trending back towards the trivial
(that is, if you consider someone dying trivial)


"i could listen to george carlin for an hour and it would make me happy for a week." (hey! like a good worship service. mmm. a good worship service.)

there were many positive things said about george carlin in the wake of his passing yesterday. comedians loved the man. considered him a god of their craft. and there is no better judge of the way that someone lived their life than the regard that is bestowed (or not) upon them by their peers. carlin considered himself detached from the rest of the human race. the better for him to look at us with a finely tuned eye and skewer most of the things that we hold dear. race, religion, politics, sports. nothing was taboo. no subject was too sensitive to tackle. at his best, he was the voice inside all of our heads saying all of the things that we are too scared to say ourselves. at his worst, at least he was still trying.

there aren't many outlets in life that allow a person to be brutally honest, no matter the weather. and that's a shame. it's a shame that what set carlin apart from the rest of the world was that, while on stage, he let it all hang out. his inner monologue was on full, profane display for all of us to hear and see. and what did we do in the face of all this, this...honesty? we laughed. we laughed because we could and can pretend that he was talking about everyone but us and we knew what he was saying was spot-on. either we laughed or we "acted" like we were offended because he cussed a lot. "what right does he have to say that?" "you don't know me."

yeah, whatever.

in my life, there are things that make sense and there are things that don't. no big revelation there. i am the same as everyone else. one of the things that doesn't make sense anymore, though, is how, for the most part, we are so unwilling to make efforts at being self-aware. how we are so unwilling to be honest with each other. sure, it might sting initially, but wouldn't it be worth it? i am not looking down at anyone. i am looking in the mirror.

this lack of honesty. this lack of awareness. this "you people are too stupid to realize i am making fun of you" was george carlin's schtick. and it was funny.

and it's also pretty sad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YphEUa5LPjM

thanks for making me laugh and think, george