The Way Things Ought to Be by Rush Limbaugh, 1992 Book Review by William B. Lindley This is a best-selling book written by a guy loved by millions-and loathed by millions. We all need to understand why this guy is so popular. Failing that, we misread the American political scene. As my brother puts it, "He makes conservatism fun!" Does Rush tell us "the way things ought to be"? For the most part, not directly. As you might expect, the book is mainly sarcastic comment on how things are. Animal rights, AIDS, Congress, Anita Hill, feminism, the economy, multiculturalism, condoms, and other items: all grand opportunities to expose the hypocrisy of people who want to spend our money and run our lives. He also brags beyond belief, and frequently teases his readers with outrageous lies, some of which, to his astonishment, are believed. As he says, "I like to demonstrate the absurd by being absurd." Thus Rush gives us his sermon indirectly. And what is the message? People should think for themselves. They should accept responsibility for their acts and their well-being. He has repeatedly said: "Be the best that you can be." He is preaching the ancient Greek message of arete, the pursuit of excellence. He works for the kind of society that, in his view, encourages this. That is the positive message we must not ignore. OK, so where does he go wrong? First, on abortion, he takes the Roman Catholic Church's position. Secondly, in trashing the environmental wackos, he cultivates a complacency we do not need. Both he and the wackos are wrong. On vices such as drugs, he favors keeping them as crimes, because they are "conduct that is harmful to society." He's not happy that the Supreme Court won't allow the Ten Commandments on high school bulletin boards and makes his point by sarcastically quoting three secular ones. That's cheating. He says, "America was founded as a Judeo- Christian country." He should know better, and probably does. He supports tax money for religious schools. In short, Rush offers us conservatism, a package deal of economic freedom, orthodoxy, and social repression. Thomas Paine wouldn't buy it. However, Rush spends most of his effort and wit on the economic freedom part, and he has thereby earned his rooting section.