First off, I’d like to say that I agree with his politics, for the most part. I don’t know that there’s anything he’s said politically that I don’t agree with. I’m a pretty conservative guy. I have conservative values. On the whole, I think that government is too big, and they give away too much money. I think the government needs to ratchet WAY back on spending, and get back to spending intelligently rather than raising taxes. I don’t give money to people who have proven that they cannot be trusted with money. I don’t want to throw MORE money to a government who spends poorly. I don’t think we should allow EVERYONE into this country. I think if people come into the country, they should speak the language we speak, and they should pay taxes. If they’re not here legally, I don’t want them to receive funding from the government. If you’re not here legally, and you get caught, I think you should be deported. It’s very simple. I know people aren’t going to agree with me. I don’t much care. Just explaining that my political views are close to Michael Savage’s. But I don’t listen to him anymore.
My problem is not with Savage’s politics, but rather with his apparent hatred for those who disagree with him. I’m not telling others what they’re thinking, but I think it’s worthwhile to realize that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” If Savage is this…well…savage on the radio, you can imagine what is in his heart.
Finally, I’m sick of the anger. Vote your beliefs, please. Vote for people who will make good presidents, etc. But I am sick of him screaming and throwing his childish tantrums. I’m not attacking him, here…I’m just explaining that as a Christian, I need to find better things to listen to on the way home. I don’t always agree with Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family, or Pastor Rick Countryman from Big Valley Grace Community Church, but at least when I listen to them, I hear the Word of God. By listening to them, I am hearing the Word of God preached, and while I disagree with some of what I hear, that in and of itself is practice to learn to recognize when the Word of God is being misapplied. I can then formulate an argument (not an angry argument…just one side of a debate) as to why what he said is wrong.
But I would also remind everyone here that while the evangelicals do not always have things right, neither do we. On this side of our own resurrections, we’re not going to have it all right. That doesn’t mean we don’t contend for the faith. It means that there’s no room for argument. My drive home needs to be a relaxing thing. I need to greet my wife with love for her and a happiness to be home, not a lingering anger from what he Left is doing.
This isn’t comprehensive…just making a point. :)
I agree with you on Savage, although I enjoy it when he rips someone apart. I haven’t listened to him regularly for a long time because he burns me out. There are more important things to be worrying about than politics.
Buy Rockstar anyway. It’s good for you.
For me, I think the problem with me listening to Savage is that I am an angry enough person without him. I don’t think I need to be encouraged in that area of sin. I get along well enough.
With regards to him ripping someone apart, I don’t see him attacking someone’s views constructively. I see him attacking them personally, calling them names because they’re a liberal, or Mexican, or black. I see him screaming that they ought to choke and die, or that they ought to get AIDS and die. I don’t often see him taking a caller and using their own logic to prove their folly. That is a show I could get into.
See, I’m not trying to say that Michael Savage perpetrates “hate speech”. I do not support so-called Hate Speech Legislation. I think it’s going way too far. If a white guy beats up a black guy, I think the white guy should get the stiffest penalty the law allows for a guy beating up another guy. I don’t think we ought to give him a stiffer penalty because we THINK that he was beating up the black guy because he was black. Are we trying to send the message that indiscriminate violence is somehow less wrong than targeted violence?
However, I DO think that Michael Savage perpetrates hate IN his speech. THAT is the problem that I have with Savage. I will respectfully disagree with most liberals, but I do not hate them. I hate homosexuality, because the Bible says it is a sin, but I do not hate people who practice it. I pray for people who practice it, because they are doing something that the Bible says is not a genetic predisposition, and is something they CHOOSE to do. Michael Savage has said things that I don’t think need to be said in intelligent discourse. I don’t think we need to be slinging about racial epithets in anger. On the other hand, I think we ought to be able to laugh at ourselves.
I’m rambling now, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about with regards to my own heart, and I thought I’d share. :)
And I agree with Gabe about the Rockstar. It’s a good drink! And even if Russ Wiener (Savage’s son) owns the company, I support products that I enjoy. :) If Russ wants to support his dad, well, that’s something I support as well. Savage will do well regardless of whether or not we purchase Rockstars. You don’t think he’s making boo-koo money off his radio show, which will continue to do well, even if every Christian stopped listening to it. :) There are plenty of non-Christian conservatives. :)