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January 24, 2005
Johnny Carson, 1925 - 2005.
I won't bore you with my impressions of the man. Suffice to say, I'm very glad he existed -- our culture's better for it, and he made me laugh.
I was just reminded of this bit below when I read one of his obits. It was just after the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 -- the band was playing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" as he intoned:
Democracy is buying a big house you can't afford with money you don't have to impress people you wish were dead. And, unlike communism, democracy does not mean having just one ineffective political party; it means having two ineffective political parties. ... Democracy is welcoming people from other lands, and giving them something to hold onto -- usually a mop or a leaf blower. It means that with proper timing and scrupulous bookkeeping, anyone can die owing the government a huge amount of money. ... Democracy means free television, not good television, but free. ... And finally, democracy is the eagle on the back of a dollar bill, with 13 arrows in one claw, 13 leaves on a branch, 13 tail feathers, and 13 stars over its head -- this signifies that when the white man came to this country, it was bad luck for the Indians, bad luck for the trees, bad luck for the wildlife, and lights out for the American eagle. I thank you.
Posted by Your Protagonist at January 24, 2005 02:21 PM