How to Write Political Jokes That Don’t Become Reality Six Months Later

How
to
Write

Political

Jokes
That
Don’t
Become
Reality
Six
Months
Later

The
Cassandra
Complex

In
today’s

political
climate,
your
absurd
joke
today
becomes
tomorrow’s
policy
proposal.
Here’s
how
to
stay
ahead
of
the
reality
curve.

Step
1:
Avoid
Policy
Details

Bad
joke:
“What
if
we
built
a
border
wall
but
made
it
out
of
student
debt?”
(This
could
actually
be
proposed.)
Good
joke:
“What
if
we
built
a
border
wall
but
made
it
out
of
the
hopes
and
dreams
of
millennials?”

Step
2:
Make
It
Logistically
Impossible

“The
president
announced
a
new
plan
to
solve
inflation
by
making
everyone
Prime
members.”

Step
3:
Include
Talking
Animals

“Senator
Turtle-Man
filibusters
sunlight
bill,
claims
it’s
‘woke
weather.’”

Advanced
Techniques

1.
The
‘Time
Travel
Test’

If
your
joke
would
have
worked
in
1776,
it’s
too
universal
to
backfire.
“Taxation
without
representation?
More
like
taxation
without…
okay
this
one
still
hurts.”

2.
The
‘Alien
Perspective’

“Human

political
system
seems
to
involve
putting
oldest
members
in
charge,
then
being
surprised
they
don’t
understand
technology.”

3.
The
‘Literal
Metaphor’

“Congress
passed
a
bill
officially
declaring
the
emperor
has
no
clothes.
Fashion
lobbyists
outraged.”

Conclusion

The
only
foolproof

political
joke
is
one
about
how
all

political

jokes
become
reality.
Wait,
no
–
that’ll
probably
happen
too.