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Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn interviews Bishop E.W. Jackson

October 18, 2012
Wilson

Writer

Fans of TheBlaze will remember the video of Bishop E.W. Jackson calling for African Americans to end their slavish devotion to the the Democratic Party. Glenn interviewed Bishop Jackson on this morning's radio show.

Read the transcript of their interview below:

GLENN: Pat and I found a video that most people have not seen of a guy, a pastor in Virginia that is one of the biggest truth‑tellers I've ever seen, one of the bravest guys I've ever seen. I mean, and we were trying to put it in the machine and it's like, I don't know, ten minutes or something

PAT: It's pretty long, yeah, four or five at least.

GLENN: We tried to put it in the machine and we were just trying to put sound bites in it and we couldn't stop it because we were like, no, you can't stop it there. I mean, I hate to start playing it because it's so impossible to stop because you're like, oh, my gosh, somebody's actually saying that.

PAT: That's another great point.

GLENN: That's another great point, I can't believe this guy's saying it. Here's just a little bit of it.

VOICE: My name is bishop E. W. Jackson, chairman of Ministers Taking a Stand with a message to Christians in the black community. It is time to end the slavish devotion to the Democrat Party. They have insulted us, used us, and manipulated us. They have saturated the black community with ridiculous lies. Unless we support the Democrat Party, we will be returned to slavery. We will be robbed of voting rights. The Martin Luther King holiday will be repealed. They think we are stupid and that these lies will hold us captive, while they violate everything we believe as Christians. The Democrat Party has created an unholy alliance between certain so‑called civil rights leaders and Planned Parenthood, which has killed unborn black babies by the tens of millions. Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was.

PAT: Wow.

VOICE: And the Democrat Party and their black civil rights ‑‑

[ OVERLAPPING SPEAKERS ].

GLENN: It's hard to stop because it just keeps going and going and going and he just takes them all apart. Bishop E. W. Jackson is with us now on the phone from Virginia. His website is standAmerica.us. Bishop, how are you, sir?

BISHOP JACKSON: I'm doing great, Glenn. And first of all, let me just say thank you for having me on and let me say that my wife and I and most of our friends are very big fans of yours and we want to express our gratitude for all that you have done to help wake this country up. God bless you for it. And also I want to bring you greetings from a mutual friend of yours, Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

BISHOP JACKSON: I told him I was going ton to be on. So he told me, well, don't mess up.

GLENN: He's a good man. Have we met before?

BISHOP JACKSON: No, we have not. I wanted to come to your ministers convention in D.C.

GLENN: Yes.

BISHOP JACKSON: And my schedule didn't permit it. So we have not had a chance to meet, no.

GLENN: Well, you are ‑‑ you must be despised by a great many some in the underworld.

BISHOP JACKSON: I've got a few detractors, yes.

GLENN: I bet you do.

PAT: You can't say the things you say and not just be vilified. I mean, because with, what is it right now? 94% of the African‑American populus being in favor of voting for this guy again, they've got to just tear you apart every time you say this kind of stuff.

GLENN: And it's not even about Barack Obama. It is about the progressive policies.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: That have destroyed ‑‑ I mean, I can't believe Planned Parenthood ‑‑ bishop, how is Planned Parenthood not known in the African‑American community for exactly what it is and what it was, a death sentence to the black community. That's what it was designed to be.

PAT: Yeah, founded for that.

BISHOP JACKSON: And Glenn, that's why I intentionally did not mention Barack Obama explicitly in that tape because I was trying to help people to see ideas and get away from the personality and just look at what the principles are that they are following and how much they are in discordance with what people in the church community at least claim to believe. And frankly I mean, yeah, I just got finished reading an e‑mail just before coming on the program, one of those nasty e‑mails that you get calling me an Uncle Tom, saying that I'm an antigay hero, you know, this and that. But, you know, I'm getting a tremendously positive response from many in the black community and I think this may be the beginning of a fissure and the end of that slavish devotion as I referred to it to the Democrat Party.

