Posted on 06/11/2012 12:46:30 PM PDT by Deadeye Division
Rush Limbaugh never fails to sicken me and his comments last week on our own local celebrity’s act of selflessness puts me at wit’s end.
While many readers who want to lump me in with the run-of-the-mill liberal journalist stereotype probably think I’m blowing off steam about Limbaugh’s overall conservatism, that is not the case at all.
The man is a complete idiot. Period.
In case you missed it, he stooped to an all-time low (quite possibly trumping even his illegal Viagra possession, pain killer addiction and entirely sexist attitude toward all women’s issues) in what he apparently saw as some insightful truth into the declining nature of the capitalist values he believes make the United States the end-all-and-be-all of human existence.
Specifically, he took the story of West Liberty-Salem long distance runner Meghan Vogel helping another runner cross the finish line and said the young athlete lacks the spirit of American competitiveness that makes our country strong.
What the dolt is missing about the true American spirit — and what Meghan demonstrated by pushing Arlington runner Arden McMath ahead of her in the state 3,200 meter track competition — is that life isn’t all about coming in first place in some athletic competition.
In fact, sometimes people do stop to help each other out.
Just the other day, I was walking to work and a man asked me for directions to the nearest gas station. Instead of blowing on by him so I could get to work and earn my cash — as Limbaugh wants all to believe is the only worthwhile pursuit in life — I took the time to point him in the right direction.
Recently, local businessman Robert Notestine spoke with me about giving a few bucks here and there to folks who are homeless or down on their luck.
These everyday acts of consideration for others may not equate to or garner the national attention of sacrificing a better placing in a state competition, or — as Limbaugh goes on to compare it to — Rory Sabbatini sacrificing the Memorial tournament so Tiger Woods can feel better about himself, but they do occur throughout our country on a daily basis.
As a matter of fact, if life were all about competition, Middle America probably wouldn’t exist at all.
We’d all be off running the rat race in New York or Los Angeles trying to be on top of the American dung hill Limbaugh and his ilk call home.
Quite frequently people ask me why I don’t aspire to work for a bigger newspaper, but I just don’t.
I was born right here in Bellefontaine. My family is here. People know me. And, honestly, I don’t know of any better place to ply my trade than right here in Logan County. And, trust me, I have ventured out.
So, according to the radio loud mouth, that’s just one more strike against me as a true American.
But in my opinion, it is the people of all the small communities who are not striving to be on top in Washington, the Big Apple or Hollywood that make America what it is.
And yes, we do frequently stop to help our neighbors or even complete strangers out, despite the fact that it may entail a sacrifice on our own part.
And this opinionated blowhard has the gall to say we’re the ones making America weak.
In my own opinion, the television and radio stations that feed us this endless stream of drivel from arrogant pundits like Limbaugh are much more to blame for the decline of America than the Meghan Vogels of this country.
Reuben Mees is an Examiner Satff Writer and vitriolic despiser of television-era punditry that serves no purpose in educating our society. He can be reached at rmees@examiner.org
Dude needs to learn the difference between competition and real life.
In short, freedom is what the American Revolution was about; and slavery is what fascist, communist and socialist states are about.
I thought the story about the long-distance runner was also quite ridiculous, but not as the author is proposing. If the other runner was dying and you could save them, then yes - one should/must stop to help.
but carrying them across the finish line in a simple high-school track race? Its taking feelings and sentimentalism to a ridiculous level. Its a form of political-correctness. Kids have learned they will never get criticized for being too “caring” even if it is symbolic, pointless, or even harmful.
I don’t agree with Limbaugh that its about “American competitiveness” - its really about applying proper judgement to a situation, and over-the-top emotionalism present in America today.
The young runner was completely correct. Pick up the slow or fallen runners, the faster ones slow down so all cross the finish line at the same time so they all get trophies.
By reproducing his article here on FR you increased his readers from, at the most, two dozen to tens of thousands. He deserves neither.
His newspaper has a circulation of about 500 per week. Logan county is rapidly becoming mostly Amish and they don’t want to read his vitriol. He stays because no other paper wants him.
As for Rush destroying decency, he is fighting harder than most to maintain what decency this country has left.
One of the things I DO appreciate about liberals is their ability to let you know exactly what their hour-long spiel is about in the first sentence.
Sometimes, the first two or three words.
I will bet $100 his car looks like this:
Rush competes in the radio market, squashes his competition...
...then turns around and gives millions to the Leukemia Foundation.
