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What's New

2010-09-01 13:38:00

One more word on Beck’s speech

Question: What’s new?

Answer: Like I always say, I’m glad to be asked. This month, counter to what you might think I would be writing about…the elections…I would like to write about something that...in my opinion...has to come first. In doing so, I want to pay tribute to the message Glenn Beck delivered on August 28th, 2010 in Washington, DC, at the Lincoln Memorial. I’m not going to talk about the man and his makeup, but rather…just the message…and…not even all of the message…primarily just one word. To set the stage, I would like to reprint an article written by Robert Ringer the day after Beck’s speech. Who is Robert Ringer? His bio is below, then his article. Robert Ringer – As a staunch defender of freedom and the free-enterprise system, Ringer firmly believes that a person’s political philosophy is inextricably intertwined with his business and personal success — that the same understanding of human nature and how the world works is necessary for success in every area of life. Unwavering in his belief that liberty must be given a higher priority than all other objectives, Robert Ringer is openly committed to stemming the tide of socialism in America. Toward this end, he hosts the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which serves as a public-education platform for many of today’s greatest economic and political thinkers. Robert Ringer is also renowned for his philosophical insights, keen understanding of human nature, and willingness to take strong ideological stands on controversial issues. As one of the most insightful social observers of our time, his trademark is his ability to explain complex issues in an easy-to-understand, entertaining manner. He also writes the thought-provoking, pro-liberty e-letter, A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World, in which he shares his insights into life, unique ideas and strategies for personal development, and analyses of today’s economic, sociological, and political environment from a free-market point of view. What Now, Glenn Beck? By Robert Ringer The way the media covered Glenn Beck’s 8/28 Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial is shameful, but not unexpected. That said, as clueless as Geraldo Rivera is, I’ll give him credit for covering the event extensively. But never underestimate Geraldo’s ability to come up with absurdities. In this case, the absurdity was to have Al Sharpton as a guest on his show Saturday night - for the full hour! - to comment on the Beck rally and compare it to his own “Reclaim the Dream” rally on the same day. I found it highly insulting to have the format of the show be a comparison between Beck’s historic gathering and Sharpton’s anemic attempt to recreate a 1960s-syle civil-rights march. What made it even more pathetic was that every time Sharpton spoke on Geraldo’s show, he had something negative to say about Beck or the Restoring Honor event. He came across as an angry, unknowledgeable child desperately in search of a scapegoat for his own lack of accomplishments. Quite obviously, I was not at the Sharpton rally, but numerous reports from creditable sources place attendance in the 2,000-3,000 range. By contrast, the Beck event - which I did attend - drew a minimum of 500,000 people. (Trust me, minimum.) What is sad is that the only people who will ever know just how historic the event was are those who were in attendance, because, as I said at the outset, the media coverage was shameful. The entire three hours of the Restoring Honor rally was filled with a spirit of goodwill and inclusiveness, with a focus on God as the answer to restoring the greatness that once signified America. By contrast, Sharpton’s pitiful attempt to counter the Beck rally was (according to news reports) filled with the same old angry rhetoric that smacks of black liberation theology. (You know, “You must give back that which you have taken.”) The people who still buy into this kind of angry theater are anachronisms of yesteryear, those who demand endless apologies, special treatment for past injustices, and never-ending free goodies from government (meaning, from taxpayers). They seem determined to make sure that white guilt remains alive and well in perpetuity. They don’t want to move on. It’s much more comfortable to continue promoting the security of “Uncle Sam’s plantation.” The only statement at the Beck event that came close to being political was made by Sarah Palin, who said, “We must not fundamentally transform America as some would want; we must restore America and restore her honor.” (I would argue that it was simply a statement of fact that fit in perfectly with the theme of restoring honor to America.) America is dying, and pretty much everyone knows it. It has, in fact, been dying at an accelerating pace throughout my lifetime. So Beck is right about the need to restore honor as the foundation for restoring America to its long-lost greatness. Most Americans not only are without honor, they have no interest in even hearing about it. In the anything-goes America of the 21st century, we are witnessing the long-awaited triumph of Rousseau’s relativism. Certitudes are out; collective slavishness - in dress, eating, thinking, and speaking - are in. So, where does Glenn Beck go from here? Should the worst happen and Beck lose his eyesight, will that be the end of his mission? No, I don’t believe that for a second. As someone who has watched virtually every Glenn Beck show for the past four years (going all the way back to the days when he was working for minor-league CNN Headline News), I feel like I have known this man all my life. As the normally jaded Chris Wallace pointed out in his interview with Beck after the event, nothing like Glenn Beck has ever happened before. No mere mortal could possibly accomplish what Beck has accomplished over the past several years - and certainly not in the way he has accomplished it. I believe his rise from a life of shame and failure to what is rapidly becoming the most powerful voice for good in America has been divinely guided. I believe he has been tapped on the shoulder by God to perform a Moses-like mission in a once-great nation that has devolved into a moral cesspool. I believe Beck when he says he will never give up. I believe him when he says if he is forced off television, he will find another platform that is even bigger. I believe him when he says he is willing to die if that’s what