Bill Hicks: Heaven on earth

Bill Hicks waits for the laughter to sputter out. Holds a beat.

‘Here’s my point.’

Hicks leans forward.

‘In the blink of an eye, we can have heaven on earth.

‘It’s a choice, that’s all it is. There’s no evolution, no need to go any farther. We know it now. It’s all here. It’s all clear. It’s all right now.

‘It’s a choice. You can look through the eyes of fear, you can look through the eyes of love. That’s the only two ways to look.

‘The eyes of fear is insanity, it’s not really there. The eyes of love you realize bingo! Bin-fucking-go!

‘Heaven on earth right now, if you want. It’s a choice to look through the eyes of love instead of the eyes of fear.

‘That money we spend on weapons of defense each year, the money we spend on buying bigger locks and more fucking cops, instead if we spent that money feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world - which it would pay for many times over - not one human being excluded, we could as one race explore outer space together in peace, forever. That is my dream.

‘Thank you very much. You’ve been fantastic. I appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed it.’