"Comity"/"Comedy"

       Al Franken made his reputation with comedy before election to U.S. Senator.  In the December 2, 2010 New Republic a photo caption:  "Franken is an unlikely devotee of the rituals of senatorial comity."

       The sonic chime struck:  comedy/comity.  The article said Franken seeks to be a Ted Kennedy, a master of working across the aisle.  He wants progressive measures but to be institutional,  recognizing the honor he shares equally with senators of other stripes.  The article noted he had two or three personal joshing relationships with conservative colleagues already in his first year.

       "Comity" means civility, an atmosphere of social harmony, derives from Latin comitas, "courtesy."  The Indo-European roots are "smiling together with."

       Maybe Franken's "comedy" is not far from his "comity," especially when we remember that comedy is the great leveler.