It's very rare for me to get choked up over a well-known person's death. Steve Jobs will die someday (as will AAPL's stock price, simultaneously), and I'm sure that'll affect me emotionally. By and large, when someone famous dies, it hardly matters to me. But when I heard George Carlin died last night, I was really saddened.
For those acquainted with Carlin's work – – and my blog – – this probably comes as no big surprise. His cynicism and ragings against our modern world line right up with mine. In fact, he probably had more influence on my own thinking and disposition than any other cultural figure.
I think one reason I felt such a connection to the man is that I think I understood where he was coming from. Many people might consider Carlin to be simply a misanthrope. A grouch. A jerk. I understand him as a brokenhearted idealist. His verbal assaults against America and its citizens came out of a deep love for the place, since he always wished for so much better from his country and its people. Much of what he observed was disappointing and infuriating.
I experience those feelings most days. Just today, during a walk, I saw an enormous Hard Rock Cafe, many stories high, and beneath its garish logo was a huge neon sign (which is part of their signage) that said Save The Planet. The combination of conceit and hypocrisy in such a sign is disgusting to me. And I doubt I'd have even noticed it were it not for Carlin's endless stream of HBO specials, CDs, and concert performances.
The world is a lesser place with his absence. And he is an example of something else I've noticed – – that some of the best Christians I know are atheists. George was very outspoken about his purported disbelief in God, but here again, I think we are witnessing a yearning spawned from disappointment. Many supposed Christians, of the nitwit variety, would assume Carlin was sent straight to Hell for his atheism, to be tormented for an eternity.
What crap. My belief is that George is already with his maker, who has already told him – -on some astral plane – – that He thought he was a funny son of a bitch.
Thanks, George. You were a real gift.
