Glenn Beck has taken a new tack in his war against all things “un-American.”
Beck’s radio program (syndicated nationally) and TV show (aired on Fox News) feature the host “educating” his listeners and viewers on the great threats to America’s heritage and legacy.
Beck is largely credited with the creation of the “tea party” movement. He rails nightly about things like President Obama’s birth certificate and Nancy Pelosi’s socialist agenda. He is prone to tear up over his love of his country and has authored a whole catalog of books promoting the idea, in one way or another, that America would be a near Utopia if it could just be rid of liberals and their ilk.
To dismiss Beck as a fringe player on the cable TV cast of characters would be easy were it not for the fact that his show is wildly popular and his books are surprisingly so as well. In other words, Mr. Beck has become a brand with significant market shares in a cross-section of modern media. He could be the poor man’s Bill O’Reilly, but that expression gives too much credit to his prime-time cable mate. The better description might be a different blend of the same drink (tea, of course).
In case the foregoing description doesn’t make the point obvious, Mr. Beck hates all things Democratic (as in the Party). Thus, it was no surprise when he sought out the recently resigned Congressman Eric Massa, after Massa claimed he had been forced out by the House leadership (and had previously been “strong-armed” by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel).
Beck surely thought he had scored a real journalistic coup in devoting the full hour of his Fox broadcast one night last week to an interview of Massa. He probably expected the just-resigned Congressman to throw his former Democratic Party colleagues and leaders under the bus (to use the in- vogue expression), thereby providing Mr. Beck a week’s worth of ammunition to paint the Democrats as all the horrid things he surely believes they are.
Unfortunately, Mr. Massa only gave up himself in the interview. Despite repeated prodding from Beck, Massa would not reveal any juicy stuff on Speaker Pelosi, Mr. Emanuel, or any other Democrat.
Instead, he claimed he brought it all on himself. “It” here being the utter disgrace of admitting to sexual harassment along with absolutely bizarre tales of “tickling fights” and “snorkeling” (not the underwater kind) all while claiming not to be gay.
At the end of the hour, Mr. Beck went to his chalkboard (a prop he uses to emphasize the educational value of his show) and essentially apologized for “wasting” his viewers’ time with the Massa interview, by which he undoubtedly meant he hadn’t gotten any new evidence of Democratic corruption, the implicit purpose of the interview.
The Massa interviews (he followed his appearance on Beck’s show with an equally weird one on Larry King’s) provided great fodder for Saturday Night Live, which had a hilarious segment on the Weekend Update segment with Jerry Seinfeld and Seth Myers entitled, “Really?!?” But the real news from Mr. Beck’s show, the news that got covered in last Friday’s edition of The New York Times among other legitimate news reporting media, concerned very serious remarks Beck had made the previous week.
On his March 2 radio broadcast, Mr. Beck called on his listeners to leave their churches if those churches preach or otherwise speak of social or economic justice. Specifically, he said, “I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can.” Those terms, he went on to proclaim, are “code words” for Communism and Nazism.
Beck added, “If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish. Go alert your bishop.”
As might be expected, Beck’s remarks did not go over well with many religious types.
“What he has said attacks the very heart of our Christian faith, and Christians should no longer watch his show,” said the Reverend Jim Wallis, who heads a Christian anti-poverty group.
Mr. Beck claims to be a converted Mormon, which puzzled Philip Barlow, the Arrington professor of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University. Professor Barlow, informed of Beck’s remarks, said, “One way to read the Book of Mormon is that it’s a vast tract on social justice.” He then added, “A lot of Latter-Day Saints would think that Beck was asking them to leave their own church.”
As of last weekend, Mr. Beck had not recanted or amended his earlier remarks. I don’t expect that he will. Beck’s view of America is that it functions best and adheres most closely to its founding ideals when it fosters and preserves a robust free enterprise system in which the successful are rewarded for their success, thereby setting an example for others to follow.
