From what I recall, Abe Lincoln would start every cabinet meeting with a joke.  When asked about it he said if he didn't laugh he'd cry. 

It goes to show the humanity Sigler puts into the characters.  If the moment got to them too much the readers / listeners would scoff (like in teen horror movies), but that element makes one relate to the character and want to be that way in the situation.  The fact that it is fiction helps to pull it off without it being crass and ease the tension in the story a bit.

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Life's a bitch, wear a helmet!