The Oval: The Global Freedom Movement

July 25, 2012

Wilson

Writer

Good afternoon.

Across the globe,

People marvel at America.

They see the elections we have…

The public debate…

Over who gets to sit at this desk…

And they marvel!

How is it possible, they say…

To criticize someone with so much power!

In public…

And not go to jail?

Not suffer?

They look to America.

They see our political arguments….

Our freedom of speech…

Our many civic organizations…

Our volunteer culture…

Our sense that anything is possible...

And they conclude:

“We want to be Americans, too!”

So…

They dress like Americans…

Listen to American music…

And adopt American technology,

And they think…

This will give us American freedom, too!

So in Africa…

In Europe…

In Asia…

In the Middle East…

When they want political revolution…

Political freedom….

They try to adopt our culture…

They try to launch a revolution of their own.

They imitate what they see.

The latest in our culture…

The same hair…fashion…

And technology.

They are quick to use Facebook…

Or Twitter…

To organize… to rebel.

And that’s fine.

But does it work?

We have seen...

That the rebellions and so-called Arab Spring…

Which began in technology…

…Ended in chaos.

And repression.

In Egypt, we were told that….

The kids in the street…

Could tweet themselves to a liberal democracy!

That they could use Facebook…

…to beat back the generals and the mullahs!

You may remember the photos…

Of the university kids…

With their western clothes…

And their fancy computers…

Pushing a revolution through the digital universe.

But in Cairo’s Tahir Square.

They were getting crushed…

By camels and wooden clubs…

And now…

The kids are in fear for their lives…

The generals they fought can’t protect them.

From the mullahs.

The western garb is going away…

Here comes the hijab… and the burka.

In the end, those who ended out on top….

Who hold power…

Who will run Egypt now…

They don’t use Twitter.

They don’t friend people on Facebook.

They do things old-school.

They rely on a technology…

…that is far more effective.

Far more durable.

It’s called the sword…

Fear is their technology.

Fear. Intimidation. Threats.

And if necessary…

Far worse.

The mullahs of the Muslim Brotherhood…

Had something else.

They had a sense of history…

They could draw on something deep.

They knew what runs in the veins of every Egyptian…

A longing…

Not for the West…

Not for technology…

But for national pride.

Egypt is a nation that has lost every war in the last century…

A nation with an economy that has drifted to dependency…

And so the Muslim Brotherhood had a simple message:

And you will feel pride again.

And if you don’t follow us…

There is the sword.

And the Muslim Brotherhood understands something…

…that all the techno-savvy kids don’t.

If you want to win people over…

You meet them where they live…

Where they work….

Where they pray.

If you want to start a revolution…

You don’t do it in 140 characters.

You do it with big ideas.

With history.

We forget this sometimes.

We forget, in this age of digital media,

That in the end…

The ideas that win the day…

Aren’t necessarily clever…

Or funny…

Or accompanied by a youtube video of a barking cat.

The ideas that win the day…

Are those delivered…

Steadily…

One by one by one…

Until everyone hears it.

You don’t do it with sizzle.

You do it with steak.

The fanciest technology…

Won’t save you…

If you don’t have ideas behind you.

If you don’t have history behind you.

Now:

Why is this on my mind?

Because I’ve been approached…

By people in Italy…

Denmark… England…

[Other nations here]

And they ask me all the time:

“Glenn, how do we build a tea party?”

They want their own tea party.

But here’s the thing…

They can’t have a tea party movement…

Unless they know why we chose the term “tea party”…

And they don’t!

They think we get together and drink tea!

They don’t understand what the first tea party was!

They have no appreciation for what that term means…

When Americans say ‘Let’s have a tea party’…

We’re not talking about drinking tea on fancy saucers!

We’re talking about a revolution against tyranny…

But if you don’t know American history…

You won’t know that.

And so I always urge our friends…

The friends in Freepac…the global freedom movement…

Find your own tea party tradition…

It exists…

It may not be as dramatic as our tea party…

But in the heart of every man and woman …

There beats a desire for freedom.

Everyone has it inside them.

In every nation,

There is a natural hatred of tyranny…

A natural dislike for concentrated power.

And it is the goal of Freepac to bring it out.

But there are no shortcuts.

No easy paths.

You can’t just start a Facebook page…

…And expect it to blossom.

You can’t tweet yourself to freedom!

You have to do real work.

And here is what real work looks like…

You call a meeting…

At a local restaurant…

And you invite all your friends…

And you see who comes.

If you only have three people say yes…

You try to get a fourth.

If you have 20…

You try to get to 25.

If you have 50…

Go for 60.

Get ready to argue about your goals…

And get ready to use more than 140 characters…

Because if you want freedom,

You’ll have to be more than clever…

You’ll have to be more than tech-savvy.

You’ll have to be smart.

And energetic.

And if you’re doing this in Europe…

Or Africa…

Or Asia…

You can’t call it a tea party.

You’ll have to find your own historical touchstones.

You have to be authentic.

You have to be substantive.

This Saturday night…

We will meet, you and I,

For a rally to Restore Love.

