We The People Politics

It was one of my goals in life to see George Carlin live - and it appears it may be a long time before I get to see him…and I doubt it will be live. 

My first experience with George Carlin was in my high-school days, when I first picked up Napalm and Silly Putty.  Since that time, George Carlin became a personal icon, of sorts: I loved his ability to pick out the minor details of everyday life and explain them in a manner that made even the mundane hilarious. He was a fabulously cynical commentator on American society, and on the world as a whole - an inspiration to anyone who would reserve the right to drop the F-bomb at an appropriate, inappropriate, or anywhere-in-between time. 

The stark contrast of his life, ranging from the swearing cynic on stage to the quiet, affable narrator for the “Thomas the Tank Engine” series on PBS is what gave Carlin the intrigue he was known for. Well, that, and his penchant for stringing together a glorious parade of obscenities that even the saltiest of sailors would gasp upon hearing.   

Though most of his comedy was fairly edgy, Carlin had a great way of taking activities as mundane as driving, eating Rice Krispies, talking on the phone, etc., and making it all seem fascinating (and hysterical).  One of my personal favorites of his, dare I say “cleaner” work includes a comparison between the intense, brooding game of football and the light, friendly side of baseball:

In football, the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line. In baseball, the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I’ll be safe at home! (Read the entire comparison here)

One of Carlin’s most important contributions to history was in 1973, when WBAI-FM radio broadcast his now-famous bit, “Seven Dirty Words.” The broadcast was originally called obscene, and the ensuing case eventually went to the Supreme Court. The case was overturned, and the bit called “indecent, but not obscene” - a huge win for First Amendment protection. Carlin, in his typical George Carlin way, said “So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I’m perversely kind of proud of…In the context of that era, it was daring.” In case you were wondering what a George Carlin obituary was doing on a political opinion website - now you know.

Of course, not everyone was a Carlin fan. When I told my dad the news this morning, my father, in Dad’s similar, sarcastic way, responded, “Heart failure? Funny…I didn’t think he had one.”

I could easily ramble off his list of achievements (as CNN has done in their obituary), but I think he would protest - he was a simple man who really just wanted to make folks laugh, even if that meant being sardonic, scatalogical, morbid, indecent, and otherwise cantankerous. He was a comic genius that will surely be missed by his many fans.  It isn’t often that a person can positively impact the lives of a generation of Americans with nothing more than a characteristic sneer, a menagerie of four-letter words, and that touch of witty cynicism that led to America’s love/hate relationship with him. 

The train has finally left the station, with Mr. Conductor aboard. Farewell, George… and thank you for putting it all in perspective.