George: What’s Wrong with Self-Preservation?

Posted on July 12, 2009 by Matt Embrey in News+Opinion, Offbeat

Sunday (not so) Funnies…

Normally I find George Carlin hilarious and I have an affinity for poking fun at things that are important to me, but I was really disappointed when I watched his bit on “Saving the Planet,” (the video is at the end of the post). I understand it’s just a comedy routine, and this may be by design, but he completely mischaracterizes environmentalists as a bunch of unenlightened, self-righteous, arrogant idiots who want to save something that doesn’t need saving for their own self satisfaction.

As he puts it “the planet is fine, the people are fu@ked!” Truer words haven’t been spoken, and that’s why we aren’t trying to save the planet, we are trying to save our own asses! Unfortunately, he takes that bit of truth and bends a false generalization of environmentalists around it to make an argument against sustainability for a few undeserved laughs.

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Carlin states “Environmentalists don’t give a sh!t about the planet, they don’t care about the planet,” then he mockingly points out that we are only interested in “a clean place to live,” which he calls a “Narrow unenlightened, self interest.” You know what I call it? Self-preservation… progress… sustainability… SMART. Normally I wouldn’t get bent out of shape about a comedy routine, particularly that’s seventeen years old, but I am finding these anti-sustainability straw man arguments far too common these days.

Whether you believe in man made climate change or not, pollution is harmful to our health and degrades where we live. Like it or not, but if we continue to consume our natural resources faster than they can be renewed, we will run out. We may not be able to destroy this planet but if we shun sustainability we have a good shot at making it uninhabitable and ultimately destroying ourselves.

Sustainability is about more than just protecting the environment. It applies to all areas of our lives. It’s about living today like there is a tomorrow. It’s about remembering that we and our children will have to live tomorrow with the choices we make today.

I do not mean to put this late comedian on trial, instead the idea that this bit is about. Is it enough that the planet will be fine? Not for me, and so I plan to continue to promote living today in a way that leaves us somewhere nice to live tomorrow. How about you?

Here’s the video, let me know what you think…

Tags:

climate change, humor, sunday funnies, video

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2 Responses to “ George: What’s Wrong with Self-Preservation? ”

Meg from FruWiki

12. Jul, 2009

I actually love that piece, but I don’t think I took it quite the same way. Straw mans are pretty typical in comedy routines. They make it easier to knock someone down if you paint them in the extreme, and let’s face it, 99% of comedy is about knocking someone down a notch or two (even if it’s yourself).

However, what I think is brilliant about the piece is that he’s not really knocking environmentalists. To the contrary, he’s saying that what they’re doing is absolute common sense — just simple self-preservation. And by making it look soooo common sense, he’s really knocking everyone else for being too dumb to care what they’re putting in their drinking water, the air they breathe, etc. etc. etc. In fact, he puts himself on the block by acting like an anti-environmentalist and showing how dumb their arguments are.

At least, that is my take. And perhaps I am reading too much into it. But usually it’s safe to assume that good comedians are too smart to really be that dumb Consider Stephen Colbert for an extreme example.

Reply to this comment
- Matt Embrey
  
  12. Jul, 2009
  
  I like the way you think Meg, but I’m going to have to totally disagree with you on this one. I think it’s pretty clear from his demeanor that he is not doing satire like Colbert. He’s doing an h’omage to environmentalists he is flat out saying they are narrow minded and phony elitists and he’s sick of hearing them preach.
  
  This may or may not be his true feelings but what I knew of Carlin, he was a self righteous SOB (no offense George, RIP) that used social commentary as comedy and he likely felt that way. Needless to say it was 17 years ago and a lot of people have come around in that time. What I find disturbing is the people that continue to degrade sustainability today in light of everything that we know and have been through.
  
  Also, I agree, comedy loves the straw man and there its not really an issue because it’s comedy, not a debate. I wasn’t knocking Carlin for employing a straw man argument, more so using his routine to point out the people that are using this flawed reasoning in policy debates.
  
  Anyway, thanks for chiming in.
  
  Reply to this comment