My Thoughts on April Fool's Day

I can just hear you all gasping in the background. "Oh no! She's departed from her normal pattern! What shall we do!?" Let's just say that sometimes it's good to break out somewhere new. I enjoy reading and hearing about April Fool's Day pranks. Like the time Burger King advertised burgers with everything rotated 90 degrees to the left~for left-handed people. Or the time when the Prime Minister of New Zealand announced that cell-phones were banned. And we mustn't forget the time that the leaning tower of Pisa fell over. And my personal favorite-the one that happened to my mom-one of her friends crookedly taped her window with masking tape and left a note saying 'Sorry I broke your window. Will be back later to replace.' The window was not broken. In spite of enjoying all these however, there has always lingered doubt in the back of my mind. It has kept me from playing one myself. Here's my question: Does April Fool's Day promote good, or bad? I have been forced to admit that it is nothing good. All AFD jokes that I have ever heard of find their basis in deceit and lying. Playing pranks that are specifically intended to fool somebody into believing an un-truth makes the victim look like a fool. And, since most of the time, the pranks are just foolish anyway, it really makes the prankster look like a fool as well. The day is well-named. The really sad thing is that such a day is so widely spread that even prime-ministers and respectable companies and people condone and join in this promotion of deceit; even Christians. Someday, if I ever think of a prank that isn't any of these, you might find me playing it. But until then, don't expect it. In my opinion, it's just plain foolish. Here's a little history beginning with something that is just as sad as that other sad thing I mentioned. You see, the first recorded association with April 1st and foolishness is as early as 1392, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Here's something that's not quite so sad. In fact, it's a little funny. The Royal Airforce, (U.K.) was founded on April 1st, 1918. And yes, the U.K. does celebrate April Fool's Day on that day.