RIP George Carlin.

George Carlin, a legendary comedian, died Sunday at age 71 from heart failure. For those who love comedy, George Carlin needs no introduction. His work has brought joy and laughter to millions. In his Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton, Carlin separates his work into three categories: language, the big world (business, religion, race, consumerism, etc), and the little world (dog, cats, and little things that all we know).

In his “Owners of America” sketch in Life is Worth Losing HBO special,

“Be happy with what you got. The owners of this country don’t want that. I’m talking about the real owners now. The big wealth business interest that control things and make all the important of decisions. Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. Politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice, you don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They owned you. They owned everything.”

Personally, I understand why he felt this way. Life is a zero sum game is a “common knowledge” to most people. There is always a clear winner and a clear loser which creates drama and entertainment. However, in most cases life is not a zero sum game, often enough both (the winner and loser) are better off. European farmers are better off working in the factories during the industrial revolution and same as the Chinese and Indian farmers are better off working in factories. Most American families are better off with cheaper goods and services from China and India.

The current problem is people always wait for a new messiah to lead them towards this imaginary utopia where we work few hours a weeks and enjoy every luxury possible. The People gradually lose their freedom and liberty when they hand it to politicians to choose for them. The People have to stand up and fight for their rights as individuals instead of becoming sheep that follows and fight for someone else agenda.