Apologetics on the Seriousness of Silliness:

(If you read this post, not only will you “get” the title, but I will reward you with something extra silly at the end. I’m chortling thinking about it!)

We need to have a serious talk about our collective scorn for silliness. It seems like it’s even being nudged out of childhood, which is really silly! And really serious. Because it’s getting worse.

Is there room for lowly silliness in our collective value system? No?? I KNOW, I KNOW–– WE ARE BUSY GRINDING, MONETIZING, OPTIMIZING, AND THE KIDS ARE BUSY EXCELLING  –– so, get outta here with that silliness.

Wait… about that silliness, though … it’s bubbly, poofy thing, it’s light, it’s goofy… and admit it, it makes the corners of your mouth… twitch a little…upward?? Also, it really doesn’t take much care and feeding, it just needs a bit of space, …sooo, maybe we shouldn’t let it go? Not in the interests of a picture book world, anyway?

At an SCBWI conference, children’s and YA author Laurie Halse Anderson called on the audience to “respect the sanctity of silliness.”

Whoa! She just elevated silliness from mere frivolity, zoomed past something to be tolerated, and plopped it right into the realm of THE most high! The MOST high.  “Respect the sanctity of silliness.” Let’s break that down.

Respect, to think highly of,

the sanctity, the state or quality of being holy or sacred in a sentence with…

(insert a record-scratch noise here)…

SiLliNesS. ??

Yes, she did.

And since the words sacred and holy have entered the conversation, here’s my (short) sermon on silliness.

• Silliness –– sometimes called play –– is integral to childhood. As in necessary. Up there with food, water, love, etc. And, hold your hats, it may be integral to being human (yup, that includes us).

• Silliness often goes hand in hand with imagination, humor, openness, and happiness. I feel like we could do with more of those qualities in the collective. Amen?

• Here’s one for the monetizing crowd … you’ll love this … silly ideas, (which come from being silly, like big muscles come from lifting heavy things) can sometimes turn into… The Next Big Thing! Not all silly ideas turn into The Next Big Thing, but almost all of The Big Things start out as silly ideas. So wouldn’t it be sad to have flaccid silliness muscles? Or worse, doom our kids to them?

And for the subtly subversive: a touch of silliness, humor, a lightness of being, is a stealth strength –– a hint of non-conformity, a smug little la-la-la, at systems that seem intent on taking your joy. In the spirit of silliness, let’s drive them a little bananas.

So!

Can we keep silliness for the children? It’s good, right?

Annnnd, we can’t teach what we don’t know, so I guess, it’s our obligation, our duty to model some silliness to the children…to take this silliness seriously. Maybe we can even, “respect the sanctity of silliness?”

Can I get an amen?

AND HERE IS YOUR REWARD!! TA-DA!

Behold my friend James Burks! He’s the author/illustrator of Agent 9, and the Bird and Squirrel series, and many other books. As you can see, he’s a True Believer in the Sanctity of Silliness! Yes, he’s wearing a Barney Fife shirt, and that is his original Barney Fife painting (Don Knotts has to be the patron saint of silliness)! James is showing us how it’s DONE! Thanks, James!!!

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