In every healthy democracy one will find, in addition to lively discussion and a thriving press, lots of political satire. Political satire is a genre of written, oral, and graphic communication that pokes fun at politicians, political parties, and the activities of government. It is humor, but humor with a purpose; by exaggerating faults and foibles, the satirist hopes to provoke laughter while making a point. Leaders of governments and political parties often suffer most at the hands of the satirist, so it is wise for those who wish to make a career of politics to be able to laugh at themselves and take a joke. Like a forest without the sounds of birds, a democracy without the sights and sounds of political satire is a sign that something is amiss.

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