We must become the UNITED States of America again

His portrait fades and his memory is gone.

An earthquake cracked his tower of stone

but his voice still cries “Charge on, Charge on!”

No surrender and no retreat,

First in war and first in peace,

A father, soldier and citizen,

He gave his soul to God, and his heart to his countrymen.

From Lady liberty to the California sun,

We keep looking for another one.

We will find our hope where we started from,

May God bless America with another George Washington!

When you give your soul to God and your heart to your countrymen.

-Lyrics from Tom Douglas’ “Washington”, Restoring Love – Cowboy Stadium 2012

Last night my family attended “Freedom Fire” with about 8000 Americans in a small town called Logan City. The little ones, having been raised too long in New York City and never been exposed to Kansas “City” didn’t understand how Logan was a “City”. I didn’t know how to answer other than saying, “size doesn’t define a city – the people do”. Pretty good for being as distracted as I was. I should have thought more deeply of the full meaning of that statement. It is true about a family or a country as well.

The “city”, upon learning that was going to be in attendance, had asked me, the day before the event, to say a few words. I agreed. The next morning, I saw story that I was going to “say something” on the front page of the local paper. Above the fold! Not something that would happen in that local New York “City” paper. That I was going to speak was not the point of the story, the point it seems was that I was going to “say something”.

As I read the story, I was struck by the fact that even though I had only agreed to speak around 4 pm the afternoon before, not only was it in the paper, but the reporter had found the time to learn of the “outrage” of some that had already called the Mayor and the University where the event would be held.

The local reporter asked for an interview as did the local radio station. In seeing that the radio station would air it live, so no edits or spin would be possible, I chose the radio station, which was not an affiliate of mine.

It was hosted by three really smart, fair and talented men. One left, one right and a libertarian. They were honest and frank. Two told me up front, they did not like me. The guy on the left and the conservative. I was so glad that I had chosen the radio station. It was a chance at honesty and real dialogue. In the end, I left a fan and with three new friends.

I spent forty minutes with them but only ten with the audience in the stadium where I was to 'say something'. I know the hosts heard the message, but because I didn’t get the one on one with the audience along with another important reason, I am not sure I was able to make myself clear to those in the stadium.

I also wasn’t able to speak with you on this holiday, so let me share with you the words that were on my heart that I think are important for me to say. Whether they are important to hear is up to you.

I know what I have said in the past was controversial. Some of it foolish, some of it wrong, some of it poorly worded. But on the same page, some of it right and some of it needed to be said. For those things that were said by me that caused needless division, I am deeply sorry. For those things that drew sharp lines around truth and deceit that were spoken out of a love of God, country, and a plea to return to common values - I do not regret that I said them. I do, however, regret that I had to be the one to say them.

The truth does set you free. But what, all too often, we overlook is that, many times, the truth will make you miserable first. It usually makes the messenger the most miserable first, because he knows that far too often he will be the one blamed. A messenger, loyal to the message, accepts that risk and relies on the hope that the message will at some point be heard.

Today I have another message that I regret having to deliver.

I believe we are a nation at, in or very near civil war.

The first shot hasn’t been fired yet. “Fondly do I hope and fervently do I pray – that this ‘mighty scourge’ might speedily pass away”, Lincoln said.

But if we are to reverse this course maybe we should look at his words again.

“Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looks to read the same bible, and pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against each other. … but let us not judge lest we be judged. As it was said three thousand years ago, so it must be said, 'the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.'"

The first civil war pitted the North and South against each other and thousands died. But the fact is, that division still exists in many ways. It doesn’t seem to matter that “for every drop of blood drawn by the lash, was paid by another drawn with the sword.” The battle still rages, the wounds are not allowed to heal.

That was a civil war fought in the 1860s. It was over something that had to be stopped the scourge of slavery. If indeed I am correct in my assessment that we are in a cold civil war, not north vs. south, but neighbor against neighbor, let me ask: What is this conflict over?

