Bill Hicks, was brilliant, prophetic and way ahead of his time. His only drawback in my opinion was his relentless use of the F Word, which made him look like a very angry, ranting, man. It is a pity his life was cut short by cancer.
by Debbie Menon
William Melvin “Bill” Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks’ material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy. In both his stand-up performances and during interviews, he often criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity, and banality within the media and popular culture, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to “keep people stupid and apathetic.” Read more at his Wiki page
The world is like a ride at an amusement park. It goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud and it’s fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: Is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, “Hey – don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride…” But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. Jesus – murdered; Martin Luther King – murdered; Malcolm X – murdered; Gandhi – murdered; John Lennon – murdered; Reagan… wounded. But it doesn’t matter because: It’s just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one. Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.
A captivating animated documentary drama on the legendary Texas outlaw comic Bill Hicks, whose profound observations on American life changed the face of comedy forever: www.americanthemovie.com
Hi Debbie:
Bill Hicks was a comedy genius.
I never knew Bill Hicks or his work, but he does not sound like a stranger to me.
I use the “F” word entirely too much for other people’s comfort also, and when I see the discomfort and unease which it creates in them, I am satisfied that I am striking the right and proper chords with it.
Yes, life is a “ride” in the amusement park for a great many people… too many people! It is fun, and it is something we all should enjoy, on Saturday night after school or work, the children have been fed, the house cleaned, and if there are a few bucks left over after paying all the bills, father might take the entire fucking family to the Amusement Park and everyone should have ride on the great Ferris Wheel, the Dodgem Cars, the Merry-G-Round and the Roller Coaster.
And, then they should go home and get a good nights sleep in their own beds, rest up for Church on Sunday, and prepare for school or work on Monday, and another week of study and labor in the reality in the real world in which they live.
Well, maybe that Puritanical regimen for the rest of the week might be a bit onerous, unfun and unacceptable for a great many free thinkers and souls, but you should get the picture here anyway, that you just cannot stay on that ride forever.
A Saturday night good times for all kind of things once in a while may not be harmful, but cotton candy and the flavored sugared water stuff they sell at the lemonade stand was not a nourishing diet, bad for your weight control program and diabetes, and riding high among the bright and pretty lights was not the most productive and beneficial life we could live.
Certainly, neither extreme, the park or the steady and solid “good life of the worker bee or the conservative squirrel, is a happy medium for all, but the alternatives which most of us seem to have adopted, the free lives on the road, different kinds of an “Easy Ride” as depicted in that great cult movie, or hitchhiking Toure 66, were not very good or well-selected alternatives either.
Some other great philosophers on life once,long ago, admonished, “moderation in all things.”
Think on that for a minute…
“Moderation,” yes, we know what that means… leave a little on the edge of the plate, in the bottom of the glass, and do not go back for seconds… but in all things?
The implication I see in that last phrase, ‘in all things” tells me that “all things” are recommended, and O to try…all of the rides… but in moderation….. do the ride, but learn to get off when the ride is done and save some for the next Saturday night on the town.
I’ve tried that for a great part of my already overly prolonged existence, and found it worked quite well… it was a lot of a fun. It provided relief from the tedium of the rest of the week.
It outraged a few of the old fuddie-duddies, but I learned a lot from it, had a helluva lot of fun doing, never got to the point where I was embarrassed to look at myself in a mirror, or standing naked in a shower and, in moderation, it seems to have hurt no one, except a few of my moments of extremes may have taken some toll on my own health… the price of folly.
Try it. Next time you go to the amusement park, don’t wait for them to shut down all of the machines and turn off the lights before you go home. Ten o’clock is late enough for any civilized people to enjoy themselves, and you should always save a morsel on the edge of your plate for later on, and more fun for tomorrow… something which another old and wise man should have said.
And remember, the Shooting Gallery where you plink sitting ducks with short based .22?s is not a ride… war and shooting is not a pastime.
It is murder. The little ducks in the Amusement Park may be made of tin, but it is vicarious murder, all the same… practice for the real thing during the rest of the week for many.
Thanks for introducing me to Hicks, they had him buried so well I never heard of him til now. Very smart and funny person.