Lift Up Your Hearts!

I'm going to use my proverb until it catches on:  The wise man recognizes truth in the words of his enemies.  And the prudent man defends even his enemies from unjust accusations.  It's time to annoy some of my readers yet again.

Many years ago I listened, against my will, to part of a Rush Limbaugh radio show.  I was disgusted by the self-aggrandizing bombast, and even more by the sarcastic, mocking humor.  Since then I've read bits and pieces of many of his newsletters, however, and have to admit that amongst the bombast, mockery, and occasional misinformation, there is some important truth.  Oh, how hard it is not to let our selves get in the way of our message!  And how many people are blinded to the truth because of the way we present it!  However, that is another issue.

What troubles me is the heat Limbaugh has taken because he insists that he wants President Obama's policies to fail. How awful of him, how immoral, how intolerant, partisan, and mean!  How could anyone wish the president to fail in his efforts to bring prosperity and respect back to our nation?  Personally, I am too selfish to wish Obama to fail.  I don't have enough years ahead of me not to hope for a quick recovery. That doesn't change the fact that I can envision scenarios in which Limbaugh's attitude is not only proper, but heroic.

When I watch a three-year-old climbing a piece of playground equipment, I want him to succeed.  But if that same child were attempting to climb a trellis that reached from the ground to the top of a tall house, and I knew that much of the wood was rotten and likely to collapse under his weight, I would want him to fail, and fail quickly.  The sooner his efforts were stymied, the better:  let his injuries be a wounded dignity, or even a broken arm, rather than a broken neck or death!

You can say that Rush Limbaugh is an arrogant, sarcastic blow-hard, and I'll agree with you.  You can insist that he is wrong in believing that Obama's policies are disastrous, and I'll hope you are right.  But don't castigate him for not cheering on the president.  If you thought the Pied Piper were kidnapping your children, would you be right to hope for his success?