MasterOfMagic's Journal: The End of an Era

I just heard some sad news on talk radio. George Carlin, the famous and controversial comedian, was found dead in a Santa Monica, California hospital this morning. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.

On the way to work today, I heard the news that George Carlin had died. As someone who spent a few years of his life trying his hand at stand-up comedy and utterly failing, I have a deep respect and an ever deeper admiration for the work and the person of George Carlin. It's hard being funny for other people, and it's even harder when you're on stage and they're in the audience. It's hard to make the connection that makes comedy work.

I learned two important things from George Carlin. First and foremost, I learned that the only true limits on speech are ones in your head. They may pass laws restricting what you can say. They may listen and transcribe the words you say, but if enough people are saying things that are outlawed, the government would never be able to round all of them up. If enough people said "fuck Bush" every time they picked up the phone, the people listening would have to suck it up and listen. The only person that can stop your free expression is you.

The second thing that I learned from George Carlin is that religion is a matter that is to be kept to yourself. While I was influenced by his reasons for why God doesn't exist (along with a well-timed philosophy course), one thing that his routines emphasized was that the beliefs of man were not rational, and thus, weren't fodder for reasoned, dispassionate debate. He might tell you that he believed in Joe Pesci or prayed to the Sun, but at the end of the day, we all knew that didn't matter. We took away the message that our religion may sustain us, but it is folly to assume that it will sustain everybody.

Thus ends the era of George Carlin. His legacy lives on in the comedians that have picked up his style and run with it. Comedy will never be the same. Thank you for showing the potential of human beings to be good and rational and illustrating the majority of the time when they are neither. Good night, sweet prince.