About this quote

Political absurdity often reaches a point where laughter is the only sensible reaction left. When leaders turn global affairs into a bad joke, citizens have to find ways to cope with the sheer ridiculousness of power. Humiliation of the powerful through dark wit keeps us sane. It strips away the false dignity of politicians who hold our lives in their hands. Can you find the humor in a grim political reality, or do you let it grind you down?

When to use it

• You are sitting at a family dinner while everyone argues about the news, and you say this to cut through the anger with a bit of dark, historical humor.
• After reading a frustrating headline about corporate leaders making terrible decisions, you send this to a coworker to point out that leadership has always been a bit of a farce.
• You are studying 21st-century history with a classmate, trying to make sense of the political decisions of the early 2000s, and you use this line to sum up the era's absurdity.