Comedy? or Tragedy?

I hope that Louis CK is aware that he is a comedian satirizing serious issues rather than an analyst engaging in a serious discussion of the economic catastrophe and associated social turmoil we're currently dealing with. I couldn't tell from his demeanor whether he knows he's the former or thinks he's the latter.

His satire works this way: he discusses trivial matters, such as the awkwardness of using the old rotary phones, or the fact that old-time banking, in the days before ATM's and debit cards was inconvenient and time-consuming, as if these things possessed the same sort of gravity and consequence as last week's 635 thousand-plus new jobless claims, or the fact that the most common cause of bankruptcy in this country today is medical bills that render families insolvent.

If he knows he's a comedian making light of a serious situation, I applaud his talent, since he's very convincing. He really has a great delivery -- provided he actually knows what he's doing.

But if he thinks for one second that he's making a serious argument, then I have to worry for his sanity, because in that case the intellectual dishonesty and disconnect from reality are both truly staggering.