A "foole" for language
As the writer of a blog that aims for humorous social commentary, George Carlin is almost like a patron saint - and news of his death Sunday hits hard.For all of the laughter Carlin evoked from myself and millions of fans, I've always been struck with his incisive takes on the English language. (One of my favorites is a routine about phrases heard only in the airline industry: " 'Get on the plane! Get on the plane!' F--- you, I'm getting in the plane! Let Evel Knievel get on the plane.")
But Carlin also saw evil intent in the way corporate and government interests abused language. As he put it, "Smug, greedy, well-fed white people have invented a language to conceal their sins."
One of his best takes was about the evolution of euphemisms for the condition "when a fighting person's nervous system has been stressed to its absolute peak."
In World War I, this was called "shell shock," a direct and easily understandable term. "Simple, honest, direct language," Carlin said. "Almost sounds like the guns themselves."
But over time, "shell shock" gave way to "battle fatigue," then "operational exhaustion," then "post-traumatic stress disorder," "and the pain is completely buried under jargon," Carlin said. "I'll bet you if we'd have still been calling it 'shell shock,' some of those Vietnam veterans might have gotten the attention they needed at the time."
Goodbye, George. Those of us who love your comedy will continue fighting the good fight.
(Photo: HBO)
posted by Sean P. Means @ 9:04 AM |
3 Comments:
I always liked the open and direct way george talked since my brother got the first record at an underground store. No one can ever replace a man who made me and so many laugh as he opened our eyes to his own brand of humor. Another great entertainer leaves us behind with memories of the past.
As we were getting out of bed this morning, my wife leaned over and kissed me and said “I want to offer my condolences. Last night, I found out that George Carlin died.” In my half-awake trance, I muttered “Oh no.” For a man I never actually spoke one on one with, the news of his death hit me because of the impact he made on my life and my journey out of Mormonism.
To many, he was hated as a foul-mouthed man who talked about sex, religion, material idolatry, greed, hypocrisy, corruption, and publicly scrutinized that which politicians, religionists, and many conservatives preferred to keep “hush hush”. These were the same reasons I truly admired him and loved listening to the guy.
His ability to freely speak his mind, allowed me to open up mine. I was able to question ideas and beliefs that I once considered immoral, as nothing more than close-minded concepts created and used by power-hungry and controlling people to manipulate others into getting what they want. This November in Washington (the epicenter of power in this country), he was scheduled to receive the 2008 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, given by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It makes me smile to read that he was to receive an award named in honor of a man who caused ripples in his own time.
One of his quotes that I read in an AP article this morning was:
"The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things - bad language and whatever - it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition." “There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. ... It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have." - 2004 AP interview.
He also said something I recognize as former Mormon:
“I credit that eight years of grammar school with nourishing me in a direction where I could trust myself and trust my instincts. They gave me the tools to reject my faith. They taught me to question and think for myself and to believe in my instincts to such an extent that I just said, 'This is a wonderful fairy tale they have going here, but it's not for me.' [George Carlin, in the _New York Times_ 20 August 1995, pg. 17.]
I loved George Carlin as well. As a faithful Mormon I didn't have a problem with his rantings on religion because I never considered myself to be in a traditional religion that teaches that our bodies are evil or that we are subjecting ourselves to mind control and fairy tales. He did a service in pointing out many of the hipocracies of religion and the evil people who use religion to further their personal agendas and yearnings for power over others. He did take the some of the sacred meaning out of dirty words (as they became more commonplace). Unless those words are kept taboo then his bit wouldn't have been funny at all. He was a great comedian with some good insights.
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