George Carlin died this week. He was to be the recipient of the Mark Twain award for comedy, it's sad that he will not be here to enjoy the recognition of his comedy peers.
The news media showed clips of some of his comedy sketches. Of course, they alluded to his most famous sketch, the seven words you cannot say on television - not surprisingly, they didn't actually play THAT sketch. But what was ignored by ALL the media stories about Carlin was that he was an avowed atheist.
The subject of atheism is completely taboo in our culture; the news media will always play it safe and never mention the issue of non-religion ever. You see, in this country, although it is never OK to discriminate against others because of their race, gender or sexual orientation, it is perfectly fine to discriminate against Godless Heathens (aka: Atheists). After all, regardless of race, color or creed, everyone believe in God... don't they!?!
Actually, No -- A whole lot of us don't. And even though we may admire the man for his fame, we will overlook his shortcoming of being a non-believer. We will just pretend that we didn't know.
But I knew; and I admired him for it. Below is Carlin's "Religion is Bullshit" routine. There is nothing I can say here that isn't said more adroitly by Carlin himself. I'll shut up for now and let the man himself tell it like it is.
2 comments:
I've heard this skit at least a dozen times -- my kids are crazy about it. I'm not an atheist, but I admire anyone who expresses his own convictions honestly and succinctly. Carlin was a master of that, and he was SO funny. I'm betting his up there with the spirit of Joe Pesci, having the time of his life.
Have you ever seen the West Wing episode where the atheist Republican presidential candidate (played well by Alan Alda) is asked about his religious beliefs? It is one of my favorite scenes. I'll take honest atheists over pious hypocrites any old day.
Mary - The "West Wing" was one of the most intelligent programs ever committed to the airwaves. I miss it very much.
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