The Healing Power of Humor

"You're racist!"

Kids in North America learn fast how dangerous it is to do or say something to earn that judgment. Adults take racism seriously.

Consider the world's careful discussion about the Spanish basketball team's hand-to-eye maneuver. It's painful to watch journalists struggle to report the story with the "correct" expressions and words.

Thank goodness for those with the gift of enabling us to laugh at ourselves. Listen, for example, to Russell Peters' riff about the Indian accent (Warning: some potentially offensive content):



That's why we'll miss the likes of Bernie Mac, one of a host of honest storytellers unafraid to use humor to prod us along in the journey.