Thursday, June 26, 2008

George Carlin: I love people, I hate groups...

The death of comedian George Carlin came as a shock. Not because I knew him personally, but as a visceral reaction to the end of an era, the era of my childhood. I am a baby boomer, born in the 50's and coming of age in the 60's and 70's. Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll: that great cultural leap off of the cliff like a horde of burnt out lemmings. This was the age in which dogma was criticized and overthrown: mass protest brought the Vietnam War to an end, women's liberation, and civil rights stepped to the forefront of public consciousness. A vigilant media, tired of the lies of Richard Nixon, effectively brought his Presidency to an end. The state was staggered with body blows and sent reeling against the ropes.

George Carlin owed his livelihood to his unique ability in skewering the dogma of conventional wisdom on prime time in front of millions. We all knew what he was against, and as such he was one of us, a David throwing rocks at Goliath. As a man of little formal education, which is to say he did not have a PhD from an important school in an important discipline, Carlin was able for more than 40 years to identify the big lie and how it masquerades behind the mask of scientistic and legalistic façade. Dogma to Carlin was a dragon to be slain whenever and wherever it reared its noxious head. More...

See also: We'll miss you, George Calin!

And this: George Carlin is dead!!! Rest in peace, brother...

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