http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/samheath/8932 While I was pleasantly surprised by the number of responses I received by email from those who remembered “Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt,” the Bugs Bunny cartoon of 1941, there remains the question of whether we can any longer enjoy those old cartoons without either feeling guilty or being told we should. It is as though my generation should apologize for so many of the things that provided us with laughter during those decades past, things like Al Capp’s “Li’l Abner” for example. Perhaps since I was born in Weedpatch and during the 30s and 40s it bore a striking resemblance to Dogpatch in both name and characters I should have been offended. What cannot be denied, however, is the invaluable insights provided by old cartoons, films, comic strips and comic books that are a part of historical documentation as important in their way as any history textbooks. I look through my large volume of the Smithsonian collection of old newspaper comic strips recognizing many of them and I am reminded we Americans once had a genuine sense of humor, and most importantly we knew how to laugh at ourselves. It seems such laughter is now nothing but a memory. The world, America itself has now become too dangerous and what passes for “comedy” now is rank and vulgar, a parody of genuine humor. Real humor has been sacrificed to the gods of litigation, and one of the results has been that we Americans no longer laugh at ourselves, there is simply nothing funny about the many crises we are facing. It won’t do attempting to replace the humor of time past with jokes about politicians and sex, too much of this has degenerated into assaults against standards of civilized, decent, mannerly behavior and speech. At the best this can only be construed as cynicism, not real humor. There was certainly nothing funny about the remark by Don Imus, and there was certainly nothing funny about the reaction of hypocrites like Jackson and Sharpton to the remark. Real humor like that of the master, Sam Clemens, begins with the humorist goring his own ox, laughing at himself before turning the joke on others and making them laugh at themselves. This isn’t possible today, because if you were to write as did Sam you would find yourself being sued. Many of the comics and comic strips of the 20s and 30s were downright silly, rather than funny. The truly tragic aspect of this is that it marked a time when Americans could be silly. Because of the Great Depression, for example, there was a real need for just plain silly. Life was grim for many people, and sometimes the only relief to be had was silliness. But from WWII on our ability to laugh at ourselves began to be lost, recalled only in the humor of time past, and much of what attempts to pass itself off as such humor today is a hollow charade. It is more than nostalgia on my part, this missing of a time when we Americans could laugh at ourselves, seeing ourselves mirrored in the foibles of characters in the old comic strips, poking fun at pomposity and pretensions, and children learning the morals of such things, like the errors of taking yourself and life too seriously. As America began to lose its way, the way of such humor began to give way to more “realism.” I’m old enough to remember when the old spooky movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Wolf Man were being shown in theaters. There was no need of the “realism” of blood being splattered everywhere; our imaginations buoyed by the great old radio shows like Inner Sanctum and The Whistler were more than sufficient to do the job. There was an innocence in those old films and programs I very much miss along with the innocence of the times. We have not been served well by our leaders and entertainment media serving up the realism of an America that has lost its way. America now is too much like the molested child, that once the child has been raped such cherished innocence betrayed is not only never to be regained, but becomes a lifelong nightmare. Yes, I believe in heaven; I believe in a place like Mayberry and Norman Rockwell’s America where I will rejoin my departed loved ones and friends; but for the time being I remain alive in an America that has been betrayed by those unworthy of calling themselves “Americans.” Now, our heritage, culture, our language, even our borders have been betrayed; America is being raped by those that have stolen the American Dream and turned it into a living nightmare. Take the “sanctuary cities” for an example of this nightmare. While no one has accused me of attempting to justify the drunk driver by making the comparison between Paris Hilton and illegal aliens driving drunk on our highways and getting away with it here is some perspective: “The city of Virginia Beach, Va., which has been a flash point in the national debate on immigration after an illegal alien killed two teens in a drunk-driving crash, is changing its policy and will now ask crime suspects about their immigration status, no matter how small the offense. Alison Kunhardt and Tessa Trachant of Virginia Beach, Va. were killed March 30, 2007, when they were struck from behind by a speeding car driven by Alfredo Ramos, a Mexican living illegally in the U.S. for seven years. The city’s previous rule had precluded police from asking foreigners about their status, with the exception of felony cases, but Police Chief Jake Jacocks says the new rule ‘is effective right now.’ Jacocks and Virginia Beach’s mayor, Meyera Oberndorf, came under heavy fire in recent weeks from Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who called for both to be fired. He labeled Virginia Beach as ‘a sanctuary city,’ accusing Oberndorf – whom he called ‘clueless and deceitful’ – of intentionally permitting illegals to stay so they could work in local hotels. The city’s previous hands-off policy was put in the national spotlight after Alison Kunhardt and Tessa Trachant were killed March 30 when they were struck from behind by a speeding car as they sat at a red light. The illegal alien who struck the girls was Alfredo Ramos, 22, who admitted he has been living unlawfully in the U.S. for seven years. That fact never surfaced during Ramos’ previous court appearances for two charges of public intoxication and one previous DUI...” While I was pleasantly surprised by the number of responses I received by email from those who remembered “Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt,” the Bugs Bunny cartoon of 1941, there remains the question of whether we can any longer enjoy those old cartoons without either feeling guilty or being told we should. It is as though my generation should apologize for so many of the things that provided us with laughter during those decades past, things like Al Capp’s “Li’l Abner” for example. Perhaps since I was born in Weedpatch and during the 30s and 40s it bore a striking resemblance to Dogpatch in both name and characters I should have been offended. What cannot be denied, however, is the invaluable insights provided by old cartoons, films, comic strips and comic books that are a part of historical documentation as important in their way as any history textbooks. I look through my large volume of the Smithsonian collection of old newspaper comic strips recognizing many of them and I am reminded we Americans once had a genuine sense of humor, and most importantly we knew how to laugh at ourselves. It seems such laughter is now nothing but a memory. The world, America itself has now become too dangerous and what passes for “comedy” now is rank and vulgar, a parody of genuine humor. Real humor has been sacrificed to the gods of litigation, and one of the results has been that we Americans no longer laugh at ourselves, there is simply nothing funny about the many crises we are facing. It won’t do attempting to replace the humor of time past with jokes about politicians and sex, too much of this has degenerated into assaults against standards of civilized, decent, mannerly behavior and speech. At the best this can only be construed as cynicism, not real humor. There was certainly nothing funny about the remark by Don Imus, and there was certainly nothing funny about the reaction of hypocrites like Jackson and Sharpton to the remark. Real humor like that of the master, Sam Clemens, begins with the humorist goring his own ox, laughing at himself before turning the joke on others and making them laugh at themselves. This isn’t possible today, because if you were to write as did Sam you would find yourself being sued. Many of the comics and comic strips of the 20s and 30s were downright silly, rather than funny. The truly tragic aspect of this is that it marked a time when Americans could be silly. Because of the Great Depression, for example, there was a real need for just plain silly. Life was grim for many people, and sometimes the only relief to be had was silliness. But from WWII on our ability to laugh at ourselves began to be lost, recalled only in the humor of time past, and much of what attempts to pass itself off as such humor today is a hollow charade. It is more than nostalgia on my part, this missing of a time when we Americans could laugh at ourselves, seeing ourselves mirrored in the foibles of characters in the old comic strips, poking fun at pomposity and pretensions, and children learning the morals of such things, like the errors of taking yourself and life too seriously. As America began to lose its way, the way of such humor began to give way to more “realism.” I’m old enough to remember when the old spooky movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Wolf Man were being shown in theaters. There was no need of the “realism” of blood being splattered everywhere; our imaginations buoyed by the great old radio shows like Inner Sanctum and The Whistler were more than sufficient to do the job. There was an innocence in those old films and programs I very much miss along with the innocence of the times. We have not been served well by our leaders and entertainment media serving up the realism of an America that has lost its way. America now is too much like the molested child, that once the child has been raped such cherished innocence betrayed is not only never to be regained, but becomes a lifelong nightmare. Yes, I believe in heaven; I believe in a place like Mayberry and Norman Rockwell’s America where I will rejoin my departed loved ones and friends; but for the time being I remain alive in an America that has been betrayed by those unworthy of calling themselves “Americans.” Now, our heritage, culture, our language, even our borders have been betrayed; America is being raped by those that have stolen the American Dream and turned it into a living nightmare. Take the “sanctuary cities” for an example of this nightmare. While no one has accused me of attempting to justify the drunk driver by making the comparison between Paris Hilton and illegal aliens driving drunk on our highways and getting away with it here is some perspective: “The city of Virginia Beach, Va., which has been a flash point in the national debate on immigration after an illegal alien killed two teens in a drunk-driving crash, is changing its policy and will now ask crime suspects about their immigration status, no matter how small the offense. Alison Kunhardt and Tessa Trachant of Virginia Beach, Va. were killed March 30, 2007, when they were struck from behind by a speeding car driven by Alfredo Ramos, a Mexican living illegally in the U.S. for seven years. The city’s previous rule had precluded police from asking foreigners about their status, with the exception of felony cases, but Police Chief Jake Jacocks says the new rule ‘is effective right now.’ Jacocks and Virginia Beach’s mayor, Meyera Oberndorf, came under heavy fire in recent weeks from Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who called for both to be fired. He labeled Virginia Beach as ‘a sanctuary city,’ accusing Oberndorf – whom he called ‘clueless and deceitful’ – of intentionally permitting illegals to stay so they could work in local hotels. The city’s previous hands-off policy was put in the national spotlight after Alison Kunhardt and Tessa Trachant were killed March 30 when they were struck from behind by a speeding car as they sat at a red light. The illegal alien who struck the girls was Alfredo Ramos, 22, who admitted he has been living unlawfully in the U.S. for seven years. That fact never surfaced during Ramos’ previous court appearances for two charges of public intoxication and one previous DUI...” en-us