The People V. Lenny Bruce

              The cornerstone of all privileges afforded to the American citizen is the right to free speech. The Founding Fathers described this right as inalienable, meaning that under no circumstance, is it to be stricken from the possessor or infringed upon by an outside entity. The ability to publicly express one’s ideas, convictions, and beliefs without the fear of censorship or punitive repercussions from the government is paramount to the preservation of our liberties and freedoms. But the provision of that liberty has been violated over and over again by a government that speaks at great lengths about the necessity of defending our freedoms, but their statements lack the ability to resonate because they are void of any truth. The US government has been a forefront proponent for censorship for nearly a hundred years now, and instead of realizing the hypocrisy of their violations of a constitutional right, they continue to market their attempts to silence the outspoken as doing what’s best for the country. Once the mediums for challenging authority are made unavailable to the public, the power shift is complete, and our rights become nothing more than ink on paper. 

To put it in terms that are a bit less eloquent, yet still just as prolific, American comedian Lenny Bruce said it best, “If you can’t say ‘Fuck’ you can’t say, ‘Fuck the government.’” Due to the nature of hundreds of statements like that, Bruce was under constant scrutiny from multiple law enforcement agencies during his career as a stand-up comedian. He was not only a brilliant storyteller, with an ability to convey poignant and eye-opening topics to has audience in a very specific form of social satire. He was light-years ahead of his time in terms of pushing the boundaries of what free speech really meant. Bruce’s mission was not to maliciously attack or offend through his comedy, his motivation was exploitation. No level of hypocrisy or underlying pretense was safe from the beautifully cynical mind of Lenny Bruce. He was outlandish, foul, obscene, disrespectful, but most importantly, he was a fucking champion in the fight against censorship in the United States.

Before an adequate understanding of the cultural shockwave that ensued as a result of his stand-up comedy can be established, an understanding of the time in which all these events took place is vital. Lenny Bruce began performing his signature style of boisterous, raunchy, yet undoubtably insightful comedy in the 1950’s. It was an odd period in time for a voice like Lenny Bruce. The American people were still incredibly conservative, rooted firmly in Christianity, and unflinchingly loyal to their government. Bruce was an outsider to the majority; he did not fit any of those classic American normalities. In other words, if America was still apple pies and white picket fences, Bruce was raw meat and ghettos. If America was still church on Sundays and subservient to the same, Bruce was a black mass of disobedience. His bits on stage were different than his predecessors because he was conscientious to the fact that he was belittling the sacred and speaking on topics that people viewed as forbidden. He was stirring the pot and he knew it. As the years went on, despite multiple arrests for obscenity and being involved in a congressional battle to determine whether or not he was in fact obligated to express himself. Bruce never eased up on his subject matter. If anything, he became more vulgar, explicit, and angry, yet he simultaneously became more socially conscience and articulate. His ability to provide factual backing to his comedic cynicisms was his greatest attribute as an entertainer, but also the reason he was viewed as an enemy to the state.

The coup de grace of Bruce’s metaphorical middle finger to the establishment came in the form of one of his final performances entitled, “The Berkeley Concert”. During the seventy-eight minutes that he spent on stage that evening in 1965, he shed light on every false virtue existing in American culture in an even more “no holds-barred” style, than ever before. To get up on stage at this point in time and tell a joke in which he compared the Catholic church to the likes of the Communist regime in Vietnam, based on the idea that both entities are struggling for an institutionalized way to control those around them, was considered far beyond taboo. He stood upon this stage and further exploited those who were suppressing his first amendment right. In an unprecedented manner, he went after the US Supreme Court. Up to this point, Bruce had been arrested on eight separate misdemeanor obscenity charges, been through six trials in four cities, spent four years in and out of court and jail, he had been represented by over a dozen different attorneys, had carried his case to the highest appellate court in the United States, and remained unphased through it all. He addressed his issues with the Supreme Court in his typical blunt fashion by stating “Now the Supreme Court, right now there’s some bullshit now with obscenity. There’s an obscenity circus that’s been going on for five years… A lot of the confusion maybe with the obscenity laws is this: it’s that the judges who are confused just didn’t read.” That statement carries a substantial amount of weight, because here was a comedian that was basically saying he was more well versed in obscenity laws than the members of the Supreme Court. After establishing himself as a superior subject matter expert than those attempting to silence him, he presents two arguments that were detrimental to any remaining opposition that he was facing.

