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To Bill Maher: Papa, Don’t Preach. Oh, I kid him! Sort of.
Does the admirable Bill M. see any inconsistency between his rants against gluttony and the rants of the right against some of those other so-called "deadly sins"?
I love Bill Maher with a love that his occasionally over-the-top remarks can never derail, though he often infuriates me. I think he is funny and incisive, certainly courageous and---particularly now---indispensable. Most of the time—not always---I find I basically agree with him. And really, I don't have to agree with him to find him hilarious (I like P.J. O'Rourke too, so there you go).
The thing is, sometimes Bill Maher gets a little carried away. While it entertained me at first---I am ‘childless by choice’ too---I do get quite tired of his constantly airing his aversion to the American obsession with ‘The Children’ because…Bill, we get it, okay? You don’t want to marry or have children. I don’t have children either! It’s okay, dude. Nobody is going to force us, right?
Most annoying of all is his puritanical stance regarding food and eating. For a comedian who is constantly harshing on the American public for puritanism in other areas, he seems awfully zealous to make us all realize the evils of gluttony.
For example: in the “I’m Swiss” stand up special I recently watched on HBO (and which I mainly enjoyed), he ranted on for what seemed subjectively to be about six hours about the grossness and grotesqueness and distastefulness and disgustingness of American gluttony. Bill, I get it. Gluttony and digestion: Ew. They gross you out. Got it. And yeah, yeah, yeah, Americans eat too much. We’re fat. We have digestive disorders. We belch and fart too much. There's too much food around. It’s a national tragedy/disgrace. You’re disgusted. On the other hand, you’re taking a bold stand on the subject of the decriminalization of marijuana. And it's not that I disagree (I really don't have that much of an opinion except as to medical marijuana), but I just can't help thinking there is a disjunct here somewhere.
I mean, hate the sin; love the sinner, right? Though in fairness, Bill Maher is very fond, he says, of 'people of girth.' Which I admit is funny. The whole thing was funny, actually. But it just seemed...off.
Last night on Real Time, I am pretty sure I heard him mention (merely in passing) that gluttony is one of the deadly sins Yes, he’s all about the gastric and intestinal purity.
I wouldn't be bringing this up at all if he didn't keep bringing it up---enough for me to notice. And don’t tell me that he is concerned about ‘health’ rather than purity. It’s clear that he finds gluttony (isn’t that a personal choice, at least as much as getting high?) distasteful if not repulsive,and though he is too good a libertarian to try to stop you from eating too much, it's hard to see what his intention is if not to instill shame. It might work too. He might be able to get people to stop eating so much. Shame is a potent weapon, after all. Shame has been a pretty effective weapon throughout the ages in deterring people from engaging in that other deadly sin, Lust.
Sorry, Bill, but---given that you’re a self-styled Libertarian---- the eating habits of your fellow Americans are none of your business, any more than it’s their business, according to you, whether other adults choose to get high. Leave the self-righteous lecturing to the self-styled liberals and conservatives. It’s the only thing standing between you and us, you know. Besides, it ain’t funny. And anyway, won’t getting high make you fat? What price ‘the munchies,’ St. Bill?
So let's have no more, please, about ‘high fructose corn syrup,’ deadly sins, and sin period, Bill. Unabashed hedonism becomes you. Self-righteous ranting does not. Stick to what you know. You’re supposed to be calling out the hypocrites, not being one. You’re a libertarian, right? To every man (or woman), his (or her) own poison!
So…how about another one of those ‘NEW RULES’? Bill Maher has to stop preaching against sin of any kind. He’s supposed to be trying to bring down the purveyors of wheezing piety, not setting new standards for self-righteousness.
I kid Bill Maher! I kid him. Hey, I’m saying it just as sincerely as he does.
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