I think one of the basic tasks in life - one of the nice things we can do for each other - is to take things that are horrible and scary and make them acceptable and less frightening and, if possible, funny. It feels great to succeed at that.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of transforming fearful experiences into something more manageable and even humorous.
Julia Sweeney highlights a fundamental aspect of human interaction—our ability to help each other by addressing difficult and frightening situations with humor. She suggests that by making scary things more acceptable, we can reduce their impact and find joy even in challenging circumstances.
In practice
In a speech about overcoming adversity, one might reference this quote to illustrate the power of humor.
Performing comedy in San Francisco to begin with is pretty wild. You've got to - you've got the human game preserve to play off of. And it's a lot of great characters everywhere. You work off that, and then you play the rooms, and eventually you get to a point where you're playing a club that is a comedy club, with other comics.
That's the worst of girls," said Edmund to Peter and the Dwarf. "They never can carry a map in their heads." "That's because our heads have something inside them," said Lucy.
Wit and humor do not reside in slow minds.
That woman speaks eighteen languages, and can't say 'No' in any of them.
Sometimes the funnier you are, the more vulnerable and scared you are underneath it all. So I think, for me, comedy was always a defense. It was a weapon so that you can't hurt me.
I have a tip that can take 5 strokes off anyone's golf game. It's called an eraser.
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