A Word About George Carlin

Many people have written about George Carlin and his place in history. I want to add just a few words from a fan. I had never met Mr. Carlin but like many people I did appreciate what he was doing in his life and what he did for the rest of us by making us more aware of some of the little things in our everyday life that effect the world around us. I first noticed his comedy on television when he played a hippy that was in some other world. This humor was about what was starting to become a major part of our culture. It was disguised to a point were it could be seen as a part of the everyday comedy then shown on television. I will remind you that during this period of time, television was almost its own universe with married people sleeping in twin beds and comedy shows that ignored what was going on in the real world. The hippy – dippy weather man character was a version of what our society had become and what would be the more normal in latter years. Carlin became the symbol of a whole group that latter became the basis of the anti-society groups that among other things fought for the end to the Viet Nam war.
As a comedian Carlin was good but when he changed his performances to show the philosopher that was his real inner self he became the mirror of our society. He was able to show that our use of language was one of the major signs that our society has become less able to stay above the dribble that most people want us to believe is a normal world. He showed us that the words that we use are important and that the way we say things are just as important as what we say. Go on the inter-net and you will find that his use of language was his way of showing us what we need to be as aware of our surroundings and what we do as what is going on around us. We should try to quietly try to do those things that will make the world better for all of us.