The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour

The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour…


If the phrase Axis of Evil Comedy Tour is unfamiliar to you, then I urge you to watch it in reruns on the Comedy Channel.

It was personally eye-opening for me. Of course, the title is spoof on George Bush’s eagerness to put labels on everything and it’s a perfect introduction to the comedians of this troop of these American comedians with Middle Eastern roots who seem to be able to dredge humor out of the most unexpected places.

. What is amazing to me is that these fine young people have managed to find humor in things that we might expect would normally fuel latent anger; and in doing so, they have tapped into something very real and meaningful in these times, something that resonated with a wide audience if their show was any indication.

Mostly, these Americans of middle-eastern extraction are truly funny in their self-deprecating take on the way the rest of America views them and their own outlooks on the world. Like most humorists from the past, they use their own backgrounds and families as a springboard to engage the bigger issues of the day. And their take works because it has a universal component that virtually everyone can relate to. One warning: Prepare yourself. Their unique and self-deprecating humor can can have you rolling in the aisles even if you don’t have a drop of middle-eastern blood.

These comedians whom I had never heard of before, had families that hailed from Palestine, Iraq, Iran and other middle east locations; but, virtually all of them, shared the feeling that they were in the end Americans who were shouting out to be understood. And for me, that was the most important subliminal message. There was no anger, no hatred; only people like you and me shouting out to be understood.

And if you shut off the sound on your TV for just a minute, you would see that their vast audience of very middle class hip, well-dressed, well-coifed middle-eastern young people, understood and echoed their sentiments. These were the kind of young people who drove Mercedes and sipped their lattes in Starbucks and read the New York Times…

Best of all, in their mostly self-deprecating humor, they really managed to be funny causing me to indulge in a few belly laughs that I rarely have these days when so little is funny..

After viewing these young people and their appreciative audiences, I must admit that I have been moved to think differently about how such young people could help us regain our objectivity in this War where we tend to see everyone as the enemy. Perhaps they are just what the doctor ordered when it comes to learning how to overcome our fears and frustrations about a world we hardly understand and tend to be fearful of. With them, just possibly we may find a possible way out of the morass of thinking and attitudes we find ourselves caught up in. It is an encouraging sign where there was none before… and I left the program feeling really buoyed up with the notion that there is hope after all.

Les Aaron
The Armchair Curmudgeon
www.lesaaron.blogspot.com