Glenn Beck and Justice
by: Rev. Jarrod Cochran on August 30th, 2010 | 30 Comments »
Glenn Beck supporters gather for his "Restoring Honor" rally on the National Mall on August 28, 2010. Photo courtesy of FlickrCC/theqspeaks.
As one who has been vilified by Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, I had to tune in Saturday and listen to his speech in Washington, D.C. (almost as one who cannot help but to look at a car accident as they drive by on the freeway). During his “revival,” Beck gave his usual banter regarding the beauties of Capitalism and runaway consumerism, the dangers of anything with the word “social” in it, and how we should fear the coming financial apocalypse by “battening down the hatches” and “get everything you can while the getting’s good.”
However, it was not his usual verbosity that gave me pause — that caused me to be in “shock and awe,” if you will. It was his statement on civil rights:
We are the people of the civil rights movement. We are the ones that must stand for civil and equal rights. Equal justice. Not special justice, not social justice, but equal justice.
Equal justice? Standing up for Civil Rights? How can Glenn Beck — a man who makes millions of dollars as a purveyor of fear and, in a McCarthy-esque fashion, labeling those who disagree with his point-of-view (including us progressives) as “Marxists” and “Nazis” — even begin to talk about equality or justice while there still exists the poor, the homeless, the falsely accused, and the disenfranchised within our own backyard (much less the world)?
Beck’s problem is that he remembers and recites a national history that never existed. He points to a “Jesus” mantra that never was. His philosophy, where you grab all you can while stepping over the bodies of others is indeed troubling. What is even more troubling is the fact that many intelligent people who are looking for someone to blame are buying into it.
Beck is right to be upset over the current state of politics. I’m sick of this country’s politics too. This government, which has bullied, marginalized, and deceived everyone from its inception, has helped to refine my convictions (along with my spiritual progress in my faith) to become a Christian Anarchist — one who believes that no person should hold power over another and that if we love God and we love others everything else will fall into its proper place. However, being fed up with our government does not mean that we should give ourselves over to the base desire of looking out for no one else but ourselves.
The fact is that you cannot build for yourself a castle for comfort and security while refusing to let anyone else in and call yourself one who practices equality or justice. We cannot have it both ways; we can either wall ourselves off, ignoring the needs of others and in the process, losing our own humanity — or we can open wide the doors, risking our own safety, security, and comfort to help those who are hurting; in other words, loving our neighbors.
My teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, was quoted as saying, “What good is it to gain the world and lose yourself — your very soul — in the process?”
I would encourage Mr. Beck and anyone who follows him that instead of running away from churches that practice and preach social justice, they should run towards them. They just might learn a thing or two about their faith and what serving God is all about.
99.9% of all Christians – would know Jesus if he walked up and smaked them upside the head with a The almitghty Bat of truth – - -
Agreed, Amen and Blessed Be.
Seeing how easily so many people–100,000 at the rally–are willing and willing to be confidenced by Beck and his fellow charlatans is beyond intelligent concern. I understand the process of historical cycles, but given available intelligence, scientific and historical evidence and accumulated wisdom I find it beyond mind-blowing as I witness a social phenomenon that I, once< would have, only attributed to the KKK/Fascist types, covert and overt.
My only possible assessment is the last line said by Claudius in the TV series, "I Claudius." It was, "Let all the poisons hatch out."
Perhaps, we are in the throes of poisons hatching in our era. It will be worth the trauma, if a productive outcome results for a few generations. The increase infear, hate and ignorance in this society. is horrible.
Glenn Beck is not really spouting anything new if one examines the history of white nationalist propoganda and fear mongering. These tactics have existed since institutionalized slavery in the USA . There were a significant number of white folk who were doing what it takes to ensure that the status qui remain white, male, landowning. They wanted to make sure that the ‘the Other’ knew their submissive place within a system of racialised hierarchies of power and privilege; within a racist-colonialist capitalist system. Ishmael Reed has a new book out called “Return of the (n-word) Breakers”. He analyzes how white slave owners would hire a “n-word breaker” when black and brown slaves would think thy were “better than whites”. Reed says that the organizations like the Tea Party serve the same purpose for 2010.
As a black woman, I am disappointed by what is happening but not really shocked. It has happened since slavery and people like ke are here to fight against it.
I meant to say “people like me (an anti racist activist) are here to fight against it.
Despite the good works of Tikkun and friends of liberty, a voice continues, “What will it take to overcome?” Disappointed, indeed, never surprised. It would-will take a sustained positive display, outlasting Fourth of July fireworks–for all the “other.”
All of those things that Beck and the Tea Party crowd loathe and detest? You know, economic and social justice, progressive political values, all that jazz? Rev. Dr. King was all about that stuff. Civil rights for African-Americans was the critical step one. Economic and social justice for the American poor — all of the American poor — was the next step.