GLENN: I tell you, I just read Booker T. Washington's book, Up From Slavery just recently in the last year. And between him and Frederick Douglass, every American but especially every black American should read Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass. These guys were amazing and they talked about this, as you called it, slavish devotion to a party or to the government and said exactly what would happen and it has all happened. And that's why I think so many real black heroes have been erased from history.

BISHOP JACKSON: And, you know, Glenn, that's one of the reasons why I will not be silent because I believe in humanity. I believe in people. I believe in members of the black community that they are full of potential and beauty and God‑given gifts. And what I see is a party and a progressive movement that is robbing them of their vision and robbing them of their dreams and their vision and I want to awaken them to the sense that, there's more for you than that. God has something more for you than that. Don't accept this dependence and this sort of sycophancy that says we'll give you a few crumbs, all you've got to do is ignore your bidding and ignore those principles you believe in because after all, if you don't those boogie men are out there and they are going to get you.

GLENN: That's what I want to ask you about because African‑Americans, if it wasn't for the African‑American and the Hispanic in California, Prop 8 would ‑‑ I mean would have ‑‑ would have gay marriage. You'd have gay marriage in California. And because people actually came out and said, "No, I don't believe in that, and they were the minorities, it failed. Now, tell me how do you get people to ‑‑ who are religious, who are decent people just completely to divorce themselves of those principles in the voting booth? Because it's like Harry Reid: I'm a Mormon; he's a Mormon. I don't understand, and I'm sure he doesn't understand me, but I don't understand how he can be for the things that he is and do some of the things that he does and still say that he's, you know, in good standing with the scriptures because it doesn't work.

BISHOP JACKSON: Well, you know, Glenn, there's a saying that I've heard among ministers: Some are called and some were sent and some just got up and went. And I think some of the people who claim to be Mormon or claim to be this or claim to be that, that's all they're doing. They're just claiming. It's a hit thing. It's something they inherited but they don't believe it or feel it in their hearts. But with the black community particularly, there are two things I think that have led to this. One is fear. They've been manipulated by fear. You know, the fear that they are going to get you, they're out there, they're out there to get. I mean, Glenn, you know, I have watched your program. I've had people say to me, "Well, somebody ‑‑ they told me that Glenn Beck is a racist." And then I started watching his program. I said, I want to see this guy, I want to see is he ‑‑ and then they started, "Well, you know, I didn't hear him say anything racist." And then I watched a little bit more and they said, "Well, wait a minute, where is that coming from?" It's a lie intended to manipulate people. And then the second thing is bad leadership. When you've got the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, some of these civil rights leaders who are interested in promoting racial division and hostility and a sense of victimization in order to further their own careers, then you get people listening to the wrong kind of leadership, and to me bad leadership produces bad results.

GLENN: Do you feel ‑‑ first of all, I may ‑‑ I have firm reliance on the protection of divine providence. I don't believe that God is neutral in the affairs of man or the freedom of man, and if America falls, the whole world falls. I mean, there's nobody to stand for freedom.

BISHOP JACKSON: I agree.

GLENN: And it will be for gen ‑‑ it will be generational darkness. And I have had an overwhelming sense that His will will be done and that there are enough people that are standing up that are good, that are ‑‑ actually I shouldn't say standing up. Are humbling themselves to not have God on their side, which he doesn't do, but to be ‑‑ for us to move to be on his side. And I think there's ‑‑ I think we're on the threshold of miracles and profound change. Do you feel that way?

BISHOP JACKSON: Glenn, to me that is the genius of America. It is not just our Constitution or Declaration. It's the sense that we are not a mere historical happenstance but we are a providential nation, that the favor of God has been on us.

GLENN: If we're humble. If we're humble.

BISHOP JACKSON: That's right. That's right. And, of course, there are people who want to end that. They want to do ‑‑ you know, we saw it in the Democrat Party's convention, you know, get God out of the platform. Who needs God. And you're right, I do sense an awakening happening in America. It's slow, but I speak in black churches and white churches and in black churches particularly where people might not expect it, I get an overwhelmingly positive response. I've had people come up to me and say, you know, you woke me up. And here again, I think it's God moving. I don't think it's attributable to me as a person but rather to God moving on people's hearts and saying, okay, there are enough of you standing up; I'm going to move in your behalf and I agree with you, Glenn. I think God is going to do some marvelous things to help bring this nation back to Him.

