Glenn: I don’t know who I am yet

June 20, 2014

The Glenn Beck Program

On radio this morning, Glenn decided it was time to have a conversation with his listeners. Some of you have been with Glenn for a long time and have seen first hand the personal transformation he has undergone. Others who are newer to the program might not have been as familiar with where Glenn has been. Regardless, Glenn explained why it is time to take off the masks and allow others to see us for who we really are. At that point, the world will begin to change for the better.

Below is an edited transcript of the monologue:

I want to have a conversation, just the two of us here for a second – especially if you are a long-time listener. Everybody has pivot points, and a point where their life changes, for better or worse – a car accident or a chance encounter, temptation that you follow or one that you conquer. I have had several of these pivot points in my life. When I was 13, my mom committed suicide. I'm an alcoholic and then in recovery. I had a pivot point each time one of my children was born. A pivot point of my divorce, and then finding Tania and in a chance encounter and marrying her.

Five years ago, I had another huge pivot point, and it is still changing me. I am coming up on the five-year anniversary of that next summer. It takes five years to really change a man. When I asked people to gather in Washington, and it happened to be on the anniversary of the day Martin Luther King gave his so important speech of judge a man by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.

That day, 500,000 people came to the mall. And I remember I was across the street. We had no idea if anyone was going to show up. I was doing another fundraising breakfast, so we could pay for it. And Joe came up behind me on the stage and he said, ‘We have to leave now. The crowd is already across the street.’

Something like that doesn't happen and leave you unmarked. For good or bad, you're marked. And there's a couple of ways that people would go. You would either become an egomaniac, which, quite honestly, I was afraid would happen to me. You would see all these people, and they came for me. No, they didn't. No, they didn't. Some would become an egomaniac. The opposite happened to me. If I had the gift of prophecy, if I understood all God's secret plans, if I had all the knowledge of God and had such faith that I could actually move mountains, but I didn't love people, I would be nothing.

Five years ago, as I have left that stage, I really thought that would be the last thing I would do in my career. I went on vacation, and I went to the Grand Teton Mountains. I heard in my head, ‘You are standing in the wrong place.’ I didn't even understand that. I was happy. I was at the top of my field. But I don't understand what the plans are for me. I didn't know that something very different was in store for me.

People think they know who I am. We have this relationship. But this happens with people who I don't have a relationship with, someone who hasn't listened to me for along time – they still think they know who I am. Some love me, some really hate me, but the funny thing is, I don't even know who I am yet. I know who I want to be. I know who I have allowed myself to become in my worst times. But who am I right now? I don't know.

I'm a guy in transition. I'm a dad. I'm a husband. I'm an American – for whatever that means in today's world. I don't even know what that means. Do you? I'm an American. I'm a guy who is just struggling to try to make sense of the world that we live in, and I don't think we're all that different. Truth is, I think no matter what your background, no matter what your pivot points, no matter who you voted for. That's who we all are: People just trying to figure it out. Different name, different places, but we generally have the same fears. We are all afraid of being alone. We are afraid of failing. Failing at work. Failing at home. Failing with our kids. Failing with our spouse. Not being able to provide. Not being happy, being alone.

When it comes down to it, we are all afraid that we are not as good as we should be. We are not as good as somebody else is. I don't know how people make it. I don't know how people do it all. I lay down in bed so many times a week and think, ‘How do people do this?’ I can't keep up with everything. I don't know how to raise my kids. I don't know how to teach principles in a society the principles are going the other direction. I don't know how to do this.

In your worst moments, most of us feel like a fraud.Most of us feel at some point or another, I don't know what I'm doing, and we are afraid of our own thoughts at times. How many people go through life thinking, ‘If they just knew what I really think; if they knew what I have done; they don't know how close I am to collapse. Help, I don't know what I'm doing.’ But we don't ever say those things out loud. Instead, we quietly turn to experts. We listen to some talking head, like me. ‘Well, I trust that guy. He's done a lot of thinking. I agree with him generally.’ Or ‘I like him.’ Or we listen to some shrink that says they have all the answers. For $20, you could go out and buy their book and their book has all the answers and nothing changes.

It's the same problem that people have always had. Who am I? Why am I here? I don't feel like I'm even making a difference. If I am making a difference, maybe I am making a difference in the negative way. I don't know. You know what I'm doing with my kids. I will probably cost my kids a fortune in the end with psychiatric therapy bills. We just want to love and to be loved. I don't care if you are a Palestinian or Israeli. When it comes down to it, you just want to be loved and love your family. You just want to be happy and at peace, surrounded by your family. You just want to stop the nonsense and stop pretending.

What's amazing is we are all so much alike. Yet, we all have a different story. I used to walk to work when I lived in New York City. 18 million people. am still overwhelmed by this, every time I walk the streets of New York. 18 million people. 18 million stories being written right then. Stories of heartache and triumph, time wasted, lives redeemed. Everything that has ever happened is happening again right now. And everything that is happening right now is taking us exactly to where we need to be. Everything is happening for a reason. It's brought all of us to this point in time, to exactly where you are, where I am, where you are. We just have to stop and notice it.

