Glenn: We're at the end of the highway and there is one exit left before World War 3

August 12, 2014

Writer

Below is a transcript of Monday's monologue

I want to have a conversation with you today about something really important.

If you are a longtime viewer of this program, you have seen me in the past make predictions, and I am going to make one today, but I need to take you back to the very beginning because this one I urge you to hear and then follow through on. I want to take you back first to September 11, 2001. We all remember it. We remember exactly where we were, who we were talking to. We remember the whole day, honestly, the shock.

Our comfortable little worlds had been shattered. We didn’t know what to do. We had no idea. Sadness, fear, knowing that this whole thing could just come apart, we didn’t know, knowing that we were at war but not even who we were at war with. Then the next day happened, and the next day will always be the most important date to me. It was 9/12, September 12. We were never prouder to be Americans, and it wasn’t just because the flag. It had nothing to do with that.

We had stood in line that day to give blood. We hugged each other. We stopped, and we asked strangers, “How are you doing?” We looked at one another. We loved one another. For one moment in time, we saw each other as human beings, and all of the labels just vanished. There was no pretension. There were no classes. There were no political parties. We were just human beings looking out for one another.

We weren’t, you know, naïve enough to forget our differences. We knew that we were still different, but we put them in their rightful place, low on the priority list. We’re at our best when we live like that, and that’s what America used to be. America, when we are at our best, we look at the things that unite us, not divide us. Our humanity reigns over polarity. It used to be that we were calling ourselves a melting pot, and that’s what it meant, we’re all in it together.

Today, September 11, our kids don’t even know what September 11 is, and September 12, 9/12 is a distant memory for most. And people are put right back into their little boxes. We’ve all done it. Everything about them is assumed. There is vitriol and hatred.

We have to find the way to lay our differences aside and to see each other as humans and as Americans first before the next big tragedy, because the globe is spinning into chaos, and what I see happening next is going to make the banking collapse look tame by comparison. And I want you to understand the cascade effect of all this because in the end, men’s hearts will fail. In the end, the human heart collapses, and I believe it’s already happening in some places of the world.

We are more than just political animals. We’re just animals. When you have a seven-year-old holding up a human head, and the world says, meh. I want to show you the timeline and take you back here for just a bit. In 1999, I talked about a guy I couldn’t even pronounce his name. I was on WABC in New York, and I think we had just bombed the aspirin factory or something, and I remember because conservatives were saying that I was trying to help Bill Clinton.

And he had just bombed the aspirin factory, and I said, “It has nothing to do with politics. Have you read the words of Osama bin Laden?” Most had not. They didn’t know who he was. I couldn’t even pronounce the guy’s name, and that’s not a surprise for anybody, but I didn’t even know how to pronounce the guy’s name. I’d never heard of him before. I read about his name, saw that’s who we were targeting, and then decided to do my own homework and look into him.

And I got so frustrated at one point, a caller, I said, “Look, within the next ten years, this guy is going to rain blood and bodies and buildings in the streets of New York.” Will you then wake up?” Well, it wasn’t ten years. That was in 1999. It was September 2001 where he rained blood, bodies, and buildings in the streets. It was too late. We could’ve done something, but it was too late.

In 2003, I started talking about the head of the snake being Iran, that we could not mess around with Iran. And I started talking about the 12th Imam, started really looking into the 12th Imam and didn’t really understand it in ’03, but when we were going to war, and we started to ramp up about going into Iraq, I started paying attention to Iran and what was going on. And I said at the time there’s going to come a time, if you don’t act soon, there’s going to come a time you’re not going to be able to deal with Iran.

In 2004, I figured out that the Republicans were lying to us because there was stuff happening on the border that didn’t make sense. They weren’t protecting our values. They were going on some other set of values. They were going on their interests, what was politically expedient for them. That’s when I started pulling away from the GOP.

The housing crisis in ’06, I started talking about that, in ’07, the stock bubble. In ’06, I was saying, “Please don’t take out these loans. Please, they don’t make any sense. Listen to your values, not your interest of getting a house, not just somebody who’s trying to sell you something. Listen to your values. It’s not going to work.” And as that started to grow, I saw the stock market up about 14,000, and I said, “This is insane, because none of it is real. There is a collapse coming.”