GLENN: So how do we heal the division? Because I think we're at the beginning of real problems. The president just said it on Univision a couple of weeks ago. He said I realize you can't change Washington from the inside. You have to change it from the outside. And they are only good, really these guys are only really good at stirring up trouble and being the dissent. They are not good at governing. They are good at tearing things apart and causing division. How do we as people bring people together and when you've got the media and everybody else saying what they say about us and Mitt Romney and you and everybody else, how do we break that and bring people together?

BISHOP JACKSON: Well, obviously a lot of prayer. And I know you're a man who believes in prayer. And secondly I would say to people, when I speak to groups and they say, well, how do I bridge that gap? I know black people ‑‑ I'm white, I know black people but I'm afraid to approach them. And I said, you know, it needs to be on a very personal level and say, look, you know me. We've known ‑‑ do you think I'm against you? Do you think I want to hurt you? Do you think I'm out to get you? Can you at least concede that I have ideals and principles that matter to me, that have nothing to do with race? I love you. I care about you. I'm interested in you. And I think my view is that the people whose hearts are open to truth will respond.

Now, there are some people, as I'm sure you know, I don't care what you do. You're never going to reach them.

GLENN: Never going to reach them.

BISHOP JACKSON: They are hardened in their views. But I find a lot of Americans' hearts are very open.

GLENN: What is going to happen in Virginia?

BISHOP JACKSON: That's a good question. I believe that Mitt Romney is going to win and I'm working very hard to see to it that that happens and I believe that George Allen who is running against Tim Kaine, of course Tim Kaine is an Obama clone, an Obama, he was actually recruited by Obama to run. I believe that George Allen will prevail over him, although Mitt Romney is doing better right now than George Allen is, but I trust that we will end up having Mitt Romney win in Virginia and having George Allen win in Virginia. So that's my take.

GLENN: Do you think that people need a leader to be able to ‑‑ you know, for instance, the Tea Party doesn't have a leader and it just became this spontaneous movement. Do you think people need a leader in the black community to see? I mean, because they must know that things have gotten much worse for the African‑American in the last four years, and I just read a study that shows that African‑Americans feel as though it is harder for them to speak out now and be who they want to be than when it was ‑‑ than what it was before the president got into office. And I think when it comes to race, I think we all feel that way. He was supposed to heal us. He did the opposite. I am much less likely to feel comfortable speaking to an African‑American or an African‑American group because of all the things that have been said that people like me believe, et cetera, et cetera. And I think there are a lot of African‑Americans that will say I ‑‑ especially if they're conservative, "I don't feel comfortable speaking out and saying anything because my own community will attack me he or the system will attack me." At what point does that just break down? Because in the white community I think people are just like, "Oh, I'm a racist? Really? Move on. Heard it before. It's not who I am." At what point does that break?

BISHOP JACKSON: Yeah, I had the same hope, Glenn, but how can a good ‑‑ how can a bad tree bear good fruit? And I realize that was probably a quixotic hope. But with regard to leadership, no, I don't think that the black community needs a leader, but I do think there is always a need for leadership. I mean, you know, you provide leadership. Because for me leadership is influence. It is simply trying to open people up to the truth and trying to help them see. If not trying to control them or make decisions for them but trying to expose them to the truth and trying to be a positive influencer. And I think that those, that kind of leadership is always needed. It's there, but I think people have been cowed into not speaking up. And I'm hoping that one of the influences that my video and other things that we're doing has is to cause people to say, "You know what? I'm going to stand up. I'm going to speak up. I agree with Bishop Jackson. I'm not going to be silent about this and I'll let God take care of me."

GLENN: Well, bishop, I hope we get a chance to meet soon. I am ‑‑ from what I know of you, I'm very impressed. I know you have a new book coming out soon. Right? You have a new one coming?

BISHOP JACKSON: Yes, I do. Called America The Beautiful: Reflections of a Patriot Descended from Slaves, yes.

GLENN: Are you from slave family?

