Success Quote by Arnold H. Glasow

A businessman calling laughter a "tranquilizer" is a tidy little act of corporate-era rebellion: he borrows the language of medication and workplace calm, then swaps in something unruly and free. The line works because it smuggles a critique inside a compliment. Tranquilizers are about compliance, smooth edges, fewer feelings. Laughter, by contrast, is a brief loss of control that still produces the outcome modern life demands: you can keep going.

The subtext is pragmatic, not mystical. Glasow isn’t selling laughter as enlightenment; he’s pitching it as a tool with a return on investment. In mid-century America, when stress began getting named, managed, and monetized, the promise of "no side effects" reads like a pitch deck: cheaper than pills, safer than booze, less messy than anger. It’s also willfully naive, and that’s part of the charm. Laughter does have side effects: it can puncture authority, expose absurdity, derail meetings, make solemn people look ridiculous. Calling it consequence-free is either a soothing fiction or a gentle wink.

Context matters: a businessman is presumed to value steadiness, productivity, and control. This quote legitimizes emotional release by reframing it as efficiency. You’re not being frivolous; you’re self-regulating. It’s stress management before wellness culture learned to sell us apps and supplements. The enduring appeal is its simple contraband logic: if the world insists you stay functional, at least choose a coping mechanism that restores you without dulling you.