At this point in ’07, we were in the middle of an election, and what were Republicans saying to me? Republicans were saying, “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, there’s a bigger problem. It’s Barack Obama or it’s Hillary Clinton getting into office, and this isn’t going to happen. And even if it does, you’re hurting the chances of the Republicans because the Republicans were the ones who did it all.” Really?

Stop looking at your political interests and start concerning yourself with the values. So it collapsed. At about this point, I started talking to, it was right around here that I started saying, “This is a highway. These are off ramps. There’s things on the horizon, and if you don’t take this off ramp, if you don’t get off here, if you don’t get off here or here or here or here, at some point we run out of road. There’s nothing left.”

That’s why when I started sensing all of this in 2009, we started the 9/12 Project. What was the 9/12 Project? The 9/12 Project, a lot of people will think that it has something to do with the Tea Party. It had nothing to do with the Tea Party. If you remember, I was against the Tea Party. I said that it was about taxes, and that’s not what it was about. It needed to be about values and principles.

Follow me here, values and principles in 2009. Then I started talking about the European uprising with a little book called The Coming Insurrection, and I said there’s going to be Nazis, and the old hatreds of the 1930s are going to start rising up. But that was a conspiracy theory, and I was an anti-Semite bigot for even bringing that up.

Then we did Restoring Honor in Washington, D.C., principles and values, Restoring Honor. Then I started talking about the caliphate and how the left and the Islamic extremists would unite to collapse the Western world. First, they’d go after Israel, and then they’d go after the rest of us. That was insane. I followed that that summer with Restoring Courage. We continued on that vein in one form or another, and then we did Restoring Love.

That brings us to here. We didn’t take any of these exits. We mocked. We ridiculed. Why? Why? Whether you’re a Republican, and you mocked here for your political interests or you’re a Democrat, and you mocked here for your political interests, that’s the only reason why we didn’t get off. There is one other reason, it’s too horrible to look at these things. It’s too horrible to imagine any of these things. All of these things have happened now.

All of these things were insane to say at the time. They were too hard to imagine. I understand. I don’t want imagine them. I say to people all the time, they say, “I don’t want to hear any more from you on your predictions, because they tend to come true.” Try living with me. Try being me. Do you think I want to think these things?

I believe we’re at the end of the highway. This is it. This is it. What’s the answer? Let me just speak to the religious in our audience – gospel principles. That’s it, live like Jesus, live like Gandhi. I don’t care who your model is. Live like Buddha. You’ve got to shed pride. We have got to shred wanting stuff. Buddha said that life is suffering. I don’t agree with that.

Yes, actually when you understand that suffering is caused from desire to have something, whether that be I want my kids to get better, that causes you stress and suffering, to I want that car, stress and suffering. I don’t care what religion you’re in, we have to start living eternal principles, and we have to start softening the heart. I don’t care what religion you’re in. I don’t care what party you’re part of. I don’t care if we disagree with each other. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.

What is coming is all of this stuff, all of this stuff. The caliphate is here. We are headed towards World War III. I hope we don’t get there. I don’t want to get there. I don’t know how to tell you not to get there, because we’ve missed all of the exits. We are headed for massive European anti-Semitism. Europe does this over and over again. We’re headed there.

We’re headed for a collapse beyond our understanding because we got off the gold standard. What’s our money worth? Did you notice that this weekend Russia and China finished the de-dollarization of their relationship? They don’t deal in dollars anymore with each other. They don’t have to. Which side do you think China has just picked? They picked Russia.

Which side is Russia on when it comes to the caliphate? Oh, that’s right, Iran and Syria. What side are we on? Saudi Arabia. Gee, that puts America in the position of World War II where you look at World War II, well, you’ve got communists, and you have fascists. Well, neither of us want to live under communism or fascism, oh, but we really don’t like the Nazis compared to the communists, so we’ll just cozy up to the communists.

It’s almost like who do you want to cozy up to? You’ve got Iran running a caliphate, or you have Saudi Arabia. Well, we really don’t like Iran, but we kind of like Saudi Arabia. It’s World War II all over again.

I thought about this all weekend. I thought what can I possibly say to you, what can I possibly say to you on how to get out of this? I don’t know. I’ve already said it all. We are now down the highway. There’s no more exit ramps. What you have to be is the impact zone. You have to be the parachute. You have to be the one that helps society absorb what’s coming.

If we don’t stand and stand together across all political parties, all lines, all classes, and we just help each other, and we exercise the human heart – it’s a muscle, if you don’t use it, it ain’t going to work – if we don’t do that, I don’t know if we survive. I don’t know who does. I don’t know who does, but the world is about to change.

