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Glenn's Show Prep

Did Sean Hannity and Glenn disappoint the media by not throwing mud at each other?

August 18, 2015
Staff

WRITER

Glenn joined Sean Hannity on Fox News Monday night to discuss the 2016 election and the global threats facing our country. From their straightforward online exchange leading up to the interview, some in the media might have expected a verbal sparring match to break out over their differences in opinion about Donald Trump.

In reality, the conversation remained extremely cordial. Instead of dwelling on petty differences, they instead focused on issues they could unite on, particularly the threat of radical Islam we see ravaging the Middle East.

"It's craziness!" Glenn said, referencing to a recent article in The New York Times, which told of ISIS members praying before and after raping their pre-teen victims, attempting to legitimize their actions by referencing passages in the Koran.

Hannity went on to compare radical Islam with the Nazis during World War II.

"I would argue that radical mullahs coupled with weapons of mass destruction equals a modern-day Holocaust," Hannity said.

Glenn said his latest book, IT IS ABOUT ISLAM, describes how ISIS has actually learned from the Nazis and they're even worse.

"This is the Nazis times ten," Glenn said.

Watch the full exchange below.

Glenn invited Hannity on his radio show Tuesday morning, where they continued the conversation, delving into their views on the current lineup of presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle.

"Now is the time to duke it out," Glenn said. "Now is the time to really lay it out on the table and say, this is who I think we should have."

Listen to the interview or read the full transcript below.

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it may contain errors.

GLENN: I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. Mr. Sean Hannity.

SEAN: Mr. Glenn Beck, how are you, sir?

GLENN: Very good. How are you?

SEAN: You know, I think we disappointed people in the media if you asked a question about conservatives and Trump. And I answered. And we didn't throw mud at each other and call each other names. I think we disappointed them.

GLENN: Yeah. I think, you know, it's a good thing that conservatives -- now is the time to duke it out, you know what I mean? Now is the time to really lay it out on the table and say, this is who I think we should have. These are the principles I think wished have. Once you settle on a candidate, then you have to decide, I can either vote for the G.O.P. or I can't vote for the G.O.P. But the time to look at a candidate's makeup, any of the candidate's, is right now. And I don't agree with people who say, hey, you're going to tear the party apart. Fine. We have to have these discussions.

SEAN: No, I disagree. Yeah, listen this process is good for all of them. It will make the eventual nominee, I would argue, stronger. And they better be prepared because I don't care who the Democratic candidate is -- and it's looking more and more unlikely that it's Hillary every day, but the Democrats are going to say that you're racist and sexist and misogynist and War on Women and you want to poison the air and water and you hate children and you want to kill grandma. So you better be strong. And you better be prepared for the attacks that inevitably will come to whoever the eventual nominee is.

But you're right, we have five and a half months to vet these candidates. It's a process. And I think the process is healthy. It's the hardest job in the world.

GLENN: Do you think there's anything that Donald Trump could say that would slow this down? We were talking yesterday. He may be the one candidate who has so much out there that he's said and he handles it very well and says, yep. That's what I said. And if you don't like it, that's too bad.

SEAN: I know.

GLENN: Has he been inoculated?

SEAN: You know, it's hard to tell. But I use this term. He has been able to defy conventional political gravity more than any other candidate I've ever seen in my lifetime. Now, whether that continues, if he makes another unforced error. If he says something people don't like, it may be a point of no return for him. But he certainly up to this point have benefited from the controversies that he has started. Immigration, John McCain, et cetera. It hasn't hurt him at all. And I think people are finding him refreshing. You know, there's two reasons for this.

Number one, people are tired of political correctness. Obama has so destroyed the country that people are ready for a dramatic change, which I argue we also need. It's not a time for half measures. We need real conservatives. Liberty-loving, constitutional conservatives that will balance budgets, limit the size and growth of government, offer alternatives to Obamacare, secure the borders. All those things that you and I talk about every day. And I would argue that this is the time that we need this vibrant debate and discussion.