Beck is a living breathing insult to Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, to social and economic justice advocates everywhere.
The powers that be, the ruling elites, have been pitting the marginalized poor native white worker against the even more marginalized poor black and poor brown and poor immigrant worker for generations, since well before the Civil War. “No Blacks Or Irish” ring any bells? It has worked all this time to keep the attention of all the poor diverted from their mutual real enemy: the corporocrats who buy the politicians and provide the ‘experts’ for the bureaucracy. It has worked for years to keep the oppressors in power. Rev. Dr. King was trying to break through that old con game, the con of the poor by the power elite.
The same powerful corporocrats today bankroll the Tea Party. No surprise. Beck panders to them. No surprise.
The oppressor class and its shills like Beck treat the minds of the oppressed like mushrooms: kept in the dark and fed bullsh*t. There is nothing quite like ignorance of the truth and a steady diet of propaganda to create compliant cogs for the corporocratic state machine and devoted Tea Partyers.
These charming people wish to return us to that great and good time when all people of color, women and children ‘knew their place,’ when there were no income taxes or social welfare programs or civil rights laws to protect these same people from their benevolent white male owners, when the Great Male Gaseous Vertebrate in the Sky was in his heaven and all was right with the world — a world where Rev. Dr. King was only about civil rights, not about economic and social justice, a world safe for frightened people who “want their country back”.
A Gospel without social and economic justice is only good news for the rich and powerful and for those whom they deceive with their shills like Beck. That Beck is peddling such a Gospel is, again, no surprise.
Gwendoline, The Buddhists say the three poisons are greed, ill will and delusion.
Jim,
thank you for reminding me of these three; I just heard about them the other day. As i recall, the three antidotes were (in the order you give) generosity, compassion, and knowledge. It struck me that they correspond nearly perfectly to the answer of an old desert father (early Christian monk)who replied, when asked the perennial question: “what must I do to be saved”, “Trust in God, Give to them who ask of you, and Never condemn anyone.
So the second in the Elder’s order corresponds to generosity, and the third to compassion, equating knowledge with faith requires a but of interpretation, which I do not think at all far-fetched. if knowledge does not mean some kind of learned, secret wisdom, but instead a kind of trust in the goodness of ultimate reality, is that very different from the hermit’s meaning? In that case, both “trust in God” and “knowledge” mean an enlightened consciousness, perhaps.
I thought I couldn’t be as shocked as I was during the Bush Dark Ages. When I saw Beck’s craptasm on Facebook, and the corresponding positive and supportive comments from many melanin-deficient friends (current and past people whom only days before I thought were quite reasonable people limited only by their constrained experiences, the shock hit harder than during even the Dark Ages.
Dave Neiwert’s been tracking a lot of the principals in the TP movement and their links and direct connections to white supremacy orgs. That didn’t surprise me (though it did induce many deep shudders). But it sure as heck galled me and gut-punched me to see how this form of neo-hate has infested people I can no longer see as reasonable.
It’s just disgusting.
Great responses and thoughts! The most important thing we can do is not lose hope and continue to speak truth to people.
Sometimes, when I experience things like this, I think, ‘I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.’
And this too shall pass. We just have to live through it. We must speak up regardless of how hard it may be.
Preach it Robin! Amen and Amen
To Robin, I say: right on! in your first two paragraphs, sorta-kinda in your third paragraph. But when it comes to “the oppressor class,” I think that there is enough information, filtered and unfiltered, in which that is no longer the case: I really think that “the oppressed” are where they want to be. For example, we have the urban legend that Pres. Obama is a Muslim. No matter what information gets in the way, the believers WANT to believe.
It is times like these, that I reflect Nathan’s reply: “Sometimes, when I experience things like this, I think, ‘I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.’
I forgot to add: what if he IS/ WAS a Muslim? There is, last I checked, the First Amendment still standing.
And the last time I checked, there was still no religious test for political office.
@ Sarah Flynn: Thank you (blush).
@ Mike Peterson: Most of the ‘followers’ on the right are perfectly happy to live on a mental diet of talking points fed to them by people like Beck — it means that they are not required to think. And the right is very good at giving its group-think addicts pat positions on the issues that matter to them and a strong sense of identity; the left not so much.
I would agree that the True Believers in the Tea Party crowd are comfortable where they are, that many of the oppressed would “rather bear those ills [they] have than fly to others that [they] know not of.” They would rather continue not thinking and retain the identity that gives them purpose and meaning.
The left needs to improve both its issue messaging and its brand/identity messaging. This is not a new problem; I am sure that it predates me, and I am 61 and have been a progressive activist for 44 years.