I would answer: The Truth. There really is only one truth. We can disagree on healthcare and taxes. But the truth is not subjective in cases like the VA. Are there secret waiting lists so workers gain bonuses? Yes. Are we killing US citizens with drones without a trial? Yes. Is the NSA spying on you, me, members of Congress and terrorists? Yes. Are we enforcing the rule of law equally and blindly? No.

But if I asked the average person in the street what is this conflict over - what would they say? In the end, it would boil down to our ‘uniforms’. Republicans vs. Democrats.

“He started it!”

“oh yeah, well you were the one…”

It is at this point the adult in the room is supposed to say firmly;

“Knock it off!”

Where are the responsible adults? We agree on the truth. At least the Left voted against these things under Bush, while the Republicans defended them. Now, in this never ending game of musical chairs the roles are reversed.

This was my point last night and will be my point and message going forward in clearer and specific examples: I will take responsibility for my actions. I will tell you that I was wrong on the war in Iraq, the PATRIOT Act, drones and in many ways, the Republican Party. The Left was right.

Will you join me? Put your sword and shield down. Don’t worry about the splinter in the others eye, but instead take the beam out of yours. I don’t have a beam by the way, I believe I have an entire forest to remove from my eyes so I will be very busy for quite awhile.

We must again become the UNITED States of America again. It may be our last chance to save the Union that has indeed changed the world.

We have so much in common. More than any of us want to even admit. But the biggest is our heritage. At some point someone in our family came to these shores because the Constitution offered an opportunity for a better life. Even though those whose ancestors were brought here for the most evil of all of man’s desires, have a life is better than it would have been if they were born anywhere else on the planet. For all of our problems, that is not a fact that can be disputed. It does not justify the act, but it allows one to make sense of the senseless and move forward and build a positive life.

But, we have an even greater heritage, our common ancestry to a Heavenly Father. We indeed are brothers and sisters whether we like it or not. We are family, and just like family we are not required to agree or even always like each other. But as our Eternal Father commands, we must “love each other”. My earthly dad put it this way, “When all is said and done, we are still family and that never changes. In the end, family is all that matters and all that we’ve got.”

Let me say again, I am not just sorry for ‘how you may have interpreted’ the things that I have said in the past. I am actually deeply sorry for things I have said and done that have helped drive the wedge between us deeper. I ask for your forgiveness. I do not expect you to forget.

But I do ask you to understand a man cannot change overnight, he can only try to be better everyday. I will make mistakes again, I will say things that are stupid again. I live 4 out of every 24 hours live on air. I challenge you to not look for my mistakes, but perhaps spend time working on where you may be in error.

No matter if I am a perfect man from here on out, or if I were even hit by a bus today, the story will never be written: “Glenn Beck changes his life, or killed in freak bus accident – America heals”.

For America to heal, we must actively “bind up this nations wounds – to care for those who have fought this great battle, their widows and orphans.” We must be the good Samaritan. We must bind the wounds, care for and actually love those we supposedly hate or hate us.

Let us begin this Independence weekend by embracing each other on the bigger principles. Let us declare ourselves independent of the “old world”, full of old stereotypes and thoughts. Let us, let go of people telling us who we are, what to think or what to do. Let us view our problems as “liberating strife” and begin the long process of being better men and women than we were even five minutes before.

Let it be sung of us:

“who more than self, their country loved –

And mercy more than life”

We have no King but a Heavenly King. He commands us to love one another while the kings of this earth tell us to hate one another. We, each, need to ask ourselves: which King will I serve?

Let us unite at the feet of our American Father Abraham. Abraham Lincoln. Let us BEGIN to “bind up the wounds of this nation with malice toward none and charity toward all.”

It is my prayer that I may look back on this coming year and say quietly and meekly to myself that I did the best I could to live worthy of the stewardship of those rights and responsibilities that God has seen fit to graciously shed on me.”

I wonder if the “city” paper reported above the fold that I have now “said something?” If they actually heard me, they did. If they didn’t, perhaps it was because I didn’t state it as clearly as I did here. I hope they understand and forgive my reasons. Last night, I didn’t want to say anything overtly political at the ceremony marking our political birth.

