Before he died, George Carlin explained why people like John Oliver, Jon Stewart, and Bill Maher are so persuasive:
“You are never more yourself than when you have been surprised into laughing. That is a moment when your defenses are down, in a manner of speaking. Most of the time, when you talk to people about — let’s call them ‘issues,’ okay? — people have their defenses up. They are going to defend their point of view, the thing they’re used to, the ideas that they hold dear, and you have to take a long, logical route to get through to them ... But when you are doing comedy or humor, people are open, and when the moment of laughter comes, their guard is down, so new data can be introduced more easily at that moment.”
