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Glenn's Show Prep

Will Millennials Turn to Capitalism or Socialism on Their Quest for Truth?

October 18, 2016
Lori Hanes

Writer

Authenticity without truth and humility means nothing. Millennials, especially Christian millennials, are looking for authentic leaders who will make a difference in the world. On a quest for truth, they want actions, not words.

"Don't count millennials out. Millennials are the hero generation. They are just biding their time and looking for someone that will stand up and say, let's go this way," Glenn said.

RELATED: Time to Pass the Baton to the Next Hero Generation: The Millennials 

No one understands this important block of voters more than Audrea Taylor. Formerly with TheBlaze, Audrea launched Because I Care to reach millennials across the U.S. The program has reached students on 40 college campuses, informing them about the importance of voting.

"We want to make a difference. And so we have to connect that to voting and help millennials understand that part of your civic responsibility and part of you making a difference, part of the way that you love and serve and care for your neighbor is in the voting booth and the way that you elect your leaders and who you elect to represent you and delegate that authority to," Taylor said.

Audrea joined Glenn on his radio program Tuesday to talk about the success of Because I Care and what millennials really want.

Read below or watch the clip for answers to these questions:

• Do millennials affiliate with a political party?

• What is the number one goal of millennials?

• What do millennials have in common with the generations that came up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II?

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN:  A good friend of the program.  And somebody who used to work for me and is now on their own doing a campaign, Because I care.  And it's BecauseICare.us.  Right?

AUDREA:  Correct.  Yeah.

GLENN:  And you have felt compelled for a long time to work with millennials.  At 17 years old, you were out doing all kinds of things.  And I think you're a rising superstar.  

Tell me -- tell me where millennials are right now.

AUDREA:  They're just apathetic to the political process.  They don't like the candidates.  They don't like the parties, even.  And so I think the concern is that a lot of them are going to stay home.  They're -- a lot of polling and studies are showing that millennials are less engaged than they were in 2012.

GLENN:  Which is the opposite of what the Democrats thought would happen, because of Barack Obama.  They thought they would develop this army of millennials who would come and march into battle with them, one after the other.

AUDREA:  Not the case.  Not the case.  So what they're discovering is that millennials are really fair game right now for anyone because they're -- they're seeing through the hypocrisy in both parties, and they're realizing, "Hey, I don't think I'm into this."  So what we're talking about, you might not like the candidate or the party, but we vote because we care about too many other things, in our community, in our nation, locally.  Our friends that are still looking for a job.  There's too many issues close to our heart that we care about.  And so we're talking to millennials on over 40 college campuses nationwide, and we're saying, "Let's vote because we care about too many other things."

GLENN:  So who does a millennial vote for?  As I watched the campaign -- I try to watch it as a millennial.  I try to watch it from four different perspectives.  And one of them is millennials.  And as I watched them, I realized this last election -- or, this last debate, that we all thought authenticity was the key word.  But it's not authenticity.  Because I believe that, in a way, Hillary Clinton is authentically who she is.  She's nobody.  She's -- she's hollow.

AUDREA:  Uh-huh.

GLENN:  And she is fake.  I think that's who she really is.  I bet you if you meet her in real life, much of what you see is who she is.

AUDREA:  Yeah.

GLENN:  Donald Trump is authentically like that.  I don't think there's a game or a face --

AUDREA:  He's himself.  Yeah.

GLENN:  He's himself.

AUDREA:  Yeah.  Yeah.

GLENN:  Okay?  

I think the word is transparent, that you would say, "This is who I am, flaws and all."

AUDREA:  Uh-huh.

GLENN:  Hillary won't say flaws.  Donald won't say flaws.

AUDREA:  Arrogance there.

GLENN:  And so we need truth.  Authenticity without truth is nothing.  Without humility, is nothing.  And as I'm watching these two, I think to myself.  They look to me like 1956.

AUDREA:  Uh-huh.

GLENN:  Millennials would have nothing to relate to with these two.  Nothing.

AUDREA:  Well, you said it.  It's truth.  Millennials are on a quest for truth.  They're trying to discover what truth is.  And so what we talk about a lot is that millennials to have discover that for themselves.  We've had a lack of education for us to even delve in and begin having those conversations.  But then we're also encouraging millennials, it's not just about these two candidates, although it represents the problems in the political system.

GLENN:  Yes.

AUDREA:  There's so many other races statewide and congressionally and locally, that millennials can have a huge impact on.  We're the largest voting bloc right now in history.  And so when we look at us sitting back and not, you know, participating, largest generation in US history.  And so millennials can have a massive impact, if we decide to do something with that power.

GLENN:  What is the response on campus?

AUDREA:  The response on campus has been good because they are -- they're encouraged that someone is not telling them who to vote for and that we're not telling them the answers and a party.  So the only voice that's been on campus is either a Republican group or a Democratic group.  And millennials are saying, "I'm not either one of those."  

And when we talk to them and say, "Look, we realize that we're not going to tell you who to vote for, you vote according to your conscience, but we're encouraging you to educate yourself and to care about these things.  And we realize that you don't like politics, I don't like politics, but we vote because too many other things are important."

