Remembering George Carlin

As of yesterday, June 22nd, 2020, the world has gone without hearing from one of its most important voices for 12 years. George Carlin, famed comedian, social critic, and philosopher died on that date in 2008, he was 71 years old.

It’s hard to fathom anyone who’s not familiar with his work but I’m sure within the younger generations you’ll run into people who either haven’t heard of George Carlin or only know his name (and voice) from his time on the children’s series, Thomas & Friends. Considering how long ago Carlin began his illustrious career and how long it lasted, this would be reasonable. It’s up to the rest of us to change that, however.

I first became aware of George Carlin in the mid 1980s (I’m 47) and was never the same since. Every once in a while you’ll hear a piece of music, read a book, see a film, or hear someone speak and a lightbulb goes off. It hits you in a place you didn’t know you’d had, but it makes more sense to you than just about anything had before. In the case of Carlin, it wasn’t a lightbulb as much as it was a fucking explosion.

The first time I remember seeing a George Carlin stand-up was “Carlin on Campus”. I was just about to turn 11 years old when it came out so I’m pretty sure I didn’t see it when it was first released. I was already a fan of Eddie Murphy and Saturday Night Live at this time however and I had heard of and had seen several comedians by this time. George Carlin’s name was always associated with SNL because he was the shows first-ever host. I saw Eddie Murphy’s “Raw” live at Madison Square Garden in 1987. After that, I couldn’t get enough of stand-up comedians and my true discovery of George Carlin began.

With skits like “A Place for My Stuff” and “Baseball vs. Football” I started to notice that beyond its humor, there was a deeper message Carlin was getting at. These observations were really smart and hinted at the disdain for the human condition, especially in common situations where groupthink was the driving force behind how people acted. Carlin would become even more disturbed by people’s actions in later specials, specifically, “What Am I Doing in New Jersey” which is the next one I remember seeing. It was clear to me that bits such as “People I Can Do Without”, “Church People”, and “American Values” proved that George Carlin wasn’t just another stand-up comedian. He was an activist, a philosopher.

My eyes were wide open by this point and have only gotten wider as Carlin continued to create and release one masterpiece after the other. The underground culture in the United States was boiling around 1990 and was completely blown to bits in 1991 with Nirvana taking over the world. Angry, disaffected, and inquisitive youths were the order of the day, and George Carlin, whether he knew it or not, was there to be one of the voices to guide them.

In 1990 he released “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” which was followed by a slew of truth bomb specials, destroying American institutions such as religion, politics, education, capitalism and anything else which took chunks of humanity away from people who either didn’t know any better or weren’t interested in rocking the boat because, as he liked to say, they were too busy eating Häagen-Dazs ice cream or going to the mall to buy sneakers with lights in them.

The 1990s, here in America, as well as globally, had witnessed some turmoil and upheaval, the likes of which we hadn’t seen since the 1960s. The first few years of this decade alone provided Carlin with more material than he could ask for. Whether it was the Gulf War, the introduction of the internet, the end of the Cold War, the riots in L.A. surrounding the police beating of Rodney King, the Bill Clinton presidency, Waco, O.J. Simpson, and so many more examples throughout the decade, George Carlin was inspired as only he could be.

Two of my personal favorites, “You Are All Diseased” and “Complaints and Grievances”, (1999 and 2001 respectively) are probably two of the most important shows ever created. Some of the best teachings anyone can have provided anywhere were taught and provided by George Carlin in these specials. “American Bullshit”, “Fear of Germs”, “There is No God” from You Are All Diseased and “Fighting Terrorists”, “People I Hate” and “The 10 Commandments”, from Complaints and Grievances should be required reading and viewing for every person on earth. This should not be negotiable.

I was lucky enough to see Carlin live in concert once. It was in 2004 in Westbury, Long Island. It was, for me, a culmination of my studies in what I call, “Carlinism”. It was as if I had taken all of these online (television and books as well) classes and I finally graduated, with the professor right there in person. I felt complete, I had come full circle.

George Carlin died less than four years after that performance, my “graduation” as it were. It’s always a bit strange when someone you’ve learned so much from and admired, but never met, dies. It’s sad of course because he was a real person with a family and friends, and people he actually knew who loved him dearly. He was also a larger than life figure to most of his fans, and they all experienced loss and grief when he died. It’s an odd thing that happens in society when a “famous” person dies. The great ones always have a way of making it seem like they were everyone’s friend and therefore you grieve at their loss as any friend would.

Carlin’s death certainly left a void in comedy but more importantly, the world lost a great thinker, a great philosopher. Most philosophers have an even greater impact in death than they had in life because we get to reflect on and really dive into their work. In George Carlin’s case, this is likely true as well. I mean the impact he had while alive cannot be disputed nor argued. In times like we’re living in now though, with the world seemingly falling apart at the seams weekly, and the United States in the worst shape I’ve ever seen it in, we could all benefit from a George Carlin refresher course.

Carlin predicted so much of what we’re seeing now. Every special and concert he gave was a warning of what was to come. He told us about history so often because he was afraid we’d not only repeat it but also create a more horrific version for ourselves as well as future generations. He was right because that’s exactly what we’re doing. I know many of us have learned and are thankful we did. It’s now up to us to teach (as Carlin taught us) the younger generations using all of the tools and ammunition he’s left behind.

To learn more about George Carlin, visit the National Comedy Center where Kelly Carlin, George’s daughter, sits on the Advisory Board of Directors.

Let’s continue the conversation on Twitter