Those of you who so willingly denounce your citizenship and birthrights, please renounce your citizenship and go away. For the idiot who is deluded about a history that never was, you need to learn the real American history, not what the “Progressives” have changed/made it out to be. The Tea Party people are not racists, nor are they extremists, unless, of course, you would deem the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the framers of our Constitution to be extremists and racists. The Tea Party people are Patriots who believe in a Constitutional government, a limited government, a government of laws. They believe in the federal republic that this nation is supposed to be, not the Executive Branch Leviathan that has arisen. They stand against the growing influence of Socialism, Communism and Fascism in this government. Their opposition is in the realm of ideas and principles, not persons, though I note the Alinsky tactic of destroying the opponent throughout these comments. It is obvious that you have no ideas, just ends justifying means, and when you have no ideas, all you have left is to attack and vilify the people who have ideas and principles. These Patriots do not want an all-powerful government, and they take to heart Jefferson’s and Madison’s warnings against it. It might be edifying to you to actually read the Federalist Papers and other founding documents. For those who have read them, no “talking points” are needed (how incredibly pompous and patronizing of you, Robin, to suggest otherwise). I doubt any of you will ever understand the people who came to the rally, nor will you likely ever understand Veterans that were honored there. I doubt any of you have any appreciation for Veterans like myself, who have laid our lives on the line to protect you, those you hold dear, and the freedoms you have been spoiled by. So many of you seem to be content to live under a growing tyranny that generations of Veterans who have given our country its freedom are spinning in their graves. You are going to learn a hard lesson as slaves to new masters.
You don’t know me. It is patronizing and pompous of you to make the assumptions about me which you make.
James Madison is my great-etc.-granduncle. I have the utmost respect for him and for the vision of the Founders. But they were extremists. If they had not won their war, we would be calling them terrorists and traitors and singing “God Save the Queen”.
I believe that the Federalist Papers should be required reading for anyone who wants to register to vote.
The Imperial Presidency/Unitary Executive makes a mockery of the balance of powers which stand at the center of our federal republic. I made the same complaint under the rule of George III of the House of Bush; as he has done nothing to change this quo without status, I will continue to make it under the fractious and challenged rule of Barack I of the House of Obama. I will make it until the proper balance of powers is restored.
I would have more respect for the principles of these people (you do describe them as principled) if they were concerned enough about constitutional principles to have been demonstrating against the previous administration and demanding impeachment of its highest office-holders. I don’t recall that. Did I miss something?
As for appreciation for veterans, my father was an Eagle, one of Churchill’s “few”, a genuine war hero. Both of my husbands were veterans. Most of my adult male relatives are veterans. I respect them and appreciate their service. But I don’t respect veterans just because they are veterans — war criminals are veterans, too. Respect is earned, as is appreciation for service.
And I won’t be hypocritical and say that I am sorry that I fail to conform to your stereotype.
Sorry, Chris, your ass-umptions pretty much sounded to me like blabbity blah blah… patriot… blah blah blah…
When you get beyond the 5th grade lemme know and we’ll chat.
Where were all these good Christian patriots when Bush was invading other countries, terrorizing their peoples, torturing prisoners, reading our emails, monitoring library patrons, infiltrating peace groups, limiting free speech and generally destroying our Constitution, even back to the Magna Carta? That stuff seems much scarier to me than national health insurance, immigrants or economic stimulus bills. Must be politics….
Why not a Coffee Klatch to counter the Tea Party? A movement, perhaps, with a mild and wry sense of humor? That’d be nice.
The Founding Fathers were racists; slave ownership is not something people who believe in equality support or participate in. The Founding Fathers were extremists. To the British, the “freedom fighters” in the Colonies were terrorists.
While I have the utmost respect for veterans, please don’t say that you killed others on my behalf. The only freedom I need was given to me through the teachings and example of Rabbi Jesus.
And as far as being a slave to a new master, the only master I recognize is God. I invite you to do the same.
The Coffee Klatch Movement sounds great! The best way to reveal truth is through humor. It’s like the citizens of Rome who intentionally farted when they bowed as Caesar passed by.
Jarrod, I’m glad you like the Coffee Klatch idea. I’ve kept waiting for it to happen–seems the obvious counter to the Tea Party. I’m in Canada, and it needs to happen in the U.S. (Altho it would be nice if something similar bubbled up here too.)
I don’t think it should be identified with the left, moderate Republicans need a home and or sociopolitical network too, and the Tom McCalls of the party are surely uncomfortable with Tea Party’s antics. And moderate Republicans are often good at gentle, wry humor. Like Keynes, I’m a Liberal, an old-fashioned Liberal, and that is neither left nor right, but something a bit different–more emphasis on freedom, more independent, more wary of bureaucracy than ‘the left’.
