Incorrectulous

Maher on the Walk of Fame - Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
When I just searched for Bill Maher on the Internet, several other Bills and Billy’s popped up ahead of him – Cosby, Clinton and even Billy Joel. That is a total shame; our nation of web surfers should have more curiosity about this insightful, controversial actor, comedian and humorist. Maher’s views do fall askew of the mainstream TV viewers, and he would probably be another type of unwelcome “alien” in deeply red Texas.

Maher is a secular humanist, libertarian, pro-feminist, PETA following, “Apatheist” trouble maker who dares to play devil’s advocate in all too many places. Some people would say he is the devil – usually people of a strident, blinders-on mentality. The son of a lapsed Catholic father and Jewish mother, Maher has the clarity and objectivity that comes from such a varied background. He isn’t a slave to any school of thought so much as an objective, cultural critic to all of them.

To be sure, Maher has stepped in it a few times with his strident, opinionated enthusiasm. On his ABC show, Politically Incorrect, he incurred the wrath of many by suggesting that the Islamic jihadists of 9/11 were “brave”. This was in 2002, shortly after the attacks – so many sponsors pulled out that it cost him the show. In context, he was saying that someone flying a plane into a building is not acting timidly. But – and Maher was quick to admit – it was the wrong thing to say.

Maher then moved to HBO and started his still-running talk show, Real Time with Bill Maher. Real Time is similar in concept to Politically Incorrect but features more political figures rather than randomly assembled celebrities. Here he drew fire from Alabama's congressman Bachus for pointing out that the US Military hasn’t met 46% of its recruiting requirements. Maher rightly asked why Bachus didn’t use his energy to correct the recruiting problem instead of starting an “I Hate Maher” campaign. Lastly, Maher angered the AMA by suggesting that swine flu shots were risky and he would pass on it. He backed off of the position a bit after being lambasted from all directions.

Maher isn’t afraid to lock horns, and sometimes his rabble-rousing is very deliberate. His 2008 movie Religulous points up many of the fallacies in organized religion (pretty much all of them are lampooned). Devout people with thick skin should go see the movie – it raises some interesting points. Maher has also won a Richard Dawkins award for working to promote secular and scientific values in our society. He doesn’t claim to be an atheist like Dawkins so much as a questioning agnostic. Both secular and question are red flag words in the faith community so Maher’s noncommittal nature still makes him pretty much a nemesis to the church-going crowd.

Lastly, but not least, Maher is a confirmed bachelor playboy who indulges in non-medical weed. If you weren’t already shocked and appalled by his religious views, you might very well blanch at his libertine lifestyle. What I myself find odd about Bill Maher is not any of his maverick ways – he’s very much in the tradition of his brilliant stylistic forbear, Mark Twain. I applaud his weirdness – our mantra should be “Keep Maher weird”. What I find odd, is that so many people find Maher to be odd.

We live in a nation of cookie cutter homes, does it also have to be a nation of cookie cutter people? Bill Maher is a devilish exception – he’s from an entirely different cookie recipe. And his is a recipe that intellectually curious people should savor.

© 2012 blogSpotter