What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?

Hear, O seekers of truth hidden in jest, the words of George Carlin, who asked with razor wit: “What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?” At first, it may seem the musing of a comedian mocking the absurdities of language. Yet beneath his laughter lies wisdom, for in this question he unmasks the confusion of words without meaning, and reveals how modern life is often dressed in empty phrases that cloud rather than clarify.

The ancients knew the power of language. Words were not mere sounds but sacred vessels, shaping reality itself. To misuse words was to distort truth; to cloak nonsense in solemn tone was to deceive. Carlin, like a prophet in the guise of a jester, calls us back to clarity. What is pre-boarding, if not a trick of speech, a phrase that promises action before action, as though time itself could be bent? By questioning it, he reminds us that words without sense breed thought without depth.

Consider the tale of Diogenes the Cynic, who carried a lantern in daylight, searching for “an honest man.” With humor and provocation, he revealed the falsehoods of his time, exposing the gap between word and deed. Carlin stands in this same lineage. His question about pre-boarding is no idle joke—it is a lantern shining upon the absurdities we accept without thought. For how often do we walk through life, nodding to nonsense, bowing to rituals of language that conceal emptiness?

Carlin’s words also point to a deeper human weakness: the tendency to surrender to authority in speech. An airline proclaims “pre-boarding,” and we obey, never pausing to ask what it means. This reflects not only on travel but on life itself. We accept jargon in business, politics, and faith without questioning its sense. In so doing, we allow power to hide behind words. The comedian becomes the warrior who challenges this tyranny, arming us with laughter against deception.

Yet there is more: the wisdom of his humor is not merely to criticize but to awaken. By laughing at the absurdity of “getting on before you get on,” we begin to question other absurdities—the empty promises of advertisements, the hollow language of leaders, the false labels that blind us to truth. Laughter becomes not escape but resistance, a way to reclaim the sanity that lies buried beneath verbal fog.

The lesson, therefore, is clear: be vigilant in language, for words shape the world you live in. Do not accept phrases without thought. Ask, as Carlin did, “What does this truly mean?” In doing so, you honor clarity, you pierce through illusion, and you preserve your freedom. For a people who no longer question language are a people already enslaved by it.

Practically, this means living as a guardian of words. When you hear jargon, seek its true meaning. When someone cloaks emptiness in fine speech, ask for substance. Speak simply, that your words may carry truth rather than confusion. And when nonsense arises, let humor be your sword—for laughter, sharp and fearless, can cut through the thickest fog.

So let this saying endure: “What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?” It is not only a jest, but a call to arms. Question the absurd, guard the truth of words, and walk always in clarity. For in the kingdom of honesty, no one boards before they board, and no one bows to nonsense disguised as wisdom.