American stand-up comedian (1937–2008)
George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author, singer, voice artist, and comedian, noted especially for his irreverent attitude and his observations on politics, language, psychology, and religion, as well as some taboo subjects.
From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Birth Name:
George Denis Patrick Carlin
Alternative Names:
George Dennis Carlin
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George Dennis Patrick Carlin
From Wikidata (CC0)
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much. We have multiplied out possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living but not a life. We've added years to life, not life to years.
Es la vieja doble moral estadounidense. Decir una cosa y hacer otra diferente. Y por supuesto este país fue fundado bajo una doble moral. Es parte de nuestra historia, es una doble moral muy básica: Un grupo dueño de esclavos que querían ser libres. ¿Estoy en lo cierto? Qué absurdo. Lo que hicieron fue matar a un montón de ingleses blancos, para seguir poseyendo a sus esclavos negros, para luego exterminar a los indios rojos, ir hacia el oeste para robarle territorio a los mexicanos marrones y finalmente tener un lugar de donde despegar, volar y lanzar bombas nucleares sobre los japoneses amarillos. ¿Saben cuál debería ser el lema de este país? '¡Danos un color y nosotros nos deshacemos de él!.
I recently heard the following sentence on CNN:
'Because of high winds, about two hundred and fifty thousand people in New England are without power.'
And I thought 'gee, when you think about it, about two hundred and seventy five million people in the United States are without power. They just aren't aware of it.
But as time passes and the evidence continues to accumulate, our hero suddenly changes direction and begins using public-relations jujitsu. He says, “We’re trying to get to the bottom of this.” We. Suddenly, he’s on the side of the law. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of this, so we can get the facts out to the American people.” Nice. The American people. Always try to throw them in; it makes it sound as if you actually care. As the stakes continue to rise, our hero now makes a subtle shift and says, “I’m willing to trust in the fairness of the American people.” Clearly, he’s trying to tell us something: that there may just be a little fire causing all the smoke. But notice he’s still at the I-have-nothing-to-hide stage. But then, slowly, “I’m willing to trust in the fairness of the American people” progresses to “There is no credible evidence,” and before long, we’re hearing the very telling, “No one has proven a thing.” Now, if things are on track in this drama, and the standard linguistic path of the guilty is being followed faithfully, “No one has proven a thing” will precede the stage when our hero begins to employ that particularly annoying technique: Ask-yourself-questions-and-then-answer-them: “Did I show poor judgment?
Keep in mind, the news media are not independent; they are a sort of bulletin board and public relations firm for the ruling class - the people who run things. Those who decide what news you will or will not hear are paid by, and tolerated purely at the whim of, those who hold economic power. If the parent corporation doesn't want you to know something, it won't be on the news. Period. Or, at the very least, it will be slanted to suit them, and then rarely followed up.
I had a left-wing, humanitarian, secular humanist, liberal inclination on the one hand, which implied positions on myriad issues.
On the other I had prejudices and angers and hatreds toward various classes of people. None of which included skin colour or ethnicity or religion.
Well — religion, yes. I used to get angry at blue-collar right-wingers, but that passed, because I saw that in the end, they were just a different sort of victim.