Even though the video is dated 1993, everyone in the modern world needs to watch less than a minute of a famous video clip from decades ago from Rush Limbaugh, a renowned American political pundit and nationally syndicated radio broadcaster who destroyed woke virtue-signaling in about 45 seconds.
Rush Limbaugh, America’s Anchorman and Doctor of Democracy was legendary, and much of what he had to say still holds relevance today. The Rush Limbaugh Show, which debuted in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM radio stations from 1988 until his death in 2021, changed the media and political scene prior to his passing
Rush Limbaugh discussed woke virtue-signaling in a video clip from 1993, albeit he didn’t use the terms “woke culture” or “virtue-signaling” exactly. Even yet, it was obvious he was referring to woke virtue signaling, which he quickly and effectively destroyed in about 45 seconds. However, let’s define “virtue-signaling” first.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines virtue-signaling as:
“The act or practice of conspicuously displaying one’s awareness of and attentiveness to political issues, matters of social and racial justice, etc., especially instead of taking effective action.”
The term “virtue-signaling” originally appeared in online message boards in 2004, in a Boston Globe article report. The word “virtue signaling” didn’t start to be used seriously until the summer of 2017, and it really took off in June 2020, according to Google Trends, which indicates that The Spectator published an article in 2015 that headlined “The dreadful growth of virtue signaling.”
In 1993, Rush Limbaugh categorically understood the concept of the virtue-signaling notion. Before anyone had given virtue-signaling a name, he not only grasped its dangerous flaws but he could effectively lampoon the concept, the blaze reported.
People would wear ribbons to showcase their moral high ground on a variety of various causes in the 1990s because there was no Twitter or Facebook to add pronouns to your bio to show you support the “current thing.”
For instance, leukemia is linked to orange ribbons, missing children are linked to yellow ribbons, urban violence is linked to lavender ribbons, and bullying is linked to blue ribbons. A red ribbon was worn in the 1990s to promote HIV/AIDS awareness. Near the peak of the AIDS pandemic in 1993, some people felt under pressure to assist those with HIV and AIDS by donning a red ribbon on their clothing.
By donning red ribbons, the Hollywood actors want to convey to the public their deep concern about AIDS. The 65th Academy Awards cast was described as a “sea of red AIDS ribbons” by the New York Times in 1993.
The Los Angeles Times noted,
“When Billy Crystal emceed the Academy Awards on Monday night, we were surprised to see that he wasn’t wearing the red ribbon that symbolizes AIDS awareness. The next morning we heard several radio shows abuzz with the to-wear or not to-wear (an AIDS ribbon) controversy,” the Los Angeles Times remarked, and added, “Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, for one, called Crystal ‘the bravest man in Hollywood’ for not feeling like he had to follow the herd.”
Limbaugh intended to use the ribbon debate as an example of how careless and superficial virtue signaling is.
“America’s Anchorman” destroyed woke virtue-signaling in a 1993 episode of his syndicated television program.
With six ribbons of various colors fastened to his suit, Limbaugh satirically bragged to the studio audience,
“Because I’m wearing these ribbons, I care more than any of you about anything. And these ribbons say so,” Rush sarcastically boasted to his audience before instructing everyone to look at their own lapels. “When you look down, what do you see?” the iconic radio host asked sarcastically.
“You don’t see anything, because you’re not wearing any ribbons,” Rush declared, answering his own question before explaining that the lack of ribbons must mean his audience was not as virtuous as him. “It means you’re a bigot, it means you’re a racist, it means you’re a sexist, it means you’re a homophobe,” Limbaugh rattled off. “It probably means you’re a white guy, it probably means you’re a European, and you and you alone are responsible for all the ills of America,” he continued.
“But I’m not, because I’m wearing these ribbons. I care more than you,” he triumphantly proclaimed as the audience erupted into laughter over the absurdity of his assertion.
While Rush Limbaugh’s response was amusing, Real Clear Energy stated,
“There are a number of reasons why virtue signaling is dangerous, not least of which is that it encourages a climate of reduced empathy and understanding of others, the motives behind acts become warped, and it creates a world in which the bare minimum becomes the accepted standard.” To put it another way, woke virtue-signaling prioritizes the appearance of moral correctness over the actual correctness.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: Taphaps, Realclearenergy, Latimes, Nytimes, Theblaze, Bostonglobe, Trends.google, Merriam-Webster dictionary.