I will continue to attempt to find my way in the days to come so in the end all success will be nobleness and every gain divine.

What do clay pots have to do with to preserving American history?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

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

Why should we preserve our nation’s history? If you listen to my radio program and podcast, or read my columns and books, you know I’ve dedicated a large part of my life and finances to sourcing and preserving priceless artifacts that tell America’s story. I’ve tried to make these artifacts as available as possible through the American Journey Experience Museum, just across from the studios where I do my daily radio broadcast. Thousands of you have come through the museum and have been able to see and experience these artifacts that are a part of your legacy as an American.

The destruction of American texts has already begun.

But why should people like you and me be concerned about preserving these things from our nation's history? Isn’t that what the “big guys” like the National Archives are for?

I first felt a prompting to preserve our nation's history back in 2008, and it all started with clay pots and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1946, a Bedouin shepherd in what is now the West Bank threw a rock into a cave nestled into the side of a cliff near the Dead Sea. Instead of hearing an echo, he heard the curious sound of a clay pot shattering. He discovered more than 15,000 Masoretic texts from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D.

These texts weren’t just a priceless historical discovery. They were virtually perfect copies of the same Jewish texts that continue to be translated today. Consider the significance of that discovery. Since the third century B.C. when these texts were first written, the Jewish people have endured a continued onslaught of diasporas, persecutions, pressures to conform to their occupying power, the destruction of their temple, and so much more. They had to fight for their identity as a people for centuries, and finally, a year after the end of the Holocaust and a year before the founding of the nation of Israel, these texts were discovered, confirming the preservation and endurance of their heritage since ancient times — all due to someone putting these clay pots in a desert cave more than 2,000 years ago.

I first felt a prompting to preserve our nation's history back in 2008, and it all started with clay pots and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

So, what do these clay pots have to do with the calling to preserve American history? I didn’t understand that prompting myself until the horrible thought dawned on me that the people we are fighting against may very well take our sacred American scriptures, our Declaration of Independence, and our Bill of Rights. What if they are successful, and 1,000 years from now, we have no texts preserved to confirm our national identity? What kind of new history would be written over the truth?

The destruction of American texts has already begun. The National Archives has labeled some of our critical documents, like our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, as “triggering” or “containing harmful language.” In a public statement, the National Archives said that the labels help prepare readers to view potentially distressing content:

The Catalog and web pages contain some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. NARA’s records span the history of the United States, and it is our charge to preserve and make available these historical records. As a result, some of the materials presented here may reflect outdated, biased, offensive, and possibly violent views and opinions. In addition, some of the materials may relate to violent or graphic events and are preserved for their historical significance.

According to this statement, our founding documents are either “outdated, biased, offensive,” “possibly violent,” or a combination of these scathing descriptions. I’m sorry, the Declaration of Independence is not “triggering.” Our Constitution is not “outdated and biased,” and our Bill of Rights certainly is not “offensive and possibly violent.” They are glorious documents. They should be celebrated, not qualified by such derogatory, absurd language. Shame on them.

These are only the beginning stages of rewriting our history. What if they start banning these “triggering” documents from public view because they might offend somebody? Haven’t we torn down “triggering” statues before? What if we are no longer able to see, read, and study the actual words of our nation's founding documents because they are “harmful” or “possibly violent”? A thousand years from now, will there be any remnant to piece together the true spirit behind the nation that our founders envisioned?

The Declaration of Independence is not “triggering.”

That is why in 2008, I was prompted to preserve what I could. Now, the American Journey Experience Museum includes more than 160,000 artifacts, from founding-era documents to the original Roe v. Wade court papers. We need to preserve the totality of our nation’s heritage, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We need to preserve our history in our own clay pots.

I ask you to join with me on this mission. Start buying books that are important to preserve. Buy some acid-free paper and start printing some of the founding documents, the reports that go against the mainstream narrative, the studies that prove what is true as we are continually being fed lies. Start preserving our daily history as well as our history because it is being rewritten and digitized.

