Life is a near-death experience.
George CarlinRead
So about 80 years after the Constitution is ratified, the slaves are freed. Not so you'd really notice it of course; just kinda on paper. And that of course was at the end of the Civil War. Now there is another phrase I dearly love. That is a true oxymoron if I've ever heard one: "Civil War." Do you think anybody in this country could ever really have a civil war? "Say, pardon me?" (shoots gun) "I'm awfully sorry. Awfully sorry."
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the idea of a 'Civil War' by highlighting the absurdity of the term in the context of violence.
George Carlin's quote reflects on the paradox of the term 'Civil War,' suggesting that true civility cannot coexist with the brutality of war. He points out that while the freeing of slaves is a significant historical event, it often existed as a mere formality in a society still plagued by violence and injustice, thereby highlighting the absurdity and irony inherent in the term itself.
Themes
Civil WarIronyViolenceFreedomSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the nature of conflict in society.
More from George Carlin
All quotes →Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child who’s self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car."
George CarlinRead
If you've got a cat and a leg, you've got a happy cat. If you've got a cat and two legs, you've got a party.
George CarlinRead
This is a lttle prayer dedicated to the separation of church and state. I guess if they are going to force those kids to pray in schools they might as well have a nice prayer like this: Our Father who art in heaven, and to the republic for which it stands, thy kingdom come, one nation indivisible as in heaven, give us this day as we forgive those who so proudly we hail. Crown thy good into temptation but deliver us from the twilight's last gleaming. Amen and Awomen.
George CarlinRead
Some people try to get out of jury duty by lying. You don't have to lie. Tell the judge the truth. Tell him you'd make a terrific juror because you can spot guilty people.
George CarlinRead
Intelligence tests are biased toward the literate.
George CarlinRead
Similar quotes
I'd much rather have 15 people arguing about something than 15 people splitting into two camps, each side convinced it's right and not talking to the other.
Linus TorvaldsRead
A King (as such) is not a great man. He has great power, but it is not his own.
William HazlittRead
It's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace, and a wound that will never heal. No prima donna, the perfume is on an old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey. Goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen flame keepers and goodnight, Matilda, too.
Tom WaitsRead
Black Consciousness is in essence the realization by the black man of the need to rally together with his brothers around the cause of their oppression.
Steven BikoRead
I'll not hurt thee, says Uncle Toby, rising with the fly in his hand. Go, he says, opening the window to let it escape. Why should I hurt thee? This world is surely wide enough to hold both thee and me.
Laurence SterneRead
When a man bleeds inwardly, it is a dangerous thing for himself; but when he laughs inwardly, it bodes no good to other people.
Charles DickensRead