Editor totally loves George Carlin

By Joseph Gauger
Collegian Editor
April 9, 2008

“Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re going to get selfish, ignorant leaders.” That is George Carlin’s assessment of the American political system.

For decades Carlin has built his comedic oeuvre on acerbic criticism of America’s values and institutions, interspersed with a steady torrent of obscenity. There is no limit to his acrimony, which has won him a prominent place in American pop culture and brought him to the Supreme Court on obscenity charges.

Try as I might, I usually can’t muster the nihilistic level of cynicism Carlin has maintained since the ’60s. I would be one of the last to defend the status quo in America, but I cannot help but retain some hope that things can change for the better. Many of his criticisms are compelling, including that famous “Seven Dirty Words” routine that generated the Supreme Court case and his continuous vitriol toward religion. His repertoire is also populated by a plethora of gross-out jokes about bodily functions, included in his shows for pure shock value. At times the distinction between the comic’s unorthodox but serious suggestions and his absurdist gags is less than clear, but his take on the futility of political involvement is the only definitively serious idea he puts forward that I don’t agree with. Perhaps that is a last splinter of naiveté which a bigger man would be able to jettison, but I cannot abandon the belief that an informed and dedicated citizen could bring about real change.

Having spent so many years as a countercultural icon, Carlin has carved a fascinating niche for himself. Among his fans, only a small number can be as disillusioned as he is, and some are rather domestic. This leads to a number of uncomfortable moments in which he eviscerates some aspect of American culture a listener happens to be invested in. Some fans of Carlin have children, or believe in God, or vote in elections. A single ideological difference would be trivial for most comics, but Carlin’s comedy is based on a fairly sophisticated worldview. There is real depth in his understanding of the American system, and he condemns it in toto. Really, all of us who approve of one or more of the things Carlin decries have to practice double think. We laugh, but at the same time we are forced to make silent excuses and explain to ourselves why Carlin is wrong just this once.

I account for my personal exception to Carlin’s universal invective by reasoning that political participation is not necessarily a mode of investing in the system. On the contrary, the powers that be couldn’t hope for a better wedge than well-informed but jaded people like Carlin. Disillusioned Americans identify with him, and he siphons their energy and indignation into other pursuits. By arguing that nothing can change, Carlin helps to reinforce the culture and political structure he despises.

There are a myriad of problems which are impossible or near impossible to solve. Ignorance and political apathy are not two such problems. Resigned as Carlin is to the immutability of mankind, the admittedly meager chance for reform is squandered. I might be consigning myself to eternal frustration, but I am not prepared to squander that opportunity. s.

gaugerj1@lasalle.edu