It’s a longstanding assumption that Germans are the most humorless people on earth, and a new criminal prosecution proves why.

On the heels of the Ralphie May controversy, comes the news that a comic in Germany is facing criminal charges for making fun of the Turkish President:

Germany will allow the potential prosecution of a top comedian after the Turkish president filed a complaint.

Jan Boehmermann had recited a satirical poem on television which made sexual references to Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Under German law, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government had to approve a criminal inquiry.  (full story)

The law is been on the books for 145 years, which likely contributes to the stereotype of the humorless Germans. As the joke goes:

“How many Germans does it take to change a light bulb?”

“One. We are efficient and don’t have humour.“

But this isn’t unique on the world stage. A comedian in Canada was recently brought before a tribunal for making an offensive joke. Canada also fined another comedian $15,000 back in 2013, for offending a lesbian heckler. (Fortunately the fine was in Canadian dollars.)

The First Amendment is unique to America. Nowhere else in the world is Government forbidden from infringing on free speech. Because of this exceptional clause, we have cornered the market on satire.

Subsequently satire has efficiently preserved Liberty throughout our 240 year history. It’s impossible to have a dictator when you can laugh at your leaders. (If North Korea allowed comedy, people there would be doubled over by now.)

However some Americans are still at work trying to get us to catch up with the rest of the world. They are organizing protests shutting down shows, and convincing others that jokes should be prosecuted as hate crimes.

As a free people, we must stand up to this.