BISHOP JACKSON: As a matter of fact, yes, my great‑grandparents Gabriel and Eliza Jackson were slaves and then share croppers in Orange County, Virginia. I date my lineage back at least as far as year before George Washington was born. We believe it goes back before that.

GLENN: Wow.

BISHOP JACKSON: By the way, George Washington is my favorite president, just wanted you to know. I read the book you recommended. That was the second biography I read about him. I love George Washington. But at any rate, yes, yes, my ‑‑ I am a direct descendant. My grandfather was not born in slavery but his parents were and they moved out of Virginia. My grandfather did and ultimately migrated to Pennsylvania where I was born. But yes. And look, and I tell people, you know, I'm proud of that because only in America do we have a country built on the truth that God gave us all humanity the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. So the seed of the destruction of slavery unlike any place else on the Earth was built into our founding framework.

GLENN: You, sir, are a ‑‑ you, sir, are a bright spot, I can guarantee you, on the other side of the veil. Your slave ancestors are saying free at last, free at last. You are a remarkable story and a ‑‑ one of the freest men I know. God bless you. Thank you very much.

BISHOP JACKSON: God bless you, Glenn. Thank you.

GLENN: We'll talk to you. His website is standAmerica.us. StandAmerica.us. Bishop Jackson.

WWIII: The new face of war

Oleg Nikishin / Stringer | Getty Images

Has World War III begun?

Over the weekend, Iran launched an unprecedented attack against Israel involving over 300 missiles and drones. This marked the first direct attack on Israel originating from Iranian territory. Fortunately, according to an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, 99 percent of missiles and drones were successfully neutralized by Israeli defense systems. Iran claimed that the operation against Israel had concluded and that no further offensive was planned, although the possibility of another attack is still present.

This has left many people, including Glenn, wondering the same thing: did we just witness the start of World War III?

Glenn recently had a World War II Air Force Veteran as a guest on his TV special, who told stories of the horrors he and his brothers-in-arms faced in the skies over war-torn Europe. This was a timely reminder of the terrors of war and a warning that our future, if it leads to another world war, is a dark one.

But, if Glenn's coverage of the Iranian attack revealed one thing, it's that World War III will look nothing like the world wars of the twentieth century. Long gone are the days of John "Lucky" Luckadoo and his "Bloody Hundredth" bravely flying their B-17s into battle. Over the weekend, we saw hundreds of autonomous drones and missiles clashing with extreme speed and precision over several different fronts (including space) simultaneously. This ain't your grandfather's war.

From EMP strikes to cyber attacks, here are FIVE ways the face of war has changed:

EMP attacks

New York Daily News Archive / Contributor | Getty Images

The entire modern world, on every level, is completely dependent on electricity. From your home refrigerator to international trade, the world would come to a grinding halt without power. And as Glenn has pointed out, it wouldn't even be that hard to pull off. All it would take is 3 strategically placed, high-altitude nuclear detonations and the entire continental U.S. would be without power for months if not years. This would cause mass panic across the country, which would be devastating enough on its own, but the chaos could be a perfect opportunity for a U.S. land invasion.

Nuclear strikes

Galerie Bilderwelt / Contributor | Getty Images

Nuclear war is nothing new. Many of us grew up during the Cold War, built fallout shelters, and learned to duck and cover. But times have changed. The Berlin Wall fell and so did the preparedness of the average American to weather a nuclear attack. As technology has advanced, more of our adversaries than ever have U.S. cities within their crosshairs, and as Glenn has pointed out, these adversaries are not exactly shy about that fact. Unfortunately, the possibility of an atomic apocalypse is as real as ever.

Immigration warfare

Nick Ut / Contributor | Getty Images

The strategy of strangling an opposing nation's economy to gain the upper hand is a wartime tactic as old as time. That's why the Border Crisis is so alarming. What better way to damage an opponent's economy than by overburdening it with millions of undocumented immigrants? As Glenn has covered, these immigrants are not making the trek unaided. There is a wide selection of organizations that facilitate this growing disaster. These organizations are receiving backing from around the globe, such as the WEF, the UN, and U.S. Democrats! Americans are already feeling the effects of the border crisis. Imagine how this tactic could be exploited in war.

