Dear Rush Limbaugh:

I wrote this 'response' to Mr. Limbaugh after listening to his show on the radio one afternoon about two years ago (I am sorry, I have no idea why I was listening...in all fairness, the cd player in my car is broken.)
Anyway, while I was listening, Rush said something along the lines of "Humans are the most intelligent creatures on this planet because we have the capability to understand God. Most animals aren't even aware that they are alive, much less Him. Besides, a fish doesn't realize he is in water, and I don't even want to fathom how a bug thinks."
Well, I disagreed, and decided to let him know why.

Also, if you do like this poem, there is a link at the bottom where you can hear me perform it live with a musical collaboration with the group Word of Mouth.

A TELEGRAM TO RUSH LIMBAUGGGGH:

Dear Rush Limbaugh

You said
that humans are the most intelligent creatures
on this planet because
“we have the capability to understand
the concept of God”
and that all other animals
are lesser than because
“they are not aware of their own existence,
much less His.”

I disagree.

I think
because we,
as human beings,
have become ‘aware’ of God
we are thus
so incredibly separated from him
that we can only make out his awkwardly fading figure on the horizon
like the smoking pillow clouds that sketch wizard faces
and baby blue whales and hedgehogs
and other things above our heads
that others always say they see
that I never do.

But,
it is alright.
We are still
all right.

You say,
“fish don’t realize they are in water”
and “I don’t even want to fathom
what bugs think about.”

So, perhaps this is where we differ
on a fundamental level,
because I have boggled, bent, warped and tried
just about everything, including nothing,
to fathom how bugs think,
or what it was the beetle above my bed
could possibly have contemplated
so intensely
that it stayed perfectly still
for three days
before finally flying away.

I’d like to think I understood once,
before I learned how to speak.

And the only reason a fish
doesn’t realize he is in water
is because he has never
been separated from water,
but I bet he’d realize what water was
as he plopped and gasped for breath on the shore
vaguely seeing only a puddle of the entire ocean
receding with the tide
and realizing he could be saved
if only he could make it back
to where he came from.

Then he’d really be self-aware.
Just like us.

It is through the separation
that we become aware
of what we no longer are,
and since animals
have never been separated from Him,
they therefore do not fear Him,
nor do they reject Him or live against
any of His rules.
They do not feel it necessary to
dress to impress Him
nor make unrealistic promises to Him when placed
face to face with death
about how they will change and
be a better person, if You just help me this time…

Birds do not have to understand
aeronautical physics to fly,
nor do wolves, termites or beavers
have to understand
marriage
to mate for life.

Within that
is the secret to
being just
and to
just being.

So stop,
Mr. Limbaugh,
just stop.
_______________________________________

As promised, here is the link to hear this performed live:
www.myspace.com...

ALSO, I was a little more 'angsty' at the time in my life when I wrote this, and was just emerging into my awareness of my own relationship with God. Some of my views have changed now, but I still enjoy this piece and I hope you do too.

SIDE NOTE: I just realized that TODAY is the exact 2 year anniversary of me writing this. Interesting. I had no idea until I opened up the folder to copy>paste it here. Synchronistic, eh?

Not really
sure that I
can follow your letter.
I do agree however,
that animals have a consciousness.

There was a shaman that once said,
everything down to the smallest pebble
shares the burden of consciousness.