Some classic American humor from the 1920s and early 30s is featured in today’s #stampoftheday, which aims to provide a temporary respite for those of us who’ve had an exhausting night, a tension-filled day, and an unsettled but hopeful evening. The humor comes courtesy of Will Rogers, a famed stage and film actor, humorist, newspaper columnist, social commentator, cowboy and vaudeville performer who died in a plane crash in 1935. Rogers was memorialized on a 3-cent stamp, issued on November 4, 1949, which would have been his 70th birthday.

At the time of his death Rogers was one of America’s best known and most beloved figures. His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted and many stand the test of time. He was famous, for example, for saying “I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat.”

He seems particularly timely today, because in 1928, he mounted a mock campaign for president, running as the “bunk-less candidate” of the Anti-Bunk Party. Here are some of the things he said during the campaign, which was conducted entirely through the pages of a weekly humor magazine.

• Asked “what issues would motivate voters?” he responded: “Prohibition: “What’s on your hip is bound to be on your mind”
• Asked if there should be presidential debates? Answer: “Yes: “Joint debate-in any joint you name.”
• Asked “what does the farmer need?” Answer: “Obvious: “He needs a punch in the jaw if he believes that either of the parties cares a damn about him after the election.”
• Asked if voters can be fooled, he responded, “Darn tootin’: “Of all the bunk handed out during a campaign the biggest one of all is to try and compliment the knowledge of the voter.”
• What about a candidate’s image? Answer: “Ballyhoo: I hope there is some sane people who will appreciate dignity and not showmanship in their choice for the presidency.”
• And asked what to make of ugly campaign rumors, he responded “Don’t worry: “The things they whisper aren’t as bad as what they say out loud.”

And, for what it’s worth, on election day he declared victory and resigned.

Rogers also was known for his humorous but wise aphorisms. These include such timeless nuggets as:

• “Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.”
• “Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
• “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” (I’ve always referred to this as “the first rule of holes.”)
• “Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.” (My version of this has always been: “good judgement comes from wisdom; wisdom comes from experience; and experience comes from bad judgement.”)
• “There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading; the few who learn by observation; the rest of them have to touch an electric fence.”
• “If you’re riding’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.”

He was known as well for some of his lengthier observations. Here’s one that is oddly timely: “It just looks like everything is doing fine but humans. Animals are having a great year, grass was never higher, flowers were never more in bloom, trees are throwing out an abundance of shade for us to loaf under. Everything the Lord has a hand in is going great, but the minute you notice anything that is in any way under the supervision of man, why it’s ‘cockeyed.”

One of Rogers most famous sayings, which appears on today’s stamp, was “I never met a man I didn’t like.” Building on that tag line, he once said: “When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: ‘I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.’ I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.”
I know many of these lines are hokey, but I hope at least one or two made you smile. I know enjoyed more than a few of them, which was nice on this strange and unsettled day.

Be well, stay safe, fight for justice, never miss a good chance to shut up, and work for peace.