A lot of obituaries are being carried about radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. They talk about his accomplishments. But Rush Limbaugh was extremely successful because of who he was. Decades ago, I briefly met Rush in New York. He was inquisitive, wanting to know about me. He was humble. We talked news and conservatism for the very short time we had together. From time to time over the years, we shared background information on a handful of stories. I don’t want to make this something that it was not, but each encounter was very to the point and useful, I hope for him as well as for me. Rush had a true gift of discernment that underscored his body of work. We all could learn from it, especially now.
Rush often said that he was, what, 99.8 percent accurate. People scoffed at this. But he was accurate. He was able to apply his common sense, his nose for news to the facts and see through the noise to get to the point. As much as Rush was espousing a conservative position, he was doing so with truth, employing the facts to back up his arguments. This is one of the reasons why the liberals hated him so much. Their arguments were based off of emotion without facts. Rush would sit back and give them the facts without emotion—well, ok, a little humor, but you get what I mean. Global warming, Russia, China, socialist healthcare, Hillary Clinton, Benghazi, Arab Spring—you name it, he argued with the facts.
Rush’s wife Kathryn said it best: “Rush will forever be the greatest of all time. Rush was an extraordinary man, a gentle giant — brilliant, quick witted, genuinely kind, extremely generous, passionate, courageous, and the hardest working person I know. Despite being one of the most recognized, powerful people in the world, Rush never let the success change his core or beliefs… He proudly fought and defended conservative values in a way that no one else can. Rush often stood up and took arrows on his own because he knew it was the right thing to do. Rush encouraged so many of us to think for ourselves, to learn and to lead. He often said it did not matter where you started or what you look like. As Americans, we all have endless opportunities like nowhere else in the world.” This precisely describes how I would describe what I knew of Rush.
Liberals would say that they “hated” Rush Limbaugh. My response was that “hate” was a very strong word. And I would ask if they ever listened to his show. “Absolutely NOT,” was most always the reply. They could say all these bad things about him, yet never have listed to what he had to say. His life exposed the ideological bigotry and political intolerance in which this nation is so immersed today. People don’t like the truth. And lazy people don’t like to discern the truth because it is the real meat of life. As Hebrews 5:14 says, “But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Facts and God-given common sense are tools of discernment. Rush Limbaugh was gifted with such, and may his example inspire it in the rest of us.