GLENN: It is.

SEAN: I don't mind that you don't like Donald Trump or believe Donald Trump. That's -- you know, you're a strong voice. I think people should hear your views. People should hear from Trump himself. I offer my views as warranted, you know, when I'm talking to my audience.

GLENN: Right.

SEAN: I'm not decided right now. And I don't have to decide for five and a half months. And I do have faith that the American people will pick a great candidate. I'm hopeful.

GLENN: I know you don't generally do this stuff. So I don't want to box you into a corner. So you don't have to have a name.

SEAN: Go ahead, I can handle it.

GLENN: Is there anybody there that you say I will not vote for? Out of the 18, is there anybody that you just wouldn't vote for?

SEAN: We can be honest. Lindsey Graham is not going to be the nominee. So is Pataki. I like the guy personally. He's not going to be the nominee.

GLENN: Yeah, I'm not saying that. For instance, Lindsey Graham, I could not pull the lever for. I just couldn't do it.

SEAN: I'm glad we're not going to have to face that. But that would be really hard for me because I think he's part of what's wrong in Washington.

GLENN: Oh, yeah, he's part and parcel of it.

SEAN: Think of the frustration though, Glenn. This is warranted. They made a promise this past election cycle.

GLENN: Oh, I know.

SEAN: They absolutely would not allow Obama's illegal executive amnesty -- unconstitutional amnesty to go through, and they ended up funding it.

GLENN: I didn't get a chance to talk about this yesterday. I'm going to talk about it today. I wrote a piece this weekend on Mike Lee. There was a --

SEAN: Yeah.

GLENN: There was a hit piece on Mike Lee in the New York Times this weekend where McConnell said, you know, he's out with his Tea Party buddies. And he's going to have to decide -- at some point he's going to have to face the music and choose. Well, he's already chosen. He's chosen the Constitution. And I wrote a deal about McConnell. He's part of the problem.

SEAN: Listen, I've been saying this for well over a year. Maybe even two years. I don't remember when I first said it. That Boehner needs to go. And that we need a clean sweep of leadership in Washington.

Now, I say this, I'm a registered conservative. I believe conservatism works. I believe we need a revitalized second party, as Reagan said. And when I look at the Republican Party as timid and weak and ineffective and afraid of their own shadow and afraid of getting blamed for a government shutdown, I'm disappointed.

Now, on the other hand, I see Republican governors -- and I'll mention names. Scott Walker was one of them. Rick Perry was one of them. And John Kasich has done some good work in the state of Ohio. And Rick Scott in Florida is another one. These guys have done great work, taking high deficits and turning them into surpluses. Getting their budgets balanced. And implementing, like Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, vouchers. And they've gotten people -- high unemployment rates down to low unemployment rates. John Kasich, I think since he's been governor, 300,000-plus jobs in the state of Ohio alone. These guys are working hard. Rick Perry, one and a half million jobs in Texas while he was governor.

GLENN: Why do you think Scott Walker was the guy and now has fallen off the map?

SEAN: You know, I don't think -- I don't think the polls really mean a whole hill of beans to be honest at this point. I think that we're going to have more debates. We're going to have more interviews. They'll have more time to interact with voters. And I don't think we can predict who the nominee is going to be.

GLENN: I agree with you on that.

SEAN: And one other point. Let's go back to the summer of 2007. I think it was --

GLENN: Let's not.

SEAN: Who do you think was leading the Republican field with 33 percent of the vote and who do you think was in second place with 20 percent?

GLENN: I don't remember. Probably like Newt Gingrich.

SEAN: Rudy Giuliani.

GLENN: That's right.

SEAN: Right? And those are big numbers.

GLENN: Yeah. We've been talking lately that we don't want our guy number one. I'm happy he's number two or number three in the polls right now. Cruz is the guy I really like.

SEAN: I like Ted Cruz a lot.

