Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
There's a new savior in town--and his name is Glenn Beck.
Black pastor C.L Jackson, speaking at Glenn Beck’s much hyped “Restoring Honor” rally today, told the crowd of many thousands of tea party patriots, “We were brought together by what I call this servant of God, son of God, Glenn Beck.” Jackson, who was present when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream speech” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on this day 47 years ago, found the inspiration to stand on those same steps and compare Glenn Beck to his personal savior.
(The crowd and Lincoln Memorial beyond).
To quote John Batchelor from the Daily Beast:
It is a farce of an event in the way the bookish Karl Marx meant it, “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
As paper fans fluttered in the hands of the peaceful and excitable crowd who gathered on this hot August day on the National Mall of Washington DC, Pastor Jackson continued his speech by relating the New Testament story of the women who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. She prayed and gave her best to Christ, Jackson explained, and “you can pray and give the best you have for Glenn Beck.” Beck honored Jackson by awarding him a metal of honor for his “Faith.”
And the crowd, sporting signs that said “appeal to heaven” and wearing t-shirts that read “PRAY VOTE PRAY” and “Go BE the Church,” roared and applauded, calling amens and hallelujahs. This crowd of Middle Americans—who ranged from chatty and tattooed Nascar enthusiasts, to warm and sincere minivan moms—traveled from Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and parts unknown, to attend this church picnic gone national.
They were not so much the libertarian tea partiers whose top concerns are fiscal and monetary issues, rather than social issues—no, this was a crowd of religious patriots. One might even call them evangelical. On an impromptu basis, they broke out prayer, in song—God Bless America, America the Beautiful—and in chant, “USA, USA, USA!”
(This man is praying.)
(This man in the grey was an enthusiastic chanter).
(This man was playing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on his horn as the nearby crowd sang along).
One woman, who was pushing past me in the friendliest way possible, said that this rally reminded her of a pro-life rally she attended on the mall in the nineties. “There were like eight people touching me, but it was ok because we were all Christians and we were all praying together.” Then, the force of the crowd took her away as she waved goodbye to me.
(A patriotic couple).
(More patriotism).
Just as the crowd lived up to its stage role, Beck too played his part well. He cast off his role as the Fox News showman and the radio personality for yet another: the reverend Glenn Beck. Rev. Beck, delivering a three-hour long sermon that was interrupted only by speeches from Sarah Palin, baseball star Albert Pujols, Alveda King (Martin Luther King Jr’s niece), readings from the Bible, and prayers, spoke as if addressing a crowd of sinners in need of redemption.
“I tell you, as a man whose whole life was a lie…the truth shall set you free….choose today to change your life and lead it according to faith, hope, and charity.”
If the far left found its messiah in 2008 with Barack Obama, then the evangelical right now has its savior in Glenn Beck. Like Obama, Beck found great use in platitudes as he delivered his banal version of oratorical inspiration. (Here was Beck today: “It is time to start up the heart of the nation.” “God is the answer and always has been.” “Look forward, look West, look to heaven, look to God.”)
In the name of hope, charity, and faith—values given to us from God, he said—he incited the crowd to find the hero in each one of them. Speaking about the presidential memorials surrounding the crowd, he said “We are standing among giants.” But, he continued, “Those heroes aren’t giants…they are us.” This had something of the same rhetoric as his nemesis Barack Obama when Obama declared "we are the change that we seek."
So we ARE the ones we’ve been waiting for! We are the ones who can be the next George Washington. “I know the next George Washington is in this crowd…maybe he’s 8 years old…and this is the moment that he will dedicate his life to.”
(The eight year old Beck is looking for?)
In the spirit of Obama, Beck even employed and encouraged revolutionary rhetoric at his rally.
For instance, Beck and Palin both declared that America is “at a crossroads.” Palin thought it appropriate that the rally was held in the shadow of the Lincoln memorial because Lincoln “secured our union at the moment of our most perilous time.” She went on saying, “may this day be the changing point” for our country.
Beck read the Gettysburg address and spoke about us being on a “battlefield.” He likened himself to the person who spotted the iceberg on the Titanic—the person who realized that unless we change course, America is a sinking ship. With fervor, he said we live in troubling times and “the storm that’s coming is not just an American storm, it’s a human storm…and we must be on God’s side.”
Meanwhile, some crowd members sported self-made shirts reading, “Send up the flares, a revolution is going down. 8/28.” As Alveda King said at the rally, “many of us know that we need to rebuild America.”
But who are we at war, civil or otherwise, with? What storm does Beck mean? Are we really going to rebuild America? Are these polite and civil people, who are understandably worried about the direction our country is going in, really serious about a revolution? Do they realize that revolutions are, as a rule, the antithesis of conservatism?
These are the questions I’d be asking if I had the stomach to take such a revival—and Glenn Beck—seriously. But no, the entire event was political farce—an unleavened parody that did not rise to the level of either satirical humor or moral gravitas. It was kind of like going to a costume party with no discernible theme.
