Funny AND True?

http://www.tvrage.com/The_Daily_Show

I love humor. It is a constantly adapting tool that, when used correctly, can be incredibly effective. Perhaps the most effective style of humor is satire, described by dictionary.com as, "the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc." I could not have said it better myself. 

From John Swift's A Modest Proposal  (less commonly but more humorously referred to as "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public,") to a recent article in The Onion titled "Kim Jong-Un Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough To Run North Korea," satire has been used to take the truth and throw it into a context so absurd and untrue that it makes the truth more apparent. 

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheOnion

Like we have discussed in class, these satirical stories from various media such as The Daily Show and The Onion present absurdly false truths that expose truths of their own. But unlike the media presenting false truths, such as the statue toppling in Firdos Square, satirical articles are apparently works of fiction. But if a satire is done effectively, the real intended truth behind it will shine through. 

Take the article entitled Congress Honors 9/11 First Capitalizers  from The Onion for example. Although less subtle than some fake news satires, this article exposes an idea that people might not think twice about without it being brought abruptly to their attention. People exploiting a tragic event is not a funny issue, but playfully honoring these people to show how absolutely ridiculous it is that some capitalists and political figures used the occasion to promote self-interests makes the issue much simpler and understandable. It makes the reader say, "Wow, I never really thought about it that way." 

A satire's ability to make certain problems more apparent and approachable makes me regard this tool, and the tool of humor in general,  as a powerful one that can help show some important truths in our world.