I wonder if he privately looks at what has happened to this country and regrets his role in where we are now.
He's not a bad or evil person. A former disc jockey, ideologically influenced by his father and grandfather, he was smart and talented enough to introduce a deejay's entertainment sensibility to political talk radio. Characters, songs, comedic segments, all produced and delivered skillfully and effectively. This guy single-handedly saved AM radio and revolutionized a medium.
Fast forward +/- 35 years to today: His massive success spawned any number of local and national copycats, most notably former Rush fill-in host Sean Hannity. While they don't possess anything near Limbaugh's entertainment chops, they hammer away at all his standard talking points and distortion tactics and have largely been able to add Limbaugh's listeners to their own audience. The force and influence of talk radio can not only be measured by its number of listeners; perhaps even more importantly, the constant drum beating and repetition of the talking points has clearly influenced the very thought processes of its listeners.
But as that echo chamber has grown exponentially, its effects go even deeper. Limbaugh certainly couldn't have known about or planned for the explosion of the internet and how it enabled an entire closed-circuit universe of like-minded conservatives. There is no way to understate this. This group now gets ALL of its "news" and "information" from conservative talk radio and conservative internet. Anything outside of that tightly-controlled universe is ignored, dismissed, and/or labeled "fake news", and these people are cut off from facts and information that matter.
While we have always debated and quibbled over facts, we are now in an environment where we are operating under two entirely separate sets of facts and information. This has pulled apart the two ends of the spectrum so far that we appear to have lost the ability to engage in normal adult conversation. How exactly is a republic supposed to function when communication is lost?
Finally, the ravings and tactics of talk radio have been inserted directly into our national politics. They're reflected in the purity tests now imposed on Republican politicians and candidates. And in predictable response, they are now also being reflected in the actions of Democratic politicians and candidates. The chasm continues to grow, and we're seeing the predictable results: Violence, hate, constant talk of civil war.
So I wonder if, in private moments, Rush reflects on what he started and regrets any of it.
.
He's not a bad or evil person. A former disc jockey, ideologically influenced by his father and grandfather, he was smart and talented enough to introduce a deejay's entertainment sensibility to political talk radio. Characters, songs, comedic segments, all produced and delivered skillfully and effectively. This guy single-handedly saved AM radio and revolutionized a medium.
Fast forward +/- 35 years to today: His massive success spawned any number of local and national copycats, most notably former Rush fill-in host Sean Hannity. While they don't possess anything near Limbaugh's entertainment chops, they hammer away at all his standard talking points and distortion tactics and have largely been able to add Limbaugh's listeners to their own audience. The force and influence of talk radio can not only be measured by its number of listeners; perhaps even more importantly, the constant drum beating and repetition of the talking points has clearly influenced the very thought processes of its listeners.
But as that echo chamber has grown exponentially, its effects go even deeper. Limbaugh certainly couldn't have known about or planned for the explosion of the internet and how it enabled an entire closed-circuit universe of like-minded conservatives. There is no way to understate this. This group now gets ALL of its "news" and "information" from conservative talk radio and conservative internet. Anything outside of that tightly-controlled universe is ignored, dismissed, and/or labeled "fake news", and these people are cut off from facts and information that matter.
While we have always debated and quibbled over facts, we are now in an environment where we are operating under two entirely separate sets of facts and information. This has pulled apart the two ends of the spectrum so far that we appear to have lost the ability to engage in normal adult conversation. How exactly is a republic supposed to function when communication is lost?
Finally, the ravings and tactics of talk radio have been inserted directly into our national politics. They're reflected in the purity tests now imposed on Republican politicians and candidates. And in predictable response, they are now also being reflected in the actions of Democratic politicians and candidates. The chasm continues to grow, and we're seeing the predictable results: Violence, hate, constant talk of civil war.
So I wonder if, in private moments, Rush reflects on what he started and regrets any of it.
.
