Blog
LatestArticlesVideos
Radio
LivePodcastSerialsStations
TV
Podcasts
The Glenn Beck ProgramThe Glenn Beck PodcastThe Beck Story
Fine Art
Real Estate
More
AboutCharityBooksSponsorsShopContact
SEARCH
Live Radio

©2024 MERCURY RADIO ARTS.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Let's make sure Washington clearly understands: ‘Without us, they're doomed’

January 27, 2014
Radio Clips

The Glenn Beck Program

Tomorrow night, President Obama will deliver his sixth State of the Union address. The Constitution says the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." While the concept may be noble in theory, in reality, the annual address has devolved into nothing more than a campaign stump speech filled with empty promises.

On radio this morning, Glenn previewed President Obama’s remarks. You can guarantee the election-year themes of ‘income inequality’ and ‘change we can believe in’ will be on full display as President Obama promises to level the playing field by taking from the rich and giving to the poor. There is no question Americans are hungry for change, and President Obama will promise to right some of the wrongs and change the course of the country. But as Glenn explained, the change Americans seek can never come from Washington. We the people must be willing to fight for the change we wish to see.

Tomorrow night the President is going to give his State of the Union address before Congress and the American people. Well, actually, let me rephrase that first before we go on. Tomorrow night the President's going to give a campaign speech full of misleading data, some outright lies, some good sounding platitudes, and none of it will mean anything. And instead it will become a circus. And the only ones that will really watch it are those who are part of the circus – the media and those who are somehow or another involved in the parties. I don't think the American people are there anymore.

The President tomorrow will use the Second Amendment again to divide us, to talk about inequality and how the game is rigged and how it is so unfair. He's not going to mention those things like a good education, experience [that] will actually help you find things that are fair – that in the end… kind of equal out. Those with little education and not much experience will learn that those things… are the great equalizers.

But this society now is a society that doesn't like to work, doesn't want to do the hard things. We are being pitted against each other and envy is our real enemy now. But there is some luck involved. Corporate cronyism is a disease that is spreading, but by and large you still reap what you sow in this country. But that's not going to be good enough for the President or, quite honestly, those on the other side of the aisle, either, because they're all there to help you. It doesn't give them power, you see, if they actually tell the truth that you can make it, that this is a country still with the greatest opportunity on planet Earth, but it's fading fast.

So he wants to take from those who are educated, either in school or on their own, who have worked hard for years for the people who have taken risks that are now successful. They want to take it from them and give it to those who didn't do any of those things because, in their world, that is the definition of fairness. In my world that's robbery. But the good news is most Americans won't even watch or listen because it's not the America that we want.

Why have we allowed this to happen and go on year after year after year? Why are we doing that? Why do we just accept it? We've been asleep. Are we still asleep? We've had our heads down and we've become part of the herd instead of being heard. Look at the people around you. Next time you go to the airport, look around you. As people wind through the maze at airport security, heads down, following the winding path, oblivious to what's going on. If somebody in that line looked up and said, "Good morning," would you smile and respond, or would you think that they were some sort of crazy person? "What the hell's wrong with that person?"

Go to New York City and stand by the doors of Grand Central Station in the afternoon as commuters head home and head for their trains, their heads down in a trance, not paying any attention to those around them. What if you stopped somebody on the street or stopped somebody at Grand Central Station and said, "Excuse me, do you know of a good restaurant nearby?" How many would even slow down now…

That's the nation we used to be. And the good news is I think we still have that within our grasp. I think we're starting to realize who we were and what we've allowed ourselves to become, and we don't like what we see and so change is in the air. We want to change it. But know this: The change isn't going to come from the President tomorrow night. The change we actually seek is not coming from anybody who says "Vote for me and I'll change it." Oh, they'll change things, but the change you seek is not coming from Washington. The change will happen when we all start to look up. The change will happen when we take the time to connect with the stranger next to us, or when we take the time to connect to the strange news that we're hearing.

The big bank HSBC has restricted people from taking $10,000 or more out of their bank accounts without a note, I think from their mom, explaining what exactly they're doing with that money. "Why are you taking the money out?" Excuse me. It's my money. I'm taking my money out… The change will come when we stand at the teller of the bank and we look them in the eye and we say, "Excuse me. That's my money. If I want to take it all out, I'm going to take it all out.” "Well, sir, for your own safety, we are concerned when you leave the bank." And I want to take my own out and I walk out into the chat R into the street and I want to throw it out in the air, I have a right to do it. It's my money.

Things will change when we start looking up and connecting, connecting to what is really happening and then connecting with each other. There's a video up on TheBlaze that we watched this weekend… Just the greatest videos. Go watch it… Such a great video of hope. It's a little ripple, one kind moment, one kind gesture that will lead to another. Common sense, common values, common courtesy. And none of these are on display in Washington. So let's display them ourselves. We the people, three words that are self-evident. It's up to us. It always has been up to us. We the people.

