Time For A Better Ride

It is time for a better ride, one centred on love and freedom.

Comic and cultural commentarian Bill Hicks was born 4 days before I was in the heady hippy winter of 1961. Although we both came to be teachers, my approach was gentle (and in a classroom) while his lessons from the stage were harsh and in your face. His natural talent as a performer, coupled with his uncompromising abrasiveness proved to be effective.

From the time Hicks was a boy of 15 he was on stage sharing his insights and serving audiences with not only uncomfortable truths, but also a good measure of humour.

His "The World Is Like A Ride" piece has always appealed to me, although it isn't really funny.

Enlightening, perhaps. Or with the recent attacks on other truth-tellers such as Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Aaron Swartz and Edward Snowden it is more accurate than ever. As Hicks says in the piece that follows, "we always kill the good guys who try and tell us [the truth]".

Anyone brave and altruistic enough to reveal the illusion perpetrated by those who benefit from the mad pursuit of power and profit are discredited, silenced in jail, or outright assassinated.



"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. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while.

Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people.

"Shut him up! I've got 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 the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And 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 work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, 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, to a better ride.

Take all that money we spend on weapons and defence each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace."

- Bill Hicks



Today in my own country Hicks would probably be labelled a "multi-issue extremist" or "economic terrorist" and barred from entering.

Unfortunately the power of his pointed wit will not be unleashed on the sad state of affairs that threaten the people's desire to "create a better ride".

Hicks died of pancreatic cancer in 1994.

What Will They Do When We Realize We Are All One?

Bill Hicks: "I want you - to think and laugh"

My favourite comics are the ones that make their audiences think, and challenge their habitual ways. George Carlin is one that comes to mind. Another, and one I am not as familiar with until recently, is Bill Hicks (1961-1994).

Hicks was an American stand up comedian, political philosopher, social critic, and all around anti-authoritarian. He died at age 32 of pancreatic cancer, but took full advantage of his brief life by challenging accepted ways of thinking and living, and asking his audiences to do the same.

When an audience member approached Hicks after a show and complained, "We don't come here to think," Hicks responded by saying, "Gee, where do you go to think? I'll meet you there".

Hicks thought his routine was like "bullets in the heart of consumerism, capitalism, and the American Dream". He was deeply disturbed by the dystopian reality foisted upon the public by big business and governments, and took refuge in "love, laughter, and truth".

A few Bill Hicks quotes highlight why he was a frequent victim of censorship, and was considered a dangerous subversive.

"I do not believe making money in order to consume goods is humankind's sole purpose on this planet. If you're wondering what I believe our purpose on this planet is, I'll give you a hint... it has to do with creating and sharing."

"It's all about money, not freedom. It has nothing to do with freedom. If you think you're free, try going somewhere without money."

"I'm glad mushrooms are against the law, because I took them one time, and you know what happened to me? I laid in a field of green grass for four hours going, "My God! I love everything." Yeah. Now, if that isn't a hazard to our country … how are we gonna keep building nuclear weapons, you know what I mean? What's gonna happen to the arms industry when we realize that we're all one?!"

"I need my sleep. I need about eight hours a day, and about ten at night."

"The less critical one is about various issues concerning the status quo, the more apt you are to become prey to advertising. The more substance and talking points you have in a show, the less attention you'll pay to the commercial break. Your mind would be too busy digesting and pondering the new information that was just received. U.S. media just can't have that."

Had Hicks lived longer he would have been at the forefront of the revolution, although he was also a big proponent of a more natural and peaceful process of voluntary evolution. He knew that if we could turn away from all the distractions and get together in a massive cooperative effort, we would be taking a great leap forward.

May love, laughter, and the truth reign in our lives.