"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward."
Vonnegut has been through a lot, and for many veterans, having an optimistic outlook on life is the only means to put the horrors of war behind them. I quite admire Vonnegut and his courage- not many people can witness disfigured and tortured bodies and still see the bright side of life.
Through slaughter house 5, many events in Billy's life reflect this ideal. The Tralfamadorians hold on to the thought that dead people are only dead at a specific moment. They focus on the memories of when the person was alive.
Another concept this quote reminds me of is tolerance. If you choose to be tolerant instead of intolerant, then you're choosing to be content over disatisfied. The first example from the book that I can think of is probably Billy's marriage. There is, if any, a very, very shallow kind of love between he and his wife. Or rather, his wife (maybe?) loves him, but those feelings aren't reciprocated. In fact, I don't think Billy can reciprocate any feeling, let alone love. Anyway, this nonchalant indifference towards her physique (which Kurt describes as less-than-pleasant) has lead to a balance. Billy doesn't dwell on her shortcomings and so they have a stable marriage.
Living this way leaves you happy, so why not?
-ceci
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