First off, Bruce stated, “If a guy can tear off a piece of ass with class, then he’s cool.” Meaning that it’s not the subject on which someone is vocalizing a personal view upon, it’s the manner in which that point of view is delivered. To expand on that idea, the reason Bruce was always in hot water was not necessarily his context but the colorful language in which he used to get his point across. Bruce was basically saying that not one member of law enforcement would give a damn about his comedy if he wasn’t so profane. Bruce was of the mind that his use of foul language was protected under his right to free speech, and there were obviously many in agreeance, as he was still performing for a large fan base. That brings us to Bruce’s second argument toward the unconstitutional nature of his arrests. He said, “the court has no hostility for me, they have hostility for the people that defend me.” The truth behind that statement is absolute. The US Government would not have bat an eye if Bruce had no following, because without people who were interested in or influenced by his words, they presented no danger of altering the existing ideals, beliefs, and rules of society. Bruce was criminalized by the government not because of what he had to say, but because of what he represented. He represented a clairvoyant type of citizen that was not only aware of his or her rights, but also intellectual enough to exercise them in such a way that would inevitably cause that person to question the powers that be. And if there is one thing that a government fears, it is an inquisitive population. Inquisition evokes progress, progress impedes tradition, and when tradition is found useless, the need for new leadership is brought up.

Take a moment and reflect on the fact that the US government, during a time in which the country was in some of its worst civil unrest ever, they allowed the Supreme Court to pursue an unconstitutional conviction on man who made his living telling dirty jokes. That right there, is the raw power that is free speech.  

Fast forward to 2019, and the effects of Lenny Bruce’s will to continue utilizing his freedom of expression can still be felt today. He laid the groundwork for future generations of outspoken Americans to challenge their government and use the first amendment as it was intended. Throughout the years, the American people had become increasingly more brazen in their vocal opposition of their elected leadership, and Lenny Bruce is amongst the ranks of those that made that possible. However, the government has also become overtly shameless in their attempts to censor our voices. Their immediacy to invalidate and label any opposing views or points as hate speech is outrageous. Subsequently, the American people have become fearful of the repercussions that one could face for simply possessing an unpopular view or conviction, thus they have become silent.

One of the only mediums of personal expression that has remained somewhat untainted and unafraid is stand-up comedy. Honestly speaking, you could gain more cultural insight to what’s actually going on this country through listening to the routines of a great deal of stand-up comedians, than you would receive through any major news outlet. For example, any major network’s program that is supposed to be reporting a factually based new cast to the American people, is so hindered by stipulations from organizations like the FCC, that you will never get the whole story on fucking anything. It’s all watered-down dribble. But the beauty of stand-up comedy is that nothing is sacred, and nothing is safe.  A joke, even if it is controversial, is purely an interpersonal expression on a certain topic provided to you by someone else, from which you can process your own ideas  from, and that is called inference, something you used to be able to do with the news. 

It is a goddamn crying shame that we can gain a better contextual understanding of our current events from the likes of paid entertainers, than we can from those whose job it is to provide said context. This is censorship and an overbearing government firing on all fucking cylinders.

In conclusion, be more like Lenny fucking Bruce and express yourself. You are an American citizen with a cemented right and an ability to speak your mind. You can be controlled and constrained in various facets of life, but the one goddamn thing that you possess entirely and free from all restrictions is your intellect. As our liberties are rapidly diminishing, never forget that you can only be silenced through submission.