I love this:
Al Murray - or his alter-ego, the Pub Landlord - is always good for a one-liner. This show is from a long time ago, 2004 I think, before he got properly big and started selling out arenas. Something tells me that since Brexit and the Culture Wars that he might have to re-think his act however, as it's pretty clear that irony isn't allowed anymore! The fact that he's a complete lefty in real life, and plays a jingoist, casually-racist, right-wing character in order to lampoon exactly that sort of thinking is just the sort of humour that isn't going to go down very well with the Woke Mob.
Still, I do love the line. The beauty and elegance of it lies in the sheer truth of it - that and the fact that it insults no one. Who can dispute the fact that the United States is a good idea? It's the best of ideas! The land of opportunity, the land of the free, the land of enterprise, based on things like freedom of expression and religion, a place to go and work hard and make your fortune free of oppression, etc etc.
But, like so many good ideas, it HAS gone too far, in more ways than we can possibly count really, almost on the basis of the freedom it provides, and if we're honest it's eating itself spectacularly at the moment by consequence. I'm reminded of another line by John Birmingham about why all-male share houses are a bad idea: "it's like the land of the dogs without leashes and rolled-up newspapers".
Just thought I'd share. And if you're interested, here's 23 minutes more of the Pub Landlord, from where I took that 8-second clip. Some of it is a bit hit-and-miss, but some of it's awesome too.
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