WATCH: This man has a message you absolutely need to hear

December 02, 2014

Writer

Watch the full interview on TheBlaze TV

Monday night on The Glenn Beck Program, Glenn introduced the audience to a man who delivered some serious truth to the protestors in Ferguson. He's not famous. He's not a pundit. He's not an Al Sharpton or a Ben Carson. He's just an everyday guy named Jonathan Gentry, but he has a message everyone needs to hear.

Watch his message below, and scroll down for more from the interview:

Glenn: That man is Jonathan Gentry, and he is with us now. How are you?

Johnathan: Good. How are you doing, Glenn?

Glenn I am really good. Tell me first of all, before we get into that, who are you? Where are you from? What do you do?

Johnathan: I’m just a regular human being, honestly. My mom raised three boys by herself. My mother and father have been divorced for over 25 years, you know, so I always was back and forth with my mother, with my father. You know, I see a lot of the messages. People say oh, this stuck-up black rich kid. I’m by far none of that, and it hurts me because I’ve seen the struggle growing up. I grew up right there where the riots broke out in ‘92, ’91-‘92.

I’ve seen it. I was part of it, and it breaks my heart to see the same continued cycle of how we react, even in the midst of turmoil. Instead of us showing our greatest strength, we specialize in showing our greatest weakness for decades. And I’m in my early 30s, and that’s what we specialize in. Then we wonder why we’re stereotyped. Then we wonder why people don’t see us the same. It’s because of our actions at how we respond to issues that take place in our lives.

Glenn: I mean holy cow, you want to talk about sacred cows, and that video, which I think the full video runs about five minutes, you speak more plainly than most people are willing to speak. I wouldn’t classify you as angry in that, but you were clear.

Johnathan: It was passion. I think people misunderstand anger and passion. You know, my mom raised us. In spite of the struggles I have gone through, in spite of the struggles we have gone through growing up, I could have chose the wrong path. I could’ve chose to steal, kill, murder, purse snatch, do all that, but I stayed focused on my decisions in life. You know, we’re all human. We’re all human beings; however, I had choices to make as a young man.

And like I said, the cycle, especially in our youth, especially in our young generation, I felt God’s spirit when I did that video. It was Him. A man cannot move like that on his own capacity. I didn’t write nothing down. I didn’t have notes. I didn’t have a memorandum. I didn’t have anything. It was just record, flow, go. Like He said, write it down plain on tablet. Make the vision. Spread the blueprint.

Glenn: What was it that prompted you?

Johnathan: It was what I was seeing, how we reacted, like I said, in the midst of turmoil. We’re throwing elbows and angry and pissed off. Where is that line drawn amongst yourself? I’m just saying self-examination, look at yourself. Look at yourself. Timeout with all the racism. Timeout with all the foolishness. Timeout with what’s taking place. Look at yourself right now and tell me, are you happy with you? And I guarantee you you’re going to look in the mirror and say no, because if you look yourself in the mirror and see the self-examination that’s taking place, you will not be happy.

Because if you see around you, you’re tearing up where you live. You’re tearing up your own community, not no one else’s. You’re tearing up yours. So if you can examine yourself, calm down, and examine yourself, you will see that you’re not in a place of happiness, and that’s what I wanted to point out. That’s what I want people to see. People say you hate us blacks. I’m African-American myself. How can I hate?

And the problem is a finite mind cannot understand where I’m coming from. A person who does not understand the things of God will knock me, you know? That’s why I said the deep things of God are spiritually discerned to a carnal man. Neither can he know Him because they are spiritually discerned. So what I’m saying and what I’m bringing is at a level where you can’t understand it if you’re finite and superficial. I’m just telling you to look at yourself and tell me, are you happy? Tell me when you look yourself, not everyone around you, not white, not black, not the police departments, but yourself.

When you look at yourself and see your actions, your actions got you here. Your irresponsibilities have gotten you here, nothing no one else did to you. Stop blaming slavery and segregation for what’s happening now. It is you. It’s not them. It’s not this person. It is you standing in the need of prayer. That’s what I’m trying to represent, and that’s what I am representing, but they’re missing that, a lot of the African-American community. Some are understanding, but a lot miss it.

Glenn Okay, I want to come back to that. When we come back, I want to ask you, is that intentional? Because there is the Jesse Jacksons and the Al Sharptons of the world that I think that’s intentional. I know Al Sharpton. I know him. I’ve been with him. That man knows what he’s doing. He knows what he’s doing. Let me get your opinion when we come back.

