The U.S. elections are taking place in a few days and beyond encouraging everyone who is eligible to vote, I’m urging you to find a way to laugh.

That might seem like a “funny” thing to say when it probably feels like there's so much at stake. But laughter lets some light in amongst the dark, unhelpful thoughts. There’s a reason why humor is defined as a state of mind. Don't forget, your thoughts won’t change the election results!

Humor can also offer a fresh perspective on difficult topics that might be otherwise difficult or taboo to discuss.

For example, some of my favorite comedic bits are ones that highlight the struggles of parenting, which we are culturally supposed to pretend is joyful and fulfilling 100% of the time.

I made my whole family watch Leanne Morgan’s When You Have a Mean Baby. Quoting from the show gives me a lighthearted way of letting my family know when they are asking too much of me and I need some s p a c e. Told any other way, they’d get their feelings hurt. This way, we all laugh.

See, not just funny, but helpful. I've got you, girlfriend.

Then there’s Nate Bargatze’s Saturday Night Live skit called Washington’s Dream about America’s bizarre implementation of weights and measures. It’s not just good science humor, which is obviously the best kind of humor there is, but a commentary on what freedom means and the consequences (and capriciousness) of our choices.

Okay, maybe that counts as political humor. But it’s political humor that speaks across ideological lines. We need more of those kinds of conversations, even if we aren’t conscious of the depth of the topics we're touching on. In this way, we might see that we agree with each other more than we think.

If you’re still searching for something to catch your funny bone, then try this short video, which I personally would title “If kittens were tasks on a to-do list.” It sounds good at first but then… well, all you can do is laugh. I know I did.

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Note: All of these videos are safe for work.