I have a guest on here in a few minutes, I can’t wait to talk to him. I’ve never talked to him before. I don’t know much about him other than he was writing for the Village Voice, which I don’t usually go to the Village Voice for, you know, anything that I would agree with. But I want to show you something.

In the Village Voice, he wrote to a reader who wrote in and said this: “Hi Andrew, I’m writing because I just can’t deal with my father anymore. He’s a 65-year-old super right-wing conservative who’s basically turned into a total a**hole, intent on ruining our relationship and planet with his politics. I’m more or less a liberal democrat with very progressive values and I know people like my dad are going to destroy us all. I don’t have any good times with him anymore. All we do is argue.

When I try to spend time with him talking about politics or discussing current events, there’s still an underlying tension that makes it really uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I love him no matter what, but how do I explain to him that his politics are turning him into a monster, destroying the environment, and pushing away the people who care about him? Thanks for your help, Son of a Right-Winger.”

How do you respond to that? This guy responded in the best way I…This is the best thing I’ve read in a long, long time. Here are the highlights: “Dear Son of a Right-Winger, Go back and read the opening sentences of your letter. Read them again. Then read the rest of your letter. Then read that again. Try to find a single instance where you refer to your dad as a human being, a person, or a man. There isn’t one. You’ve reduced your father – the person who created you – to a set of beliefs and political views and how it relates to you. And you don’t consider your dad a person of his own standing – he’s just “your dad.”

You’ve also reduced yourself to a set of opposing views, and reduced your relationship with him to a fight between the two. The humanity has been reduced to nothingness and all that’s left in its place is an argument that can never really be won...

The world isn’t being destroyed by democrats or republicans, red or blue, liberal or conservative, religious or atheist. The world is being destroyed by one side believing the other is destroying the world. The world is being hurt and damaged by one group of people believing they’re truly better people than the others who think differently. The world officially ends when we let our beliefs conquer love. We must not let this happen...

So we must protect and respect each other, no matter how hard it feels. No matter how wrong someone else may seem to us, they are still human...Love your dad because he’s your father, because he made you, because he thinks for himself, and most of all because he is a person. Have the strength to doubt and question what you believe as easily as you’re so quick to doubt his beliefs. Live with a truly open mind – the kind of open mind that even questions the idea of an open mind.

Don’t feel the need to pick a side. If you do pick a side, pick the side of love. It remains our only real hope for survival and has more power to save us than any other belief we could ever cling to. Your friend, Andrew W.K.” That is the best advice I’ve heard in a long time. Andrew, who writes for the Village Voice, oh boy, that goes against everything politically, doesn’t it? Uh huh.

When there is comfort, there is no growth. When there is growth, there is very little comfort. Let’s get out of our comfort zone and grow and exercise the human heart just a bit.

'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 dangerous lie: Rights as government privileges, not God-given

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.

POLL: Is America’s next generation trading freedom for equity?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

A recent poll conducted by Justin Haskins, a long-time friend of the show, has uncovered alarming trends among young Americans aged 18-39, revealing a generation grappling with deep frustrations over economic hardships, housing affordability, and a perceived rigged system that favors the wealthy, corporations, and older generations. While nearly half of these likely voters approve of President Trump, seeing him as an anti-establishment figure, over 70% support nationalizing major industries, such as healthcare, energy, and big tech, to promote "equity." Shockingly, 53% want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election, including a third of Trump voters and conservatives in this age group. Many cite skyrocketing housing costs, unfair taxation on the middle class, and a sense of being "stuck" or in crisis as driving forces, with 62% believing the economy is tilted against them and 55% backing laws to confiscate "excess wealth" like second homes or luxury items to help first-time buyers.

This blend of Trump support and socialist leanings suggests a volatile mix: admiration for disruptors who challenge the status quo, coupled with a desire for radical redistribution to address personal struggles. Yet, it raises profound questions about the roots of this discontent—Is it a failure of education on history's lessons about socialism's failures? Media indoctrination? Or genuine systemic barriers? And what does it portend for the nation’s trajectory—greater division, a shift toward authoritarian policies, or an opportunity for renewal through timeless values like hard work and individual responsibility?

Glenn wants to know what YOU think: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from? What does it mean for the future of America? Make your voice heard in the poll below:

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

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