It's not everyday you lose a hero.
This past Sunday, the world lost a true American patriot.
George Carlin, the man responsible for Joe Pesci worship, how to get more mileage out of your basic time-traveling telephone booth and the "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television," died this past Sunday at the age of 71.
Now, I won't begin to claim that Carlin meant anymore to me than, say, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Lewis Black or Chris Rock, just to name a few. Saying that I lost someone I loved as deeply as good old George is the same pretentious bullshit worthy of a nice "BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS!!" from the dearly departed himself.
If you're reading this blog, it means you have the technology to look up the man's work and figure out just why he's an inspiration to millions. I don't have time to Google your shit for you.
My first experience with George Carlin was as Rufus in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. This wasn't much exposure, I know. But after I saw that movie, from the moment he first sets strange things afoot at the Circle K, to his mind-bending guitar riff towards the end, I realized one simple fact:
Don't fuck with anyone named Rufus.
It all changed when my mom bought me a copy of Napalm and Silly Putty. It came out when I was 14, but for some strange reason, I wanted it to be the book that taught me how to read. His random thoughts had echoed mine so similarly up to that point. I, too, think white people killed the blues, but I didn't know if it made me unique or crazy.
Luckily, because Carlin said it first, it made me neither.
From then, the innocent devolution of my innocence remained in the hands of Carlin. Thinking about how badly we need him today, though, only makes his death that much more tragic. It came the Sunday after Sean Hannity promoted his new ad for his program Hannity's America: "The Greatest Nation on Earth."
It's in this festering example of "journalism" that makes Carlin's passing that much more tragic. Who else could deliver the correct kind of retort to that ignorant excuse of a pundit. Who else would take Hannity on? Well, everyone else. The stupid make for an easy target. Why do you think it's so easy to become a comedian right now? President Bush has given every newcomer years and years of material.
But even the most pious can find humor in whatever Carlin does. His mark, in my opinion, was cemented in his shortening of the Ten Commandments. We don't need ten. We never needed ten. His shortened three are three that everyone can live by:
"Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie."
"Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you."
"Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself."
Simple, honest, direct language. It was Carlin's mission in life, and that legacy lives on after his death. There are, and will be, a legion of millions who wish they were him, millions more who wished they were with him, and millions upon millions more who hope he is burning in Hell. And I'm a proud part of the latter group.
I just hope I'm condemned to Hell too. At least then I get to meet him.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment