Life is Not Fair

Rush Limbaugh's monologue from August 5th is absolutely right:

RUSH: I want to say something. I know this is not going to go down well among those who have knee-jerk reactions and I know this is not going to go down well among people who have this notion that fairness is the overriding objective of any society. I've made the point throughout my career, the undeniable truths of life, many monologues on this program, that life is not fair by definition. Life isn't fair. I mean, it just isn't, and there's no way that you can change certain aspects that make life unfair to make them fair. Life is not equal. Sometimes people earn more than others. Some people have children when other people can't. There's nothing unfair about that. That's just the way it is. Unspeakable tragedies happen to some families; they don't happen to others. Some people live a long time; some people don't. There's no explaining any of this. Nobody's in charge of this. There's no government that can change this, although we have plenty of busybodies trying to on this "living longer" business. (imitating busybody) "Oh yeah, some people are living longer because they don't smoke, drink, eat trans fats," and go down that ridiculous road. But the vast majority of things that occur in the process of living life are unequal and unfair.

You have people who are career criminals who are wealthy and never get caught. They're pursued; never get caught. They enjoy the fruits of their ill-gotten gain. There are people who play by the rules each and every day who don't make much money. It's not because the Constitution's not fair, it's not because America's unfair, it's not because America as constituted is not right or unjust or immoral. There are some people who go to church every day, have some of the most unfortunate, unspeakably rotten things happen to them, true believers. Other people, agnostics and atheists who seem to be living fun, enjoyable, carefree lives, you look at it and say that's just not fair, not right. Well, maybe it isn't. Certainly unfair, certainly unequal but it's not because America's not unfair. It's not because America's Constitution is unjust. There are people who work in sewers. There are people who work in trash and sludge all day long who don't make much money. There are people who have never gotten their fingernails dirty, who are multibillionaires. Not fair. Not equal.

There are people who you look at who do work that is far more important morally, economically than other people and the work they do and yet those people who don't make much money, teachers, a lot of people think teachers are the most important people we have in society and look at what they make compared to athletes. Athletes are another thing. Champions are born. They are not made in the weight room. They are not made on the practice field. It's honed and it's practiced and it's improved, but champions are born. If you can't run a 4.2 40, nobody can teach you how. If you can't throw a baseball 100 miles an hour, nobody can teach you how. It's not fair. Some people can and some can't. It's not because the Constitution or the country's unfair. It's not because America's unjust, that some people can end up playing Major League Baseball and others can't. And it's certainly not fair that among those who play Major League Baseball, some of the most immoral rotten schlubs, constant drunks, drug abusers, are the biggest stars, biggest heroes and some of the ones that are clean and pure as the wind-driven snow, God, country, church every day, get cut, don't make teams. Not fair. Certainly not equal. Not because the Constitution's unfair. It's not because America as constituted is unfair.

There are some people in the world who are born in some of the most God-awful places and circumstances and throughout their lives never escape those God-awful places and circumstances. And there are other people who are born in the laps of luxury, who sip cocktails at 4:30 in the afternoon, inherit their money and look down on those who earn it. It's not fair. It's not equal. But it's not because of the US Constitution. It's not because of the United States of America.

There are people who have lived upstanding lives, who are the models of decorum in their communities and for no reason whatsoever a drunk driver kills them. Gosh, that's not fair. And it certainly isn't equal, but it's not because of the US Constitution. It's not because of the United States of America. You can conjure up all these examples. They are never ending. It's a limitless list of examples that we can all cite if you want to stick in the country. Some people in this country are born to wealthy families. Some people end up marrying wealthy people. Other people end up marrying people who lose their jobs, lose their careers, and end up on skid row. Not fair. Certainly not equal, but it's not the fault of the US Constitution. There are some people who are able to watch football, basketball, baseball games from air-conditioned suites, sky boxes, what have you. Others have to sit out in the stands freezing or getting wet or what have you, pay through the nose for it to boot. Certainly not fair, certainly not equal, and certainly not the fault of the US Constitution. Not the fault of the United States of America.

None of these inequities, none of this unfairness means that the Constitution has been violated. None of these inequities or inequalities or unfairness means that the United States of America is unjust and immoral. None of it means that the way we've governed ourselves is unfair. It doesn't mean that somebody owes you something. It doesn't mean that you're a victim of anything. It's just called life. And I realize a number of you out there on the left are probably just screeching about now claiming I'm insensitive and lacking in compassion and don't get it when it's just the other way around. It's life. You live your life. We all make decisions: good, bad, indifferent. Some of us are leaders. Some of us are followers. Some of us have unique talents. Some of us don't have any. Some of us have great confidence. Some of us are forever burdened with inferiority complex. Some of us care only what we're thought of; others couldn't care less.

It doesn't mean that anybody's better than anybody else or anybody's any worse. It certainly doesn't mean the United States of America sucks and it doesn't mean that our Constitution needs to be blown up and rewritten, and it doesn't mean you're a victim. It's called life. Everybody tries to live their life. Some people get a better handle on it than others. Some people think they have no control over their lives. They are constant victims that are always looking to blame everybody else for what doesn't go right in their lives. Other people don't have time for that. They realize they only have one life and every day is something to seize, to make the most of. Regardless where you fall in this spectrum, it doesn't mean we have a flawed country, and it doesn't mean our Constitution is flawed. It doesn't mean you're a victim. It means you're alive.

In this country, in the United States of America right now, today, August the 5th, 2010, regardless of your race, regardless of your sex, your gender, or your orientation, you have more liberty and more opportunity to change anything about your life that you don't like than anywhere else in the world, because you live in the United States of America, because you are an American. It is time to stop thinking of yourself as a victim of America, of unfairness, of inequality, and realize the good fortune you have had to be born in this country because regardless of where you grew up, regardless of where you live, regardless of where you're born, regardless of whether you're gay, straight or like goats, you have more liberty and more opportunity. Whether you haven't married a rich woman who inherited her money from a guy who inherited his money who died in a helicopter, it doesn't matter. Wherever you are and whoever you are and whatever you are, you have more opportunity to change what you don't like about yourself than anybody else in the rest of the world because you live in the United States of America.

Your lot in life is not because you live in America. You are not a victim if you're an American. You are among a precious few worldwide, and the people who are not Americans wish to hell they were and will do anything to become Americans. And yet we have a seemingly growing portion of our population who look at being an American as some kind of a limitation, a shackle. You're not a victim. Life isn't fair. Life isn't equal. Nobody can make it fair and nobody can make it equal, and all these things that make you unhappy are not because of the US Constitution. It does not have to be destroyed. It does not have to be blown up. In fact, I would venture to say that most of the unhappiness in the country today is being borne by people who love this country and who are watching it right before their very eyes be destroyed and wish to save it, and they are being told they're the reasons that life is unfair and unequal, because they are supposedly the majority.