State-sponsored laughter scheduled for Monday. Seriously

In case you missed it, tomorrow (Monday) is Laugh Out Loud Day in Iowa.

April 2 has been proclaimed as such by the Iowa Department of Public Health and Gov. Terry Branstad's Healthiest State Initiative. And now, please stand by for an official explanation from the Ministry of Chuckles.

“In many ways, laughter really is the best medicine,” said IDPH Director, Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, in a news release. “Science shows us that laughter is an excellent tool in building overall health. Laugh Out Loud (LOL) Day is a way to spotlight the importance of emotional fitness in health.”

A capital idea. Couldn't agree more. I certainly enjoy a good laugh. This column has made people laugh many times over the years. It was intentional a couple of times.

But this comic communique from the highest reaches of our bureaucracy raises a few questions. First, is this some sort of individual mandate? Will there be a tax penalty for failing to guffaw? Will laugh cameras be used to catch the unlawfully grim? I've heard rumors of police with tickle Tasers. Can't confirm.

And LOL on a Monday? Please. Mondays are better suited to point out the health benefits of a good cry.

Also, is this really coming from the Department of Public Health - an agency that spends the rest of the year scaring the heck out of us with warnings of dreaded diseases and perilous pathogens? The same outfit that plans for death-dealing pandemics is now telling us to slap on a rubber nose and take a pie in the face? Yes, so long as the nose has been sanitized in an antibacterial solution and the pie is properly heated to 165 degrees.

And you've had a flu shot. Thousands die every year, ya know. Zing!

Still good advice is good advice, no matter the source. And boy could we use a good laugh, especially around these parts. Maybe there's been hearty local laughter I've missed. Tough to hear it over all the ax-grinding.

It's not just us, of course. Scowling, sneering and brow-furrowing have become national pastimes. I've seen some scowls in recent weeks on cable news that I'm absolutely certain are performance-enhanced. I call for expanded testing. Polls show that we're in no mood to be polled.

So perhaps our seltzer-shooting, floppy-shoed bureauclowns are on to something. Maybe we could take Monday as a day to not only laugh out loud but to let stuff go, put our various outrages and discontents on hold. Unclench our fists and take a deep breath. Accentuate the positive, as the old song says.

Maybe, by Tuesday, we'll have forgotten what we were so mad about. Oh, that's a good one. LOL.