GLENN: Yeah, several I would vote for, but that guy I would walk through a wall of fire for. And I don't want him to be number one right now.

SEAN: What a hero he was when he stood up to his own party recently. What a hero he was in 2013, and every Republican had promised they would repeal and replace Obamacare and he stood alone in a filibuster to fulfill the promise that he made to his constituents and the rest of these guys not only caved, but then they turned on him for daring to do what they should have been doing.

GLENN: So let me switch topics here. You said just a minute ago that you think it's looking less and less like Hillary is going to be the nominee.

SEAN: Yep.

GLENN: Does that put Bernie Sanders there? Or do you see -- Pat and Stu think Al Gore is going to ride in on a white horse.

SEAN: By the way, I think it could happen. I think there are four people to watch out for -- my thoughts -- Biden, Gore, Elizabeth Warren, and believe it or not, Comrade de Blasio, the mayor of New York. He has a huge ego.

GLENN: Yeah. De Blasio, I think he's considering it. Yeah, yeah.

So what do you think is going to happen? I think even if she goes -- which is not going to happen. But even if she went to jail, I think they would still vote for her. Might help because people would be like, I wouldn't have to listen to her. She's in jail.

SEAN: Yeah. I don't know what it is. Look, it's funny. We often get accused of being party people. I don't have any problem, and I've never had any problem speaking out against -- you know, I end up usually voting for the Republican because there's not a conservative party. I mean, it's a coalition party of conservatives, establishment. The Democrats have a coalition party. I don't ever see Democrats break ranks. I do see conservatives that will challenge the -- the establishment in their party. You do it. I do it.

GLENN: So you're saying that you don't think -- isn't that what's happening with Bernie Sanders right now?

SEAN: Yeah, I think so. Hillary is not going to -- Hillary is not a big enough socialist for them.

GLENN: I think this is -- I think this is actually a good sign -- I mean, a bad sign for America. But a good sign for the Democrats. At least they're recognizing they're tired of the same old crap where they're lying. They just want someone to come out and say, yes, I'm a socialist. What's wrong with that?

SEAN: I think the Scoop Jackson Democrats. The Reagan Democrats have almost become extinct in the Democratic Party.

GLENN: I agree on that.

SEAN: Hillary does not have the political skills of her husband. She does not have the speech-giving ability of Obama. I think she is intimately unlikable. I don't think she likes people. Which is why they have ponied up all of these public appearances of hers. And they keep on putting Democratic plants because she's not really capable of relating to real people. And I think she has nothing, but disdain and contempt for going out and eating pork chops and fried Twinkies and actually shaking people's hands and listening to what their real concerns are. I think she's an ambitious politician and a very poor to mediocre one, at that. And I think with all these recent revelations, she is in a heap of trouble, even with Loretta Lynch as the attorney general.

GLENN: Sean, you and I have talked off the air quite a bit. And the -- nobody in this audience would be surprised that when I'm on the phone, that it would go to very dark places. But I think people might be surprised that you also feel we are in life and death -- you can be as depressing as I am.

(laughter)

SEAN: Stu and Pat there.

PAT: Yes.

GLENN: They're not going to help you.

PAT: Nobody is as depressing as you, Glenn.

SEAN: By the way, I'm friends with all three of you guys. You're all good guys.

Here's my take. I vacillate back and forth. You know, we're a country. Think of what we've been able to overcome: The Revolution that founded this country. A civil war that tore us apart. A Great Depression. Two world wars. The '60s. Vietnam. Jimmy Carter. And we will overcome the disaster that is known as the Barack Obama presidency. We are a resilient people. We can bounce back.

What I'm most afraid of, the dark thinking that you're asking about, is that the numbers now don't add up anymore.

GLENN: Yeah. It's not the Barack Obama administration. It's -- it's the mistakes of the last really 70 or 90 years since we started giving away stuff for free.