Somebody must have a copy of what is happening now and what has happened in the past. I hope things don’t get really bad. But if they do, we need to preserve our heritage. Perhaps, someone 1,000 years from now will discover our clay pots and, Lord willing, be able to have a glimpse of America as it truly was.

Top 10 WORST items in the new $1.2 TRILLION spending bill

Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Images

Biden just signed the newest spending bill into law, and Glenn is furious.

Under Speaker Johnson's leadership, the whopping $1.2 TRILLION package will use your taxpayer dollars to fund the government through September. Of course, the bill is loaded with earmarks and pork that diverts money to fund all sorts of absurd side projects.

Here is the list of the ten WORST uses of taxpayer money in the recently passed spending bill:

Funding venues to host drag shows, including ones that target children

David McNew / Contributor | Getty Images

Money for transgender underwear for kids

Funding for proms for 12 to 18 year old kids

Bethany Clarke / Stringer | Getty Images

Border security funding... for Jordan and Egypt

Another $300 million for Ukraine

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

$3.5 million for Detroit's annual Thanksgiving Day parade

Icon Sportswire / Contributor | Getty Images

$2.5 million for a new kayaking facility in Franklin, New Hampshire

Acey Harper / Contributor | Getty Images

$2.7 million for a bike park in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, a town with a population of less than 2,300 people

$5 million for a new trail at Coastal Carolina University

$4 million the "Alaska King Crab Enhancement Project" (whatever that means)

FRED TANNEAU / Stringer | Getty Images

There is no doubt about it—we are entering dark times.

The November presidential election is only a few months away, and following the chaos of the 2020 election, the American people are bracing for what is likely to be another tumultuous election year. The left's anti-Trump rhetoric is reaching an all-time high with the most recent "Bloodbath" debacle proving how far the media will go to smear the former president. That's not to mention the Democrats' nearly four-year-long authoritarian attempt to jail President Trump or stop his re-election by any means necessary, even if it flies in the face of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Biden is doing worse than ever. He reportedly threw a tantrum recently after being informed that his polls have reached an all-time low. After Special Counsel Robert Hur's report expressed concerns over Biden's obviously failing mental agility, it's getting harder for the Democrats to defend him. Yet he is still the Democratic nominee for November, promising another 4 years of catastrophic policies, from the border to heavy-handed taxation, should he be reelected.

The rest of the world isn't doing much better. The war in Ukraine has no clear end in sight, drawing NATO and Russia closer and closer to conflict. The war in Gaza is showing no sign of slowing down, and as Glenn revealed recently, its continuation may be a sign that the end times are near.

One thing is clear: we are living in uncertain times. If you and your family haven't prepared for the worst, now is the time. You can start by downloading "Glenn's Ultimate Guide to Getting Prepared." Be sure to print off a copy or two. If the recent cell outage proved anything, it's that technology is unreliable in survival situations. You can check your list of supplies against our "Ultimate Prepper Checklist for Beginners," which you can find below:

Food

  • Canned food/non-perishable foods
  • Food preparation tools
  • Go to the next level: garden/livestock/food production

Water

  • Non-perishable water store
  • Water purification
  • Independent water source

Shelter

  • Fireplace with a wood supply
  • Tent
  • Generator with fuel supply
  • Go to the next level: fallout shelter

Money

  • Emergency cash savings
  • Precious metals

Medicine

  • Extra blankets
  • Basic first aid
  • Extra prescriptions
  • Extra glasses
  • Toiletries store
  • Trauma kit
  • Antibiotics
  • Basic surgery supplies
  • Potassium Iodate tablets

Transportation

  • Bicycle
  • Car
  • Extra fuel

Information

  • Birth certificates
  • Insurance cards
  • Marriage license
  • Immunization records
  • Mortgage paperwork
  • Car title and registration
  • House keys, car keys
  • Passports
  • Family emergency plan
  • Prepping/survival/repair manuals
  • Go to the next level: copy of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and other important books/sources

