Rush

There was once a time, many years ago, when I enjoyed listening to conservative radio pundit Rush Limbaugh.  Occasionally I agreed with what he had to say, and I used to argue with his detractors that he was good radio entertainment.  Sure, at times he was outlandish, but that was the stuff of high ratings.  Frequently I’d disagree with him, but always he made me think.  And then, after hearing a call Rush took from a listener named Irv, I stopped listening.

It was a mistake that Irv ever got onto the air.  He was a thoughtful and articulate liberal.  Usually, the only liberals the pre-screeners allowed on Rush’s show seemed somewhere between ditsy and psychotic.  But not Irv.

Irv stated articulately, from an historical perspective and a personal belief system, why prayer in schools shouldn’t be allowed.  Rush responded, at first, with several non-sequiturs which Irv correctly pointed out.  Rush accused Irv of not listening, to which Irv calmly replied that Rush was wrong.  In fact, he informed Rush, he was listening, just not agreeing.

Rush began to raise his voice attempting to bait Irv.  Irv did not take the bait, but instead calmly and politely pointed out to Rush his inconsistencies.  Rush then ended the conversation by stating that Irv had called with no intention of dialogue and accused Irv of rudeness and arrogance.  Rush got in the last word, cut off Irv, and switched over to a commercial.

For me, this was no longer radio entertainment.  I heard on this call an arrogant, mean-spirited and intolerant man.  I no longer found Rush amusing or thought provoking.  I came to believe that his detractors were right to be concerned.  In all fairness, Rush never claimed to be “no spin” or “fair and balanced.”  It was clear that his radio show was a widely-listened-to platform for one man’s right-wing conservative opinions.  Rush had no intention of allowing his show to become a forum for debating ideas.

Rush espoused the virtues of a free and democratic country, but consistently devalued debate and ridiculed divergent opinion.  He espoused conservative American values, but excluded dissent from his media platform.  There was to be no right other than Rush’s right.  It took just one call for me to view Rush Limbaugh no longer as an entertainer but as a hypocrite, a demagogue and a threat.  I stopped listening.

Now fast forward twenty-five years, and I watch in disbelief as Rush Limbaugh is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.