I remember a few years ago, when I first moved to New York. It was cold November afternoon, and I went to Rockefeller Center. My office used to be above the stage at Radio City Music Hall. I scheduled lunch with my daughter at this restaurant by the ice rink. And this restaurant was right at the ice rink level downstairs, and I waited for her. She was running a little late. I watched this woman. When I saw her first, she was frumpy, plain, and she had cheap clothing. She looked so tired. I remember when I first looked at her, I thought she was around 40. Then I looked at her again and I continued to watch her. She looked maybe 50 or older. She just looked so tired.

She sat down to change into her skate, and she pulled out of this bag a pair of ice skates. They weren't the rentals. They looked expensive. And they didn't match her. They didn't match what she was wearing. She was a frumpy, old tired woman, and she had these beautiful expensive skates. And I began to wonder who is she.

As I watched her through the glass, that idea went from a fleeting thought to a profound question. Because when she stepped on the ice, she transformed. All of a sudden, this woman, who I had just imagined was a faceless accountant was an artist. She was as graceful as a ballet dancer. She floated over the ice. Just a split second before, she looked heavy and frumpy and now she was floating and graceful and she was perfect. It was a pivot point for me because I began to wonder about her childhood. I began to wonder how would was she when she began to skate. Was she a former Olympian? Was she a professional? Had she hurt herself and she wasn't able to pursue her dreams? Did she not make the cut? Maybe, worse yet, she had never tried?

I began to wonder about her entire life because I saw a change. This is who she was. The look of the accountant was the mask. And I began to want to actually follow her back to work and just be invisible and watch people interact with her. I mean how many people in her office knew this about her? How many people pass her in the hallway every single day, people who claim to know her, and miss the beauty and the talent and the profound artist in this simple, humble, invisible woman. Does anybody really even see her?

And then I had a worse thought. Has she ever asked that of herself? Does anybody ever really see me? See, I'm supposed to notice. I think we all are. But I'm supposed to notice. I'm supposed to point out. I'm supposed to lift up. I'm supposed to affirm.

We are all in trouble. All of us are in trouble. Our kids are turning to sex and drugs. Our kids are turning to stuff. Nothing has meaning. They're killing. They are being killed, and I have begun to believe here, in the last year, that maybe it's not the stuff that we're doing. Maybe it's not all of that. It's the stuff that we are not doing. We are not seeing each other. We no longer listen to each other. We are in this unbelievable world of communication now, and we are becoming more alone and more isolated. We are doing it because we believe that stuff makes us happy and others will fulfill us. That beauty or fitness is the secret or money is our god. We have more PhDs, more education, more years studying than anyone in the history of the world, and yet we can't seem to find a simple answer to some of our simplest problems, and our families are falling apart.

I want you to know that I'm on a journey. I want you to know that I am profoundly changing, and I don't know what all of that means. But I wanted to have this chat with you this morning because I don't want to ever leave you with the impression that I have any answers – because I don't.

I have theories. I know what I believe, and I have faith. But anybody who says that they have all the answers, that they can fix you or they can fix a problem bigger than themselves, they are a liar. They're ignorant, delusional, or they're Jesus. And I can tell you right now, I haven't hired Jesus, so anybody on this show that says that, they are a liar. What we are supposed to do is notice. We are supposed to look beyond what the world says about you or about me or about them, whoever they are, because we are in this together.

Actually, that makes me feel better because I know that people are good. They just need the excuse to be better than they are. I don't know where I end up a year from now. I think I do. And the path is becoming much more clear to me, but we have to take off the mask. We have to start seeing each other. We have to start being real. We have to be authentic. We have to love each other, even though we don't like each other. We have to say the hard thing because if you really, truly love someone else, you will tell them the tough truth. But if you are trying to get them to love you, then you will tell them what they want to hear. I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear. In fact, I fear I'm going to tell you a lot of things that you really don't want to hear.

But hear this: We are going to make it, as long as we stick together. We are going to make it, and we'll make it together. The secret really is quite simple: People are meant to be loved and things are designed to be used. The problem today is things are being loved and people are being used.

Let's change that. Not in some grand way of let's change the world. Let's just change that in us. Come with me on a journey and explore and just change you. I will change me. You change you. We may even change to not really like each other in the end. We may fall out of friendship. I don't know. But you work on you, and I'll work on me. Let's just see things differently. Let's choose to be happy. Let's choose to be better than we were yesterday or everyone favor minutes ago. Let's be different than everybody else that is just walking around in a fog.

Prove to yourself that people really are good, that there is much more that unites us than divides us. Let's see people for who they really are, beyond what the media has made them into, beyond what the parties have made them into. Let's see people for who they really are – beyond the frumpy coat and the look of being tired. And if we can do that, then maybe, no promises, but just maybe people will begin to see us for who we really are.

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

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"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

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"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

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"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

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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

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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