WTF, Mark?

It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.
–Mark Twain

I recently heard that comedian and political commentator Bill Maher received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour at ~~the Donald J. Trump and~~ The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.¹

I was wondering, Mark, if you know about this latest awarding of the prize? I know you’re long dead, but seriously, does the awarding of a coveted prize honouring your legacy sit well with you? Are you turning in your grave, as is compulsory when a dead person’s name is tarnished when it is used inappropriately?

Anyway, in case you don’t know who this ~~clown~~ comedian being honoured in your name is, and you haven’t been keeping up with the news… because, you know, you’re enjoying the eternal sleep and all that, allow me to fill you in or bring you up to speed.

A long time ago, I thought Bill was an OK guy. He used to be genuinely funny. He also used to be politically suave and said some important things, one of which may have contributed to the 2002 cancellation of his original television show, Politically Incorrect.

We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly…

Maher may have been agreeing with right-wing bigot and conspiracy theorist Dinesh D’Souza at the time about the 9/11 terrorists not being cowardly, but it was an important expression of free speech slamming U.S. imperialism.

I remember enjoying watching repeats of Real Time with Bill Maher on YouTube several years ago. There was also Religulous, the film mocking religion, which tickled my fancy because I identified as an atheist at the time. He genuinely convinced me that he was a concerned moderate liberal. He even believes he’s progressive.

But things changed, Mark!

In 2014, to supplement his misogyny, he began exhibiting what, since October 7th 2023, has become full-blown Islamophobia. Bill tweeted the following:

Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who’s trying to kill u – u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her.

Also in October of 2014, actor Ben Affleck had a confrontation with Bill on his show over his Islamophobia. Bill’s other guest on the show was Sam Harris, another notorious Islamophobe. Chris Hayes of cable news network MS Now (formerly MSNBC) broke down the confrontation quite effectively on his own show:

When prodded by Affleck, Maher actually had the audacity to quip that Islamophobia “… is not a real thing when we do it.” I’m not sure if he meant people like him or the West in general. Either way, Mark, the bigotry is staggering.

Interestingly, Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, original members of the New Atheist Movement known as the Four Horsemen, both became rabid Islamophobes after the movement faded. I will, however, reserve this curious development for a separate conversation.

Of immediate concern, Mark, is our protagonist, Bill Maher, the self-identified liberal.

You see, Bill suddenly found himself approaching 70. He became increasingly desperate to stay relevant. He now frequently agrees with right-wing talking points, including becoming a warhawk. He has, of late, doubled down on his support for Israel and their biblical 3000-year-old claim to the land from the river to the sea… and beyond, apparently, if you listen to the insane ramblings of some of the members of their right-wing government.

You see, Mark, Maher has completely forgotten his lines from the closing scene of Religulous, the infamous film he produced in 2008. Standing on the ruins of Megiddo, an ancient mound city in northern Israel that is associated with the biblical Armageddon prophecy, he launched into a lengthy admonition of religion that has equal relevance to any other ideology:

The only appropriate attitude for man to have about the big questions is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but doubt.

Doubt is humble and that’s what man needs to be considering that human history is just a litany of getting shit dead wrong.

What he went on to say has a profound connection with current events in the Middle East, especially the genocide in Gaza:

Let’s remember what the real problem was. That we learned how to precipitate mass death before we got past the neurological disorder of wishing for it.

That’s it! Grow up or die!

You see, Mark, he hasn’t grown up, but Bill didn’t die either. He continues to make arrogant, self-assured statements on his shows, which fly in the face of his own advice. And like warmongering recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, which must surely trouble Alfred, he is being rewarded.

I sincerely wish I could have your thoughts on this, Mark. I also wish you were still around to decide who deserves the honour before you hand out the award yourself. But for now, I’ll leave you to rest in peace while I grapple with this injustice.