2 american political figures?

two american political figures died this week: george carlin and tim russert. perhaps it is because i watch msnbc, but it seems to me tim russert has been released with great fanfare, while the news of carlin's demise has been somewhat muted.

they both seem like nice men who deserve to be mourned but carlin is a saint. there is a temptation to label carlin as iconoclastic or sharp-witted but these are mere words that do not serve in his case whatsoever.

you had to know his life, follow his work, understand the power of satire and comedy. carlin went into everything on his own terms. he was like lenny bruce, only he survived, thrived even, to grow old for us and refine his act and more importantly, his ideas.

russert hosted the sunday morning political chat show and george carlin challenged us through his comedy.

russert was a nice man and while others have called him a first rate journalist, i will stop short of that. as mainstream journalists go, i found him to be competent and certainly above average. russert wrote books about his relationships with his dad and his son. he extolled the virtues of hard work and sang the praises of the american dream which allowed a working class kid like him to grow up and anchor meet the press.

i can't imagine begrudging tim russert's life in any way, but when companies other than his own broadcast tributes and friends and family refer to russert miracles that occurred in and around the mourning process, while carlin is mentioned almost as a means to bring up the titillating seven words you cannot say on television, i can't help but be dismayed.

george carlin was a john the baptist for our day. he was the voice crying in the wilderness warning us about the numbing effects of marketing and decrying organized religions penchant for playing the naked emperor. carlin was a coarse man who would be unwelcome at a bush family dinner, which is to say he was unimpressed by wealth or place.

the issue with the words is important, too. the media coverage seemed to trivialize the issue as fox news anchors were chuckling as they explained, "you still can't say those words on tv." of course, the point is lost on the obtuse. the point carlin made, (and lenny bruce before him,) was that words are only words while only the ideas they represent should have the power to offend.

perhaps carlin would have asked why does shit have the power to offend while poop seems clean and nearly cute. they are both words and they mean basically the same thing but one is considered derogatory primarily because it has come to popular use as an expletive. this is the basic point of carlin's rant about words-they have only as much power as one gives them. when writing i find i tend to choose the curse word over the milder option because it has power, because it gets attention and often bothers people. to parents i guess carlin might suggest they use the bad words that would come up on television or elsewhere as an opportunity to parent, to explain why a certain word was used and how a mature mind should think about being confronted with that word.

i love that tim russert championed the common man. i enjoyed hearing his son say russert was especially comfortable coming up to his son's college to watch a game and drink beer with him and his friends. it is okay, too, that he was beloved.

on the other hand, maybe it is not okay that carlin is not more beloved. people cannot be blamed for what they are not exposed to but at the same time, it is a sad testament to america that this voice was not more hallowed. for those who do miss carlin and plan on carrying a bit of his hell-raising spirit with them through the rest of their own lives, i know it will serve them and i congratulate them on their thoughtfulness and taste.