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Glenn Beck: "I will not comply"

March 15, 2012
 Wilson

Writer

It finally happened. The day has finally come. Glenn admitted on radio this morning that he doesn't recognize the country, and sees that progressives are starting to crush the idea of American exceptionalism. And while he certainly wasn't in a cheery mood over what was happening in the country, he did promise not to let the progressives crush him along the way. As regulations, indoctrinations and more come closer and closer to his front door, he made one promise - "I will not comply".

"Today is a day that I feel that I have finally reached the point where I cannot say I recognize my country anymore. I really cannot recognize it anymore," Glenn said as he opened the show.

"Can I tell you something? We are no longer exceptional," he said. "We are exceptional by default now because they are doing everything they can to make sure that we're not exceptional."

For decades, progressives have been trying to shift from American exceptionalism to globalism and a movement for an open society. "Look, we've been going on fumes for a while. It's not this, this president that has done this," he said.

"What's happened to me is I've always loved my country. But the progressive movement killed my country and now they've killed it for me just about three times. They killed it originally, but I didn't grow up knowing about that country. I didn't grow up knowing about our Founding Fathers and the the black Founding Fathers. I didn't, I didn't learn the things that I'm learning right now. So they killed it. It was all there. We were teaching it in schools in 1910, 1900 and then the progressives came and said 'Don't teach that stuff. Teach about the cherry tree and teach that they were all slave owners,' and that's the stuff that we learned," he explained.

"Now, luckily I was around parents and grandparents who had learned enough in the past, but all of the stuff that I learned about our country, all of the love that I have from the country came, a lot of it, from Woodrow Wilson and Uncle Sam and Liberty bonds and all of that bullcrap that is nothing but red, white and blue flag‑waving. But even that was strong enough to bring us a hundred years down the road because it was based in something true that the progressives tried to erase."

"So they killed the country. They killed my love for anything that was real. They buried it. They've done it for African‑Americans like nobody's business. African‑Americans, tell me about Booker T. Washington. Tell me about him. Tell me about Frederick Douglass. Really tell me about him. Tell me about the African‑American that was by George Washington's side the whole time. 'Oh, he was a slave.' Did you read his eulogy of George Washington? You should. It's pretty amazing. Tell me about that."

"Then George Bush starts doing stuff on the border, starts growing PATRIOT Act and all this stuff is starting to get out of control, the debt is going sky high, we're arguing with each other about Republicans and Democrats. I don't even understand my country anymore. And so I had to make the decision: What is my country? What is it? Who are we? Are we the baby‑killers? Are we the oppressors? And I had to go dig. And everything that I was raised to believe about the country died. And now I know who the real country is. Now I know what America really is. I know the bad and I know the good, and I have real ‑‑ a real rich, deep love for this country. It is exceptional. It was founded through divine providence and the protection of divine providence and good, decent men. And along the way, all the way along the way, there were really bad, evil men, as there are today. But they're trying to kill it a third time and this time put it out."

"I said to these guys last night sitting on my couch, I want to find the musicians that without using the red, white and blue and Lee Greenwood images can express the loss that we feel, the mourning that we feel, the fear. Not the fear for our own life but the fear that this idea can be vanquished and, on top of it, the true deep understanding that this idea that man is created and endowed by that creator with things that you cannot ever take away, and those things can't be taken away because they come from the creator and we find them self‑evident. No matter how long they would put us in jail, no matter how they would torture us, they will still be self‑evident, that you are born free and man should be free. He has a right to his life. He has a right to his liberty. He has a right to pursue the things that will make him happy. You will never vanquish that. Never. And that's what makes us unique. That's what makes us special. Because we are the ones who put that down on writing. We're the ones who've lived it. I should say we ‑‑ I think we may have lived it for about 50 years. Maybe. And then Andrew Jackson comes in and takes this idea of 'Be humble, be good to each other' and perverts it. 'Kill the Indian because we're here for God.' It's the same place that Columbus went wrong. Columbus was humble on the way over. He was arrogant on the way back. 'We're here for God. Kill them.'"

"It happens to man over and over and over and over again. That's all right. We are unique. We are special. We are exceptional. But only when we're humble. Only when we're not trying to teach the world a lesson: 'Be more like me. Be more like us.' No. Be who you are. Be who you are. But allow me to be who I am as well. I am a man, and anyone who tries to extinguish that, I will not comply."

"I want you to start saying those words to yourself. If you're driving in the car right now all by yourself, I want you to say those words out loud. You need to start hearing yourself say those things: 'I will not comply.' You want to take away my right to have my kids work on my ranch, my farm? You want to tell my kids they can't drive the tractor? I was driving a tractor when I was 10. "I will not comply." You want to tell me that my kid ‑‑ so what? So they can go play soccer and get a trophy for losing? 'I will not comply.' Learn to say those words, and say them with meaning."

I pray and have prayed for quite some time because the Lord has blessed me and cursed me with an ability to see over the horizon. If these things, these patterns, do not change, I pray that I have the strength to my dying breath to say 'I will not comply.'"