[break]

Glenn: That is a powerful message that needs to be heard. You talk about the civil rights leaders, and I think you even said you call them what I call them, so-called civil rights leaders. Who are they? Do they know?

Johnathan: I mean, now you have to understand times have changed. Understand again, like I said, racism is there, but it’s not like it was back then. You’re using a method that worked then. You understand? And what I say now to the youth and to the world, to the nation, our leaders today, you cannot be an effective leader reliving your past. You cannot. You cannot be an effective leader of no kind, of no background, of whatever race, reliving your past, because what you’re going to do is rejuvenate and recycle hate, pain, anger into an innocent generation. You understand?

What you went through, you’re recycling it to an innocent generation that has nothing to do what you experienced. And I’m not talking about history. You understand? History is one thing. Recycling anger into God’s children is another. That’s where I come in, and that’s what I’m doing. I am hitting the brakes on these leaders who are recycling anger, pain, into an innocent generation who experienced what you did not.

Glenn: Can I ask you a question? Because I really truly believe…first of all, I grew up in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. When I was growing up, I think there might have been four black people, and they may have come in, I don’t know, you know, for a show or something. I have no idea. I remember the first time I saw an African-American, and my father said to me don’t stare. But I’d never seen anybody. So we didn’t have…where I was growing up, we didn’t have this strife. There wasn’t the strife that we had in the South and everything else growing up.

So maybe I just come from a different place, but I think America has moved on from the 1960s, the 1970s. Racism still exists. When I went down to Birmingham, Alabama, and I did a show down there, I was at a theater, and the general manager said to me…I said look, we start on time? And they said well, not down here. And I said why not? And they said we’re on colored standard time. And everybody just laughed, and my friends and everybody, we’re there, and I sit here, and I was like did I just hear that? I mean, what the hell is that?

I realize, I mean, I expected, you know, Archie Bunker to come back out from behind the curtain there. So it exists, but we’re not the kind of people that we were in Martin Luther King’s time. We made great advancements, and now we’re being dragged—

Johnathan: Back.

Glenn: You just said these guys believe…maybe…maybe they don’t believe it. They believe we’re the same people that we were when Martin Luther King was alive. We’ve grown.

Johnathan: Right, we have, and that’s the sad part, because that’s what’s being pushed. Unfortunately that’s what Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and a lot of these activists, Najee Ali and a lot of these guys on the West Coast, that’s what they’re pushing—these white folks and the police are the KKK. Okay, time out. Hold on. Wait a minute, because you have to understand, with a spiritual mind, I’m filled with God’s spirit, so don’t feed me that nonsense. You understand?

I understand racism still exists. For instance, when all these riots broke out in Ferguson, they burned down their own church, the church Michael Brown’s father attended, and they had the audacity to blame it on the KKK. Did the KKK burn down the AutoZone too? Did they burn down the McDonald’s too? Did they burn down the police cars too? So you guys burned down all the police cars, and you blame the church on the KKK because you knew it was wrong. Because they knew it was wrong, KKK did that. This, oh no.

You burned down all this. What did you do that? Why? You see, it’s the examination of a person’s self, and I’m just holding up that mirror, you know, and what I’m seeing is…go ahead.

Glenn: Okay, so let me ask you this, because the KKK exists. There are real racists.

Johnathan: Of course.

Glenn: There are spooky, spooky people, so when we come back, let me take a quick break and then come back and just ask you so how do we straddle this and say look, we as reasonable people need to say KKK and racists and racist cops, enough, but the good cops, the good people—

Johnathan: Yeah, not all cops are bad.

Glenn: Some are bad. They’re people. Some are bad. Some are good. And what we’re doing is just planting these seeds of hatred. So how do we break through and stop this nonsense of race wars that I think people are intentionally seeding? We’ll be back in just a second.

[break]

Glenn: So, you have received death threats. I mean, I know what my Facebook is like. I can’t imagine what yours is like. Nobody wants to even look at the facts of the case. They’re rioting when the facts of the case are completely upside down. How are we going to solve this? Forget about Ferguson. How are we going to solve the hate problem that is being sown by everyone it seems?

Johnathan: They’re taking sides, and we shouldn’t, Glenn. Honestly, we shouldn’t, because it’s what’s being taught, you know? How can a 15-year-old know that the police and white folks are bad? Who teaches that child that, you know? So it’s what’s being taught into our communities. So my job honestly and what I’m going to continue to do, it’s…God created us all equal. Regardless of what you’re seeing out here, regardless of what the media is pushing, we have all been created equal. And again, I say I do not hate my race. I’m just telling us to take responsibility.

Don’t hold up a sign to the police department saying black lives matter when we’ve been killing each other all year, okay? Either put the sign down or reflect it toward your own community, you understand? Because that’s where the crime rate is. That’s where we’re dying is in our own community.

Now all of a sudden Michael Brown has become the black male who has died. There’s 500,000 that we killed as an African-American community. We need to come to the level of responsibility and accountability where we live. This is not a police problem. This is not a white problem. This is a black problem that we need to address.

The same intensity you’re bringing to the police department and to the nation with your foolishness, take it right back to where you live in your own community. That’s all I’m saying. That’s where we’re going to rise above, when you can take action to yourself and change who you are, imposing to ask someone to change who they are.

Glenn: How do you teach that to a group of people, and I don’t mean this about black people, I mean this about all people, that don’t want to take responsibility? This is the easy way out. Everybody wants the easy way out.

Johnathan: They do. It’s like who doesn’t want to take responsibility? That’s like you waking up not wanting to brush your teeth. You’re just nasty. Why would you not want to change? You understand what I’m saying? Why not take responsibility for what you do? Who doesn’t? You’re going to have to take responsibility for who you are. It’s who God created you to be. You have to take accountability.

Glenn: But society is telling you you don’t have to.

Johnathan: Exactly. That’s the sad part about it, because the hip-hop culture, if you notice, and a lot of the youth listen to the Jay-Z, the Beyoncé, the Kanye West, unfortunately. They listen to them. I mean, they haven’t said nothing, zero, about what’s taking place. They will listen to them, but they said nothing. As a matter fact, the rapper Rick Ross, if I was them, I’d be doing it too. You see that mindset, and they listen to that foolishness, and then they go out there and react.

So they’re being poisoned by the hip-hop culture and the generation itself by this foolishness. Because you have to understand too, Glenn, a man cannot serve two masters. You’re either going to love one or hate the other. You understand what I’m saying? If you’re not loving God, who else are you loving? You understand what I’m saying?

The stuff runs extremely deep spiritually, and a lot of people say I’m not a religious person. It doesn’t matter. Your spirituality is going to have to come into effect somewhere, because if you’re not obeying what God wants you to do and who God is love, you’re serving someone else. You’re giving authority, and you’re bowing down to another system. What is it? What’s causing you to react like this?

Glenn: That’s one of the things you brought up, change, and you talked about—we only have a minute, but you talked about the campaign and change. And I don’t want to get political, but I’ve always asked, change to what? We’re not defining anything. What you’re saying here is, you know, if you’re not serving God, which is love, who are you serving? And nobody wants to think about that. We want change, but change to what? We need definitions on this is the direction, this is specifically where we’re headed.

Johnathan: Politically I could go another direction.

Glenn: Don’t.

Johnathan: I won’t. Spiritually, however, we have to understand we have grasped on to the…people have to understand Grand Theft Auto is a videogame, not a lifestyle. We have adopted that into our communities. That is a videogame. You are acting like a videogame. That is not reality. Come to your senses.

Glenn: Will you come back?

Johnathan: I will.

Glenn: You are great. God bless you.

Johnathan: God bless you too.

Glenn: Thank you. You can find his videos online, and we’ll post some more at TheBlaze.com and GlennBeck.com. Thank you so much.

Johnathan: You’re welcome.

Critical theory destroys truth and justice

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

Critical theory once stood out as the absurd progressive notion that it is. Now, its maxims are becoming an integral part of ordinary political discourse. The more you repeat a lie, the more you will believe it, and this is the very dangerous place in which we find ourselves today.

Take this critical theory maxim as an example: If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice. It's a necessary evil, if you will, the necessity of “controlled injustice.”

By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we’ll save the republic. We’ll be acting in a noble way.

This definition of justice is defined by the “oppressed,” not the “oppressor.” It is the greatest happiness for the greatest number. To achieve this justice, however, we need to endorse acts on occasion that, while seemingly unjust, serve a higher purpose. It will ensure the stability and the unity of our republic, and this may manifest in ways that seem contradictory to our values. But these are the necessary shadows to cast light on “true justice.”

And isn’t that what we are all after, anyway?

Here’s another critical theory maxim: Sometimes we find the truth through fabrication. Our pursuit of truth sometimes requires a strategic use of falsehoods. The truth is a construct that has been shaped and tailored to promote the well-being of the collective.

We sometimes need to accept and propagate lies designed by "the system” — not the old system, but the system that we’re now using to replace the old to get more justice through injustice and more truth through fabrication.