Then he tips restaurant servers and valets with hundred dollar bills.
Then he causes advertisers to prosper and hire more people, until they cower and dump him.
Then he has his own well-paid staffers both in the studio, his newsletter publisher, his clothing line and in his household.
Then he provides work for the corporate aircraft industry, the luxury car industry, the personal security industry, the oil industry, the landscaping industry, the cigar industry, the electronics industry.
He causes all of the homes in his neighborhood to appreciate.
He pays out millions in federal, state, and local taxes.
I think we need to ask ourselves what the world would be like without competitors.
You got that right! When Rush used the phrase, “the new castrati”, he must have recognized himself and has been knashing his teeth ever since. :)
bttt
What a humanitarian. He's done more for peace than drone em to death Mr 0b0tt0.
Give him the next KnowBull prize!
So, she was supposed to triage?
I guess I’m just going to disagree with everybody.
The writer, because s/he’s carping on Rush @ decency, when the policies s/he probably supports have been actively destroying decency and responsibility for decades.
Go to the projects schmuck. THEN come back and gripe about loss of decency.
I didn’t hear Rush, but the runner had the freedom to do what she did too. Didn’t she?
She chose to help.
I for one will not fault her for that.
Amen. Rush and his family are the emptopy of decency, American and Judeo-Christian values. Patriots who need no apologists. G-d Bless Rush! (please)
He got several things wrong, and even Limbaugh didn’t mention the elephant in the room.
He thought that Limbaugh was condemning the girl for her actions. Not really. The girl had a choice and decided to be generous. Limbaugh’s point was that while she was a crowd favorite, she still lost, because the other girls continued running.
However, as usual, he never takes the best punchline for himself. In this case, his real point was in condemning the adults who were in charge of the race for *breaking the rules*.
The rules say, “runners cannot help other runners”. Clear as that. But because what she did was popular *with the crowd*, they decided to ignore the rules and give her an award to which she was not entitled.
Think about the implications for that.
Let’s say the Red Sox and the Cubs are playing the tie breaker game of the World Series in Boston. The Red Sox have played well that year and won their way, fair and square, to the World Series. But the Cubs have become a media favorite, fighting and scrapping and barely winning every game.
They are called the “Cinderella Cubs” by the media, and Obama spends millions to tout them as “his” home team. The MSM fall all over themselves with praise for the Cubs.
Well, the World Series is just like the rest of the season. The Cubs have three men on base and their best batter is up, whose wife lay dying in the hospital with breast cancer.
Strike one!, and the crowd roars its disapproval.
Strike two!, and the crowd openly boos.
Strike three!, and according to THE RULES, the game is over and the Mets win. BUT WAIT! Obama himself sends a message to the Baseball Commissioner, who tells the umpires to give the Cubs batter ONE MORE CHANCE!
The Mets are visibly upset, and complain, but are overruled. The Cubs have *tried* so hard this year, and the batter is such a good guy, and his wife is so tragic, that it would be *unfair* to *not* let him try to hit the ball again!
Does it matter at that point whether he hits it or not?
The game is ruined. No number of asterisks next to his name will ever restore the value of the World Series. It will have been ruined, in the name of “fairness”.
Does this indicate a declining country? Perhaps, perhaps not. But it does mean that the country has lost its sense of fair play and honor.
“What people tell me about Rush Limbaugh never fails to sicken me (since I never actually listen to him) and what I heard from other libs about his comments last week puts me at wit’s end (or would, if I had any).”
Fixed.
If a runner collapsed and was dying the officials would stop the race and either finish it from that point or run it again.
The girl that stopped to help said, “it’s not worth a state championship.” Well, la-te-da! Tell that to the coaches and teammates who worked hard to win.
Of course, her finish in this race did not make a difference but that’s not the point.
Way back in my little league days (I was 6 or 7) we were losing a game pretty bad and in the final inning I hit a ground ball to second which was easily caught. I wouldn’t have made a bit of difference in the game and I didn’t run it out to first base.
My coach chewed me out and suspended me for the next game. By today’s standards he’d be the villian but I learned my lesson.
...”and what Meghan demonstrated by pushing Arlington runner Arden McMath ahead of her in the state 3,200 meter track competition — is that life isn’t all about coming in first place in some athletic competition.”
When I saw what she did I couldn’t help but think of D-Day and Omaha Beach. The US Marines will always have a need for people capable of performing such heroics and acts of valor.
However, she took herself out of the running in the process.
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