From startups to iconic blue chip companies, almost every business has a “mission statement.” Usually, it’s a paragraph or two that tells the world what they do, what they value, what their business aims for.

Those of you who have listened to my program intently (is there any other way?) during the 31 years eib has been syndicated have heard me speak about my “mission” from a number of perspectives. First and foremost, I am a radio broadcaster. I’m doing what I was born to do. I was born to talk, and you were born to listen.

TALENT

I made a decision when I began my show to aim for one thing: using “talent on loan from God,” I set out to attract the largest audience on the radio. My goal was to have the most successful broadcast in the business — so I could charge confiscatory advertising rates.

And I was determined not to follow the usual roadmap. When I decided to broadcast nationally at 12 noon in the eastern time zone, broadcast industry conventional wisdom predicted failure. It said the same when, unlike almost every other radio program, I insisted I would not have guests. I wanted my show to be about what I said, what I thought, what I found interesting. It would succeed or fail on its merits. I pinned the future of the entire business on my own ability to draw an audience.

At the time, in 1988, there were only 1,200 stations in America that were airing some version of “talk” radio. eib started with just a handful of stations. Today, more than 30 years later — thanks to you — there are over 12,000 radio stations committed to talk radio. That part of my mission has wildly succeeded, and I’m proud to say the audience is still growing by leaps and bounds.

IDEOLOGY

But there is another part of my “mission” that is vitally important. As the left has injected politics into almost every aspect of American life, my mission has been to educate and inform people ideologically, so they can spot liberalism every time it rears its head — and oppose it. I want to equip people to be able to defeat liberalism at every turn not only with sound intellectual analysis but also with humor, optimism, and good cheer.

I’ll never forget a call I took during the very first years of the show. An older woman called, and you could tell she was on the verge of tears. She was worried about me, that I’d be arrested and taken to prison because I was openly mocking liberals like Senator Ted Kennedy and the Revvvvrund Jesse Jackson. She was serious. And not alone. In those days, it was common for callers to tell me, “I can’t believe you’re allowed to say what you say! You’re saying what I think, but I never thought anyone could get away with saying it on the air!”

Keep in mind, most Americans back then got their news from the Big Three television networks, cbs, nbc, and abc. Cable news was in its infancy. The Fox News network wasn’t even a twinkle in Roger Ailes’ eye. The New York Times and The Washington Post set the national agenda for news. Conservatism wasn’t reflected in any of the news outlets serving the American public. Millions of people, including that tearful woman caller, had never heard liberals or liberalism critically analyzed. Let alone made fun of.

EXPOSING LIBERALISM

And face it. Liberalism is — and always has been — seductive. It’s an emotion-based ideology designed to make people feel good about themselves without any actual effort. Liberalism is the easiest mindset in the world, because to be a liberal you don’t have to do anything. All you have to do is say you care about an issue.

If you see homeless people on the sidewalk begging, all you have to say is, “Isn’t that terrible, I feel so bad,” and voilà, you’ve proved you’ve got a big heart. Throw in an indignant comment about the unfairness of American society, and you’ve shown you’re a fighter for social justice. On the other hand, if you try to actually tackle the problem with genuine solutions, you become a target of liberal wrath. If you dare propose that able-bodied people should be required to work in order to sustain themselves — or that the homeless shouldn’t be permitted to defecate on the streets — liberals will come down on you like a ton of bricks. They will try to get you fired or target your business with protests and boycotts. To show how compassionate they are.

THINKING VS. FEELING

Jack Kemp had a great line that is as powerful today as when he said it in the 1980s. “Liberals measure compassion by the number of people getting a government handout. Conservatives measure compassion by the number of people who no longer need it.” We conservatives want the very best for everyone. We know that people can rise to overcome challenges, reverse life circumstances, and achieve greatness — however they define it — in their own lives. Conservatism has high expectations that all Americans can escape the setbacks common to humankind by using their talents, their determination, and their faith in God and in themselves.

Many of you will remember when the African terrorist group Boko Haram emerged during the Obama years. They committed atrocious acts, including kidnapping and trafficking young girls. Then-First Lady Michelle “My Belle” Obama created a Twitter hashtag, #SaveOurGirls.” The media lavished praise on her. They melted with adoration as they celebrated how compassionate, caring, sensitive, and loving she was.

I watched all this with astonishment. Michelle Obama’s hashtag didn’t do a single thing to improve the condition of any of the girls who were being brutalized, sold into sex slavery, or otherwise abused by these terrorists. And I said so. I asked what Boko Haram’s response would be after they saw Michelle Obama’s message. Would they bow to the power of the hashtag and release a single captive girl? Of course not.

Within hours of my criticism, the left went ballistic. That night, “funnyman” John Stewart did a ten-minute monologue declaring that I had no soul. For the record, slamming me didn’t help the kidnapped girls any more than the stupid hashtag did, but liberals did feel better about themselves.

AGAINST THE MOB

Bucking the conventional wisdom provokes the left — which has grown exponentially more deranged under President Trump — to completely flip out. 

Recently the Trump Administration achieved a legal milestone: A federal appeals court upheld the Administration’s decision to withhold taxpayer-funded grants from sanctuary cities. These are cities that brazenly defy U.S. immigration law by sheltering criminal illegal aliens from federal immigration agencies. Liberals have convinced themselves this is compassion. It “feels good” to them. Never once have they demonstrated any compassion for the thousands of American citizens victimized by illegal immigration, including those whose loved ones have been murdered by criminal illegal aliens.

Enraged liberals call the Trump Administration’s attempts to enforce existing American law “cruel.” They accuse him, and us, of bigotry and xenophobia and “hate” because we want our laws enforced and our borders secure. Compassion, to the left, is open borders — which creates a world where coronavirus pandemics are the new normal.

FREEDOM

Liberals want predatory illegal aliens on the loose and law-abiding citizens constrained. Shackling Americans with burdensome limitations is what liberalism is all about. Yes, liberals have a mission, too, and it is power and control.

Everything wonderful about free-market capitalism, they oppose. All Americans, regardless of status, once understood they had a birthright to work toward their own success. Earning wealth was a good thing. America, the land of opportunity, is where this was possible. It still is! It is my mission to uphold and defend the American dream, because it remains true and alive and open to everyone.

Students of history know one of the most remarkable things about the American experience is that it unlocked the very way humans saw themselves. Prior to America it was commonly accepted that the class you were born into was your permanent station for life. American liberty changed that, not just for our citizens but for the entire world.

EXCEPTIONALISM

Liberals want to put limits on every aspect of our lives, from politically correct speech to how much of our own money we can keep. They oppose the U.S. being energy independent — because they oppose Americans using our natural resources for our own advancement. They despise American progress, demanding we turn our back on the most powerful and efficient energy in human history — oil — and instead use wind, sun, and unicorn droppings for fuel.

It makes no sense, but then again, liberalism is the most gutless choice a person can make. It is lazy and self-serving, and it cannot withstand intellectual scrutiny or analysis. Liberalism cannot withstand the bracing force of truth.

And the truth is, America is an exceptional nation. We have been exceptional since our Founding. Which was not in 1619, despite what revisionist historians at The New York Times claim. We rose to become the dominant world power in an amazingly short time span. We are an exceptional people — as long as we are free.

My mission is to champion American institutions, American culture, traditional American values, and most of all, American freedom. In short: my mission is to defeat liberals.