Where there's a positive side of things...there's usually a negative side, and that applies to humor as well.

Unfortunately, the negative side of humor can be ugly...it can hurt feelings, and can be damaging and destructive! There are people who will do almost anything for money. There are people in this world who will do almost anything for power. There are people in this world who will do almost anything for fame. And, there are people in this world who will do almost anything to get a laugh...and if they hurt somebody in the process...so what?

Many years, the senior George Bush said, "What we need is a kinder, gentler nation." He said it again at the Coretta King funeral in early 2006. What he was talking about, in my view, was what we are doing to each other as a People! Racism; road rage; discrimination; gossip; resentment; rude; cruel; jealousy; disrespect; manner-less; thoughtless; thankless; attitude and the list goes on and on!

In my view, this country is suffering from a big fat attitude problem! What are parents teaching their kids...to be corrupt? What happened to manners and respect? I haven't seen a local news broadcast on television for years! Why? It's the same old broken record...only the names change. The same old tired stories...who murdered who...who robbed who...another woman was raped or assulted, and there is more and more corruption! All of this gets old after a while. You have to wonder if there is any good news in America. Yes, there is, but good news doesn't sell newspapers, and the television ratings will fall if there is no bad news!

I think this society is turning more and more negative and all that negativity rubs off on the children and grandchildren. There so much negativity in this society, that some of the people who are supposed to be leaders and model citizens in the community are being busted for one thing or another. Corruption; DWI; bad behavior in general. Two world famous (Indy) racing brothers here Albuquerque, N.M. got arrested for bad behavior against the police recently! The local newspaper, in an editorial, had some pretty nasty words to say about the two brothers, who resisted arrest! These are the type of people that the kids look up to...role models...what went wrong?

How does humor fit into all this bad behavior! Put down of others...just to get a laugh! Ethnic jokes...just to get a laugh! Racial slurs...just to get a laugh! Dirty jokes...just to get a laugh! Teasing of others...just to get a laugh! These are big black eyes for America, and it seems that mutual respect is a thing of the past!

Another big black eye for the country, is a few years ago, when we heard of the violence on school campuses. Injuries and people were shot and murdered on school campuses, which is a disgrace in this country! What are parents teaching kids today. Some of the violence was due to the teasing of others, and some students were teased so much that one or two of them couldn't take it anymore...got a gun...and came back on campus and the shooting began! In my view, a lot of this started with teasing...JUST TO GET A LAUGH!

All of us have been teased in school, I know I have. Being Hispanic, I remember I was teased because I didn't speak or write the English well. Kids would make fun of me...just to get a laugh! It was so upsetting to me, that I didn't want to go back to school. Everyone knows kids can be awful. I was always reluctant to give an oral book report for fear that the kids would laugh at me! I will always remember those awful days of ridicule and hate!

If you have ever been put down, by those who I refer to as "the jokesters and people of put-down," who enjoy getting a laugh at somebody else's expense, then you know how awful it can sting! I'm reminded of a comedian (so he calls himself), who goes around the country, putting down and making fun of the disabled and the challenged...just to get a laugh! What kind of humor is this? What kind of people go to see this JERK, who find laughing at challenged people amusing! This so-called comedian and his followers are what I call "the little minds of the world!" They're warped...all of them, who would do something like this!

A big fat attitude is in the making, and as a country, we're doing very well! Where is this country headed when we allow this kind of thing, that is, making fun of the disabled and the mentally challenged? Nothing can be done about it, because it is an issue of free speech. Will you allow your children to see this so-called comedian?

* I don't see anything funny or amusing about a person who has suffered an illness; an accident and who will spend the rest of his or her life in a wheelchair.

* I don't see anything funny or amusing about a person who was born with a deformity.

* I don't see anything funny or amusing about a blind person who is struggling to cope.

* I don't see anything funny or amusing about a person who has a speech impediment, hearing loss or severe burns!

Regrettably, humor can play a part in all this, because there the "little minds of the world," that I spoke of earlier, who laugh at all this to get their kicks...UNTIL A TRAGEDY HAPPENS TO THEM! But, there IS a solution to all this, and it lies with the parents. Parents have to teach their kids to respect others...teasing or the put-down of others is out of bounds! Parents have to tell their kids to stay away from negative people, so they don't become negative themselves. All of this is no laughing matter!

Negative and dirty humor is NOT acceptable to me! A person doesn't have to be dirty to be funny. And yes, there's a lot of negative humor out there, and it can sting if you are on the receiving end of it. And, a big fat attitude problem in this country is no laughing matter, either! George Bush, Sr. is right...we DO need a kinder and gentler nation! But, it's going to have to start with the parents and each and every one of us...to make a terrible wrong in this country...A RIGHT!