I am not much of a letter writer anymore, but once in awhile something gets me angry enough to contact my representatives. This is the text of the letter I fired off to Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss and Representative Paul Broun this morning. I doubt it will do much good; Chambliss and Broun are loons and Isakson is only marginally better.
When I was stationed overseas, whenever Rush came on the radio in my office, I turned it off. Not only did I want to avoid having to listen to him spew toxic waste all over my work section, I also did not want anyone thinking I subscribed to his views. Rush Limbaugh stands in stark contrast to what are supposed to be the founding tenets of our country. He also does a huge disservice to the thousands of women and persons of color who serve in our armed forces, without whose dedication and hard work, my job as a Senior NCO would have been considerably more difficult.
I am writing you regarding Rush Limbaugh’s continued presence on the Armed Forces Network radio. For the record, I am a retired Air Force service member and I currently work for the Department of the Army as a federal employee. I am a registered voter here in Georgia and I have never missed an election. Mr. Limbaugh has a long record of making incendiary comments that fly in the face of the best traditions of our country. He has been allowed for far too long to use his platform on the public airwaves to spew bile and hatred. For many years, I have ignored Mr. Limbaugh’s outrageous conduct in the hopes that enough people would finally come to the realization that his view are out of step with most of the people in our country and that he would eventually fall out of favor. Given his latest outrage in the form of his calling Ms. Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” over the airwaves, and given the fact that he suborned misogyny by saying “Anyone who wants taxpayers to pay for contraception should post videos of their sexual encounters on the internet” I can hold my silence regarding this man no longer.
Sir, have we finally reached the point where the standards of public decency no longer apply? Are we willing to sit by and allow Mr. Limbaugh to disparage the women of our country and spread his perverted fantasies over the public airwaves? I would hope we are a better country than that. Does the First Amendment afford him the right to slander people and entire groups of people over the airwaves simply because they hold an opposing point of view? I think not. I realize that Clear Channel radio, the distributor of Mr. Limbaugh’s show, has broad latitude in choosing whom they do and do not program. I am not challenging that premise through your office. I will challenge that premise through Mr. Limbaugh’s sponsors. What I am challenging through you, my elected representative, is his continued presence on a taxpayer funded media outlet in the form of the Armed Forces Network.
The taxpayers of this country should not be forced to subsidize bigotry, hatred and misogyny, nor should a public entity such as Armed Forces Radio be engaged in promoting and validating such egregious views. If a private firm wishes to engage in such activities, that is their business; we as consumers have ways to remedy that. I spent 21 years on active duty and I can speak from personal experience that if a member of our military were to speak of women and minorities in the manner so often engaged by Mr. Limbaugh, that person would be subjected to non-judicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice or could even be referred for Summary Court-Martial. Such persons would almost certainly face discharge from the military and rightfully so. Such views are patently abhorrent and fly in the face of everything this country stands for. By allowing Mr. Limbaugh a platform on Armed Forces Radio, our government is sending a mixed and improper message to our troops. Mr. Limbaugh’s views, if taken to heart by those listening, serve to undermine the good order and discipline of our armed forces, as well as unit cohesion. By allowing him to broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, our government is in some sense validating and legitimizing some pretty bizarre views on any number of subjects. It is difficult enough for our officers and NCOs to build unit cohesion among people from a wide variety of backgrounds and to get them to work together in harmony. Mr. Limbaugh, through his racist and misogynistic views, makes that task all the harder.
The crux of the matter is this, how can we allow someone who expresses such unhealthy and unsavory views to broadcast on a government-owned medium and then hold our men and women in uniform to a far higher standard of conduct? It is time for our elected leaders to demonstrate some courage, leadership and responsibility and press for his removal, and any others who violate acceptable standards of conduct, from publicly funded entities such as Armed Forces Radio. In many parts of the world, the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service provides the only sources of information and entertainment for our troops and their families. Given the limited choices available, and given that our military is largely composed of women and minorities, whom Mr. Limbaugh clearly holds in disdain, they should not have to be subjected to the swill proffered by Mr. Limbaugh and his ilk. It boils down to being a matter of common decency.
As a practicing Christian, I find Mr. Limbaugh’s views towards women and minorities morally repulsive. If Mr. Limbaugh were to stick to expressing and debating legitimate political views I would have little argument with his continued presence on publicly funded mediums. However, this latest diatribe is a clear indication that Mr. Limbaugh cannot confine himself to legitimate political discourse and has crossed the line into repeated instances of hate speech and misogyny. Mr. Limbaugh serves no constructive or legitimate purpose in fostering healthy debate of the weighty issues faced by our country. Consequently, his continued presence on Armed Forces Radio is no longer appropriate. As a taxpayer, I find it disgusting that a man of such moral turpitude is allowed such a lofty forum, on a medium my tax dollars help to subsidize. As a veteran, I find his views regarding others not like himself unconscionable. His views are a disservice to the tens of thousands of women and minorities who serve our country with honor and distinction.
It is time to get Mr. Limbaugh off of Armed Forces Radio and replace him with someone of moral character and who adheres to the best traditions of our country. It matters not whether such a person is a conservative, liberal or a moderate, it only matters that such persons offer constructive views that furthers both healthy debate and understanding of the issues faced by our country. Mr. Limbaugh meets none of these criteria and has not for a considerable period of time. We cannot expect our men and women in uniform to adhere to the highest standards of conduct and respect for others when we allow someone of Mr. Limbaugh’s lowly moral character and disdain for others to permeate the airwaves promoting his toxic bile.