“It’s only me out there, so what’s there to be afraid of
As most everyone should know by now, George Carlin passed away at the age of 71. One of my favorite comedians, I remember him best as a stalwart of the Las Vegas circuit in the early ‘90s. Back then, my second home was Bally’s, or MGM Grand before the giant lion and amusement park. But most importantly, it was before Sin City was family friendly and casino deals were made with a handshake and a wink instead of rewards and credits.
In very much the same way, Carlin was a relic of the nudge-nudge era of the Strip. If Celine Dion can replace Frank Sinatra, then Carlin could surely fall in favor of George Lopez. He did have a residency at The Orleans that was supposed to run until November. But, you know, it’s The Orleans.
Outside of his stand-up, however, Carlin was just an all-around smart guy, a Pro. He dropped out of high school in ninth grade and was court marshaled three times during his stint in the military, excuses for failure, but his success came from the same contarian persona that got him in those messes of situations. His popularity didn’t stem from the crass and base “it’s funny ‘cause it’s true!” camp. Instead, he was what you wish every college professor would be like: honest, charismatic, and graying with a dash of intellectual supremacy.
Basically, those are just my irrelevant thoughts on a comic genius, but it was Carlin’s 2004 interview on NPR, replayed today on the station to commemorate the comedian, that forced my hand in writing about him now. When queried on his criticisms of religion, Carlin expressed a compelling case for existential narcissism:
Some time ago, I figured out … that if it’s true that we’re all from the center of a star, every atom and each of us from the center of a star, then we’re all the same thing. Even a Coke machine or a cigarette butt in the street in Buffalo is made out of atoms that came from a star. They’ve all been recycled thousands of times, as have you and I. So, if that is true, then I am everywhere in the universe in an extended sense. And, therefore, it’s only me out there, so what is there to be afraid of? …
There’s nothing to be afraid of because it’s all us …
I’ve kind of accepted the idea that I’m perfectly safe, and that life and nature have waves and troughs. There are ups and downs, left and right, black and white, night and day, fall and winter, positive and negative. Everything has an opposite. If it’s a bad time, I have a good time coming. If it’s a good time, I’m prepared to have a bad time to sort of pay for it.
To me, that sounds like a pretty good philosophy on self-interest and rolling with the punches that come with the approach. When I make a decision on something, there’s no ambiguity; I keep with it until I’ve completed it. The goals and objectives are what change, not my idea of what the end game is. Carlin wasn’t afraid of failing because he wasn’t afraid of himself. Despite his brilliant stand-up shows and questionable taste in choosing movie roles, I think it’s this idea of narcissistic mysticism that’ll prove to be his legacy to me.
Filed under: Meditations | 1 Comment
Tags: celine dion, frank sinatra, george carlin, george lopez, Las Vegas, Meditations, mysticism, narcissism, NPR, self-interest
I listened to the same interview on NPR… it was very good. Carlin always made me laugh whenever I listened to him and I learned a lot from him. This is just one more I can add on to the list.