Get Wit It, Folks

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is
probably the reason so few engage in it."
~Henry Ford

I read a post the other day and it made me think. That's a Good Thing. Everything we read or see should make us think. Well, maybe I should rephrase that since we ought to be thinking all the time. After all, if we aren't thinking, we'd be brain dead and someone would be trying to harvest our organs. Let's say it made me think about something in particular. And that particular thing is wit.

Wit has no agenda of its own. That is, wit can be from the Right or the Left. It can be morally upright or sleazy. Regardless of the political or moral bent of the speaker or writer, wit entertains. If it didn't, we would not call it wit. Wit implies intelligence. Wit implies cleverness. If I call someone a wit, it means I do not find him to be a dullard. It may not always mean I like his wit, though.

We like witty sayings. We celebrate great wit.

Wit can border on insensitivity.
"I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
– Mark Twain

"A fellow with the inventiveness of Albert Einstein, but with the attention span of Daffy Duck."
- Tom Shale on Robin Williams

Wit can be self-deprecating...

"What makes him think a middle aged actor, who’s played with a chimp, could have a future in politics?"
- Ronald Reagan commenting on Eastwood’s bid to become mayor of Carmel

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?"
- Abraham Lincoln

To be a wit is good, just don't do it halfway.