Glenn: Stop being against stuff. Let's start being for things

It is easy to be against something. It is easy to complain. It is harder to stand with conviction. It is harder to stand for something. On radio this morning, Glenn explained the importance of looking at the other side of conflict and turmoil to find what we stand for instead of what we stand against. That simple change of rhetoric can make all the difference.

Below is an edited transcript of the monologue:

Stop looking at this as a win or lose because it's not a win or lose. It's reconciliation – win or lose. If we are trying to win, someone is a loser. We're trying to reconcile the country and bring the country back to common sense. The founders may have won the war, but that wasn't the end of the revolution. The revolution is still going on today. It is constantly being renewed. It is constantly having to be taught and grown. There is never an end to this. There's never an end to this, you know, and that's the problem.

Look at Common Core or anything else. So many times people say, ‘Oh, good we won.’ No, you didn't. You might have stopped something, but what are you for? And to be for something, it requires us to continually teach it and grow it and strive to be better so there's no real win or lose. And when we have that win or lose mentality that's when we give up.’ I'm just tired of losing.’ I'm telling you, the seeds we are planting right now will start to sprout in 10 to 20 years.

My grandfather, his seeds are really just truly taking root in me now. I'm beginning to understand what my grandfather taught me and beginning to understand the value of those things that he taught me. Well, jeez, he's been dead since 1982. He stopped teaching me a long time ago, but not really.

Is it really a coincidence that my family tried to save our little town of Mount Vernon, Washington which was being destroyed by the big mall and everything else? Everybody said, ‘We got to stop the mall. We got to stop the mall. Stop the mall.’ My folks said, ‘You'll never stop the mall. The mall is coming.’ They tried to pass ordinances of save our farmland and everything else, but it's coming. Instead why don't we take our little town of Mount Vernon and redesign it and make it something entirely different and new and cool? It was right around the bicentennial, they tried to make it into Mount Vernon, as in Mount Vernon, Virginia and make it this cool little brick streets kind of gas lamp kind of area. That's what they were for. Everyone else was against the mall.

In the end, because nobody would see the vision of being for something and they were so beaten down on being against the mall, and the mall was coming in. And then the mall came in, and everybody said, ‘The mall is great.’ And what happened? Mount Vernon still struggles today. And I don't think it's a coincidence that I was raised by a family that was for something magical, something great, something different. And here I am fighting the same battle, except on a national scale.

Stop being against stuff. Let's start being for things.

That is where we need to be. We need to start talking about it. You know, we have to talk about Israel and Hamas. We have to point out with Hamas: What is in their charter is evil? What they stand for is evil. They are standing for genocide. It is in their charter. That's the argument. Somebody on television should be ringing on the hour everybody hour.

Let's think about what we think could be: A strong Jewish state that is secure and allows people to live their religion and live their race for the love of Pete. Live who they are. Living side by side with another state that gets to celebrate who they are. Instead of getting down and arguing about how many missiles and who bombed the hospital and everything else – you'll never settle any of that because that's a distraction.

We have to be rooted in the facts. And we have to stand for those facts. We have to stand hard on those facts. It doesn't mean we're not going to fight for the things we believe in. It just means we got to change the way we're fighting because what we're doing is not working. It's not working. You're going to lose.

If we're not kind and generous and decent and God-fearing and know the best way to serve God is to serve our fellow man, it doesn't work. It all falls apart. Anybody who is calling for an uprising or an end, you're part of the problem, man. You're just giving up. ‘You're just trying to spread love and everything else.’ Yeah, you are darn right. And if in the end I'm judged as a bad man because I believe in decency, love, honor, charity, then, you know what, I'll live in hell If those things are the things that get you sent to hell, then I welcome the days I spend in hell because I'm not going to change who I am.

I have already made too many mistakes in my life. I had promised when I turn my life around, I would do my best. It is not your best. It's not the pope's best. It's not Mother Teresa's best. It's my best. And, unfortunately, my best is not as good as everybody else's, but I've done my best, and in doing my best. I've still made huge mistakes.

Do you want to make a difference? Do you see the road we're on is unsustainable? If you see that this road that we're on is unsustainable, then what are you going to do to change it?

I say let's start looking for a bigger vision. Let's start looking for a vision where we all belong, where we all feel heard. We don't agree with each other. There's no blacklist. There's no list that says you can't be my friend because you agree with me. If someone says you shouldn't be friends with somebody because they don't agree with you, you should question your friendship. If your business is being hurt because you do business with me or I do business with them, you should question, ‘Do you want to do business with those people?’

I learned this as an alcoholic. I lost a lot of ‘friends’ when I sobered up. I didn't lose in the end one friend when I sobered up. Anybody who thought, ‘Oh, Glenn, he's going all goody two shoes’ was no friend of mine. Because right is right.

We don't have to agree on things. We do to have look and say, ‘These things are worth standing for. These things are worth living for.’ I'm not going to say ever again, some things are worth dying for. All the things should be worth living for. Worth dying for is the mentality of Hamas. Worth living for, that's the American principles. Those are the Judean Christian principles. You're going to kill me for it, so be it. But I'm going to live every second. Dietrich Bonheoffer lived as they put the rope around his neck. He said thank you to that man. He lived every second of his life. He didn't die for anything he lived for it all. That's the difference. That's where we need to be.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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