential to leave this earth better than we found it. Ah….. it feels joyful to breathe again.