The case for April fools’ month

This 1st of April you might be told about an unexpected house party to be thrown by a friend, or some one may actually take money from you in the name of a loan. Perhaps you will chance upon a harshly satirical article masquerading as real news in your local daily or online.Or your friend might proclaim she just won a fully-furnished house in one of those mobile phone company promos. Sadly, these snippets of real-life madness are becoming all too obvious and predictable as the once-beloved day for “fools” steadily slips into mediocrity.April Fools’ Day? It has simply outlived its usefulness, as it relies increasingly on “safe”, or politically-correct, good-natured pranks that seem harmless even by the Pope’s standards.The concept of a single day of foolishness is in itself limiting, since everyone knows the day is coming and can easily anticipate being tricked.Most importantly, the holiday sends the wrong message to society by teaching people to be skeptical and have a light-hearted sense of humour about things.What this day ought to be teaching us instead, is to fear human intentions and creativity, and preserve a measure of distrust for everybody in your circle.So, why not have an April Fools’ Month instead? The holiday lasts all month (plus/minus), with its actual end date vaguely defined so as to maximize impact and rid it of predictability. All kinds of pranks, gags, and tricks should be welcome. Creativity should be key in the way we approach the fools’ month. If you can exploit and expose your victim’s deepest phobias, the better.I’ll list a few humble suggestions to get the ball rolling. If you are married, you could stage manage a break up with your spouse, and spread the news among your peers. Make it appear real, by making it involve things like yelling, and death threats. This should carry on for the entire month of “April Fools.”If you’re an employer, you could tell your workers they have all passed their performance quotas with flying colors, only to brutally fire them in front of everyone the next day.April Fools’ Month would be perfect for announcing to the neighborhood kids that the Santa Claus who fed them sweets over Christmas is a lie perpetuated by parents and the toy-making industry. If you are daring enough, deceive them into thinking that all adults lead stressed, depressed lives slaving away in back-breaking jobs before dying alone.Since April Fools’ Day is mostly an inter-personal affair among friends and family, April Fools’ Month would have to be conducted via mass media.It would be nice to see top company CEOs go on record in media and pledge to donate their month’s worth of earnings to charity, only to come back the following day with “I was just kidding” messages.The time for April Fools’ Month is now!