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Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn Decides NOT to Meet With Assad

April 18, 2016
Ted Tuttle

Editor

When a brutal dictator asks for an interview, what do you do? For Glenn, it wasn't a completely clear-cut decision.

On his radio program Friday, Glenn announced an unnamed leader from the Middle East had expressed interest in meeting with him because he had "a few messages to send to America." At first, Glenn contemplated whether this could turn into an opportunity to save more Christians in the Middle East. He made his decision on Friday, but allowed his audience to guess who the mysterious person might be with a poll over the weekend.

Glenn shared the results on Monday. Bashar al-Assad, president of Syria, supposedly wanted to meet with Glenn to win some goodwill from America.

"That's different than going over and talking to them and having a meeting about, 'Can you help us with the Christians?'" Glenn said.

He concluded there was no way to win under those circumstances.

"I don't want to be the messenger of his message back to America when his partners are Iran and Russia," Glenn said.

Watch the clip or read the transcript below.

Below is a rush transcript of this segment. It might contain errors.

GLENN: All right. So we did a poll because Friday I mentioned that I had to -- I had to -- a decision to make over the weekend on if I was going to go to the Middle East and meet with a -- a leader of a country in the Middle East.

And I was really torn because when this first started to happen, somebody -- an American group reached out to this leader and said, "Hey, they're trying to help the Christians, and would you help?" And then, almost a year has past, eight months has past. And I didn't think that this -- any of those world leaders would meet with me. But then the situation got worse and worse and worse. And now this world leader has said, yes, I'll meet with you. And, in fact, I'd like to meet with you because I have some things to say to America.

And that's different than going over and talking to them and having a meeting about, "Can you help us with the Christians?" Instead, having an interview and I have a few messages to send to America. And so it was a little unsettling to me. And I didn't know what to do. And we talked about it on the air.

We did a poll on -- GlennBeck.com did a poll over the weekend: Which Middle Eastern leader wants to meet with Glenn? Benjamin Netanyahu, 38 percent. Bashar al-Assad, 22. 9 percent, al-Baghdadi. 19 percent, el-Sisi from Egypt. And Rouhani, 12 percent, from Iran.

Do you even know, Stu? Do you know?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Yes, it was Assad. And the more research I did on Assad, the more I'm like, "Yeah, I -- I -- and I went back and forth and thought, man, to be able to interview Hitler -- while he's not to the level of Hitler, he's pretty bad. And to be able to interview somebody like that -- my wife immediately said no. She's like, "You're not going."

STU: I mean, she's doing that as a -- she cares about your safety, right?

GLENN: Yeah, yeah.

STU: Obviously, we're all released from that care.

GLENN: Yeah, I know.

STU: But, no, from a perspective of having the interview with him, that's not why you cancelled it though. You cancelled it -- or didn't do it because --

GLENN: I didn't want to do it because I don't want -- his partners are Russia and Iran.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And I don't want to be the messenger of his message back to America, when his partners are Iran and Russia.

STU: Right. But, I mean, you obviously could challenge him on these things. You would not give him a softball interview by any means. It's not like you would say, "Well, what kind of treaty would you like?"

GLENN: Well, you're kind of in the -- you know, you're going to be seeing the things they want you to see. You're going to be talking about the things they want to talk about.

STU: Of course.

GLENN: You know what I mean?

STU: They're going to control --

GLENN: They're going to control your cameras, your media, and everything else, and they're going to control the trip.

STU: But, still, he doesn't control the interview when you're talking to this guy. Right? You'd be able to ask him --

GLENN: To some extent, I would imagine, yes.

STU: So you think they might try to restrict -- and there's no way you're going to do an interview if they're going to try to restrict your questions.

GLENN: No.

PAT: So do you think you would have wound up asking him, what has enchanted you the most?

GLENN: No, I don't think --

(chuckling)

GLENN: See, here -- and this is why -- I didn't want to --

JEFFY: How's your soul?

GLENN: You know, even if they wouldn't restrict, I wouldn't want to push too hard because we're trying to get Christians out of his country. So I'm going to ask for help. And then do an interview on top of it is not -- I mean, that's what they wanted. They happened an interview. I wanted to ask about the Christians. "Can you help us get the Christians out?"

PAT: Yeah.

STU: And you think that potentially -- the thought is, potentially he might do that to try to win some goodwill from America.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: And you don't care why he's doing. You just want the Christians out of there.

GLENN: I just want the Christians out of there. But if -- if we would have said, "And Assad helped us get the Christians out of there," that's one thing. But to go over with my cameras and sit down and do a half-hour with him because he's helping me get the Christians out of there and not push back -- I mean, you know, I would be stuck with this feeling of, if I push back too hard, do our Christians get out? You know what I mean?

STU: Right.

GLENN: If I'm like, "Hey, so you're a murder." Am I going to get -- is he going to be soft-hearted towards the Christians? I just didn't think there was any way to win.

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