Ridicule is a lot easier than comedy - and it takes a lot less talent. Comedy takes an appreciation of life, a modicum of wit and a certain amount of love of one's fellow man. Ridicule is easy and cheap. It's a blunt instrument that clubs large unmoving targets. The fact that comedy is dead and that ridicule sits grinning on its throne is symptomatic of the age.
Life is absurd.
Everything is ridiculous. Nothing is important. There was another standup comedian in LA who used to say that today's best job is to be a psychiatrist and the second best job is probably to be a divorce lawyer. It's not surprising when nothing is important. The opposite of happiness is not unhappiness, it's apathy.