[Opinion] Lent and Rush Limbaugh
/
Rush Limbaugh (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP)
Of this world
Certainly Rush Limbaugh achieved and lived the American Dream. From a worldly standpoint, he was a resounding success. He had a reported net worth of $600 million at the time of his demise. He lived in a $51-million oceanfront home in West Palm Beach and a 5th Avenue penthouse in Manhattan. He rode a Gulfstream G650 jet worth $65 million. In 2010, he paid Elton John one million dollars to perform during the wedding reception for his fourth marriage.
He was a towering figure not only in American talk radio, but also in the reshaping of the Republican Party. At his peak, he captivated an audience of close to 20 million listeners. His three-hour extemporaneous monologues were legendary. He combined substance and humor, sound and satire, to produce compelling and entertaining shows that mesmerized his listeners. And to think that just like Beethoven, he was hard of hearing.
He redefined the conservative movement in the 1990s. In 1992, Ronald Reagan thanked him, “for all you’re doing to promote Republican and conservative principles ... [and] you have become the number one voice for conservatism in the country.” He played a pivotal role in the 2016 election of Donald Trump so much so that the day after Limbaugh announced his cancer diagnosis, during the 2020 State of the Union address, Trump awarded his Florida neighbor with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award bestowed by the President of the United States.
Out of this world
Limbaugh often said that talents are on loan from God. Did he invest his talents to reap a generous profit for the Lord’s kingdom? Did he plant seeds of peace and kindness that will bear good fruit? Admittedly, he engaged in various charitable undertakings including hosting an annual fundraising telethon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Yet he consistently preached a religion of hate and division. His polarizing style of caustic and incendiary language did not represent a pursuit of “things which make for peace.” And his vitriolic commentaries against women, African Americans, minorities and immigrants were not only marked by inaccuracies and distortions but laced with bigotry, racism, prejudice, and misogyny.
For example, in October 2006, he castigated Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, for “exaggerating” his sickness in a television advertisement to raise funds for stem cell research. He said that Fox was “shameless” in “moving all around and shaking” and that Fox had probably not taken “his medication or he’s acting, one of the two.” Fox said “the irony of it is I was too medicated” adding there was no way to predict how his symptoms would manifest.
In the 2008 elections, he strongly opposed Barack Obama. He not only spread the misleading “birther” theory that Obama was a non-citizen who was not born in the United States, but also the false claim that Obama was advocating mandatory circumcision. Four days before Obama’s inauguration, Limbaugh expressed his fervent aspiration for the new administration: “I hope he fails.”
In February 2012, law student Sandra Fluke gave a speech before House Democrats in support of mandating insurance coverage for contraceptives. For her stance, he called Sandra a “slut” and a “prostitute.” Limbaugh would later on apologize (an apology for him was a fluke of sorts), but the damage had been done.
He called 12-year-old Chelsea Clinton a dog. He labeled women who advocated for abortion “feminazis.” He described a woman who accused Duke University lacrosse players of rape, a “ho.” He tagged environmentalists as “tree-hugging wackos.” He cracked jokes about a Washington advocate for the homeless who took his own life.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Limbaugh claimed that the virus was the same as that of the common cold. He said during his February 24, 2020 show: “I am dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks,” further alleging that the issue was just being “weaponized” to attack President Trump.
Final act of contrition?
According to Biblical tradition, there were two thieves crucified with Jesus -- one to his right and the other to his left. The Gospel of Luke states that the thief on the left mocked Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” On the other hand, the one to the right repented, asking, “Jesus, remember me when you come to your kingdom.” The thief to the right is referred to as the Penitent Thief or the Good Thief (identified as Dismas in the Gospel of Nicodemus).
We are all imperfect beings seeking redemption. I wonder what went through Limbaugh’s mind and heart during his final days. As he lay on his deathbed, no longer in a rush, did he regret his provocative rants and vituperative words? When being right or wrong (or left) no longer matters, did he humbly return to the gospel of kindness taught by his evangelical roots? Did he remorsefully seek the blessing of entry into Paradise like Dismas? Or was he, like the impenitent thief, steeped in a limbo of mockery and hate to the very end?
Andres D. Bautista
Andres D. Bautista served as chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Elections (2015-2017) and Presidential Commission on Good Government (2010-2015).
More from Andres D. Bautista
