Beck to the future
So I just got back from the Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial. I'm not a crowd counter, but it was another one of those crowds so humongous, so unbelievably large that it might even get the media to refer to it as numbering in the dozens. I arrived two hours after it began, and was worried that I'd missed it but it was still going strong. I wrangled my two children as my husband went around interviewing folks. I didn't hear much and, to be honest, the bits of Glenn Beck I heard were a bit too heavy on the civil religion for my taste. And while this was a wonderfully civil event, with literally no signs, I did miss the fun of all those signs people carried at last year's March on Washington.
If you're on the fence about Beck like I am, this hilarious piece at Reason from Tim Cavanaugh made the unlikely case for him:
Yes, he’s trying, as Moynihan memorably put it, to learn history and teach it at the same time. But so what? Like the dumpy woman with low self-esteem we all dream of, Beck makes up in enthusiasm what he lacks in natural gifts. I like the sense that he’s bringing you his findings as fast as they come in. You get the impression that two weeks ago Beck had never heard of Woodrow Wilson, yet now he has figured out that Woodrow Wilson was one of the most evil people of the 20th century, and he wants to tell everybody. There's something fun about that, a performance that invites you to help fill in details and fix errors. It's certainly something you don't see anywhere else on TV, a medium populated almost entirely by people who are more cocksure about everything than I am about anything.
And he’s right about Woodrow Wilson.
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Jul '10
Re: Beck to the future
I have never watched Glen Beck, but if he has got the left this upset he's aces with me. The rise of the tea party and all these show-biz-savvy conservatives means the dispirited left can't concentrate their dwindling fire exclusively on Sarah Palin.
Re: Beck to the future
I'm sort of on the fence about Beck, too. But not about Mollie, who just won the Ricochet "Headline of the Week" Competition.
Jun '10
Re: Beck to the future
I gotta say, when Beck does entire shows on The Road To Serfdom and Atlas Shrugged, and routinely asks his audience to read serious books at the end of almost every show, I giggle. How is it that we have Uncommon Knowledge on the internet and The Glenn Beck on National Television, promoting many of the same people? This is America! WIld ride for sure...
Jun '10
Re: Beck to the future
I don't always like Beck's style--a little too goofy--but I love his personal crusade to bring God back to the public square, starting by reclaiming God's place in American history. Over the last forty years, public education has done its very best to vacuum every bit of God out of Early American history, but God belongs there, just as much as General Washington belongs there. You can't recreate the thoughts and atmosphere of the Colonies without talking a lot about Protestantism. It was an important motivation for most people coming here, and a very important motivation for things like the abolition movement. It was as great a force for freedom and justice as the US Constitution. And without an atmosphere of religious faith, there would be no Constitution. Why did they believe in justice in the first place? Children need to know about the religious motivations of the time, even if they reject them personally. A non-alcoholic toast to Glenn Beck, and congratulations on raising so much money for military families.
Jul '10
Re: Beck to the future
So that idiot Beck is trying to share his love of history with his listeners. I guess the intellectuals at "Reason" can rest easy on their cushions in the University lounge.
Then, in one of the really thoughtful pieces at that august site, Palin was referred to as 'silly.'
Well.
Aug '10
Re: Beck to the future
Well said, all. Kudos.
I have a problem with Beck's style, often, but not with his substance. His facts are correct, and nobody has been able to punch holes in his thesis. He predicted much of what we're seeing now years ago, including the global financial collapse of '08.
I tried to get to the Lincoln Memorial, but 25 miles west of D.C. some bigwig closed three of the four eastbound freeway lanes. What a coincidence! Biggest traffic jam of the year. The Metro trains overloaded; thousands were stuck. If you count the many thousands like me who tried to get there but couldn't, the crowd would have been closer to 400,000. This means something, ladies and gentlemen. Things are changing in River City.
I ended up going to Mount Vernon instead, and it was extremely moving and gratifying. It's first-rate all the way around. A finer museum, tribute, school, and temple to our Greatest Founder, George Washington, cannot be imagined.
Thousands showed up, and many, like me, had tried to go to the Mall. A woman in the ticket booth said that since Glenn Beck has been mentioning Washington, attendance has soared.
May '10
Re: Beck to the future
Mollie Hemingway: ...at Reason from Tim Cavanaugh made the unlikely case for him:
That's a fair assessment. And I don't think it reflects poorly on Beck, who I admire greatly and think conservatives belittle at their own peril. Beck makes bold claims with an air of certainty, but he also constantly encourages Americans to think for themselves. Beck constantly provides what my old logic professor called "food for thought". He challenges old ideas and customs with arguments that are, if not always correct, always reasonable. Then he highlights a good book or two for a place to begin one's own research.
And you know what? Beck is the reason a lot of mild-mannered conservatives are as widely read as they are. Beck introduced me to Thomas Sowell.
Beck is no Reagan. But, as I read Peter's biography (excellent), my attention is drawn to many similarities. Most important among them: humility, sincerity, reverence, and a thirst for wisdom (not knowledge... wisdom).
Aug '10
Re: Beck to the future
River:
I have a problem with Beck's style, often, but not with his substance.
River has articulated a criticism I have voiced myself, and heard from other conservatives many times: Even when we agree with Beck (or Limbaugh, or Hannity, or O'Reilly), we generally don't care for their style. I suspect these guys, as talented and smart as they are, turn off a lot of potential conservatives simply because of their approach to broadcasting.
The Ricochet podcasts offer a wonderful alternative to the more brash and combative approach. The podcasts are smart, funny, self-effacing and civil. So - why can't we get Long, Robinson and Company a more prominent platform? Why can't we create an NPR (at least in terms of tone and presentation) for conservatives?