As I am sure readers know, Ben Sasse is dying from pancreatic cancer. But that doesn’t mean he is through. The former senator has refused to allow illness to push him into a darkened room. Instead, he has continued a very public life and conducted several candid interviews about his circumstances — perhaps most notably with our friend Peter Robinson on Uncommon Knowledge.
Sasse recently also launched a new podcast of his own, called (tongue in cheek) Not Dead Yet, co-hosted with NewsNation’s political pundit Chris Stirewalt. The podcast is aimed at helping listeners live lives “of meaning, hope, and joy,” no matter how long that life might last. (The comedian Conan O’Brien was the most recent guest.) Listening to Sasse, one can’t help but be uplifted by his continuing good humor and undiminished gusto.
Limbaugh’s Last Year
Sasse’s sunny public face reminds me of the late Rush Limbaugh’s last year of “excellence in broadcasting.” Fans may remember him announcing on his show that he had terminal lung cancer. But that did not stop him. For about a year, El Rushbo continued on with his program — if anything, with greater energy than before — only taking time off periodically during “treatment week.”
Limbaugh never yielded publicly to the emotional toll a terminal illness surely takes. He never complained. He never felt sorry for himself. To the contrary, his persona — a mixture of faux hubris combined with a passion for conservative politics mediated by a great sense of humor — remained unchanged. Indeed, had he not announced publicly that he was ill, I doubt most of his audience would have been able to tell.
Sasse has, similarly, kept putting one foot in front of the other. Sure, he has acknowledged the difficulty of his circumstances, stating in his announcement on X about his condition:
To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son. A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That’s why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears. Such is the calling of the pilgrim.
That’s not easy, but “easy” isn’t the point of life.
His Personal Faith
The one notable change I noticed in Limbaugh’s presentation during his final months was a greater willingness to reveal his personal faith in Jesus Christ, something he had rarely discussed previously. As he approached his end, he told his audience frequently that he thanked God every morning that he was still breathing.
Sasse has also leaned publicly on his Christianity, stating in his X announcement:
Those who know ourselves to need a Physician should dang well look forward to enduring beauty and eventual fulfillment. That is, we hope in a real Deliverer — a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place. But the eternal city — with foundations and without cancer — is not yet.
He told Robinson:
I’m with Paul when he says, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” . . . We don’t build any storehouses that last. The things that matter and endure are human souls. . . . The chance to love your neighbor and serve is a blessing.
Sasse’s and Limbaugh’s depth, grace, and grit (and the manner in which Dilbert creator Scott Adams also faced his demise) prove that life with dignity is always possible, even under the most daunting circumstances. We owe them a debt of gratitude for leading by example and, hopefully, easing our paths into eternity when our own time has come.
Cross-posted at National Review.