Walden Forum Welcomes Political Humorist Jimmy Tingle

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Writer, stand-up comic, social and political humorist, commentator, actor and activist Jimmy Tingle will address the Walden Forum at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The Walden Forum is held at the First Parish Meeting House, at the intersection of Routes 20 and 27 in Wayland.

For 30 years Tingle has been writing, performing, booking, marketing, and producing his one-person comedy and theatrical shows for colleges, corporations, social groups, and audiences from America and Great Britain to Canada and Australia.

He is one of the top social and political humorists in America and will discuss his career and the fact that comedians can sometimes drive political debate. They are doing the job in ways that journalists cannot. He also will talk to us about his bid for the Presidency of the United States of America. It is no joke, or is it? With the crazy spin cycle of news today can humor and satire be our real source for the facts?

This will be a serious discussion about political humor today in Tingle’s unique and inimitable funny way. It’s about the importance of humor in politics today from his perspective. Are comedians today truly driving political debate?  Is it a sign of the times?  Are satire and laughter the only sane response to the ever-present spin from journalists who are fed info from our polarizing politicians?  Is there a reason to take comedians as seriously as we do news commentators today? Are they the only ones telling the truth? What does Tingle think about Stephen Colbert testifying in front of Congress and now running for president against him? Does he welcome the competition? Or Bill Maher serving as a one-man opposition against Christine O’Donnell or Jon Stewart hosting a pre-election rally on the Washington Mall and being noted by a Time magazine poll as “the most trusted man in news?”

These questions and more will be explored as Tingle moves ahead with his bid to be president of the United States. With all due concern for the seriousness of the issues confronting America and the world, Jimmy Tingle for President is The Funniest Campaign in History. We all need a little humor in or lives, so let’s join his Humor for Humanity Party. 

Tingle is one of the top social and political humorists in America. He has worked as a stand-up comic, writer, commentator, and actor for radio, television, and film. He created, wrote, edited and performed television essays for national broadcast on the 60 Minutes II News Magazine television show. He also has worked as a commentator and humorist for MSNBC, contributing to freewheeling discussions, commentaries, and debates with other “friends” of the show including Anne Coulter, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jonathan Alter, and Laura Ingraham.

Tingle’s OFF BROADWAY Theater won: “Best Alternative Theater,” Boston Magazine 2007. Best of Boston “Stand Up Comedy”: 2001 & 1986, Best Activist with a Funny Bone, Improper Bostonian, 2007 and Business Neighbor of the Year 2006. The list goes on with many, many more distinguished, professional, and personal achievements. Tingle has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, HBO, Comedy Central, Sir David Frost’s show, PBS and the BBC, The Late Show with Conan O’Brien, The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and Larry King Weekend. He earned a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School in 2010.