Bill O’Reilly’s famous Talking Points memo on the May 27 edition of The O’Reilly Factor was about the decline of morality in America. Bill cites a new Gallup poll: “82% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats say that moral values in the U.S.A. are only fair or downright poor. 40 years ago, only 33% of Americans felt that way.”

He faults “secular forces” destroying Judeo-Christian values in schools, major corporations trafficking sex and violence, single-parent homes and the decline of the Catholic Church in America.

But I’ve another idea to add to those talking points.

It appears that conservative radio personality [sic] Michael Savage of The Savage Nation, the third-largest syndicated radio show in America (scary) has his middle finger on the pulse of this American feeling of moral decline.

He recently said, “You wanna live in a country like this? Where…liberal judges…make homosexual wedding the law…when 90% of the American people find it repugnant! And sickening! And disgusting!...And don't wanna live in a degenerate nation!”

Wow! Repugnant, sickening AND disgusting! Sounds remotely like the last review of his show that I read. And “degenerate nation” sounds like a perfect candidate for the renaming of his show.

Does anyone know what country Savage lives in?

According to CNN/USA Today/Gallup/Newsweek polls administered this year and cited by Mediamatters.org, the numbers for issues related to same-sex marriage are split pretty much 50/50. But when reality gets in the way of arguing your point, it’s best to make things up.

I wonder if lying in order to incite anger is something he suggests teaching children in his book, The Enemy Within: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Schools, Faith, and Military.

You might remember Michael Savage being fired by MSNBC for referring to a caller as a “sodomite” that should “get AIDS and die.” Or perhaps you’ve heard him consistently refer to women as “whores” and Asians as “little soy eaters”.

Or perhaps you heard him comment on the ending of segregation in schools, "I am so tired of the race thing, leave me alone already…In fact [minorities are] given priority treatment everywhere…and…Everything's about Brown v. The Board of Education, it's sickening.”

Bill O’Reilly says that “Peer pressure to actually reject immoral behavior is virtually non-existent in many places. The military criminals at Abu Ghraib never could have committed their crimes if other soldiers did not look away.” Hmmm. Could secular schools, single-parents, major corps and the decline of the Catholic Church have contributed?

No doubt Bill would agree that one of those additional places is on the conservative syndicated talk-show scene where Michael Savage suggested using women to interrogate prisoners: “Use little women in particular. Little, ugly women. And let 'em take big strapping Iraqis and put 'em on leashes naked.” (Interesting that Michael has big strapping naked men on his mind, but I digress.)

Isn’t being moral a hoot!

This echoes Rush Limbaugh’s recent comments, “And these American prisoners of war…have you people noticed who the torturers are? Women! The babes! The babes are meting out the torture…if you look at these pictures…it looks just like anything you'd see Madonna, or Britney Spears do on stage.”

Or in San Fran according to Savage, “I don't mean to be too comedic in the political arena, but these so called abuse photos frankly are mild by comparisons to what goes on in South of Market clubs in San Francisco.”

Comedic. Hehe. Abuse! What a knee-slapper! Gays equal torture! I’m dying over here…which I’m sure would fill Michael with great pleasure.

Speaking of filling Michael, if anyone actually met him while he was doing his research in clubs in San Francisco, please let me know.

As I said earlier, O’Reilly faults the rise of single-parent homes for the decline of morality. Why? Because children are left alone to the television and computer where “harmful material comes at them like rain in a thunderstorm.”

Perhaps, Bill. Perhaps they are being drenched by massively-syndicated conservative media personalities—or worse, being introduced to them by their parents—who are turning America into a savage nation.

Speak no evil,
Nick

(You can thank Mediamatters.org—a significantly welcomed new media research organization—for capturing many of the quotes in this article.)