You have to see this George Carlin video. I was never a big Carlin fan (and I remember him from the 60s), but in this monologue, he concisely, pointedly delivers everything the left has been saying for years.
The Mahablog
Politics. Society. Group Therapy.
Maha,
Yea George really captures our current reality. Although I would not necessarily associate what he say’s with the left, I would say he is just telling the truth!
“It’s a big club and you and I aren’t in it”? You have to be kidding. The man’s a multi-millionaire. He’s been part of the club for decades.
Different club, Elayne.
“Those who possess real power and influence are the ones who have the biggest capital. And since the Democratic regime allows the major corporations to support candidates, be they presidential or congressional, then there should be no need for astonishment at the Democrats’ failure to stop the war. You are the ones who say ‘money talks’.”
Osama
Guess he’s talking about “the club” too.
Elayne (#2) you raise an interesting subject. Frank Zappa used to get the same criticism – that his music mocked the very system he benefitted from. Ralph Nader (love him or hate him) likewise was criticized for his $4 M stock portfolio.
Unless one lives in a cave far away from civilization, there’s practically no one who in some way doesn’t personally benefit from the system we’re in. We’re all part of the Matrix to varying degrees. Further, the system is so robust, that it can tolerate (and enrich) the Carlins, Zappas, and Naders (and the Jon Stewarts and the Stephen Colberts) without much risk of affecting the underlying paradigm in any significant way. This occurs because those of us in the audience who despise this system aren’t serious or knowledgeable enough to pull our mouth away from its teat. We enjoy the way Carlin and others help us vent our bile in kind of an impotent rage.
This isn’t a new phenomenon – the Czars in Russia were adamant about keeping the bars open – so the vodka would flow freely – for very similar reasons.
That said, I like to think that money is a powerful tool that can be used for change, and so I don’t generally begrudge the wealthy. Indeed, I hope to join them at some point, and I make no apologies for this. It all depends on how you view money, and what you choose to do with it. Money in the hands of good people can create great good; in the hands of evil people – well we’ve seen plenty of this – Carlin’s “Club”. Lincoln’s famous quote: “If you want to test a person, give them great wealth” – is all about this.
We could argue about whether Carlin is genuine or merely an opportunist (I have no opinion about this), but I’d rather focus on his audience – how serious are we about taking his message (and the message of all jesters like him) and doing something real with it, instead of just venting steam.
I know only ONE way to reverse the situation No money for ANY candidates except from real, live citizens. (and that with limits of how much) No corporate campaign contributions. NONE. ZERO. How do you do this? You fire all the politicians, Dems & Repubs, for as many elections as it takes for them to get the message. If they want more than one tour in office, they HAVE to pass a Constitutional Amendment that gives the elections back to the people. When politicians answer to the PEOPLE (remember, it’s in the Constitution, right near the start), then we will still disagree on idology, but we wont be led around by the nose by both corrupt parties becausee both parties are owned by the Big Club we are not part of.
Gee Elaine, I guess the only trustworthy people are poverty stricken and homeless?
What a ridiculous objection. Carlin can’t be worth over $10 million, that’s chump change to the club.
Bush’s personal fortune is listed around $20 million, but the Bush family is worth over a billion ( that’s one thousand million dollars ) which is what rich means today.
And it’s not enough to just be rich. You have to have the right parents and the right friends, and your money should be “invested” in the right places, like the Carlyle group. And then you need to know how to use your investment to leverage control at the boardroom level. You have to want to exercise your power over others, just being rich isn’t enough.
That’s why it’s called “exclusive,” and George Carlin ain’t it.