Political satire became obsolete when they awarded Henry Kissinger the Nobel Peace Prize.
Interpretation
The quote humorously suggests that the act of awarding Kissinger the Nobel Peace Prize undermines the credibility of political satire.
Tom Lehrer's quote reflects a cynical view on the state of political satire by pointing out the irony of giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Kissinger, whose actions were often criticized as contributing to war rather than peace. This irony illustrates that when reality becomes too absurd, satire loses its impact, indicating a disillusionment with both political figures and the effectiveness of satire to prompt change or reflection.
In practice
This quote could be used in a political debate to highlight the absurdities of political awards.
All books can be indecent books, though recent books are bolder._x000D_ _x000D_ For filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder._x000D_ _x000D_ When correctly viewed, everything is lewd._x000D_ _x000D_ I could tell you things about Peter Pan_x000D_ _x000D_ and the Wizard of OZ, there's a dirty old man!
You can make fun with Saddam Hussein jokes ... but you can't make fun of, say, the concentration camps. I think my target was not so much evil, but benign stupidity people doing stupid things without realising or, instead, thinking they were doing good.
But in the new (math) approach, the important thing is to understand what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer.
You can't be satirical and not be offensive to somebody.
In my youth there were words you couldn't say in front of a girl; now you can't say 'girl.'
If I was your wife Sir, I'd poison you! Madam, if you were my wife, I'd let you!
How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?
Drown in a cold vat of whiskey? Death, where is thy sting?
I ain't no movie star, man. I'm a booty star.
i made myself a snowball As perfect as can be. I thought I'd keep it as a pet, And let it sleep with me. I made it some pajamas And a pillow for it's head. Then last night it ran away, But first - It wet the bed.
there was an assumption that I was personally attacking Sarah Palin by impersonating her on TV. No one ever said it was 'mean' when Chevy Chase played Gerald Ford falling down all the time. No one ever accused Dana Carvey or Darrell Hammond or Dan Aykroyd of 'going too far' in their political impressions. You see what I'm getting at here. I am not mean and Mrs. Palin is not fragile. To imply otherwise is a disservice to us both.
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