We’re engaging in a higher form of honesty. When we fabricate, it’s for the right reason. We are reaching up to the heavens fighting for a higher sort of honesty. To fortify the truth, we occasionally must weave a tapestry of lies. Each thread, essential for the greater picture, will ultimately define our understanding and ensure our unity under this infallible wisdom.

The election is coming up. Does this maxim sound familiar? Many think it is imperative that we secure our republic through election control to maintain our republic. Sometimes, we might need to take actions that by traditional standards might be questionable.

The act of securing elections requires cheating. It's not mere deception. It is a noble act of safeguarding our way of life. We're on the verge of losing this democracy, and without deception, we will lose it.

To ensure it doesn't fall into the hands of those we know will destroy it, we may have to make a few fabrications. We're fabricating stories to be able to control or secure the republic through our elections. By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we'll save the republic. Therefore, we'll be acting in a noble way. Stealing an election from those who wish to harm our society is truly an act of valor and an essential measure to protect our values and ensure the continuation of our just society.

If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice.

I know it's a paradox of honor through dishonor. But in this context, by embracing the dishonor, we achieve the highest form of honor, ensuring the stability and the continuation of our great republic.

Let this be heard, far and wide, as a great call to patriotic action. As we advance, let each of us, citizens of this great and honorable republic, consider these principles. Not as abstract or paradoxical but as practical guides to daily life. Embrace the necessity of controlled injustice, the utility of lies, the duty to secure our electoral process, and the honor and apparent dishonor. These are not merely strategies for survival. They are prerequisites for our prosperity.

We all have to remember that justice is what our leaders define, that truth is what our party tells us. Our republic stands strong on the values of injustice for justice, honor through dishonor, and the fabrication of truths. To deviate from this path is to jeopardize the very fabric of our society. Strength through unity; unity through strength.

We've heard this nonsense for so long. But now, this nonsense is becoming an instituted reality, and we are entering perilous times. Don't be fooled by the narratives you will hear during the march to November. Never let someone convince you that the ends justify the means, that a little bit of injustice is needed to achieve a broader, collective vision of justice, that truth sometimes requires fabricated lies and narratives. If we do, justice will cease to be justice, truth will cease to be truth, and our republic will be lost.

Top 5 MOST EVIL taxes the government extorts from you

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"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." -Ben Franklin

The injustice of taxation has been a core issue for Americans since the very beginning of our country, and it's a problem we have yet to resolve. This belief was recently reignited in many Americans earlier this month on tax day when the numbers were crunched and it was discovered that the government was somehow owed even more hard-earned money. As Glenn recently discussed on his show, it's getting to be impossible for most Americans to afford to live comfortably, inflation is rising, and our politicians keep getting richer.

The taxpayer's burden is heavier than ever.

The government is not above some real low blows either. While taxes are a necessary evil, some taxes stretch the definition of "necessary" and emphasize the "evil." Here are the top five most despicable taxes that are designed to line the IRS coffers at your expense:

Income Tax

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

"It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income." -Ben Franklin

On February 24th, 2024 we hit a very unfortunate milestone, the 101st anniversary of the 16th Amendment, which authorized federal income tax. Where does the government get the right to steal directly out of your paycheck?

Death Taxes

Dan Mullan / Staff | Getty Images

"Now my advice for those who die, Declare the pennies on your eyes" -George Harrison

Not even in death can you escape the cold pursuit of the tax collector. It's not good enough that you have to pay taxes on everything you buy and every penny you make your entire life. Now the feds want a nice slice, based on the entire value of your estate, that can be as much as 40 percent. Then the state government gets to stick their slimy fingers all over whatever remains before your family is left with the crumbs. It's practically grave-robbery.

Payroll

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"The power to tax is the power to destroy." -John Marshall

What's that? The nice chunk of your paycheck the government nabs before you can even get it to the bank wasn't enough? What if the government taxed your employer just for paying you? In essence, you make less than what your agreed pay rate is and it costs your employer more! Absolutely abominable.

Social Security

VALERIE MACON / Contributor | Getty Images

"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." -Ronald Reagan

Everyone knows the collapse of Social Security is imminent. It has limped along for years, only sustained by a torrent of tax dollars and the desperate actions of politicians. For decades, people have unwillingly forked over money into the system they will never see again.

FICA

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"What at first was plunder assumed the softer name of revenue." -Thomas Paine

FICA is the payroll equivalent of Social Security. Your employer has to match however much you pay. It means it costs your employer even more to pay you—again, you'll NEVER see that money. At this point, are you even working for yourself, or are you just here to generate money for the government to frivolously throw away?

5 DISTURBING ways World War III will be different from previous wars

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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