Social justice is, for him, a code phrase for government handouts and government regulation. Economic justice equates in his lexicon with government interference with the kind of freedom most closely associated with laissez-faire capitalism. These are not laudable policies or goals for Glenn Beck.
That his attitudes are offensive to many Christians (and those of most other religious faiths) is also not surprising. Christianity (at least those versions built on the teachings and gospel of Jesus Christ) emphasizes love for fellow humans, to the very “least of these,” as Jesus himself put it (Matthew 25:40).
It espouses a true social justice and rejects the accumulation of wealth for its own sake. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24) is but one of many sayings attributed to Jesus that depicts the religion’s values and commitment to social justice.
And so, as Mr. Beck continues his assault on everything, including the teachings of Jesus himself, it is entirely appropriate to ask how the Messiah would fair in Mr. Beck’s Utopian America.
I guess that in more ways than one, Beck is truly the Grand Inquisitor.
Ed,
As a social theologian, I grant that Glenn Beck is a few hundred notches below Reinhold Niebuhr. Nevertheless, bad theologians sometimes make good points. Like most of Glenn Beck’s good points, this one is obscured by overstatement, but that’s showbizz. Religious people invariably struggle with how their faith should inform their politics. When clergy preach too often and too loudly about “social” or “economic” justice, this is often a sign that politics has become too important. Truly, the temptation to idolatry is nearly impossible to resist because it is so insidious. Look to your right. Behold the Moral Majority (or its ghost), the Christian Coalition, and the 700 Club. Now look to your left. If you don’t see anyone there, it is only because you have adapted to the prejudices of a secular society that identifies liberal political agendas with mainline Christianity, so that people such as Jim Wallace do not register. (I respect Jim Wallace, but he does not represent mainstream Christians. He is an extremist and at least as much of a Utopian as Glenn Beck.) Actually, Ed, you sound rather Utopian yourself much of the time–for example, when your gloss on St. Matthew’s Gospel suggests that Jesus Christ was engaging in political commentary. I will cut you a break and assume that your wrenching the passage out of context was a matter of journalistic expedience, like Glenn Beck going to his blackboard at the end of the Massa interview. (He did not, but I understand why you wanted to work the blackboard into the picture.)
If you were serious in your Biblical exegesis, I don’t know what to think. President Obama has read Reinhold Niebuhr, but apparently missed the parts about original sin and the imperfectibility of humans through social engineering. I can’t believe you would have skipped that part as well.
Faithfully (but not too faithfully) yours,
Joel
Joel –
As a former Christian (born and raised to the point of considering the ministry), I understand the popular presentation of Jesus as apolitical. Maybe he was; maybe he wasn’t. The record, so slim on all counts, is obviously subject to almost any interpretation. But that wasn’t really my point.
I was merely pointing out that Jesus did express views, indeed, he preached those views, that conform with the work of Rev. Wallis and many other “extremist” Christians. I don’t want Christianity, in any form, to infiltrate our politics, but I do respect the efforts of Wallis and any other clerics to seek “social justice,” which I believe is a basic precept of almost all religious dogma. What religion doesn’t contain some variant of “do good things for your fellow humans”? Is that a political statement? Put another way, what religion preaches “Ignore the needs of those less fortunate than you”? Would you ever accept such an interpretation of Christ’s theology?
I think you hit close to home with your comment about the struggle those with faith have about their political views. I think it is a lot harder to reconcile the two when the politics are modern-day conservative, but you apparently have a different view. And since you have faith and I don’t, I only can raise the questions.
As for your faint praise of Beck (I can’t believe you’d even mention him in the same breath with Niebuhr), if you want to be associated with him or anything he says, you are welcome to his company, I’m sure. But I’d be much more accepting of your views if you’d just acknowledge that he is a complete fraud, which he most certainly is.
In any event, Joel, as always, I appreciate your contribution to the discussion. You have a perspective that I am more than pleased to have included in the exchanges on my blog.
-Ed
PS I’m not a big fan of Niebuhr. Nietzsche is more my style.
