12-29-2016, 11:31 AM
(12-28-2016, 06:42 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Watch, pay attention and weep, Warren.
Eric, this sound bite ranks as one of my all-time favorites from Carlin's stand-up comedy act. Not only does it explain the key reason why I retired a bit early from the classroom--because of the steady encroachment of standardized testing and scripted curricula in our public schools, embodied in federal laws such as No Child Left Behind and its successors, but I think this particular comedy routine has proved quite prescient in that it indirectly predicted how a demagogue like Trump could accede to the highest office in the land. We have an electorate--and media--largely divorced from critical thinking. I miss the cynical wit of George Carlin, matched only perhaps by the social commentary of Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor. If only Carlin were alive today to mine the treasure trove of new material that Trump is likely to provide us over the next four years.