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'Remember the principles not the politics': Glenn reflects on the life of Nelson Mandela

December 06, 2013
Wilson

Writer

EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to inclement weather in Dallas, Glenn asked his staff to stay home this today as he broadcasted his radio program from home. As a result, no video clips will be available from Friday’s radio show. You can listen to the entire radio show HERE. The story below is a recap of one the radio segments.

***

Glenn opened the radio program this morning by reflecting on the life of Nelson Mandela. While Mandela is lauded as a peaceful hero of the civil rights movement, he was once a communist revolutionary. After spending 27 years in prison, Mandela had a decision to make: Would he tear a nation apart with violence or forge a different path?

“Well I want to start with Nelson Mandela today. Nelson Mandela is a guy – I couldn’t disagree with his politics more,” Glenn said. “Nelson Mandela is a guy – who before I actually went to South Africa – I don’t know if I had such a good feeling about Nelson Mandela mainly because the people he has surrounded himself with.”

Mandela counted communist revolutionaries and dictators among his friends. From Fidel Castro to Muammar Gaddafi to his own wife Winnie, the people Mandela surrounded himself with did not demonstrate the same sense of compassion and peace that he seemed to espouse. Mandela became a political icon, and it was that status that muddied the waters of who he actually was.

“Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future. Show me you friends, and I can tell your character. If you’re surrounded by dirt bags, you are most likely a dirt bag. Like minds attract each other,” Glenn explained. “Nelson Mandela had been so politicized… It’s like this President. You don’t know what’s true or not. You have no idea who the man really is because for political purposes they will make anybody into anything… So for many reasons I didn’t know who Nelson Mandela was.”

It was during a trip to South Africa in the summer of 2011 that Glenn’s opinion of Mandela as a person (not as a political figure) began to change.

“I got to go to South Africa, and I spent two days with a remarkable man – one of the richest men in the world and the biggest philanthropist in South Africa, but nobody knows it,” Glenn said. “I am not sure how many people know the role he played in the peace in South Africa.”

While he was in the country, Glenn got a better sense of what the situation was like on the ground. It was there he learned the choice Mandela faced.

“When Nelson Mandela went into prison he had a choice,” Glenn said. “He had the choice of becoming that angry, communist revolutionary, or still live by his communist principle but be a man of peace. I haven’t seen communists that are peaceful… except for Nelson Mandela.”

“Nelson Mandela was a man who when he was released could have torn that country apart. With just a raised fist he could have raced a nation into bloodshed,” he continued. “Nelson Mandela had a reason to be angry. Nelson Mandela had a reason to tear a country apart. Nelson Mandela had the philosophy of a revolutionary. But Nelson Mandela, in the end, got down on his bended knees in front of the opposition leader in private – literally on his knees – and said, ‘Please, please no bloodshed. Please, please for the sake of peace, let’s come together and find a way.’”

When Mandela was released from prison, he found himself in a very powerful position, and yet he chose a path few men have the courage to. He chose the peaceful path.

“I came away from South Africa with a great deal of respect for Nelson Mandela – again, not for his policies but for his principles,” Glenn explained. “Principles are something we can agree on. I have a great deal of respect for somebody who has reason to choose another path and doesn’t… NM decided to unite people. He decided he could walk away from the power. The uniting principles – those were the important things.”

There are a lot of powerful quotes attributed to Mandela, and Glenn’s personal favorite came from Mandela’s time in prison. He was known to sit and write each night after spending his days doing hard labor, and these words are now on display at the Apartheid Museum:

People tend to measure themselves by external accomplishments, but jail allows a person to focus on internal ones; such as honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, generosity and an absence of variety. You learn to look into yourself.

“I don’t want to have to go to jail to be allowed to focus on my eternal qualities and accomplishments,” Glenn said. “ I would ask if you were to take anything away from Nelson Mandela it would be this: Who are you? Why are you here? What is it you’ll be remembered for?”

“You’ll remember what that man did. And that man stood against all odds with anger as the most handy tool,” Glenn concluded. “But he reached above that bottom shelf and reached for love. He united a country. Take that from Nelson Mandela. Leave his politics behind.”

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE