“Goooooooood morning, Vietnam! Hey, this is not a test! This is rock and roll! Time to rock it from the Delta to the D.M.Z.!”
August 15, 2014.
The world lost one of its greatest comedians this week. Sad, shocking and painful. But we cannot help but smile when we think of Robin Williams’ many brilliant performances – scripted or not – and that is how he will be remembered.
Both the real world Robin WIlliams (see below) and his role of comic genius in Good Morning Vietnamhelp illustrate how humor plays a central role in military life. He plays a disc jockey, Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer, with Armed Forces Radio in Saigon in 1965 and comes into conflict with his bosses Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk (funny because he thinks he is and is not) and Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson (who is not). They have no patience for Cronauer’s on-air anarchy (much of which is improvised by Williams) but are outranked by Brigadier General Taylor who is a fan of Cronauer’s from his days in Greece and understands Cronauer’s popularity with the troops for whom his comedy is a diversion from the danger of the jungle and the boredom of camp routine.
The humor ‘indoctrination’ starts on day one of military life. One of the funniest and quick-witted people I have ever met was our drill sergeant… “you call me ‘sir’ and I’ll call you ‘sir’, the only difference is…you mean it” and a thousand more lines where that one came from. As a farewell to one of our instructors at artillery school we ‘ambushed’ the senior staff in a pub parking lot dressed as Morris Dancers (I nearly took this bit out – image provided so you can see why). On our first posting as young lieutenants, a friend [the comedian] and I [the printer] published an ‘underground’ magazine; it crossed quite a few lines and did not give any quarter based on rank. We got away with it (sort of) because the humor was a welcome break from the frequent boredom of post-Iron-Curtain service in Germany. The list goes on…
Do you laugh enough at work?
Here are five reasons why humor is central to military life and should be more pervasive in workplaces around the world.
1. Humor Is Good For Your Health
Hunter “Patch” Adams, the physician portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie Patch Adams, uses laughter to treat his patients. Maybe not Robin Williams’ best film but still funny and also based on strong scientific research. In fact, gelotology is an entire branch of science that studies the psychological and physiological effects of humor and laughter on the brain and the immune system. It shows that laughter relaxes the body, relieving physical tension and stress; it boosts the immune system by decreasing stress hormones and increasing immune cells; it triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals and it protects the heart by improving the function of blood vessels.
2. Humor Helps Us Deal With Fear
Not only is laughter a good stress reliever but humor also helps us deal with fear. I witnessed many occasions where soldiers used humor (most not suitable for public consumption) during or soon after fearful situations. Humor works against fear by forcing a change in perspective. It is also interesting to note that the first form of human 'laughter' may have begun as a gesture of shared relief at the passing of danger. Sharing moments of high stress also strengthens the bonds between people and this trust also makes them more likely to laugh together.
5. Humor Helps Us Build Teams & Solve Problems
This ‘feedback loop’ is further strengthened because the areas of the brain stimulated by laughter also control activities like friendship, love and affection. So, the more you laugh together, the more you will like each other, enhancing teamwork and promoting group bonding. And the more you like (and trust) each other, the more you will laugh together. Laughter is indeed contagious. Furthermore, as we think of teamwork in problem solving there is more good news. Because humor stimulates both sides of the brain it enhances learning ability and reduces tension, a key enabler of creative thinking.
4. Humor Helps Us Survive
Because humor helps us reframe fearful situations and to bond with others it becomes a powerful survival mechanism even in the most extreme circumstances. Humor has been referenced by many survivors of the Holocaust, prisoner of war camps, torture and abuse. As Holocaust survivor Emil Fackenheim explained “we kept our morale through humor”.
Retired Sgt. 1st Class Michael Schlitz, a veteran who was burned over 85 percent of his body by an IED, tells a joke to paratroopers stationed at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. Part of Operation Proper Exit, Schlitz often uses humor to broach difficult subjects such as suicide prevention.
5. Humor Helps Leaders Lead
The worse the situation, the more leadership is needed. The same is true of humor. And the best leaders seem to recognize this; various studies have drawn correlations between executive success and the use of humor. And when the LA Times recently reported the death of Maj Gen Harold Greene, the highest ranking service member killed in the Afghan war, it did so with the following headline “Slain US Maj. Gen Harold Greene remembered for brilliance, humor”.
The Real ‘Adrian Cronauer’
There was a real Adrian Cronauer upon which Good Morning Vietnam was based – even if loosely. A great real life example of humor helping our military is in the work of the United Service Organizations which organizes entertainment for troops serving overseas. Robin Williams was devoted to the USO program, entertaining more than 89,000 service men and women in 13 countries over 12 years. Admiral Frank Thorp was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying “It’s an understatement to say he’s the Bob Hope of our generation..” he described Williams as “a breed apart. He was different, he always wanted to talk to the junior guys and entertain them and make them feel good.”
Maybe the title of this blog should be ‘What Robin Williams Taught Us About…The Importance of Humor’?
Mark Twain observed that “humor is mankind’s greatest blessing” which is one of the reasons that Robin Williams’ life was such a great blessing to the world.
Sit down with your friends and family this weekend to watch Good Morning Vietnam with the volume turned right up. Or better – watch it at work!
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Photo credits:
Morris dancers - Adam Woolfitt/CORBIS
Al Asad Air Base - Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod
Robin Williams in Kuwait in 2003 - Associated Press