SO YOU'RE A COMEDIAN, CAN YOU CARRY THAT LOAD?

SO YOU’RE A COMEDIAN, CAN YOU CARRY THAT LOAD?

  I am a sixty year old Lebanese American actor, screenwriter, and ongoing online film production student, also a disabled US Air Force veteran. I live in the bay area a cosmopolitan are with an extremely diverse population..

   Yesterday, I placed an ad in Craig's list for comedians and situation comedy writers to team up with me, so I can improve the jokes and punchlines on screenplays for situation comedies that I had written for prime time television. 

 I have some experience as well hosting a few comedy shows, and being a stand up comic myself, and I watch some comedians now and then on TV, some are very impressive, with a powerful message like the Syrian American beautiful young woman Amal Kassir, a poet, and  stand up comedienne in a monologue describing what she goes through as a woman, of an Arab and specifically Syrian descent. link to the monologue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8qy4seRJws

 Watching Amal, all I could think about was the power of her message, the power of the media to influence the masses, for good or bad, to change societies as a whole and how we interact among each other. In my humble opinion, the majority of what goes on worldwide as far as crime, especially hate crimes, and civil wars, is due to ignorance of the other, and lack of understanding and appreciating people who think and act differently than us.

 The last estimate of the population of the earth was done in 2019 and back then it was: 7.674 billion people, of different races, creeds, colors, religions, ethnic and national origins. The big question here is how should we all co-exist on  this planet?

Some of you are probably wondering, what does this have to do with comedians and situation comedies on prime time television?

 It is now imperative upon us comedians and media professionals of all disciplines to realize the huge responsibility cast upon our shoulders to spread the right message of co-existing, and you the comedian doing your stand up routine in some small club in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles or any other place can be a catalyst for a change that must occur, right here in the USA, unless we are willing to witness another invasion of the capitol.

 On the global stage, the US, China, Russia and other nations are competing on this planet for their national interests, each according to their size and capabilities whether it is political, economic or other wise. 

 In correlation to that, different groups here on US soil compete for their interests whether they are major corporations employing lobbyists permanently in the hallways of the White House, seeking legislation to protect and further their interests, or some om and pop store in a small town competing against the giant chain supermarket that opened up last month down the street.

 Some groups believe that they have a God given right to rights that are above and beyond what other people deserve, they are not even willing to discuss sharing power or privileges, with others. They will even kick natives off their land to occupy it, in God’s name and set up camp. I will not list the examples here for fear of being politically incorrect, but do your own research and I am sure you will come up with major and countless examples. 

 This is where you the comedian or comedienne come in to tenderize these hard liners with your jokes, and maybe, just maybe that will cause them to meditate, self reflect and realize that we are all in the same boiling pot. 

 The Bible says in  1 Timothy 6:10 to be: For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Proverbs 10:12: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” 

  How true that is however, hate, which is caused by fear of the other and ignorance and sometimes deliberate denial of the other’s right to exist causes hate, again this is where a huge responsibility rests on all comedians and media professional to use your God given talent and access to public forums like a stage, in a night club ,or a major other venue to spread the message of live acceptance, tolerance and understanding. 

 The Holy Quran says: We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). 

 Allah is the Arabic word for God, not some weird concoction for a belief system, like some in the west portray it as, signifying that Muslims worship probably an idol or a stone named God. 

Imagine what you can do with that misunderstanding my fellow comedians.

Imagine what you can do with Hollywood’s portrayal of an Arab, an Asian, an African American, a native American, a Mexican, or any other minority.

 So going back to Holy Quran verse I just quoted, please focus with me on the last sentence: Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you.

 It doesn’t say anything about any race, creed, or color, your virtue and your contribution as a human being is what honors you in this worldly life and in the hereafter. Comedians get to work, you got a lot of material between heaven and earth.