Skills

  • Cooking
  • Gardening
  • Sewing
  • First Aid
  • Basic maintenance skills
  • Go to the next level: farming/ranching
  • Self-defense training

Communication

  • Family contact information and addresses
  • HAM radio

Miscellaneous

  • Flashlights and batteries
  • Lamps and fuel
  • Hardware (tools, nails, lumber, etc)
  • Extra clothes
  • Extreme weather clothes and gear
  • Gas masks and filters
  • Spare parts for any machinery/equipment

Is Trump's prosecution NORMAL?  This COMPLETE list of ALL Western leaders who served jail time proves otherwise.

PhotoQuest / Contributor, The Washington Post / Contributor, Win McNamee / Staff | Getty Images

Mainstream media is on a crusade to normalize Donald Trump's indictments as if it's on par with the electoral course. Glenn asked his team to research every instance of a Western leader who was jailed during their political career over the past 200 years—except extreme political turmoil like the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, Irish Revolution, etc.—and what we discovered was quite the opposite.

Imprisoning a leader or major political opponent is not normal, neither in the U.S. nor in the Western world. Within the last 200 years, there are only a handful of examples of leaders in the West serving jail time, and these men were not imprisoned under normal conditions. All of these men were jailed under extreme circumstances during times of great peril such as the Civil War, World War II, and the Cold War.

What does this mean for America? Are Trump's indictments evidence that we are re-entering times of great peril? Below is a list of Western leaders who were imprisoned within the last 200 years. Take a look and decide for yourself:

Late 1800s

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

Jefferson Davis: The nearest occurrence to a U.S. President to serve jail time was in the case of Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson was captured in Georgia by Northern Soldiers in 1865 and locked up in Fort Monroe, Virginia for two years. He was offered a presidential pardon but refused out of his loyalty to the confederacy.

Early 1900s

PhotoQuest / Contributor | Getty Images

Eugene V. Debs: Debbs, a Midwestern socialist leader, became the first person to run for president in prison. He was locked up at a federal penitentiary in Atlanta having been convicted under the federal Sedition Act for giving an antiwar speech a few months before Armistice Day, the end of World War I. Many of his supporters believed his imprisonment to be unjust. Debs received 897,704 votes and was a distant third-part candidate behind Warren G. Harding, the Republican winner, and James M. Cox, the second-place Democrat. Harding ordered Debs’s release from prison toward the end of 1921.

Nazi sympathizers and collaborators: After the end of World War II in 1945, several European leaders who had "led" their countries during the Nazi occupation faced trial and imprisonment for treason. This list included Chief of the French State Philippe Pétain, French Prime Minister Pierre Laval, and Minister-President of Norway Vidkun Quisling. The latter two were also executed after their imprisonment. President of Finland Risto Ryti and Prime Minister of Finland Johan Wilhelm Rangell were also tried and jailed for collaborating with the Nazis against the Allied Powers.

Late 1900s

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The end of the Cold War: The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was one of the pivotal moments that brought the Cold War to a close and marked the end of Communist East Germany. With the fall of the wall and the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the former leaders were brought to trial to answer for the crimes committed by the GDR. General Secretary Erich Honecker and General Secretary Egon Krenz were both put on trial for abuse of power and the deaths of those who were shot trying to flee into West Germany. Honecker was charged with jail time but was released from custody due to severe illness and lived out the rest of his life as an exile in Chile. Krenz served 4 years in jail before his release in 2001. He is one of the last surviving leaders of the Eastern Bloc.

Lyndon LaRouche: Larouche was a Trotsky evangelist, public antisemite, and founder of a nationwide Marxist political movement, became the second person in U.S. history to run for President in a prison cell. Granted, he ran in every election from 1976 to 2004 as a long-shot third-party candidate. When he tried to gain the Democratic presidential nomination, he received 5 percent of the total nationwide vote. Even though in 2000 he received enough primary votes to qualify for delegates in a few states, the Democratic National Committee refused to seat his delegates and barred LaRouche from attending the Democratic National Convention.