I'm lukewarm on Carlin being remembered for that (edit: that alone). His comedy is a lot more intelligent than a list of dirty words might imply.

Ratshit, batshit, dirty old twat, sixty-nine assholes tied in a knot. Hooray! Lizard shit. Fuck!

In other words: You demean the work by dividing it into the bits and pieces you consider polite.

Seven dirty words only became famous because of the court case. It's good, but not nearly as brilliant as state prison farms, golf courses for the homeless, euphemisms, etc.

I am unfamiliar with this side of Carlin, having seen some videos of him on YouTube recently (maybe a very occasional shit|fuck), I thought he was hysterical.

"that alone"

We're in agreement on this point. But the reality is that if one wanted to point out his impact on the entertainment industry, one of the most important aspects was that he (along with a handful of others) made it OK for a mainstream comic to work blue. Really, really, incredibly blue.

My favorite of his bits were actually pretty clean. But let's not water the old man down. He's no longer able to defend himself against sanitization.

And, I don't think his seven words bit was lacking in intelligence. I think it was one of his more astute social observations, and it was so controversial partly because it did touch a deep nerve in American culture. And the "ratshit, batshit" cheer was about the funniest thing I'd ever heard in my life. I don't know if I'd call it smart, but I'd certainly call it funny.