Funny How Time Slips Away, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

January 2, 2016 Victor El-Khouri 0 Comments

Start 2016 right.  Laugh.

The older I get, the more important I think jokes are.  And the more I think that’s a political perspective.

It’s also a tactical one.

Here’s a case in point:

For years, we’ve been hearing that the secret to the success of Daesh is their mastery of social media.  They have loads of followers, and they manage to convince countless impressionable young people that being martyrs for a barbaric, medieval parody of Islam is a great lifestyle choice.

There are only a few dozen thousand of these fundamentalist nut jobs, while there are more than a billion Muslims in the world.  Nevertheless, every time they commit an act of terror, the mainstream media (and our own, American nut jobs) demand that all Muslims denounce terrorism.

You know, the way Christians spoke out with one voice to denounce Christian fundamentalist nut jobs.

Look, I get it.  Any one lucky enough to have a family has at least one relative who is an embarrassment.  Maybe that person has lousy table manners.  Maybe that person belongs to the NRA.  Maybe that person is getting older and loudly wants to have at least one grandchild before she dies.  Because that person is a part of our family, we feel a mixture of love and shame and responsibility.  We really don’t want to air our family issues in public.

Reasonable Muslims don’t have to call out the crazy ones.

Still, if there is a way to counter the influence of Daesh and Al Qaeda and other fanatics, reasonable Muslims are in the best position to do so.  A quick perusal of the Internets will show that they do, frequently, even if their efforts aren’t prominently emphasized by the media.

This, I think, might be one of the best.  Iyar El-Baghdadi, a Muslim on Twitter is countering Daesh’s call to arms by providing lots of other things that are more fun than fighting in a war,   These include playing video games, watching the new season of Sherlock, going to see Star Wars and, oh yes, doing real Muslim things like giving to charity and being part of the real world.

Using the hashtag, #trollISIS, he inspired some hilarious responses.

All the people who participated sounded like way more fun to hang out with than a bunch of terrorists in the desert.  I mean, I’d rather play video games and eat carrot cake than train on monkey bars.

If you’re starting the new year with a commitment to healthy eating, healthy living, fiscal discipline and/or improving your job skills, I wish you the best.  It’s good to have goals.  Make sure to include time for a few jokes, including some at yourself.

Not every person agrees with me politically.  I don’t agree with myself from one day to the next.  However, I am willing to bet that we can agree that a life without pleasure is not worth living.  That laughing provides a terrific ab workout.  That consensual tickling (like consensual sex) is better than forced anything.

And that people who can’t take a joke are a waste of time.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, thinks humor is especially important in an election year.