In case you missed it, #NationalMenMakeDinnerDay was trending like crazy on Twitter today.

Now, I had never heard of National Men Make Dinner Day before Nov 1, 2017. But according to the internet, which is never wrong, it lands on the first Thursday of November and was started by someone named Sandy Sharkey in 1998.

For whatever reason, in contrast to previous years, #NationalMenMakeDinnerDay, was all over the internet in 2017. After perusing the comments, one cannot help but wonder if it was trending simply because it was a convenient target of collective outrage.

Don’t get me wrong. There were plenty of hilarious memes like this:

 

 

 

But for every funny meme, there were three expressing disgust.

 

Patriarchy Smash

 

The responses were predictable. Denying differences—biological or social—between men and women is considered gospel to many social justice advocates today. The idea that some men—your Homer Simpsons—might be uncomfortable in the kitchen is not something to laugh at. Rather, it’s a threat in that it advances a harmful stereotype, one that reinforces the idea of a traditional family in which Dad works and Mom stays home.

This inability to laugh at our differences is not just evidence that we are losing our sense of humor. It’s also likely the cause of much of the division in our culture. As the philosopher Roger Scruton has noted, laughter is a crucial ingredient in a diverse society.

“A society that does not laugh is one without an important safety valve, and a society in which people interpret crude humor not as the first step toward friendly relations, but as a mortal offense, is one in which ordinary life has become fraught with danger. Human beings who live in communities of strangers are greatly in need of laughter, if their differences are not to lead to civil war.”

If one looks at our country today, he’ll find a great deal of evidence to support Scruton’s thesis. It invites an important question. If we laugh can’t at this …

 

…who are we?