GLENN:  So help me out on the churches.  I think the church has really done more damage to itself than Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker did.  Jimmy Swaggart did.  And because that one is about an individual.  This is about the institution.  Millennials -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- I hope I'm wrong.  Millennials -- at least the ones that I know -- you are a good example of it -- are, don't tell me about it.  I'm so sick of hearing about it.  Show me.

AUDREA:  Yeah.  Solutions.

GLENN:  Show me -- not just a solution.  Show me what you are doing.  I'll follow you if you are doing it and it's making a difference.  

But what's happened is, in my point of view, millennials have been going to church.  They've been listening to this.  And then they see, when the chips are down, you jettison all that and make an excuse and say, "Well, but it's different this time."  That's putting your faith in action, but in the wrong direction.  Which, if I'm a millennial, I'm sitting at church -- which, I don't want to go to on Sunday, and I go, "These people don't mean it anyway.  Why am I going there?"

AUDREA:  That's exactly right.  And it's because we're not consistent in our Biblical worldview.  So churches are picking a candidate that they like, for whatever reason --

GLENN:  Or, picking because they don't like the other one.

AUDREA:  Exactly.  But they're not consistent in explaining their Biblical worldview.  Because it's not consistent.  And they know it's not.  

And this is happening, not just nationally, but also locally.  We've seen this happen to churches locally too.  

So they need to talk about a Biblical worldview, all four years, right?  Not just every four years, every two years.  And talk about those Biblical principles and how they apply to the tough issues of our day.  When they do that, consistently, authentically, truthfully, you're right, millennials do understand it, and they want to be a part of it.  But the church hasn't done that.  And they've been hypocritical in the way they've approached elections for a long time.

GLENN:  And that is the thing that we don't -- we don't understand.  This generation is different than the proceeding four generations.

AUDREA:  Way different.  Uh-huh.

GLENN:  This is -- your generation is the hero generation.  That's the actual title.  It is the generation that is exactly like the generation that came up in the Great Depression and fought World War II.  

And so you're all about action.  You're all about togetherness.  It's why you can be swayed by a socialist message.

GLENN:  Uh-huh.

GLENN:  Because you want to do good.

AUDREA:  It's our number one goal in life.  

GLENN:  Right.  You want to do good.  You look at the world as a collective.

AUDREA:  Uh-huh.

GLENN:  And if somebody is saying those things to you, it immediately connects.

AUDREA:  Yes.

GLENN:  But if nobody is on the other side saying, "Yes, we can make a difference.  We can make things good, and we can make things better together, but we have to remember the individual, that you count."

AUDREA:  Yeah.

GLENN:  It goes awry.

AUDREA:  Absolutely.  

Millennials volunteer more than any other generation before us in the history.  We give to more charities than any other generation in history.  And we're young right now.  

So why is that?  You're right.  It's because we are the hero generation.  We want to make a difference.  And so we have to connect that to voting and help millennials understand that part of your civic responsibility and part of you making a difference, part of the way that you love and serve and care for your neighbor is -- is in the voting booth and the way that you elect your leaders and who you elect to represent you and delegate that authority to.

So it's absolutely right.  We are the hero generation.  That's what we want to be.

GLENN:  What is the number one -- if you listen to the parties, the number one thing that millennials want is free education.  Is that true?

AUDREA:  No.  I think it's a lack of education and really understanding -- millennials want everyone to have opportunity.  And they don't understand that the best thing to create opportunity is a free market system.  And it's not free handouts.  It's a system that is so prosperous that it allows for people to, you know, work their way through college and to do it themselves.  But I think for a long time, we haven't talked to millennials.  We've talked about them.  But we haven't really spoken to them.  And there's other people that have, and they've done it really well.

PAT:  Yeah, their teachers have talked to them.

AUDREA:  Yeah.

JEFFY:  Yeah.

PAT:  Their teachers have taught them that socialism is superior to capitalism.

AUDREA:  In Christian colleges.  In Christian universities.

GLENN:  Oh, I know.  

PAT:  Yes.  Yes.  

GLENN:  I've talked to people at Liberty, and I've talked to people at BYU.  

PAT:  How do we overcome that?  How do we overcome it?

GLENN:  I don't know.  I've talked to BYU and Liberty University.  And they both have said that, you know, there's -- it's tough to find a Biblical worldview person that believes in the American system of free markets.

PAT:  Yeah, they're having a tough time.

GLENN:  And get them to teach.  It's almost impossible.

AUDREA:  And there's two reasons.  The first is that they use secular textbooks that are written with communist and socialist messages.  Unbelievable.

PAT:  Right.

AUDREA:  And then they hire professors that have a really great credential but have never been trained in a Biblical worldview.  And they put them in the classroom, and they think that if they pray before class, it might magically translate into a Biblical worldview.  And we know that it doesn't.  You know, we see it.  We see it played out right now.

GLENN:  What an interesting thing to say, that if we put them in there and we just have them pray at the beginning, it will magically transform them.

AUDREA:  Maybe quote a Bible verse at the start too, you know.

GLENN:  Yeah, that will transform them.  

