Politically Correct

You might love Bill Maher for his beliefs. You might hate him for his views. You might want to slam him when he says things that sting. But there is no denying the sheer strength of his convictions, his style and how committed he is to what he thinks and feels is right and what is wrong with the world.

I, for one, think that—politics aside—he’s hands-down one of the freakin‘ funniest guys around . . . who also just happens to be an intellectual badass who isn’t afraid of pissing people off.

CULTURE recently had an opportunity to chat with the host of Real Time and his unique humor and smarts got us thinking.

Now Maher’s not the same kind of intellectual funny like Dennis Miller. But Bill could definitely give Jon Stewart a run for his money.

Maher’s his own kind of biting, I’ll-call-you-on-your-bullshit-anytime-anywhere sort of funny. Informed funny. He-knows-what-he’s-talking-about funny.

Some call him a libertarian. Some call him a progressive. Just don’t call him late for dinner. (Sorry, Bill’s the guy that gets paid to tell jokes). I call Bill Maher a voice of reason.

The important thing about Bill Maher is that he’s not a Hollywood funny guy. He’s not a slick cable TV host. He’s not a hired-gun pundit or a talking head. In his own way, Maher is part of the movement. He’s part and parcel of the cause. He’s one of us. And he talks the talk . . . and, more importantly, he’s willing to court controversy and walk the walk while the cameras are (literally and figuratively) still rolling.

During a 2002 NORML conference, Maher (who’s served on the group’s Advisory Board) was introduced as a speaker and lauded as a “hero and a major part of that change,” in reference to legalization efforts. He boiled down the hypocrisy of prohibition when he described marijuana as “the one drug that doesn’t kill anybody.” He described prohibition as a “triumph of fear and ignorance over fact and logic—the drug that kills nobody is the illegal one.”

Two years ago, Maher was there when Zach Galifianakis decided to smoke cannabis on-air during the taping of Real Time.

And it was in a 4/20 post on Rolling Stone’s website last year that Maher discussed publicly why he is such a strong supporter of marijuana rights, saying he supports the cause partly “because it has been beneficial in my life, partly because I believe in freedom.”

And in typical Bill Maher fashion, he uses humor and shock value to make his points clear.

Quoting an interview with rapper Redman (who graced the cover of our January 2011 issue), Bill Maher repeated to NORML conference goers in 2002: “Yeah, I used to think, ‘Let’s legalize it so I could smoke all day.’ But, damn, I smoke all day now.”

This year is an election year, folks, so you know what that means: Bill Maher for president!

Thanks, Bill, for keepin‘ it real.
Happy New Year, from CULTURE!