Sarcasm

Everyone has a few close friends where they can use sarcasm with each other and not think twice. Usually these are life long friends who get you and are very close to where their is never a question of intention. I was thinking today about that. I started to think about the other end of sarcasm that we use in our daily lives, at work, out in public, etc. and what that looked like. Why do we do it I thought. Why does sarcasm dominate so much of the culture that we live in. I think I have an answer, this kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. Sarcasm is a defense mechanism we use to protect ourselves or deflect something. Sarcasm has no benefit. period. Sarcasm is control of the situation that you find yourself in. When people are nervous or uncomfortable or self conscious.... etc. etc. sarcasm is used to cope with these things. So in the end sarcasm is selfishness. hmmmm. Ouch. I guess sarcasm is our defensive offense if that makes sense. Think about if every sarcastic comment that people make was replaced with genuine encouragement or silence. What would things look like then. How would that change our world, our voice, the people around us. I have decided to challenge myself and anyone who would like to join up to take five days and cut out the sarcasm, every time you go to be sarcastic make a notch on a piece of paper. After the five days are up, report back with how many you have. Let the experiment begin.