The last post about “The Message by George Carlin”, started with the qualification that it seemed “too polite” to have been his work. It was and I should have confirmed my suspicions by further research. No excuses, just a lesson learned.
Fellow blogger, now good friend and source of inspiration Roberta, publisher of More Thyme Than Dough, sent me a link to the snopes.com entry which shatters the widely believed myth that George Carlin was the author of that message. My admiration for Roberta’s fine qualities has been increased by the grace she showed in not publishing the correction in a comment for all to see, which I deserved, but by sending it privately. Such class and good manners are rare in today’s world of frenetic digital communication and short attention spans. Thank you for that example, Roberta.
The original author of the message was Dr. Bob Moorhead, a former Seattle pastor. It was published in 1995 as “The Paradox of our Age” part of his collection of sermons and radio broadcasts.
Interestingly, the attribution to George Carlin has been floating around the web since at least the late 1990s and has also been attributed to several other authors.
George Carlin denied being the author in a post on his own website.
For more on George Carlin, read Roberta’s tribute on her blog.
Despite the false pedigree which was suggested by my last post, I still believe that the message is worth reading, more accurate and important now than when it was written almost 20 years ago. Much has changed since then, not all for the good.
Well done Peter
I have thought and thought about how to say, ‘thank you’ for your kind words about me in this post.
This is one of the few times when words elude me.
It is also one of those times when simplicity is best. So……
Thank you very much, Peter. You are an amazing man.