Truth be told, I largely missed the Era of Andrew Breitbart. I wasn’t very trusting of the Internet (understandably) and my political beliefs were still in development while Breitbart was doing what he did best. In going back and looking at his life, however, there is a trait he possessed that is remembered as fondly as his staunch conservatism. He was known by all as a “happy warrior.”

The happy warrior is someone who, no matter how bleak the world around them looks, marches into battle, headfirst, with a grin and a sense of humor. Politically, we can be offended as all hell at the drop of a hat, but rarely these days do we seem to possess a smile as we fight for the things we believe in – speech, religious liberty, smaller government, fiscal responsibility, etc..

We’ve lost that mentality that Breitbart tried so hard to inject into the movement. Social media, as amazing as it is in terms of keeping us connected, inundates us even more than cable news does with the negative, the vile, and the downright impossible to comprehend, let alone be okay with. The result of this is an atmosphere that reeks of hostility and little tolerance of any attempts at humor.

But, dear readers, this is exactly the type of environment in which the enemy thrives. In a screaming match, the victims always win, and those who constantly play the victim card will always be considered the victims. In ideas, we win. In anger and bitterness, we lose. Mostly because the Left is always more angry and more bitter.

We, however, can’t let ourselves be brought down to that level. I’m a big advocate of the use of humor in political discourse (intelligent humor, mind you). If we can be witty and charming, then it becomes that much harder for the other side to look like anything but a whiny snot with no capability of feeling joy. If we can keep a smile on our face as the mud (at least, I hope it’s mud) flies, then we can’t ever be truly defeated.

Part of it comes from the fact that so many people make politics what they do all day, every day. Even professional pundits, politicians, consultants, and others have to turn it off from time to time, lest they feel completely consumed by it and it no longer becomes fun for them. Probably 90% of the things I tweet are political, but that other 10% is vastly more important to me because it keeps me grounded. The most miserable existence would have to be the existence that does nothing but feed off nothing but politics day in and day out. There is nothing fun about that, and there needs to be a little fun in what we do or else we are very likely to lose our minds. That’s no fun at all.

I may not respond, but I always read the comments to my posts. I’ll often read a good chunk of the comments on other posts here at RedState, too. And, I’ll be frank, some of y’all need a little happiness in your lives. I’m not saying don’t take the very real and very dangerous issues in our country seriously, but I am saying that some folks might be better off logging out for a while and talking a walk in the park to clear their heads.

Wear your smiles as you go into battle, guys. It’ll do you a world of good.