This week, the Foundation welcomed The Babylon Bee’s Seth Dillon to Atlanta for our annual Georgia Freedom Dinner. It was great to see so many friends and I appreciate everyone who joined us for a fun evening.
As the head of one of the largest satire sites in the country, Seth’s speech focused on how we handle truth, reality and reason – and why this is one of the biggest issues we face as a country.
Seth talked about being “fact-checked,” which is pretty ironic since The Bee does not hide the fact they are satire.
“Why are they coming after comedy?” he asked. “I thought they were just humorless. There’s an element of truth to that. But it’s much deeper than that. What they’re after is not comedy but the fact that comedy is a vehicle for truth delivery.”
He called comedians some of the best people at delivering a message, and said that is why they are targeted.
“If you wrap your message in the package of humor it’s more easily delivered and received. But if you’re worried about the truth getting out, or if you’re safeguarding the narrative at the expense of truth, who are you going to go after? It’s often the comedians that are making jokes that challenge the popular narrative. That’s what comedy does when it’s at its best.”
He talked about what’s going on in the world today, The Bee’s time in Twitter prison and reminded everyone that the goal of comedy should be to be funny and that we should not be afraid to ridicule bad ideas.
Watch Seth’s speech:
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Quotes of the Week
“The Babylon Bee has risen in the ranks. We’re actually the second most popular satire site in the world. Just behind CNN.com.” – Seth Dillon
“Don’t worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” – Robert Fulghum
“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
