Comedians have inexplicably stepped away from the very tools that once made them powerful agents of political change. Look at most comics’ social media pages and posts today and you’ll find straightforward commentary and frustration. The same kind of posts you’d expect from any irritated citizen online. The mixture of outrage and exhaustion may be understandable, but it’s also indistinguishable from the noise everyone else is making.

What comedians once understood is that humor, parody, and satire are not just entertainment. They’re among the sharpest instruments for cutting through political nonsense. During the volatile 60s and 70s, groups like National Lampoon, SNL, and Firesign Theatre — along with voices like Lenny Bruce, Dick Gregory, and George Carlin — didn’t waste their energy simply complaining. They transformed their criticism into satire pointed enough to pierce the fragile armor of politicians, corporations, and cultural gatekeepers. Their jokes weren’t distractions from the moment; they were weapons honed by it.

If modern political leaders have shown anything, it is that nothing angers and frustrates them more than being laughed at. Power can absorb anger, outrage, even protest, but ridicule exposes the insecurity behind the pompous character. Today, too many comedians overlook that fact, forgetting that one of the most effective tools for social change is the one only they can wield: comedy that bites, exposes, and refuses to kowtow to power.

•••