Sarcasm and Irony

We all despise sarcasm. Well, OK, maybe not all of us. And maybe despise is a strong word.
Most of us don't like sarcasm. But children do not understand sarcasm or irony in conversation. They take what you say at face value. So, to protect them from misinterpreting a sarcastic comment as the literal truth, we have to educate them in the ways of sarcasm. Otherwise they're going to be in big trouble when they get older. And yet none of us like to be on the receiving end of sarcasm.

I watched the Invention of Lying on the plane the other day - I had no headphones - too tight to buy some, so I tried to lip-read it. Only partially successful - but I think I got the gist.

But that led me to think about lying, and sarcasm - which is lying but in a heavily accented form designed to make you aware that the person is lying. So if it's that obvious - why do we do it? Why use sarcasm at all? I use sarcasm when someone asks me what, to me, is a stupid question. You walk in, soaking wet, and they say "Oh, is it raining?" "Nooo, my shower at home only runs cold so I wore my clothes to keep warm."

No, it's not funny. We want sarcasm to be funny - but usually it's just irritating.

So, I'm starting a campaign to stop sarcasm. Wouldn't that be ironic?