George Carlin 1937-2008

Carlin meant a lot to me.

He shaped my political philosophy more than anyone else outside of academia, and more than many within. I've always been a passionate civil libertarian, and I owe much of that to George Carlin.

And, people who care about freedom of expression like I do owe him big time. More than an entertainer, he was a reluctant player in the legal battle for freedom of expression--a fight which is still not over.

Everyone knows the 7 dirty words, but few know about the legal firestorm it caused.

F.C.C. v. Pacifica 438 U.S. 726 (1978)

We read this case in Constitutional Law during my first year of law school. It was the first time that I had ever felt truly passionate about something that I had learned in class. It's worth a read, even to the legally disinclined, because it shows how far public attitude toward expression has evolved since the 1960s, and due in no small part to George Carlin himself.

One bit that really hit home with me:

"The FCC, a non-elected body, appointed and answerable only to the President
of the United States, has taken it upon itself to decide that radio and
television in this country are the only aspects of American life not
protected by the first amendment of the Constitution.

You know why they did it? Because they got a letter from a Reverend in
Mississippi.

A Reverend Donald Wildman heard something on the radio
that he didn't like.

Well, Reverend, did you know there are two knobs
on the radio?

One of them turns the radio off and the other one changes the station!


Imagine that, you can actually change the station! It's called freedom
of choice, and it's one of basic ideals this country is founded on.
Look it up in the library, Reverend, if you have any of them left when
you get done burning all the books."


That neatly summed up my attitude toward these moral-crusading crypto-facist nutjobs. Seeing his HBO specials as a kid contributed to my awareness of type of intolerance, and to this day, I dedicate a great deal of time and effort toward fighting the same pin-headed thinking that he spoke of.


At times, however, I also share his conviction that such fighting is a waste of time. In evaluating the grim prospects of reason triumphing over ignorance, I'm reminded of another Carlin thought experiment:

"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then remember, half of us are stupider than that..."