Beck has two things going for him – he backs up his statements with extensive research and facts – usually video or audio of the topic of his discussion blowing off his/her admiration for Mao, Stalin or some rabble rouser. After having seen both, I’d rather cry with him than Nancy Pelosi.
Beck also admits when he is wrong, as does Limbaugh. You’ll never catch a radical admitting a mistake. Frankly, I’d rather hang around with his ilk than with Van Jones or Cass Sunstein, to mention only a few of the most dangerous folks George Soros has sent to DC to keep his agenda on track. Sunstein said, “We’ll use the power of persuasion; If that doesn’t work, we’ll use the persuasion of power.” (I have the video!)
I subscribed to Wallis’ Sojourners over 20 years ago. 6 months was all I could take, but apparently HE knows what Jesus would do; the folks at Georgetown would rather hear his version of Christianity than the Church that gave it birth and the generosity and vision of her children built and supported her. Great basketball, however!
I was on top of the Massa episode and figured the guy was really ticked off, but in the end, as Beck forewarned, he could turn out to be a dirt bag. I think he might be a dirt bag, but one who had the hell scared out of him by a well placed visit in the House parking garage. Most of us like to keep living.
As a law professor, what do you think of Harry Reid’s little amendment to the health care bill? Buried in his massive amendment to the Senate version of Obamacare is Reid’s anti-democratic poison pill designed to prevent any future Congress from repealing the central feature of this monstrous legislation! Beginning on page 1,000 of the measure, Section 3403 reads in part: “it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection.”
Sounds a bit totalitarian to me, but you’re the expert.
Glenn Beck backs up his statements with extensive research and facts? Really?
That is a joke, right? Please tell me you’re kidding, JT!
It has been a very long time since I’ve listened to Limbaugh. Has he changed? Back when I tuned in, I don’t recall him ever admitting to any mistakes. Nor did he ever acknowledge that his hateful, bigoted, racist statements were anything less than 100% accurate.
Blowhards like Beck and Limbaugh don’t have anything of substance to say. I don’t think even they believe their garbage. They’re either lying or just really stupid. I’m going to go with with lying. Neither of them are after the truth; just ratings.
Don’t fall for it. People like Limbaugh and Beck have a motive to lie. Let’s not pretend that supporting policies that further social or economic justice is tantamount to partaking in the fruits of treason.
Hi Ashley! You’re not the Mayor of Fresno? She’s bright and beautiful and one of the sharpest politicians in the State. She was the steam behind getting the International Center for Water Technology launched at Fresno
State, among other meaningful efforts to increase technological development, jobs and meeting the inextricable connection between water, energy and environment.
FYI, Limbaugh has employed a black man as his call screener for almost all the years he’s been on the air and often uses him for comment and correction. Is it racist for Obama to be referred to as black, when in fact he is a mulatto? Limbaugh also employs an agency in Sacramento to monitor all his on air statements. His record has run in the 97-98th percentiles for years. Oh yeah, he makes immediate on-air corrections when wrong. What a concept!
My own “connection” with Limbaugh came with my old friend, the late Morton Downey, Jr., “The Mouth” of early TV talk shows. Sean grew up in Hyannis Port with the Kennedy’s, was on Jack’s transition team, became a Republican when Jimmy Carter wouldn’t take a stand against abortion. I was with him when the American Independent Party wanted him to be their Presidential candidate. No! Downey had a talk show in Sacramento when he insulted a Chinese caller who happened to be on the board of the station. He was replaced at $25,000/year by Rush Limbaugh. Are you jealous that Limbaugh, without a college education, (nor has Beck), moved to where he makes almost as much as Howard Stern – who broke Sirius, while Limbaugh’s backers and sponsors prosper?
Beck’s book, “Arguing With Idiots” has 25 pages of citations in #8 type backing up his statements. This is not to mention video and audio of communists like Cass Sunstein and his parade of Maoist and eugenist Czar’s and apostate Catholics sticking their feet in their own mouths. He also has a red phone that only the White House has the number to. He has had it on set for months, virtually begging Obama’s handlers to call and correct him if he’s wrong. He, like me, would like to be wrong when it comes to what we see happening to this Constitutional Republic. Still waiting.
