![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/85\/2012\/09\/no-jokes.jpeg\" "\\"no-jokes\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nYou know how some things are just so obvious that you figure everyone will \u201cget\u201d a joke? Comedians (not me, as I would likely starve if I had to make folks laugh for money) make their living on being able to size up situations that we all encounter, and then present them in ways to help us see the humor in them.<\/p>\n
Underlying this notion is the idea that most people in the audience will understand where you are coming from. But guess what? Not everyone does.<\/p>\n
Over on the blog\u2019s Facebook page, someone left this in the combox for the joke I told back in April, which I shared again yesterday with the lede, \u201cAfter the conventions, this joke is even funnier than it was the first time around.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Can you give me a straight answer, YIM? Are you accusing Cardinal Dolan as a liberal, moderate, and conservative? Yes, or no. If yes, why.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You see, he had asked about the joke in an earlier comment, and I had assumed he kind of knew where I was coming from. He had asked,<\/p>\n Are you implying that Cardinal Dolan is a liberal, moderate, and conservative? I don\u2019t think so. He is a Catholic Cardinal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It being Facebook, and all, I responded back with a three word answer that I figured would be a big hint and help clear up matters for him. \u201cFull Spectrum Man,\u201d I said, which I had mentioned in a post before<\/a>. \u00a0But that didn\u2019t clear up things, and instead I got the query on whether I was making accusations. I also had another reader write me as follows,<\/p>\n Frank \u2013 I am still thinking about the 3 people coming into the bar \u2013 I AM WORRIED \u2013 is it that easy \u2013 or is it one of those that suddenly you get and go into hysteria ? I cannot see it YET.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Truth be told, neither one of these people may ever \u201cget\u201d the joke, though on a \u201cget it\u201d to \u201cnot\u201d scale, it\u2019s pretty lopsided to the \u201cget it\u201d side. When I first shared it, I acknowledged that I didn\u2019t know whether it was funny or not, but that it was true.<\/p>\n So the question is not, \u201cis Cardinal Dolan a liberal, a moderate, and a conservative?\u201d The question is, why do I think it\u2019s self evidently true?<\/p>\n Simple. Because being Catholic transcends political labels. And if it doesn\u2019t, then something is wrong with the religion.<\/p>\n Because if anything is certain about Christianity from the Catholic perspective it\u2019s this: it doesn\u2019t adhere to any single political party line. The teachings of the Church may rhyme with this party\u2019s take on something, and that party\u2019s take on others, but the Church and her teachings transcend the labels, because Jesus himself transcends them.<\/p>\n So to answer the first query, no, I\u2019m not implying or<\/em> accusing Cardinal Dolan of being a liberal, and a conservative, and a moderate; I\u2019m recognizing that to be Catholic he must in some regard be all three<\/em>.<\/p>\n I recognize this because I recognize that I myself, if I am thinking clearly about the mission of the Church, and my vocation as a Christian within her, must transcend the three labels, as well as every other secular label that we attempt to categorize people with.<\/p>\n So no, I don\u2019t accuse or imply, I pray<\/em> that this is true of Cardinal Dolan and I pray that it can be true in myself.<\/p>\n As for the second query, please stop worrying. It\u2019s only a joke. But hopefully, the little explanation I wrote above, and maybe this old post from the archives,<\/a> will help you see clearer.<\/p>\n Either way, when you\u2019re walking the Way<\/em>, life is a work in progress. Don\u2019t be so deadly serious about the journey that you can\u2019t crack a smile. Speaking of comedians, check out Brian Regan on flying,<\/p>\n