By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
“In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” –George Orwell
Laugh, and the whole world laughs with you. That’s the old saw about laughter that proves its point indelibly when we watch video of a baby with the giggles. Just the sound is infectious, lifting our spirits and daring us NOT to laugh. Our lips twitch into a smile, then a grin, and before we know it, sound is bubbling up out of us in a joyous expression of enjoyment. And the best of it? Like yawning, laughter is a shared experience, drawing us in and connecting us to one another and the absurdity of human behavior. I ask you, who couldn’t use a little laughter — aerobics for the soul — in a time of so much sorrow, surrounded by so many clamoring voices spoiling for a fight?
Granted, there doesn’t seem to be much to laugh at lately, what with Ukraine coming under fire, Putin hinting about the use of nukes and NATO pledging to gather “rapid response” resources in Poland lest there be Russian aggression against any alliance country. Our new ‘cold war’ has succeeded in reactivating NATO. Hot these last five months, the action in Ukraine seems to have cooled a bit, but not by much. A cease-fire agreement signed this week offers no guarantees, as the pro-Russian rebels are determined to take more of the Ukrainian coastline. And while the cease-fire between Israel and Palestine seems to be holding, Israel’s seizure of 1,000 additional acres of Palestinian territory — reported as punishment for the kidnapping of the teens last month — appears to be stamping an official seal on the end to peace talks. There are about half a million Israelis, and over two-and-a-half million Palestinians. Think about that picture, about what that 1,000 acres represents. Talk about family feuds!