Perhaps you’re hanging around the wrong MaryJane clinic for whatever pains we conservatives cause you. Most of these folks are Cartesian single-inference thinkers. (Ed can explain that to you.) You can do better than that.
Both Beck and Limbaugh donate millions to a variety of charities, especially supporting our troops, wounded and veterans (something the totalitarians want to quash – private donations, that is. Government should take care of all our needs, just like the USSR.)
I just posted this on POLITICO after the bill signing collection of those who fulfilled that great biblical prophecy – “The day will come when men will call a fool wise and a rogue generous!”:
There are three things government has no real competence in – health, education and welfare. This is not to say there shouldn’t be oversight by local and state government, it must be with the full understanding that the key ingredient in these fields is love. Government has no capacity for love.
THE HIGHER UP THE LADDER, THE LESS SHOULD BE THE INVOLVEMENT. UNFORTUNATELY EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE IS BEING FOISTED ON US BY TOTALITARIANS WHO DESIRE ONLY POWER, NOT REALIZING THE WEALTH THEY EXPECT TO CONTROL WILL DISAPPEAR WITH THE LOSS OF INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE AND ENTERPRISE. They don’t come any dumber than that!
If we would follow the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity judiciously, our overwhelming problems in these fields would disappear, along with much of the costs of bureaucratic inefficiency and political corruption.
Love, Jerry
FLASH: Ann Coulter Ottawa speech shut down… 2000 protesters surrounding building with rocks and sticks — pulled fire alarm in building. Cops shut it down! Blogs calling for Coulter to be hurt. MPs were banned from going, Coulter denounced by an MP in the Parliament.
Fears of violence…
UPDATE: Coulter launches Human Rights complaint… (Drudge Report 032310)
So much for free speech when dealing with the radical left. Expect much more of this from SEIU and the mini corps formed from the “disbanded” ACORN. Will we have an election in 2010?
Hello to you, Jerry Todd! Thanks for your response!
Alas, I am not bright, beautiful, or the sharp Mayor of Fresno.
And I probably am a little jealous of Limbaugh and Beck. Both are rich and famous for having done nothing. And without ever having attended college! I, on the other hand, have attended college, taken on a considerable amount of debt, have worked very hard, overcome all kinds of adversity–with no guarantee that I’ll ever be able to work in my chosen profession. That’s actually quite stupid when I think about it. I wish I could get paid obscene amounts of money for virtually no work. It certainly does suggest that they are both smarter than me.
And if Limbaugh employed a black man as a call screener (such a position of power and authority in the world of radio) . . .Then that surely proves he could never have uttered any racist remarks. It at least proves that he could have never said, “. . .Let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: Slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.”
Now you wouldn’t be referring to Beck’s book, “Arguing with Idiots” would you? “Arguing with Idiots”–written by Glenn Beck?! I didn’t know he had citations in it. This changes everything! Because we all know that if a book includes citations, then all of the assertions and conclusions therein must be true and correct. And no one from the White House has called in to correct Beck? Well, then it must mean that he is correct about everything! What other possible explanation is there? It’s not like Obama’s people have anything more important to do. Their silence proves that Beck is honest and accurate! Res ipsa loquitor.
And I wasn’t aware that Beck and Limbaugh were such philanthropists. I’ll have to retract my above statements now because. . .I mean, no one who donates their time or money to charity is capable of lying or doing anything unethical (or illegal). It just doesn’t happen. You don’t ever hear about that happening. They’re mutually exclusive. Silly me. . .
I’ll have to spend less time at the “MaryJane clinic” and avoid all these Cartesian single-inference thinkers you speak of (just as soon as Professor Telfeyan has the time to explain it to me. . .He’s very busy and I’ll need him to speak very slowly, using little, simple words otherwise I won’t be able to comprehend it all. . . .I’m just a girl, after all).