Cyber shutdowns

Bill Hinton / Contributor | Getty Images

Cyber attacks will be a major tactic in future wars. We've already experienced relatively minor cyber strikes from Russia, China, and North Korea, and it is a very real possibility that one of our adversaries inflicts a larger attack with devastating consequences on the United States. In fact, the WEF has already predicted a "catastrophic" cyber attack is imminent, and Glenn suggests that it is time to start preparing ourselves. A cyber attack could be every bit as devastating as an EMP, and in a world run by computers, nothing is safe.

Biological assault

WPA Pool / Pool | Getty Images

Don't trust the "experts." That was the takeaway many of us had from the pandemic, but something less talked about is the revelation that China has manufactured viruses that are capable of spreading across the globe. We now know that the lab leak hypothesis is true and that the Wuhan lab manufactured the virus that infected the entire world. That was only ONE virus from ONE lab. Imagine what else the enemies of America might be cooking up.

The government is WAGING WAR against these 3 basic needs

NICHOLAS KAMM / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has launched a full-on assault against our basic needs, and people are starting to take notice.

As long-time followers of Glenn are probably aware, our right to food, water, and power is under siege. The government no longer cares about our general welfare. Instead, our money lines the pockets of our politicians, funds overseas wars, or goes towards some woke-ESG-climate-Great Reset bullcrap. And when they do care, it's not in a way that benefits the American people.

From cracking down on meat production to blocking affordable power, this is how the government is attacking your basic needs:

Food

Fiona Goodall / Stringer | Getty Images

Glenn had Rep. Thomas Massie on his show where he sounded the alarm about the attack on our food. The government has been waging war against our food since the thirties when Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. They started by setting strict limits on how many crops a farmer could grow in a season and punishing anyone who grew more—even if it was intended for personal use, not for sale on the market. This sort of autocratic behavior has continued into the modern day and has only gotten more draconian. Today, not only are you forced to buy meat that a USDA-approved facility has processed, but the elites want meat in general off the menu. Cow farts are too dangerous to the environment, so the WEF wants you to eat climate-friendly alternatives—like bugs.

Water

ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO / Contributor | Getty Images

As Glenn discussed during a recent Glenn TV special, the government has been encroaching on our water for years. It all started when Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, which gave the government the ability to regulate large bodies of water. As the name suggests, the act was primarily intended to keep large waterways clear of pollution, but over time it has allowed the feds to assume more and more control over the country's water supply. Most recently, the Biden administration attempted to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act to include even more water and was only stopped by the Supreme Court.

Electricity

David McNew / Staff | Getty Images

Dependable, affordable electricity has been a staple of American life for decades, but that might all be coming to an end. Glenn has discussed recent actions taken by Biden, like orders to halt new oil and gas production and efforts to switch to less efficient sources of power, like wind or solar, the price of electricity is only going to go up. This, alongside his efforts to limit air conditioning and ban gas stoves, it almost seems Biden is attempting to send us back to the Stone Age.

4 signs that PROVE Americans are hitting rock bottom

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

As we approach the presidential election in November, many Americans are facing dire economic straits.

Glenn has shown time and time again that Bidenomics is a sham, and more Americans than ever are suffering as a result. Still, Biden and his cronies continue to insist that the economy is booming despite the mounting evidence to the contrary. But who is Biden fooling? Since the beginning of the year, gas has gone up an average of 40 cents a gallon nationwide, with some states seeing as much as a 60-cent per gallon increase. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Foreclosures and bankruptcies are on the rise, evictions are surging, and America is experiencing a record amount of homelessness. We can't survive another Biden term.

Americans across the country are hitting rock bottom, and here are four stats that PROVE it:

Evictions

John Moore / Staff | Getty Images

Across the country, people are being evicted from their homes and apartments. Between 2021 and 2023, evictions increased by 78.6 percent. With inflation driving up prices and employers struggling to raise wages to compensate, rent is taking up an increasingly larger percentage of people's paychecks. Many Americans are having to choose between buying groceries and paying rent.

Foreclosures

Justin Sullivan / Staff | Getty Images

Renters aren't the only ones struggling to make their monthly payments, foreclosures are on the rise. This February saw a 5 percent increase in foreclosures from last year and a 10 percent increase from January. More and more Americans are losing their homes and businesses.

