The Beethoven of Bullshit
Jon Stewart signed off last night as the host of the popular faux news television program known as The Daily Show after a sixteen-year run. He concluded one of the longest running stand-up routines in history with the admonition, "Bullshit is everywhere. There is very little that you will encounter in life that isn't infused with bullshit." And that reminds me of a review of my work that I received many years ago from a friend in the music business which also appeared as a blurb on the back cover of my memoir:
"If bullshit were music, Murray would've been Beethoven."
Allow me to explain.
When I was in high school back in the Sixties, we had to take a foreign language. We had the choice between Spanish, French and German. I chose an elective: Bullshit. In college, I majored in English and minored in Bullshit. You see, back in those days you either learned to speak Bullshit or you fell victim to it and so I learned its colorful language as a first line of self defense. Going to law school perfected my pronunciation and vocabulary. Show business provided me with ample opportunity to practice.
Yes, I speak Bullshit, just as others speak Spanish or French or German. But that doesn't mean that I'm a Bullshitter.
Allow me to explain.
As Jon Stewart offered last night during his farewell to America, "The best defense against bullshit is vigilance. So, if you smell something, say something." And it is in that spirit I launched this campaign for mayor of Savannah. I smell something-- we all smell something-- on a Daily Show basis around here. I know it to be bullshit because I speak the language and know it when I hear it. That isn't to say that this website is full of the same manure. Well, maybe to some critics some of my messages are laced with poop, but then again manure is a requisite fertilizer for growth, is it not? Maybe I introduce a wee bit of the ol' bullshit into the mix for a more flavorful vaccine, if you will. But, no, let me assure you that my campaign is not some pie-in-the-sky get-rich scheme or quick fix for every problem that ails our society.
My campaign is born out of a keen sense of smell and a vigilance in detecting Bullshit. And as Jon Stewart says, I call it like I see it.
I'm often asked if I'm a Republican or Democrat or Independent. I'm here to tell you that I am a card-carrying lifetime member of the No Bullshit party.
And there it is, your moment of Zen.