PAT: Well, and we vacillate too between thinking, hey, we're going for make it, and there's no way out. We're done as a people. You can't help, but do that with the ebb and flow of this --

GLENN: And when you say we've made it. A, we didn't have the numbers that we have now. And, B, we had the moral backbone. I mean, Sean, do we even have the moral backbone now to pull out of this?

SEAN: Here's the problem. Is now decades of socialist indoctrination in our schools. People that come to this country that don't want freedom and liberty and opportunity and with it, responsibility. But too many people have been mentally conditioned to think that they have a right to health care. A right to housing. A right to dental care. A right to day care. And they think that it's the government's job to take from one group of people. They'll empower the government to take from one group of people and redistribute to another group of people.

My concern is this: I don't care who the Democratic nominee is. You can pretty much count on at least 47, if not 48, if not 49 percent of the American people that will vote for whoever the Democrats put up. For a Republican to win, you know, you start out without New York, New Jersey. Most likely, without Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan. But you might be able to put Michigan and Wisconsin in play. I'll leave that open. On a long shot, maybe Pennsylvania. But you don't have California, Oregon, or Washington. And for a Republican to win, think about this, you have to take the purple state of Florida. You got to take the state of Ohio, which went for Barack Obama in the last election -- I think the last two. Then you have a battleground with North Carolina --

GLENN: See what I'm saying. I know. I know. I get it. I'm going to go load my gun now and blow my brains out.

But, Sean, we got to run. I thank you so much. And god bless you.

SEAN: All right. Love -- love the dialogue. Good to talk to you.

GLENN: Thanks. Good to talk to you.

SEAN: And you starting this was a good thing.

GLENN: God bless you. Thanks, man. Sean Hannity.

WWIII: The new face of war

Oleg Nikishin / Stringer | Getty Images

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

New York Daily News Archive / Contributor | Getty Images

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

Galerie Bilderwelt / Contributor | Getty Images

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

Nick Ut / Contributor | Getty Images

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

Bill Hinton / Contributor | Getty Images

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

WPA Pool / Pool | Getty Images

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

NICHOLAS KAMM / Contributor | Getty Images

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

Fiona Goodall / Stringer | Getty Images

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

David McNew / Staff | Getty Images

Dependable, affordable electricity has been a staple of American life for decades, but that might all be coming to an end. Glenn has discussed recent actions taken by Biden, like orders to halt new oil and gas production and efforts to switch to less efficient sources of power, like wind or solar, the price of electricity is only going to go up. This, alongside his efforts to limit air conditioning and ban gas stoves, it almost seems Biden is attempting to send us back to the Stone Age.

4 signs that PROVE Americans are hitting rock bottom

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

As we approach the presidential election in November, many Americans are facing dire economic straits.

Glenn has shown time and time again that Bidenomics is a sham, and more Americans than ever are suffering as a result. Still, Biden and his cronies continue to insist that the economy is booming despite the mounting evidence to the contrary. But who is Biden fooling? Since the beginning of the year, gas has gone up an average of 40 cents a gallon nationwide, with some states seeing as much as a 60-cent per gallon increase. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Foreclosures and bankruptcies are on the rise, evictions are surging, and America is experiencing a record amount of homelessness. We can't survive another Biden term.

Americans across the country are hitting rock bottom, and here are four stats that PROVE it:

Evictions

John Moore / Staff | Getty Images

Across the country, people are being evicted from their homes and apartments. Between 2021 and 2023, evictions increased by 78.6 percent. With inflation driving up prices and employers struggling to raise wages to compensate, rent is taking up an increasingly larger percentage of people's paychecks. Many Americans are having to choose between buying groceries and paying rent.

Foreclosures

Justin Sullivan / Staff | Getty Images

Renters aren't the only ones struggling to make their monthly payments, foreclosures are on the rise. This February saw a 5 percent increase in foreclosures from last year and a 10 percent increase from January. More and more Americans are losing their homes and businesses.

