The Next Great Communicator?

A few years ago I discovered Dennis Prager on the radio.

This discovery came at a pivotal time in my life, as I was going through quite a bit of self-discovery after a five year period of methamphetamine abuse. Prager's wisdom and common sense gave me great guidance during some extremely difficult times during my recovery.

Dennis Prager is without a doubt one of the least bombastic radio personalities on the air today. His show airs live during the same time slot as Rush Limbaugh, and he offers a stark contrast to Limbaugh's aggressive style. Like Limbaugh, Prager is an extremely consistent and common sense Conservative, but with a calm and extremely approachable demeanor.

Prager takes a fair amount of calls during his broadcast, and is willing to engage in reasonable debate with liberals rather than slamming them. Because of his deep understanding of the differences between political left and right, combined with his soothing personality, he often allows liberals to hang themselves with their own statements. I have never heard a discussion during which Prager became cross or disrespectful, and I have never heard Prager lose a debate. He offers the intellect over which the left believes it holds ownership, while offering clarity and common sense of which liberals only dream.

From prageronline.com:

Mr. Prager was a Fellow at Columbia University's School of International Affairs, where he did graduate work at the Middle East and Russian Institutes. He has taught Russian and Jewish history at Brooklyn College; and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Delegation to the Vienna Review Conference on the Helsinki Accords. He holds an honorary doctorate of laws from Pepperdine University.

Prager is a different kind of radio talk show host, in that he does not deal exclusively in politics. He often has authors on his show to discuss their recent works. He discusses religion in a very candid fashion, without being too "in-your-face" or overly rhetorical. He has a weekly segment called "The Ultimate Issues Hour" that deals in debates and discussions about God and religion. This segment is always extremely compelling. He also does a weekly segment about human nature of the sexes, called "The Male-Female Hour," and every Friday he has "The Happiness Hour," which deals in different aspects of happiness in life - such as the fact that you do not need to be completely satisfied to be happy in life, how to deal with certain emotional stimuli as they affect your happiness, and how important happiness is to a person's general well-being.

In my humble opinion, Dennis Prager is one of the best communicators of Conservativism in America today. Certainly Rush Limbaugh is the most popular radio host and very effective, but he is also the lightning rod. Sean Hannity is indeed a Great American and very popular, but sometimes he loses focus, and he has an ability (I believe subconscious) to come across in a condescending way to those with whom he disagrees. Glenn Beck is... well, Glenn Beck. I personally love his animated style and I can relate directly to his story of redemption, but he, like Limbaugh, is quite the lightning rod.

Anyway, the reason I bring all of this up tonight is because this week I rediscovered Dennis Prager's radio show and was very pleasantly reminded why I gained admiration for him in the past. With Rush on his great search for a new health care system, I listened to Mark Steyn Monday but then wanted a change of pace on Tuesday.

Since he was traveling to the Ronald Reagan Library to appear on Hannity, Tuesday's Dennis Prager show was a repeat, and the "Ultimate Issues Hour" was fantastic. Prager dealt with the idea that the core difference between left and right, Conservative and progressive, is God. The right believes in God, and the left needs something to replace their lack of belief in The Divine. This theory explains why the left is so enthralled with concepts such as "global warming," because that crisis deals in nature, which progressives hold in esteem. Prager very clearly defined how in God, Conservatives find morality which leads us correctly through life, whereas progressives seek their moral compass from objects that can not offer morality such as trees, mountains, and clouds. Nature is a creation of God, and so in nature Conservatives see God's beautiful creation. Progressives believe that Earth is God.

Also fascinating, and somewhat related, was a discussion today about the fact that the left always needs to have a crisis or a cause.

Today Prager also very clearly stated that we are in the midst of America's second Civil War. He, like all Conservatives, is rightly offended by the ridiculous comparisons of ObamaCare to Civil Rights, and found Pelosi - a lone White woman amongst a bunch of (primarily Black) men, offering her ridiculously mocking smile - to be egregious imagery.

However, these points are not (specifically) the point I wish to make.

My point is that sometime during today's show, Prager mentioned that he wishes to lead. He doesn't seem quite positive what his place is exactly, but he knows he is a person who can communicate the message of Conservatism's greatness very effectively, and he doesn't want to be "just another talk show host."

In the midst of this commentary, Prager said, "Unless I run for President, but I'm not sure that's what I want..." and he kind of left it at that.

There has been great discussion about the fact that perhaps our next leader will come from out of the shadows, almost unexpectedly. Prager, while certainly a known entity, is not on the forefront of today's media battle.

Also often discussed is the fact that the best leader for America would be an almost reluctant leader - someone who typically does not want power, but realizes that everyone has a specific purpose in life, and when you are called, you serve. I sincerely believe Dennis Prager would envision public service as service.

Prager is Jewish. Make no mistake - looking at a person's religion through a purely political prism, this could be extremely beneficial.

America is currently flipping the proverbial bird to her most important ally, Israel. Jews (for reasons I'll never understand) are almost monolithic in their voting for Democrats, but a Conservative Jew who is able to communicate the real message of Conservatism, as well as honor the obvious need to stand by Israel unequivocally... well, let's just say he'd be a perfect candidate in this respect.

Additionally, Prager is a Jew who hold utmost respect for Christianity, which is something greatly needed today. He discussed the ridiculous situation in Davenport, Iowa with great clarity and reason.

We are clearly in a moral decline, and a man who understands his own moral compass and is able to share that idea without offending others or leaving questions about his sincerity would be a welcome change after four years of questionable and offensive behavior.

From his website:

Dennis has engaged in interfaith dialogue with Catholics at the Vatican, Muslims in the Persian Gulf, Hindus in India, and Protestants at Christian seminaries throughout America. For ten years, he conducted a weekly interfaith dialogue on radio with representatives of virtually every religion in the world. New York's Jewish Week described Dennis Prager as "one of the three most interesting minds in American Jewish Life."

Ronald Reagan was known as "The Great Communicator." He could tell America what we needed to hear without equivocation. He was soft-spoken, extremely well spoken, modest, attractive without being threatening. He understood the danger of liberalism, or progressivism, and knew how to communicate why the left was wrong and what the right course was for America. He offered a moral compass without imposing or forcing any particular religion, while making it perfectly clear that America is a gift from God and that we should honor and cherish American Exceptionalism.

I believe Dennis Prager may be the next Great Communicator, and just might be the person who will come out of the shadows to lead America back to greatness.

I'd love to know what you think. My comments section is always open.