Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink

I came into my teen years in the 1960's, so I enjoyed the humour of George Carlin. Carlin died yesterday at the age of 71 due to heart failure, although if his comedy routines were to be believed all his other major organs would have been in rough shape.

Remember his 'hippy dippy" weatherman, Al Sleet, who would mumble his way through the evening report offering dark and and more dark through the night, with patches of light in the morning? You had to be there.

Carlin got in alot of trouble, including a number of arrests, for violating obscenity and community decency laws. His stuff seems rather tame by today's standards. He had one schtick about the word "ass." He pointed out that it was okay to use the phrase "make an ass of yourself" on TV or refer to the ass on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem. But God help you if you pointed to a part of your anatomy and used that word. For this he was arrested more than once.

Community standards have certainly changed since then. Go back a little further and TV couples either didn't have a bedroom or slept in twin beds. Now just about anything goes in language and behaviour. Do we simply accept this as our changing world or have we become numbed to an increasingly crass and sexualized society. Words such as purity or decency are hardly ever used any more. They seem quaint, old-fashioned.

Part of the appeal of Judaism in the ancient world was ithe religions high moral and ethical standards. These were adopted by Christianity. Have we just "loosened up" or become "loosey goosey" in our patterns of thought and action/

Carlin was a funny and clever guy. Look on Youtube for his piece on religion which is a scathing criticism of the scam of "the invisible Man." Maybe this invisible God will be more compassionate and loving than Carlin thought.