George Carlin "The American Dream" Best 3 Minutes of His Career
Dan K SchroederCited 3× on HN, 2015–2018
comedy · general · evergreen · 2015–2018 on HN
A three-minute clip of George Carlin's bit on the American dream, arguing that the owners of the country do not want an educated population capable of critical thinking.
Quoted in threads about education, inequality and critical thinking as a cynical take on who benefits from the system.
Up next
9 mo on HNHarder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need
suckerpinch
12 HN recommender · 2022–2025
8 mo on HNJackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy
Every Frame a Painting
9 HN recommender · 2015–2022
7 mo on HNGeorge Carlin Talks About "Stuff"
CappyNJ
7 HN recommender · 2010–2026
5 mo on HNCaptain Disillusion: World's Greatest Blenderer - Live at the Blender Conference 2018
Captain Disillusion
4 HN recommender · 2019–2022
6 mo on HNWhere in the world is it easiest to get rich? | Harald Eia | TEDxOslo
TEDx Talks
5 HN recommender · 2016–2023
5 mo on HNPatrick Stewart interview - Parkinson - BBC
BBC Studios
5 HN recommender · 2012–2022
4 mo on HNJohn Cleese vs Extremism
eroosters
4 HN recommender · 2018–2024
4 mo on HNIt's Not About The Nail
Jason Headley
5 HN recommender · 2014–2026
4 mo on HNTalking Funny - HBO
Ken Jones
3 HN recommender · 2014–2022
4 mo on HNGeorge Carlin - Euphemisms
poyani
4 HN recommender · 2014–2025
4 mo on HNLouis C.K. Hates Cell Phones | CONAN on TBS
Team Coco
5 HN recommender · 2013–2021
3 mo on HNLook Around You: Season 1 Pilot - Calcium
DocShadow660
3 HN recommender · 2016–2024
3 comments from Hacker News
George Carlin said it well: "Good honest hard-workin people CONTINUE -- these are people of modest means -- continue to elect these RICH COCKSUCKERS who don't GIVE a fuck about them."[1]. I can't say that I didn't feel bad for them but this has been long time coming. How come countries like Germany are at the same time booming, is it because there is something intrinsically different about the two populations? We are not just leaves in a stream floating around aimlessly, the people themselves have to try and change the current status quo. If the system in place does not provide a way to do it or does it inefficiently (how I view Trump election win) it does a disservice to its people. ▶ this video
George Carlin, the American dream (quite cynical) ▶ this video Hillbilly Elegy link My version: Republican party platform does not believe in the "veil of ignorance" at all whatsoever. They support neo-feudalism and aristocracy. Equality is fake, people are in fact different, those differences should be rewarded and punished in a free market, it is considered unfair to force equality to be true. Even equality under the law is negotiable, where those who can afford better lawyers get better justice. Democrats are tone deaf, and suck at marketing their own policy successes. They'd rather convince people to vote for them on the basis of a smug liberalism which says if only people had the facts they'd vote Democrat. Ergo if you vote Republican you're either stupid or evil. This is not a winning strategy, obviously.
Here is a simple definition of critical thinking: Be critical of what is being said until it can be validated tangibly. It only has two requirements. The courage to question what is in front of you, and the tools to test and validate statements objectively. What people trip on is often the "thinking" part. It plays on the myth that thought and logic is what solves problems, but in reality we need to be able to refer to something tangible -- such as evidence. If you don't have enough information, stop thinking and do your research (or experiments). Most evidence is rather obvious once found. Anecdotally, fear and anti-science are the enemy of critical thought, and those who claim moral authority and depend on spin to achieve their goals have used these weapons time and time again. "They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking."[0] -- George Carlin Amen. [0] ▶ this video