"Notice how laughter can neutralize political urgency Writer Jonathan Coe argues that laughter functions as a psychological release valve — it is most appropriate when a problem is truly intractable, like the absurdity of the human condition that Laurel and Hardy explored. But when a political problem is actually solvable, laughter can become dangerous: "the pleasure that laughter generates can be deceptive" because it feels like progress while nothing actually changes. Anyone using humor to process a problem they could actually act on should ask whether the laugh is a substitute for action rather than a catalyst for it. Source: Malcolm Gladwell, Revisionist History, Satire"