Social Commentary From A Great Comedian

Comedian Bill Hicks passed away a couple of decades ago at a very early age, but his words live on. And like Molly Ivins, George Carlin, and Lenny Bruce, his humor doubled as social commentary. He didn't just make people laugh -- he made them think. Here are some of his immortal words (the way he usually closed his act):

Is there a point to my act? I would say there is. I have to.

The world is like a ride, in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down, and round and round. It has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud and it's fun. For a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: "Is this real, or is this just a ride?"

And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, and they say, "Hey, don't worry. Don't be afraid, ever. Because this is just a ride."

And we . . . kill those people. Ha-ha!

"Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride! Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real."

It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And we let the demons run amok.

But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride, and we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort. No worry. No job. No savings and money.

[It's] a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride: Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing, and educating the poor of the world - which it would do many times over, not one human being excluded. And we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace.