As someone who is considered as a Positive Patricia—someone who always attempts to stay positive—even, I believe that there is a necessity for satire and sarcasm. I think that sometimes people confuse the definition of positivity with "never admitting to the negatives or acknowledging the existence of negativity." In fact, that would be the definition of an optimist. While a pessimist only focuses on the negatives, an optimist only focuses on the positives. The issue is both only receive half the glass, but a "realist" could tell you exactly what is in the cup, and an idealist could give you the potential of what could be done with the cup.
So why are satire and sarcasm necessary? They show us a side of the "realist" and "idealist" perspectives. While sarcasm is defined as a tone or usage of irony to convey contempt, a satire is usually a general work that exposes the vices of others using devices such as sarcasm, exaggeration, or general humor. At first, these terms may seem like they are only used to break other people down, which is generally not considered to be a positive endeavor. However, there is a whole list of reasons why we need both sarcasm and satire, at least sometimes.
1. Negativity and tragedy are real
Pretending that something does not exist will not actually make the object stop existing. If we ignore weeds in a garden, they will grow. Sweeping dirt underneath a rug will not actually eradicate the existence of the dirt just because we cannot see it. Therefore, negative things usually require being addressed, especially in regards to hot-button issues where pushing peoples' buttons and telling the truth can be synonymous with walking along a tightrope above a vat of toxic waste.
2. They can allow subtle communication to exist
Sometimes, the truth will hurt someone's feelings or make them angry because it makes them feel less powerful. When it comes to hot-button issues where some people will refuse to admit that they are wrong, satire and sarcasm can act as subtle tools for getting a point across without directly offending someone by admitting that they are wrong. Completely wrong. Everything about what they are saying is wrong.
3. They can be healthy
At times when people are upset, they need to express their feelings. Some people even exaggerate a problem because expressing their feelings can cause them to release the tension that was built up by the conflict through repetition and exaggeration. For instance, a lot of people gained entertainment from SNL sketches that point out the dramatic responses of people to a problem in order to shed light on how it was over-the-top. This gives people a "realist" perspective; perhaps their reaction was a little dramatic, so they can come back down to Earth now. People generally use comedy to relieve tension, and tension is always caused by conflicts.
We cannot control everyone in the world around us, but we can control how we react to the world. Sometimes, we use satire to expose the issues with the conflicts that arise without any of our input. Other times, we use sarcasm to shed light on how unrealistic something may be. At times they may seem negative and can be used negatively, but they can still be used in a positive manner that may be the least offensive to the most amount of people. This is why we have memes.