Bankruptcies

Chris Hondros / Staff | Getty Images

High interest rates and inflation have driven bankruptcies through the roof. Total filings have risen 13 percent and business bankruptcies rose 30 percent in 2023. It's getting harder and harder for businesses to stay afloat, and with California's new law requiring most restaurants to pay all employees a minimum of $20 an hour, you can expect that number to keep climbing.

Homelessness

FREDERIC J. BROWN / Contributor | Getty Images

The result of all of these issues is that it is getting harder and harder for Americans to afford the basic necessities. January of 2023 saw a record-breaking 650,000+ homeless Americans, a 12 percent jump from the previous year. More Americans have hit rock bottom than ever before.

Stop blaming Gen Z for the problems WE created

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

I want to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. Life is tough, but it is worth it in the end.

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. They just won’t let go of their power even though their time has passed.

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

The generation coming of age is right to feel frustrated.This mess — with high costs and a massive debt burden — was not of their making.

Iwant to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. ≈

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. ≈

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed.

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

Once the government said that they were going to guarantee everybody’s college tuition, universities found out that they could just charge more because the government would give you virtually any amount in your loan. And they have been charging more and more ever since. In 1965, the average college tuition was $450 a year. Adjusted to inflation, that's $4,000 a year. You're currently paying an average of $26,000 a year as opposed to the inflation-adjusted $4,000.

What happened? The answer is always the same: government regulations. Gas is up. Why? Government regulations. Can't afford a house? Well, that's due to several things. Many of them revolve around the fed and our national debt. But the simple answer is the same: government regulations.

Moreover, the U.S. government has run a staggering national debt. We have been concerned about it forever, but the people in power haven't been listening to your mom and dad and people like me. A lot of other people just thought, "Oh, well. We could get away with it. We're the United States of America, after all. Somehow or another, it will all work out."

People like me have been saying, "No. We can't pass this on to our children." You're now seeing what we have passed on. When you say that the adults are responsible for creating this world of problems, in some ways, you’re right. We were lied to, and as many people do, they want to believe the lie because it makes them feel better.

There are big lies being pushed in your generation as well. You're being told that a man is a woman and a woman is a man. At the same time, you’re being told that gender doesn't even exist at all. It makes us feel better to go along with the lie because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

My generation believed the same kind of lie about our national debt. We were told that we could spend all this money on subsidized programs because it would provide you, our children, with a better life. Some people warned, "Wait, how will they pay this off? This will cost them." We didn't want to believe them. The lie sounded better, and it was easier to believe that than the truth. We never saw the consequences, and even if we did, they were always way out in the future. Nobody wanted to listen to the doomsday people saying, "No. It's going to come faster than you think."

And that time is right now. Our government now is printing $1 trillion every 100 days. That's never been done before. We have more debt than any country has ever had in the history of the world. But we’re not alone. Every country is doing this. They’re going into debt like we’ve never seen before, and we’re all about to pay for that. It’s going to make your life even harder.

There are Democrats and Republicans who still believe in spending all kinds of money and getting us involved in every global conflict. Then there are constitutional conservatives who believe that we should conserve the things that have worked and throw out the things that don’t and follow our Constitution and Bill of Rights. You haven't really learned about those most likely. But you should. All of our problems are caused by the government and the people who feel they can bypass the Constitution. That's what this election is really all about.

You might say, “I don’t really care. I don’t like either of the political parties.” I know a lot of people who don’t like either of them, but one is going to try to cut the size of this government and one is going to spend us into collapse.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed. You need to learn enough about the truth, about why this has happened to us, and about how our Constitution lasted longer than any other Constitution in the world. The average is 17 years. This thing has lasted hundreds of years. Why? How? And why is it falling apart today? That's what you should dedicate some of your time to figuring out today.

You can complain about the way things are. I complain. Everybody complains. But don't wallow there. Learn what caused this. And if you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework. They always end the same way, and that's exactly where we're headed right now. We can either repeat the dreadful past of nations that have tried it before us, or we can choose freedom, liberty, and prosperity. The ball is in our court.