Restoring Beck Ranch: Take a tour of my 1882 cabin

This was one of the first homesteads in the area in the 1880's and was just begging to be brought back to its original glory — with a touch of modern. When we first purchased the property, it was full of old stuff without any running water, central heat or AC, so needless to say, we had a huge project ahead of us. It took some vision and a whole lot of trust, but the mess we started with seven years ago is now a place we hope the original owners would be proud of.

To restore something like this is really does take a village. It doesn't take much money to make it cozy inside, if like me you are willing to take time and gather things here and there from thrift shops and little antique shops in the middle of nowhere.

But finding the right craftsman is a different story.

Matt Jensen and his assistant Rob did this entire job from sketches I made. Because he built this in his off hours it took just over a year, but so worth the wait. It wasn't easy as it was 18"out of square. He had to build around that as the entire thing we felt would collapse. Matt just reinforced the structure and we love its imperfections.

Here are a few pictures of the process and the transformation from where we started to where we are now:

​How it was

It doesn't look like much yet, but just you wait and see!

Restoring Beck Ranch: Take a tour of my 1882 cabin

By request a photo tour of the restored cabin. I start doing the interior design in earnest tomorrow after the show, but all of the construction guys are now done. So I mopped the floors, washed the sheets, some friends helped by washing the windows. And now the unofficial / official tour.

The Property

The views are absolutely stunning and completely peaceful.

President Trump: 'America First' means supporting the people of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong protesters flocking to the streets in opposition to the Chinese government have a new symbol to display their defiance: the Stars and Stripes. Upset over the looming threat to their freedom, the American flag symbolizes everything they cherish and are fighting to preserve.

But it seems our president isn't returning the love.

Trump recently doubled down on the United States' indifference to the conflict, after initially commenting that whatever happens is between Hong Kong and China alone. But he's wrong — what happens is crucial in spreading the liberal values that America wants to accompany us on the world stage. After all, "America First" doesn't mean merely focusing on our own domestic problems. It means supporting liberal democracy everywhere.

The protests have been raging on the streets since April, when the government of Hong Kong proposed an extradition bill that would have allowed them to send accused criminals to be tried in mainland China. Of course, when dealing with a communist regime, that's a terrifying prospect — and one that threatens the judicial independence of the city. Thankfully, the protesters succeeded in getting Hong Kong's leaders to suspend the bill from consideration. But everyone knew that the bill was a blatant attempt by the Chinese government to encroach on Hong Kong's autonomy. And now Hong Kong's people are demanding full-on democratic reforms to halt any similar moves in the future.

After a generation under the "one country, two systems" policy, the people of Hong Kong are accustomed to much greater political and economic freedom relative to the rest of China. For the protesters, it's about more than a single bill. Resisting Xi Jinping and the Communist Party means the survival of a liberal democracy within distance of China's totalitarian grasp — a goal that should be shared by the United States. Instead, President Trump has retreated to his administration's flawed "America First" mindset.

This is an ideal opportunity for the United States to assert our strength by supporting democratic values abroad. In his inaugural address, Trump said he wanted "friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world" while "understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their interests first." But at what point is respecting sovereignty enabling dictatorships? American interests are shaped by the principles of our founding: political freedom, free markets, and human rights. Conversely, the interests of China's Communist Party are the exact opposite. When these values come into conflict, as they have in Hong Kong, it's our responsibility to take a stand for freedom — even if those who need it aren't within our country's borders.

Of course, that's not a call for military action. Putting pressure on Hong Kong is a matter of rhetoric and positioning — vital tenets of effective diplomacy. When it comes to heavy-handed world powers, it's an approach that can really work. When the Solidarity movement began organizing against communism in Poland, President Reagan openly condemned the Soviet military's imposition of martial law. His administration's support for the pro-democracy movement helped the Polish people gain liberal reforms from the Soviet regime. Similarly, President Trump doesn't need to be overly cautious about retribution from Xi Jinping and the Chinese government. Open, strong support for democracy in Hong Kong not only advances America's governing principles, but also weakens China's brand of authoritarianism.

After creating a commission to study the role of human rights in U.S. foreign policy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote last month that the principles of our Constitution are central "not only to Americans," but to the rest of the world. He was right — putting "America First" means being the first advocate for freedom across the globe. Nothing shows the strength of our country more than when, in crucial moments of their own history, other nations find inspiration in our flag.

Let's join the people of Hong Kong in their defiance of tyranny.

Matt Liles is a writer and Young Voices contributor from Austin, Texas.

Join Glenn this Christmas for a special one-night event

Summer is ending and fall is in the air. Before you know it, Christmas will be here, a time when much of the world unites to celebrate the love of family, the generosity of the human spirit, and the birth of the Christ-child in Bethlehem.

For one night only at the Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City, on December 7th, join internationally-acclaimed radio host and storyteller Glenn Beck as he walks you through tales of Christmas in the way that only he can. There will be laughs, and there might be a few tears. But at the end of the night, you'll leave with a warm feeling in your heart and a smile on your face.

Reconnect to the true spirit of Christmas with Glenn Beck, in a storytelling tour de force that you won't soon forget.

Get tickets and learn more about the event here.

The general sale period will be Friday, August 16 at 10:00 AM MDT. Stay tuned to for updates. We look forward to sharing in the Christmas spirit with you!