George Carlin's perspective on politics
As a child of the 1970s, I grew up listening to George Carlin. Furtively of course. He, along with Richard Pryor, was the original bad boy of comedy for me and my friends, who on occasion also endured bouts of gut-busting hilarity listening to Cheech & Chong.
But it was George Carlin who galvanized us when he cavalierly flouted the decency rules with his famous disquisition on the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He also made us bug-eyed as he spewed expletive-laden diatribes that would earn any of a us a stern lecture. We thought we had discovered a fellow rebel -- or, at least someone through whom we could vicariously live out our imagined rebelliousness.
Over the years, the novelty of Carlin's cursing wore off of course. And for me at least he receded into the cultural shadows, emerging every now and again. But every time he popped up on my radar, maybe in an HBO special or one of his movie roles, I was struck by how interesting the guy was. He wasn't going for cheap laughs. He was sifting through American culture, in all its complexity, to show us to ourselves. And whether you agreed with him or not, Carlin was engaged. As a friend said me to today, he was a comedic giant. And so we leave you with this video of him in concert. Enjoy.
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