I’d love to toss out Coffee Klatch ideas. For instance, it should be organized differently than the Tea Party, more like what has come to be called adaptive governance. It should not meet en masse but in small groups at neighborhood coffee houses. Do it that way and you can manage without billionaires bankrolling the effort. Knit the small groups together via e-mail. Aim for something like Aristotle’s ‘euboulia,’ excellence in deliberation, with the addition of research and humor maybe?? Another contrast with the Tea Party.
But I can’t organize it from Canada. Perhaps this spiritual progressive network can get it growing??
Last week one “Cincinnati Enquirer” Op-Ed page consisted entirely of reader’s glowing reports following Glenn Beck’s rally in DC. A typical sentiment: “If we are good people and follow the Constitution, our country will get back on track.”
Indeed the founder of Beck’s Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, stated in their 13th Article of Faith, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”
Likewise the rallyers seem drawn to anything with a ring of success or triumph– call it “winnerism.” They’re less about how we behave or are than how we want to feel.
Glenn Beck is Evil
If conservatives are no longer at the table, I would suggest it was the Left that chased them away. Political Correctness has become a way of controlling the debate by controlling the language, it’s also become a crutch for lazy thinking on the Left. Have we really moved forward in solving racism by shutting down the debate when someone uses a racial epithet? We’re not going to solve racism by demonizing words, we’ll move forward on the issue when schools are just as good in the poor parts of town as they are in the rich parts of town. Funny how little we liberals have done to really improve schools.
But the problem is not just a rich white liberal problem either. Take a bus ride through rich and poor neighborhoods and observe the kids–especially the boys. Rich white boys have a confidence that is practically radiant–and they wear it in the same way poor black boys wear their failure. Yes, failure, they’re not even out of school and most everyone they know is telling them not to dream, that they’re not going to make it because “the man” is going to take it from them, and in any case, success is selling out. It’s not just the black boys, but they are often the most striking in their attitude and comportment, when compared to those rich white boys. You couldn’t find greater opposites.
The point is, the black community is doing as much to destroy its children as institutional racism ever did. Yet, try to say that in any group of lefties and what do you get but grief? It’s like suggesting Israel is built on stolen land. We need to realize that much of the way we react to white racism and black participation in it, is in itself racist. We are treating Black America as “Noble Savages” an innocent race that, but for the corrupt society around them, would progress like any other. Part of solving the racism issue is getting black America to take responsibility for the problems it creates for itself, whatever the origins. Conservative America wants to say something along those lines, but every time they try to speak they are shouted down and shut up. After a while, anybody in that position is going to stop trying to speak across the aisle and instead speak only to those who will listen, which in most cases are the demagogues.
Glenn Beck and his ilk are rotting the foundation of our already tottering empire, but we Liberals aren’t exactly providing much worthwhile opposition. The left has fossilized right when its needed most. We don’t have any new ideas, and we refuse to consider that the ideas we keep defending aren’t working. From where I stand, in San Francisco, I see a Left that is every bit as close minded and bigoted as the Right. We express it differently, but we’re saying the same things, most of which begin with “NO!” It’s like comparing NPR and Fox. They both propagandize, heavily slanting the news for their own agenda (which, surprisingly, is often not that different–just look at the way they both cover Israel and Palestine) the contrast comes in tone, degree and tactics. Fox is bombastic, accusatory, slanderous, while NPR favors pointed references, and omission, yet in the end the message is almost always the same. But try to tell that to an NPR devotee!
You don’t have to call someone by a racial epithet, but are you really fighting racism and advancing civil rights when you shut down a debate because the other person did? Maybe if we on the Left learned to shut up and listen, and respond to the information instead of trying to control the debate by controlling the language, we might find the Right is not nearly as unreachable as we think.
It doesn’t work with my mother, but she might be a special case.
@ Nethanel Zion Ben-Yahushua: Beck is the epitome of the banality of evil. I think that he does what he does not from any deep conviction but because he can and because it makes him money.
@ Paul Tominac : Howard Dean said that those guys in the pick-up trucks with the Confederate flag decals and the gun racks are a part of our natural constituency. I believe that he is right. And I completely agree with you that demonizing words contributes nothing to any serious discussion of issues. Conversely loaded words can kill serious discussion; where is the middle ground?
And relative to your comment about what Black America does to itself which perpetuates its problems, have you ever heard about the behavior of crabs in a bucket? Whenever a crab shows signs of being on the verge of escape, the other crabs pull it back down. I have no solution to this problem.
My parents were Republicans when there was a place in the Republican Party for social liberals/fiscal conservatives. They worked for Goldwater (which will mean something to those old enough to remember). But things have changed so much since their time that they would not recognize the Republican Party of today as their party, nor would the Republican Party of today recognize my parents as Republicans. And that is sad.
Beck has surely offended quite a bit of people with their heads on straight. It is unthinkable that justice is packaged in this way. The future is in dire need for true justice, help the ones who need it most be counted.