Bankruptcies

Chris Hondros / Staff | Getty Images

High interest rates and inflation have driven bankruptcies through the roof. Total filings have risen 13 percent and business bankruptcies rose 30 percent in 2023. It's getting harder and harder for businesses to stay afloat, and with California's new law requiring most restaurants to pay all employees a minimum of $20 an hour, you can expect that number to keep climbing.

Homelessness

FREDERIC J. BROWN / Contributor | Getty Images

The result of all of these issues is that it is getting harder and harder for Americans to afford the basic necessities. January of 2023 saw a record-breaking 650,000+ homeless Americans, a 12 percent jump from the previous year. More Americans have hit rock bottom than ever before.

Stop blaming Gen Z for the problems WE created

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

I want to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. Life is tough, but it is worth it in the end.

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. They just won’t let go of their power even though their time has passed.

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

The generation coming of age is right to feel frustrated.This mess — with high costs and a massive debt burden — was not of their making.

Iwant to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. ≈

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. ≈

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed.

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

Once the government said that they were going to guarantee everybody’s college tuition, universities found out that they could just charge more because the government would give you virtually any amount in your loan. And they have been charging more and more ever since. In 1965, the average college tuition was $450 a year. Adjusted to inflation, that's $4,000 a year. You're currently paying an average of $26,000 a year as opposed to the inflation-adjusted $4,000.

What happened? The answer is always the same: government regulations. Gas is up. Why? Government regulations. Can't afford a house? Well, that's due to several things. Many of them revolve around the fed and our national debt. But the simple answer is the same: government regulations.

Moreover, the U.S. government has run a staggering national debt. We have been concerned about it forever, but the people in power haven't been listening to your mom and dad and people like me. A lot of other people just thought, "Oh, well. We could get away with it. We're the United States of America, after all. Somehow or another, it will all work out."

People like me have been saying, "No. We can't pass this on to our children." You're now seeing what we have passed on. When you say that the adults are responsible for creating this world of problems, in some ways, you’re right. We were lied to, and as many people do, they want to believe the lie because it makes them feel better.

There are big lies being pushed in your generation as well. You're being told that a man is a woman and a woman is a man. At the same time, you’re being told that gender doesn't even exist at all. It makes us feel better to go along with the lie because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

My generation believed the same kind of lie about our national debt. We were told that we could spend all this money on subsidized programs because it would provide you, our children, with a better life. Some people warned, "Wait, how will they pay this off? This will cost them." We didn't want to believe them. The lie sounded better, and it was easier to believe that than the truth. We never saw the consequences, and even if we did, they were always way out in the future. Nobody wanted to listen to the doomsday people saying, "No. It's going to come faster than you think."

And that time is right now. Our government now is printing $1 trillion every 100 days. That's never been done before. We have more debt than any country has ever had in the history of the world. But we’re not alone. Every country is doing this. They’re going into debt like we’ve never seen before, and we’re all about to pay for that. It’s going to make your life even harder.

There are Democrats and Republicans who still believe in spending all kinds of money and getting us involved in every global conflict. Then there are constitutional conservatives who believe that we should conserve the things that have worked and throw out the things that don’t and follow our Constitution and Bill of Rights. You haven't really learned about those most likely. But you should. All of our problems are caused by the government and the people who feel they can bypass the Constitution. That's what this election is really all about.

You might say, “I don’t really care. I don’t like either of the political parties.” I know a lot of people who don’t like either of them, but one is going to try to cut the size of this government and one is going to spend us into collapse.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed. You need to learn enough about the truth, about why this has happened to us, and about how our Constitution lasted longer than any other Constitution in the world. The average is 17 years. This thing has lasted hundreds of years. Why? How? And why is it falling apart today? That's what you should dedicate some of your time to figuring out today.

You can complain about the way things are. I complain. Everybody complains. But don't wallow there. Learn what caused this. And if you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework. They always end the same way, and that's exactly where we're headed right now. We can either repeat the dreadful past of nations that have tried it before us, or we can choose freedom, liberty, and prosperity. The ball is in our court.