Carlin on Progress

I was really in the mood to watch something funny last night, so i went down to blockbuster and grabbed, a George Carlin DVD. I had never seen any of his stuff before, but i picked it because i remembered that he had died recently, and was intrigued to find out what this comedians work was like.
The DVD was great, but even while Carlin had my crying in my seat i was laughing so hard, he actually had a rather profound message to tell his audience. Like what we've been reading in Emerson and Thoreau, he talked a great deal about our modern society and how in many ways we havn't progressed at all. After talking about how the modern parent "abuses" their child through heavy scheduling, and how really the rights that our government gives us are just privileges, he goes into saying how Americans never question the ways of our society. He said "We don’t question things because everyone is fat and happy. Everyone has a cell phone that’ll make pancakes, so they don’t want to rock the boat. We went for gizmos, toys and gadgets. All we want is to have as many things as the guy across the street". After this i couldn't help but think of Emerson and Thoreau because it touches on many of their ideas. It brings up the danger of material wealth, of conformity, and of the unwavering complacency of many people in dire situations. I think i agree with Carlin here, for i do worry about the material obsessions that our society has on a whole, and i do believe that it really is something that hinders our progress as a community. I think that conformity slows down our ability to progress, because as Carlin says, "nobody wants to rock the boat", and try to change things at all. Different ideas and questions are essential to progress.