And if you’re not from America…

Steeped in American history…

You hear that phrase “restore love”…

And you wonder:

Is this about giving out hugs and kisses?

Because you may not know…

What the word “love” means…

…To Americans.

It’s a deeper meaning.

And it can’t be summarized in 140 characters.

In America,

Love is about charity.

Love is about service.

Love is about the work of our hearts.

And in America,

Our goal is to restore love,

To reclaim it.

Because all too often,

Those in power tell us not to love,

Not to do the work of our hearts.

Just pay our taxes, and let them worry about helping our fellow man.

So this weekend,

We are going to remind ourselves,

Why we must do this work ourselves.

It is an urgent issue for us.

Vital.

Because if we can’t do the work of our hearts…

We are not free.

I’m not saying that in other nations,

Our brothers in the freedom movement…

…Need to do the same thing.

I’m not sure.

Because I don’t know.

That’s up to them…

…to find out.

A global movement of freedom…

…doesn’t come in one flavor.

Doesn’t depend on one model of success.

So, to my friends in other nations…

…Who are looking to build their own tea party movement…

I have a simple message.

Don’t be distracted by technology…

Don’t be distracted by the accessories of freedom.

Don’t be distracted by the American model.

The three-cornered hat is not for you.

The tea party, we’ll keep that.

Find your own touchstones.

Discover your own history.

Everything you need…

…you’ll find where you live.

Your history will point you to freedom.

Your ideas will win the day.

No shortcuts.

Know this:

Hard work lies ahead.

If you don’t do the hard work,

The results won’t last.

We are seeing that today in America.

We sometimes take for granted…

…The freedoms we enjoy.

And those who want to take away that freedom…

…They count on us to relax our guard….

…To take the shortcuts…

To just post a few videos on Facebook.

And let it go at that.

But winning freedom took blood…

And keeping freedom takes commitment.

Freedom is like the heart.

It’s a muscle.

And if we don’t use it…

Exercise it…

Push it to the limit every so often…

It gets weak.

It doesn’t work as well.

And eventually, it gives out.

When Benjamin Franklin walked out of the Constitutional Convention….

Someone said to him:

“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

And Ben Franklin said:

“A republic. If you can keep it.”

So my message to my friends from foreign lands…

Is the same as my message to Americans.

Securing freedom is the work of every generation.

And if you do the hard work,

The results will last.

And the freedom you win…

Will belong to you…

Forever.

Thanks for watching….

Without civic action, America faces collapse

JEFF KOWALSKY / Contributor | Getty Images

Every vote, jury duty, and act of engagement is civics in action, not theory. The republic survives only when citizens embrace responsibility.

I slept through high school civics class. I memorized the three branches of government, promptly forgot them, and never thought of that word again. Civics seemed abstract, disconnected from real life. And yet, it is critical to maintaining our republic.

Civics is not a class. It is a responsibility. A set of habits, disciplines, and values that make a country possible. Without it, no country survives.

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Civics happens every time you speak freely, worship openly, question your government, serve on a jury, or cast a ballot. It’s not a theory or just another entry in a textbook. It’s action — the acts we perform every day to be a positive force in society.

Many of us recoil at “civic responsibility.” “I pay my taxes. I follow the law. I do my civic duty.” That’s not civics. That’s a scam, in my opinion.

Taking up the torch

The founders knew a republic could never run on autopilot. And yet, that’s exactly what we do now. We assume it will work, then complain when it doesn’t. Meanwhile, the people steering the country are driving it straight into a mountain — and they know it.

Our founders gave us tools: separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, elections. But they also warned us: It won’t work unless we are educated, engaged, and moral.

Are we educated, engaged, and moral? Most Americans cannot even define a republic, never mind “keep one,” as Benjamin Franklin urged us to do after the Constitutional Convention.

We fought and died for the republic. Gaining it was the easy part. Keeping it is hard. And keeping it is done through civics.

Start small and local

In our homes, civics means teaching our children the Constitution, our history, and that liberty is not license — it is the space to do what is right. In our communities, civics means volunteering, showing up, knowing your sheriff, attending school board meetings, and understanding the laws you live under. When necessary, it means challenging them.

How involved are you in your local community? Most people would admit: not really.

Civics is learned in practice. And it starts small. Be honest in your business dealings. Speak respectfully in disagreement. Vote in every election, not just the presidential ones. Model citizenship for your children. Liberty is passed down by teaching and example.

Samuel Corum / Stringer | Getty Images

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Start with yourself. Study the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and state laws. Study, act, serve, question, and teach. Only then can we hope to save the republic. The next election will not fix us. The nation will rise or fall based on how each of us lives civics every day.

Civics isn’t a class. It’s the way we protect freedom, empower our communities, and pass down liberty to the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

PHILL MAGAKOE / Contributor | Getty Images

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn's Show Prep

The Oval: The Global Freedom Movement

Without civic action, America faces collapse

Every vote, jury duty, and act of engagement is civics in action, not theory. The republic survives only when citizens embrace responsibility.

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Taking up the torch

Start small and local

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Picking up his torch

Two turning points, decades apart

A time for courage

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

From Muhammad to Marx

Gifts from God, not the state