The Home of Steven Barnes
Author, Teacher, Screenwriter


Thursday, December 07, 2006

Operative definition of a monster


After years of listening to the man, and being uncertain what to think, I now will officially state that I consider Rush Limbaugh to be a monster.  Listening to him during my drive time last week, I heard him say something to the effect that America will suffer until it adapts some version of the “Limbaugh Doctrine” in Iraq.  It is a version of what was once called “cut and run.”  That isn’t the part that disturbs me.  What bothered me was the way he described it:  “pull out and let them murder each other.”

Let me make it clear: there are few good options for Iraq at this point, although undoubtedly, not all of those options have been thought of or placed “on the table.”
They say the three basic ones are “go big” “go long” and “go home.”  Limbaugh merely proposed the third.  It’s not what he said, it was HOW he said it.  I merely give my own definition, the line that someone would have to cross for me to consider the comment monstrous.  In Limbaugh’s case, that’s a “straw that broke the camel’s back” situation—he has simply said too many things over too many years.  I no longer believe him to be an honorable man with a political point of view different from mine. I think he believes that “those people” do not possess his level of humanity.  From that perspective, anything he said about “bringing them democracy” is crap.  I can’t pretend to read his mind well enough to know what all his intentions are, but I no longer believe them to be on any path I would consider fully human, sane, and spiritual.  I just don’t.

He’s a monster.

Here’s the problem.  For someone who jumped up and down, supporting the war over the airwaves and lending his considerable influence to swaying votes for the last three terrible years, these comments are, to ME, intolerable.  If someone supported the war, and now says:  “with regret, man, I see nothing else we can do.  This is horrible.  We did a terrible thing with the best of intentions…let’s pray for the best.”  Is one thing.  I could respect that.

If someone who was AGAINST the war said what Rush said, I would consider them to be cold-hearted and  not someone I’d choose as a friend—although it would be understandable.

But for someone who pimped for this ghastly mess to say that, to me, is a revelation of his core character.  I believe him to be a sociopath, with no real empathy for the women and children who have died because WE  DIDN’T  STOP  OUR  LEADERS  FROM  MAKING THIS TERRIBLE  MISTAKE.    Hell, Cheney’s last comment was that, even knowing what he knows now, he’d STILL go in there.  I guess his buddies are making billions hands over fist.  Yeah, I’m just that cynical about that man.  Heart trouble?  He has no damn heart.

I am so ashamed of what we did.  I pray that each and every one of you who supported the war can say, in your heart of hearts, that you really, truly thought it would be good for the Iraqi people, or at the least that you really, truly believed that they had WMDs and were prepared to use them against America, and were harboring terrorists.

Because people, if you didn’t believe that?  If there is a hell, you are going there.  And you’ll burn right next to that Hillbilly Heroin addicted   Golem of the Airwaves.