Tomorrow night will be about manipulation and power and greed, envy, but we're so much better than that. The greatest presidents we've ever had have always been those presidents that made us want to reach inside of ourself and be better because all of us know we are better than this. We are the people.

I said to my wife, because I've been having some back problems, Pat has been having some back problems. And I said to my wife this weekend, "I am so sick of being sick. I'm so sick of feeling like crap." Don't you feel this way as an American? Aren't you sick of feeling this way? Aren't you sick of being less than we are? I know I'm not the only one. We're so much better than this! And nobody else is going to demand it of us, nor should they demand it. I don't want a president demanding, "Oh, I'll tell you this. You'll not be who you think you are. You're going to be better than…" What? We have to demand it of ourselves. We're awake. Finally we're awake and we're looking up.

The best days of this country, the best days of humankind are still ahead of us, and don't you ever believe otherwise. Don't you ever listen to anybody else tell you differently. Something those who want power, those who want you to consume something, buy something, they will always tell you: Well, you'll be so much better if you have X, Y or Z. Well, I'm a guy who has a lot of stuff for you to buy. I got a lot of books for you to buy. I've got a lot of tickets that I'd like you to buy. I've got a lot of news stories I'd like you to read. I'd like you to go to the advertisers on this radio station and buy some of their stuff if that's what you need. But I'm telling you right now, I don't need you to buy anything. You will not be better if you're listening to this program. You will not be stronger. You don't need me. You need to know the truth, and the truth is you were born with everything that you need. You're smart enough. I'm cobbling the stuff together that we're finding. You can do the same thing. Don't you ever believe anybody who says "Without me, you're nothing. Without this system, you won't be able to make it."

Washington wants you to believe that without them we are doomed. Well, let's flip the tables, shall we? Let's make sure that they clearly understand: "We the people. Without us, they're doomed."

U.K. forces digital IDs on workers—Is the U.S. next in line?

OLI SCARFF / Contributor | Getty Images

From banking to health care, digital IDs touch every aspect of citizens’ lives, giving the government unprecedented control over everyday actions.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood at the podium at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London and made an announcement that should send a chill down the spine of anyone who loves liberty. By the end of this Parliament, he promised, every worker in the U.K. will be required to hold a “free-of-charge” digital ID. Without it, Britons will not be able to work.

No digital ID, no job.

The government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Starmer framed this as a commonsense response to poverty, climate change, and illegal immigration. He claimed Britain cannot solve these problems without “looking upstream” and tackling root causes. But behind the rhetoric lies a policy that shifts power away from individuals and places it squarely in the hands of government.

Solving the problem they created

This is progressivism in action. Leaders open their borders, invite in mass illegal immigration, and refuse to enforce their own laws. Then, when public frustration boils over, they unveil a prepackaged “solution” — in this case, digital identity — that entrenches government control.

Britain isn’t the first to embrace this system. Switzerland recently approved a digital ID system. Australia already has one. The World Economic Forum has openly pitched digital IDs as the key to accessing everything from health care to bank accounts to travel. And once the infrastructure is in place, digital currency will follow soon after, giving governments the power to track every purchase, approve or block transactions, and dictate where and how you spend your money.

All of your data — your medical history, insurance, banking, food purchases, travel, social media engagement, tax information — would be funneled into a centralized database under government oversight.

The fiction of enforcement

Starmer says this is about cracking down on illegal work. The BBC even pressed him on the point, asking why a mandatory digital ID would stop human traffickers and rogue employers who already ignore national insurance cards. He had no answer.

Bad actors will still break the law. Bosses who pay sweatshop wages under the table will not suddenly check digital IDs. Criminals will not line up to comply. This isn’t about stopping illegal immigration. If it were, the U.K. would simply enforce existing laws, close the loopholes, and deport those working illegally.

Instead, the government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Control masked as compassion

This is part of an old playbook. Politicians claim their hands are tied and promise that only sweeping new powers will solve the crisis. They selectively enforce laws to maintain the problem, then use the problem to justify expanding control.

If Britain truly wanted to curb illegal immigration, it could. It is an island. The Channel Tunnel has clear entry points. Enforcement is not impossible. But a digital ID allows for something far more valuable to bureaucrats than border security: total oversight of their own citizens.

The American warning

Think digital ID can’t happen here? Think again. The same arguments are already echoing in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration is out of control. Progressives know voters are angry. When the digital ID pitch arrives, it will be wrapped in patriotic language about fairness, security, and compassion.

But the goal isn’t compassion. It’s control of your movement, your money, your speech, your future.

We don’t need digital IDs to enforce immigration law. We need leaders with the courage to enforce existing law. Until then, digital ID schemes will keep spreading, sold as a cure for the very problems they helped create.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

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.