Irony... ughhh!

"Words may show a man's wit, but actions his meaning." Benjamin Franklin 

 This is the beginning of a multi-part posting that I will be delivering in smaller bites across the next few days.

I have a serious love-hate relationship with the discussion at hand, so a clear purpose cannot be promised, and I am almost definitely bound to become a babbling idiot at some point - so bear with me. There are so many things that I want to say about irony, sarcasm, and satire in general, that I have a really hard time deciding where to start, again please excuse the mess that is to follow.  Also, I will point out that I am not some kind of puritan, that I do use these tropes, and think that I also overuse them.  Although technically different, I will use these words interchangeably {though I am quite sure that I will resend this conflation at a later date, and that a strict understanding of each one's use would probably help the situation I will draw.}  For now, I feel that they are all commonly used in the same service these days, humor that acts as a type of pitiful revolt, weak protest, and tired contrarianism.

Juvenalian satire, verbal irony, and overarching sarcasm have become commonplace on television and seem to be the main form of communication for younger generations. They can be seen in advertising, sitcoms, and even 'news' channels.  If I had to point to a major offender and purveyor of the proliferation of such tropes, I would definitely call out the sitcom.  

The pairing of words with meaning that defies literal interpretation by way of tonal inflection is the source of much comedy [and tragedy], esp when paired with dramatic and/or situational irony.  For some reason or the other, these unusual parings cause a stir in our emotions. But these are forms of entertainment, and explain why they have been useful in advertisement and the cable 'news' networks.  The fact that as means, they almost always produce desired ends (viewership), can help explain why they are (overly) used.

Jean Jacques Rousseau pointed out the fallacy of gluttony in respect to taste; that a glutton does not taste because all he/she does is taste.  In a way, this is a statement of the law of diminishing value, and I think it is easy to transfer this line of reasoning to irony's use value, that in its overuse it becoming useless (or at least less valuable.)  Note, I am not trying to say that it is inherently bad or useless, but that it is overused and becoming worthless.  

One way that I feel this overuse is manifesting is in a constant state of jocularity.  As I suggested before, these tropes are currently best known as a means of entertaining.  I will also assert that humor and its result, laughter, are defense mechanisms.  I will even go so far as to say that often (not always) the laughter that is derived from such tropes are a fetishized version of the jovial feelings derived from deep personal relationships.   So, the need to be entertained with the fear of taking ownership of whatever it is that ails us (which combined can be called perpetual escapism,) prompts one to utilize entertaining defense mechanisms.  But these are only micro-escapes, personal prayers that ease immediate fears.  They do not work on a larger scale.  If they did, you would see the President telling terrorists "Your Momma" jokes. {Seriously, someone needs to make a comic strip using this idea... Damn, there I go, being sarcastic.} 

In the end, I worry that the overuse of irony, satire and sarcasm will become similar to food abuse.  Each of these things may be used excellently to satisfy basic human needs, whether it be for nourishment or protection, while the excessive partaking of them exposes neurosis and/or results in poor health.  A serious life peppered with frivolity may be similar to a healthy diet interspersed with a soda here and there...