The only political significance you could take from the political theater of the rally was the strum and drang this squeezed out of the media gizzards of the Left. How predictable it all is.
(Thanks to my friend Charlie Dameron who helped me take some of the pictures above).
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Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Mmmm, mmmm.
That little lady sure writes pretty.
Jul '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
I'm stunned by the viciousness of John Batchelor's piece on Beck. I'm a real admirer of Batchelor and would never have suspected he was capable of such serrated rancour.
I hesitate to impute motives, but one does wonder: Could it be that a gentleman like Batchelor, whose show I think is far and away the best on radio, is animated by the fact that a self-confessed showman like Beck has rocketed to ratings and financial success that eclipse his own?
I would have expected this from Mark Levin, whose hatred of Beck is well-known.
But gentleman John Batchelor? Quite a surprise.
May '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Having been pilloried as racists, homophobes, islamophobes, xenophobes, misogynists (even the womyn among them), misandrists (even the men among them), nazis, commies, and people who show up in Sunday school with dirty fingernails generally, the participants at today's rally (and more besides) are wound tighter than a cheap watch looking to do something, anything. Hopefully come November 2nd they'll bestir themselves to do something constructive.
Meanwhile let it be noted that so far as the press accounts I've been able to read so far there were no acts of violence (compare to many left-wing rallies), and they left the mall in relatively pristine condition (compared to the way it was trashed after President Obama's inauguration).
Also noted that while the Washington Post's website has an panoramic photo showing a ginormous crowd at the Beck rally, it's coverage of the Sharpton rally shows, Al Sharpton.
May '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Though I generally agree with Beck's positions to the extent that I know them, I rarely if ever watch his show because of his constant theatrics. Still, I'm disappointed to hear that today's event didn't have more depth.
Interesting to consider the news coverage: when Obama was promoting the greatness of Obama for the sake of a White House run, no amount of syrupy nonsense bothered liberal reporters. When Beck promotes himself while also promoting America and her founding principals, conservatives have no problem criticizing him... and the liberal outlets malign attendees as ignorant bigots.
This is not the way the opposing sides would behave if the right followed marching orders while the left sought truth. But, don't expect the average lefty to notice that!
Jul '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
"But who are we at war, civil or otherwise, with?"
It would be nice to have an antecedent to this. Just sayin'.
What storm does Beck mean?
Best to answer this question with a question: At what point do you think the currency will inflate to Weimar levels?
Are we really going to rebuild America?
Again, what would you do with a thirteen trillion dollar debt and entitlement programs that are unaffordable in the long term?
Are these polite and civil people, who are understandably worried about the direction our country is going in, really serious about a revolution?
Yes. There's talk here on this site about succession.
Do they realize that revolutions are, as a rule, the antithesis of conservatism?
Here I was thinking all this time that Burke supported the American Revolution.
So I guess it may depend on the revolution?
I think it's easy to throw rocks without thinking in my history.
Kinda like Mischief Night.
Jun '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
I don't know if Beck will discuss it on Monday, but just from listening to his little bits and pieces of preview information, provided over the last couple of months (on his radio show,) some of the elements and some of the people discussed were missing from the podium. I wonder if the criticism, and the hostile political climate, got to be too much for some of them. I think the event ended up much less ambitious than he planned.
Jun '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Five-million-plus dollars for SOWF is probably worth an honorable mention:
From: The Daily Caller, by Jon Ward, 8/28/10
A crowd estimated to be around 300,000 gathered on the national Mall Saturday for a three-hour rally led by Fox News personality Glenn Beck, who held largely true to his promise to keep the event nonpolitical and instead conducted something of an old-style religious revival meeting that meandered between calls for moral renewal, racial unity, self-government, and support for the U.S. military. Beck, who shed a neck tie midway through the event and appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest, [...] Beck showed his talent for oratory and cemented his place as a notable and unusual figure in American political history, and along the way raised what he said was $5.5 million for the families of special operations soldiers killed or wounded in the line of duty. But Beck’s message throughout likely came as a surprise to many who don’t usually watch his show, who see him as mostly a loud and dramatic critic of President Obama.
Jun '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Between Emily and somewhat with Molly there seems to be considerable snark and animosity directed at Beck and the nearly 500000 people (most of whom have similar ideas on many issues as Ricochet participants) that he gathered and led today. I don't watch or listen to Beck much myself. His personality and goofball approach are difficult for me to endure at length, but getting beyond that, he has significant and important things to share. If I had my druthers, it would be more Becks and less Olbermans, bottom line.
Edited on Aug 28, 2010 at 7:48pmMay '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Emily: There's a point you're missing with the Obama-Beck comparison: Beck isn't running for president.
I enjoy Glenn on the radio--not always, but mostly. Sometimes he makes me cringe; sometimes he takes himself too seriously; sometimes he's even nuts, frankly. But I kinda thought I'd enjoy that rally, and I still think so, in spite of some nuttiness here and there. However, I (and I bet the overwhelming majority of his radio and TV audience) would never, ever vote for Glenn Beck as president.
