George’s comedy specials helped raise me from a young age when no one else was doing any raising. I consider him to be one of the greatest minds, social commentators, and philosophers of the 20th century, and I’ve yet to recognize a contemporary near his level. I’ll always be grateful to have had the honor to see him twice before he died.
I see a lot of people enjoy his brilliant bits, but with the way the world is and where its going, imho in the name of enthusiastic greed, I personally find a lot of peace, and a lot less depression when I choose to aspire to George’s genuine divorce and detachment from “caring about the outcome.”
Enjoy the freakshow, folks!
Bonus: I’ve seen so many comments in his bit videos wishing for George’s perspective on smartphones, well this was near his end (2008), smartphones were just arriving, and his opening words briefly address in passing what he thought about the latest tech obsession.
still find it strange that he was a voice actor for Thomas the tank engine children’s tv show.
The fact that he was willing to do that on a regular basis seems to contradict his bitter fuck-everything cynicism about the world.
Fun fact, the UK version was voiced by Ringo Starr from The Beatles
Ringo Starr and George Carlin were also both The Conductor of Shining Time Station, which incorporated clips from Thomas the Tank Engine in its programming.
That was my only experience with Thomas at all when I was a kid.
I utterly adore humans for what they could be, I mean we have the capacity to reach for the stars, literally. But we never will cos in reality we’re just too dumb. Peaks are sublime, the average not so much.
If I may spend my two cents in this discussion I’d like to also propose Mr. Hicks as one of the true thinkers and philosopher of the last century. He had a lot in common with George from a social analysis standpoint and he also saw us humans as bi-faced entities capable of producing both the nastiest and the most beautiful acts while recognising that usually the lowest and most destructive instincts were the one guiding our choices.
As George did for you he also helped me forming my vision of the world and its current state of affairs while also making me laugh manically.
A huge thanks to both these men for helping some of us finding a way to navigate through this sensless journey, you’ll not be forgotten
I did too.
People always frown and say I’m being cynical or pessimistic whenever I tell them I’m a misanthrope. They assume I’m bitter and I irrationally hate my fellow human. Couldn’t be further from the truth. I actually like most people I meet. I just have a very low opinion of us as a species. If you look at the track record, I’m many of the most important aspects, it’s really abysmal. We have undoubtedly accomplished many great things, but we’ve also committed uncountable horrors—and both patterns will continue—but I’m not impressed in the final analysis. In fact, I’m pretty disgusted.
Anyone interested should briefly study individual psychology vs. group psychology. Specifically, why individuals are often better problem solvers than groups. There are reasons groups tend to make worse decisions overall than individuals. In a nutshell, it’s because the loudest voices prevail in groups, not the most intelligent, educated, insightful, etc. On a grand scale, that translates to those who want power the most are the ones who wind up in the positions that wield it. And this isn’t due to any social system or set of laws or constitution; it’s due to simple human psychology.
“Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.”
Where can I find this whole interview?