How did I ever stray from the Republican Party? I was quite an active member of my college republican group. We tirelessly worked to bring aid to those who already had the means to help themselves. . .
You’ve won this round, JT. Thanks for setting me straight!
Love,
Ashley :-*
Hello to all who have contributed to the “What would Jesus say” discussion,
It has been slightly entertaining to observe how people can be so emotionally charged over public figures and their comments. The point that no one ever made unless I missed it, is that when Jesus made mention of moral principals such as helping those in need as others that were fittingly labeled as acts of love, he was speaking to groups of individuals. He intended for us to adopt these philosophies as individuals and act on them accordingly. I don’t believe he was suggesting that we force others to “help” others as a society or community unless we see fit to do so.
For anyone to think that a government should tax or otherwise confiscate what individuals work for in their effort to provide for those they love or the support of their chosen charities, just to start “programs” that are supposed to accomplish His examples of “love” is foolish. How inefficient, how wasteful, to have to incurr the cost of huge bureaucracies to manage the confiscated money, property, etc. and dole it out to huge numbers of recipients many of whom don’t even try to contribute to their own wellbeing or that of their communities. So much is wasted on those who are prone to take advantage of handouts even when they don’t even need the help. Not to mention those that don’t even belong to the communities (countries) they are taking from.
Our moral obligation to help others is a real one but not one that should be legislated and/or forced on us as a society. It would be much smarter and more efficient to stop trying to force God out of society and encourage the christian principals on which this country was founded.
Case in point; my church for example helps hundreds of families in the community who are struggling for a variety of reasons. We have those in
charge of locating and varifying those with a genuine need and who pass that information on to the appropriate team members who are in charge of dispatching food, clothing, or medical help which is supplied by local physician members who donate a certain amount of their time to those who are in need. All those who make this all happen are doing so on a voluntary basis. The needs are genuine, the help is monitored for quality and quantity and there is very little waste.
Many churches do this but do you hear about this on the major media.
Sure, much of this is deductable for the members who donate their time and money. Is that so bad? The current administration has even talked about doing away with these deductions (religious donations) and somehow taking over what the churches have been doing ever since Christ suggested that we all as individuals give of our resources to help those in need.
Simply take a look at history to those societies that discouraged religion and embraced government control for the “good of the many” and see how that worked for them.
Social Security is in debt how many billions as we speak, medical is in debt how many billions, our government is in debt how many trillions.
Surely what we need is another huge program to fix everything.
Why not stop taking the ten commandments out of public viewing and making christianity an object of ridicule and mockery and encourage the principles of love, helping and giving become once again individual choices. Throughout the history of this country, when times got tough, the American people have stepped up to the plate and worked together to help each other and have built the strongest country in the world. They can still do that if left to do so. SOCIALISM DOESN’T WORK.
With Christian love,
Roland
Of course, any attempt to interpret Christ’s intended meaning in the many statements attributed to him in the Bible is complete conjecture. The Bible itself is subject to a variety of interpretations that range from absolute literalism to heavily nuanced symbolism. Hence do we have over 150 different religions all purporting to be based on variations of it and, more specifically, of what Jesus meant.
I think you make a rhetorical mistake when you move from a conclusion about Jesus to a condemnation of government programs (all within the same paragraph). The two are not syllogistically connected, nor should they be. Christ’s teachings are what should guide the various Christian religions (or at least I would so assume). The U.S. Constitution is religion-blind. We are not a theocracy. No religious dogma should control the decisions we make (through our elected representatives) as to how we choose to govern ourselves.
My thesis in the column that has engendered the robust dialogue that you’ve found “slightly entertaining” is that people like Beck make a mockery of both religion and government when they make outrageous statements that are offensive to individuals who are hard at work in both institutions to make life better for all Americans.