it takes to speak the truth. I pray that Glenn Beck will not lose his eyesight, but if it should happen, I believe he will become more powerful than ever and thus an even a greater force for good. If this tragic circumstance should occur, I believe he will see it as a Jobian moment - a Divine test of his belief. It could, in fact, be the very thing that spurs him to run for president, despite the fact that he has clearly stated he has “zero interest in the job.” Anyone interested in human nature cannot help but to find it fascinating how many of the greatest men and women throughout history have been vilified and hated by a large percentage of the population. And whenever that be the case, you can count on an equally large segment of the population to adore that same person. It’s a scenario that fits Glenn Beck to a T. The details of how the Beck saga unfolds from this point forward are unknown, but one thing that is certain is that his journey will continue to be an historic one. Something is happening in this country that has never happened before - at least in my lifetime. It almost tempts one to say that it’s a showdown between good and evil. You can Google the entire transcript of the Glenn Beck speech if you like. My summation, to use a line in Mr. Ringer’s article, is that it was based upon, “a focus on God as the answer to restoring the greatness that once signified America.” The “one more word” I want to expound upon from the title of this article is “God.” Whether you’re a Deist, Monotheist, Muslim, Jew or Christian…or of any persuasion that recognizes one God as the Creator of the universe, ask yourself, “How long has it been since you spent time really pondering the greatness of God?” Go ahead and take a few moments to answer. I don’t mean just saying the word…but pondering just how great God really is. I think the world is in way overdue in spending time doing exactly this. Most of the time the word “God” is used without thinking of His greatness…how powerful He is…how almighty He is…how all-everything good He is…how all eternal He is. This is most certainly the case when the word “God” is used in profanity. WOW! What a bad deal this is! When I first begin thinking of the greatness of God, I think about how He always was, always will be and how He always remains the same. I don’t have too much of a problem in thinking about how God always will be…for I have always been taught my soul will live on for eternity. I do however, have much greater difficulty comprehending how God always was. Have you ever spent time thinking about this? It is unimaginable for me. When I begin contemplating that God always was, my eyes begin rolling in circles, trying to go back…back…and back. It has been stated that our earth is 4.5 billion years old and that the universe began with a “big bang” 14 billion years ago. Whether these statements are true or not I don’t know, but they are only a fraction of second in the existence of God! 14 billion years? Take a gazillion times 14 billion years, then take a gazillion times that, then a gazillion times that…and God always was…and always was before that. God never had a beginning. God never had a beginning! Then, all of the sudden, but in His plan, He created man a few thousand years ago. That’s all the longer we’ve been here…a few thousand years. And none of us last very long. Maybe Methuseleh did live to be 969 years old, Noah 950 years old and Abraham 175 years old; or maybe it was a way the Bible used to denote that they were very special. I don’t know for sure. In any event, these ages are nothing but a “blink of the eye” when considering the existence of God. I do know now, and for the last four to five thousand years, man doesn’t live much past a hundred years…and most of the time way less than that. A hundred years! The first third of most of our lives is spent getting “dry behind the ears”…and much of the last third is spent going back to our youth, whining, complaining and acting like a two year old, whether through intention or some memory impairment. When I contemplate how God always remains the same, I think, “You know what? God doesn’t ever have an ‘off’ day. He doesn’t ever make mistakes. He doesn’t get angry. He didn’t hold people who lived four thousand years ago, 400 years ago, or 40 years ago, more accountable for their actions than He will hold me accountable for mine. God is all-merciful, but He is also all-just. He is not more of one than the other. God will never be conned. God always remains the same.” Who among us can think he or she is anything so special when compared to the greatness of God? But it’s almost everywhere you look, isn’t it? How often do we see movie stars, sports figures and others among our family, friends and acquaintances act as if they are better than anyone else? How often do we see exhibitions of pride in so many situations. My first thought when I witness this is that they are always only a few seconds away from turning into worm food following an aneurysm. Maybe this is a little too direct for you, but it brings reality to the forefront for me. All would do well to remember the words of Blessed Pope John XXIII when he said, “When my pride, profiting by some moment of inattention, starts to build its castles in the air, and tries to make me soar aloft, I will make it a rule to think of these three places: Gethsemane, the house of Caiaphas and Calvary.” How often do we see people, in the positions they hold in companies, make edicts, mandates and decisions that, were God to be sitting on their shoulder, watching everything they said and did (which He is by the way), they would no more make them than the man in the moon. If they would, these could really be called the “mother of all prideful actions.” The same goes with people in elected positions. The back-room deals, the politics, the lies, the thefts…how dare they? Really…how dare they? When does it all end? I can tell you for certain…it all ends when God says it ends. Who among us wants to argue that point? This…in one phrase…is what I think Glenn Beck was trying to say in his speech on August 28th . Government is not God, nor will it ever be. We don’t need more and bigger government to keep us in line and control us. We need self-regulation, and to do this we need to re-instill the values and morals, that can only come from turning back to God as the center of our lives. It’s time to “focus on God as the answer to restoring the greatness that once signified America.” Once we do this, the rest will begin to take care of itself.