The Obamysoxers made their nut leader of the free world..
May '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Ditto, etoiledunord. Ditto cdor.
Jul '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
I am not big on theatrics. To me, the dominant quality of the conservative movement is integrity which is why I find most of the Talk Radio hosts somewhat distasteful. This was obviously about theatrics and entertainment, but it also served as a rallying point, an opportunity for much of the nation to see that they are no alone in their disgust with where Obama has been taking the country over the last 19 months. Mass rallies like this hearten many and give a sense of belonging to those of us sitting in small pockets of conservatism on the left coast. I was hoping that this rally would bring together a substantial crowd, and it more than satisfied that need and desire. This is a wonderful site, as is NRO and PJMedia, but I have often wondered how many are actually getting the message. The rally said very clearly that we have become a major force in this country, and that is very satisfying.
Jul '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
My, how things change.
Five or six years ago, my wife and I attended Beck's annual pot-luck 4th of July picnic on a grassy corner lot near the Philadelphia Art Museum.
About a dozen people showed up. And Glenn, just a shy guy, chatted quietly with people one on one.
No bullet-proof vest. He wore a gimme t-shirt, ancient cargo shorts and sandals.
I can understand why some people on our side of the divide find him off-putting. But let's not forget, he was the guy who scored the first real hits against the Obama administration, at a time when we were still reeling. Without Beck, Van Jones and Anita Dunn would still be firmly ensconced and Eric Holder wouldn't have to be looking over his shoulder.
And love him or hate him, you have to admit he's one hell of an American success story.
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Well, I'm not a Beck fan for the same reasons you cite but my criticism was really that I wish the hundreds of thousands of people gathered here today could have done what they did last year -- put forth thousands of creative, hilarious and devastating signs. I'm not much for civil religion -- because I'm a very religious person, actually -- so this was not my kind of event. But even more than that, it didn't have that tea party distinctive of smart political activism. I really missed that. I can also understand why it was absent.
Jun '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
I began to notice, during the early Palin angst here on Ricochet, that the loudest disapproval and, frankly, borderline disavowal, of the more populist figures in the conservative movement came from a certain demographic: Ivy League, from or currently residing in the Northeast or West Coast, professionally academic, or some combination thereof. Why is that? I'm in the Army, so I'm fully aware that I live within a weird, funhouse-mirror version of real life, but I recognize that and accept that most of the country doesn't think along the same lines as my demographic. Cannot Ms. Smith, and those others who find their primary fault with Beck's populism, just admit that they don't understand the appeal? I don't understand it, either, but I'm appreciative of anyone who can do with her life what Sarah Palin's done, and I applaud anyone who can bring Burke, Hayek, Mises, and Rand back into the national conversation. Instead of snark and irony, why not just a heartfelt, "Thank you," to the man who's given more and broader exposure to our ideas than anyone else in the last two years?
Aug '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
I'm not understanding the snark, either. Guess Beck and these folks just aren't hip enough? But my own tent is large enough for 'em.
Jun '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
"Mollie at #13..."
Fair enough.
Aug '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Mollie Hemingway
I'm not much for civil religion -- because I'm a very religious person, actually -- so this was not my kind of event.
I'm curious: what do you mean when you say "civil religion"?
"Civil religion" is one of those phrases I hear being used from time to time without really being sure what's meant, and after looking it up on Wikipedia, I see that it has several different, though somewhat related, meanings. It appears to range in meaning from being the officially-acknowledged folk religion of a nation (not necessarily a bad thing) to being the worship of State as God (idolatry by Christian standards).
So how do you mean the phrase?
Jul '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
I'm with ya on Beck. On Palin, we part ways.
Thanks for your service. God Bless.
Jun '10
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
Mollie Hemingway I'm not much for civil religion -- because I'm a very religious person, actually -- so this was not my kind of event. Aug 28 at 7:29pm
I agree with you, Mollie. The words of the Gospel are powerful. So when they are used to inspire, they can also be misused because the soul of the country is so intertwined with them. Quoting Scripture incites many powerful emotions for a great deal of Americans - even if they only heard them in popular culture or at the occasional sermon. And, it seems as if G.B. is misusing this power
Emily picked some key quotes that, as a Christian, give me pause. "Give the best you can for Glenn Beck?....Glen Beck, son of G-d." Yikes. Talk like this cheapens the Gospel in my opinion and Beck's theatrics make it even harder to take him seriously and paint him as more of a revivalist charlatan.
Re: Glenn Beck-a-thon: Honor, God, and More God
If I understood correctly, the event was billed as a non-political event, so I guess that could qualify it as a political farce in the same sense that Fox News Sunday is a spiritual farce. But describing an event that honored our warriors and raised over $5 million for the families of those killed or wounded in battle while calling for a return to the spiritual foundation upon which the nation was created, as not even rising to the level of satirical humor or moral gravitas? Wow.
As a vet, I applaud Beck’s work. As an American, I hope all those folks bring their unleavened parodies and deficit of moral gravitas to the polls in November.