We can disagree on how much government should do and on how effective specific programs are at doing what they seek to accomplish, but to denigrate those who, in furtherance of their religious beliefs, seek to pursue “social” or “economic justice” is ignorant and insulting.
The number of religions that purport to proclaim the truth of the Bible is closer to 30,000 in the USA alone. I guess you could say that is free enterprise gone amok in the field of spirituality! That, I presume is why Jesus founded ONE Church and prayed to the Father that his followers would all be one, as he and the Father are one.
As a loyal and devout Catholic, I have to chuckle over the endless “protesting” of my separated brethren as one upstart preacher steals sheep from his former congregation and launches out anew with his own brand of “truth.” I must admit though, I learned much from these folks and still have many friends among them. These congregations are usually made up of 40-60% poorly catechized Catholics looking for “some place to be fed. (Aaaarrrggghhh! -itching ears!) That’s what Jesus said, “Go out into the world and seek where you may be fed.” NOT!
On the other hand, as a loyal and devout Catholic, I moan and groan over the hypocrisies that surround the Church’s striving to “all be one as Jesus and the Father are one.” I came to two conclusions long ago – Protestants and non-denominational s (that new denomination) tend to gather in like groups and part when the preacher no longer thrill s them as much as the next one. In Catholicism, we’ve got ’em all man – from Mother Teresa to every tin horn dictator that cloaks himself in religion to plunder his fellow citizens. Would Hugo Chavez fit that mold?
That being said, “religion pure and undefiled is to help widows and orphans and the poor” – giving glory to God, I might add. Roland hit it on the head re SOCIALISM DOESN’T WORK! The current Administration, far worse even than Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” grossly violates the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity.
Roland and Ed feel no religious dogma should govern the way our representatives act or vote. Excuse me! What fills the vacuum? Totalitarianism! I suspect that one thing religion helps accomplish is a balance between the left and right brain hemispheres – processed through the connecting nerve bundle, the corpus collosum. I know deeply spiritual Hindu’s, like the oncologist who saved my life – (Jesus corrected his disciples when they complained some not of their group were casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus said something like, “Don’t sweat it. If they are not against us, they are with us.”) Sure could use some of that casting out demons in DC about now – definitely a bi/non-partisan task.
Modern psychology’s definition of childlikeness (according to Ornstein) is an ability to process equally through one’s left and right brain hemisphere – reason and logic vs. intuition and visualization – each modifies the other to an ideal solution. Modern education drives the right brain process out of our children, leaving them only with faulty logic to draw ugly conclusions from. Thank you NEA! The counterpart to left brain dominance is to be “so heavenly, one is no earthly good!” Its the balance man – just like the tri-part Founding Documents – Declaration – Beauty, Constitution – Ethics and Bill of Rights – Logic… in that proper order. (Drives Ed crazy!)
You may not want God around, but without a transcendent dimension, man begins to think he’s God – like Jim Wallis or Andy Stern. With a eugenist or Maoist mindset, human life has no intrinsic value and is subject to gross misinterpretations of even the current health care (totalitarian takeover) bill.
Note t Ashley: I’m sure you’re beautiful! You have an open mind and a sense of humility we all could use a bit of.
Thank you, Jerry Todd. I appreciate that. It’s hard to feel beautiful when your face is grotesquely deformed like this. I look like I have a dusting of Down Syndrome. And at 4’2″ and 397.5 pounds, I’m unlovable to most.
I used to pray to our dear Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, every night and ask that Obama’s health care plan would cover the lark that I desperately need so that I may one day be able to venture outside of my house once again. . .I’d also ask for that inhaler so I can walk around without spastically wheezing all the time. Other times, I would just ask God for a nice doctor to get me back on the Glucophage before I lose my sight (and feet) completely.
But none of that is comparable to communism’s close cousin, Socialism. So I no longer pray for those things anymore–I truly see the folly of my ways. Just can’t take the risk of unleashing tyranny by way of accessible healthcare.
Ash
PS-I’m glad that you take my comments in the spirit in which they’re intended. 😉