It was not a shining moment in American pop culture.  Instead, it was a sad commentary on what our society considers comical material.  As I watched President Barack Obama chuckle with Jay Leno over poor bowling skills, I was deflated when the president uttered, “It was like the Special Olympics.”  Jay Leno was snickering.  President Obama was grinning.  The audience was laughing, but I failed to see the humor in his remark.  In fact, I felt a little sick as the implication of those words hit me like a brick.

The fact that the statement came from the president was not the issue for me.  The affect would have been the same had any other person fished for a laugh with this thought.  In my opinion, the tragedy was that this humor was a reflection of the indifferent attitude our country can display towards a heroic populace . . . . one that should be admired for its perseverance not mocked for its lack of grace.

It is certain that our president had no malicious intent just as none of us do when similar jests are expressed in private scenarios.  However, this makes the offense all the more pungent.  Had the words been relayed in hostility, the evil of them would be easily exposed.  But because they were expressed thoughtlessly, we struggle to find the harm.  It is the fact that we struggle to find it that presents the greatest offense.  It is the apathy towards the special-needs community, reflected in the kidding, that is so distasteful.

No laughing matter

I don’t think I’m taking this issue too seriously since I’m someone who esteems relatively few things as sacred.  I love a good laugh, especially if it comes at someone else’s expense.  My opinion, in general, is that our nation is too wrapped up in the notion of “political correctness,” and I often assert that we all could benefit from letting up and laughing more.  Hypocrisy can be funny.  Irony is absolutely hysterical.  But taking a victorious moment borne out of heart-wrenching struggle and demeaning it through comparison to mediocrity is no laughing matter.  A failure to recognize this is where the problem lies.

President Barack Obama didn’t say anything that countless others haven’t said.  His stature, though, highlighted a shame that already existed in our society.  I hope that our leader—as well as the rest of us—takes his faux pas and uses it as an opportunity to correct an ugliness that discreetly lingers in our collective mind.  It needs to be acknowledged and addressed rather than diminished and rationalized.  Hopefully, then our nieces, nephews, godchildren, children, siblings and others in the upcoming generation will grow to have better discernment in choosing what is worthy of a laugh.