So are you registering people?

AUDREA:  Yeah, so what we're doing is we're working on 40 Christian college campuses across the country.  And we're realizing -- we all know this:  Twenty-five million Christians were registered in the last election, but they didn't vote.  And I'm not even talking presidential.  There are so many other important races.  

So we've created a really great system that helps millennials get to the polls.  We tell them where their polling place is.  We help them register.  Twenty-five states, you can still register.  

But a lot of these students have requested absentee ballots.  So this is a great tool, not only for college students, but also for Christians to share and make sure that people get to the polls.  

This is too important of an election for us to allow two candidates at the top of the ballot to define the rest of our decisions.

PAT:  Before we've educated them, do we want them to vote?  I mean, I have (laughter) about that frankly because, you know, like you said, they -- they tend towards socialism right now.  Because that's what they've been taught their whole lives in school.  So they --

GLENN:  I just have to echo -- I just have to echo Thomas Jefferson on trusting the people.  They'll get it wrong, but eventually they'll get it right.  We have to trust the people.

STU:  That's a different standard though than what I think many people do, which is, you know, rock the vote, or whatever.  It's like, rock the vote after you've thought about it for 15 seconds.

PAT:  Yeah.

STU:  If you thought about the issues for ten minutes in the past four years, then rock the vote.  If you haven't done that, don't rock the vote.  It's -- there's no shame --

GLENN:  Yeah, but what she's saying is that that's what their group does, is not rock the vote.

STU:  Exactly.  It's exactly what we need.  We need people -- because, I mean, we always -- we sit here and blindly encourage people to vote.  It's actually a terrible instinct.

PAT:  It is.

STU:  You should not be voting if you don't know about the issues or candidates.

AUDREA:  Yes.  And exactly what you said.  Rock the Vote does, you know, 100 campuses, right?  But they don't educate.  And so we've started with a smaller number.  We're on 40.  We're sponsoring educational events on these campuses.  And then we're feeding them a lot of messages that go in line with, what are these principles?  Why are the reasons that we should vote?  And really covering those.  Because, yeah, we want to get out the vote.

GLENN:  How can we help you get the word out?

AUDREA:  Have people go to BecauseICare.us and just check out what we're doing.  Share it with your kids, with your college students that are on a campus right now, or even with Christians maybe within the church that might think about voting but don't get out and actually do it because it's on top important for people's communities, for your local government, to sit this one out.

GLENN:  BecauseICare.us.  Remember that.  BecauseICare.us.  

I'm on my way to TCU this week.

AUDREA:  Awesome.

GLENN:  To spend an evening with the students out there, to hear where they're out at.  What should I expect?  I'm actually kind of -- I'm a little nervous.

AUDREA:  I think they're going to be really eager to have a conversation with you.  Millennials are eager to learn and learn from people that they --

GLENN:  I don't want to teach.  I want to learn from them.  I really want to learn -- and because I believe -- and I hope I'm not disappointed.  I believe millennials are more like you.

AUDREA:  They are.  They absolutely are.  They absolutely are.

GLENN:  Yeah.

AUDREA:  No, but I think you're going to have a good conversation with them, is what I'm saying.  You're going to learn from them.  They're going to learn from you.  I think you'll discover that they're not as pre-decided in their thought process as people think that our generation is.  They're really not.  They're searching for truth.

GLENN:  That's great.  Thank you so much.

AUDREA:  Thanks for having me.

GLENN:  God bless.  

Featured Image: Audrea Taylor featured Tuesday, October 18, 2016 on The Glenn Beck Program.

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.

Government's SECRET crackdown on preppers threatens YOUR right to grow food

Glenn recently had Representative Thomas Massie on his show to sound the alarm about an important yet often overlooked issue affecting what we eat. Whether you're trying to be prepared to weather a catastrophe or just trying to keep food on the table without resorting to eating bugs, it's more important now than ever to source local food. Unnoticed by most, our right to eat home-grown or locally-sourced foods is under attack. The government doesn't just want a say in what you eat; they want you vulnerable and dependent on their system, and they are massively overstepping their bounds to ensure your compliance with their goals.

How did the attack on your food begin?

Government overreach on food can be traced back to 1938 under the autocratic eye of FDR with the Supreme Court case "Wickard v. Filburn." The case was pretty straightforward, but the results were devastating. The case began with the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, which sought to control national food prices by placing limitations on how many crops farmers could grow in a season.

Filburn was one such farmer, who was allotted 11.1 acres of wheat to plant and harvest annually. Filburn planted and harvested 23 acres, arguing that the extra acres were not headed for the market, but were used for personal consumption. After being penalized for over-harvesting, he fought his case all the way up to the Supreme Court, arguing that Congress did not have the authority to regulate crops that never left his farm.

Unfortunately for Filburn (and the rest of us), the Supreme Court didn't agree. They ruled that the mere existence of that extra wheat—whether it left Filburn's farm or not—had an effect on the national value of wheat. Congress assumed the power to regulate just about anything that could be roped under the umbrella of "interstate commerce."

Under the precedent set by Wickard v. Filburn, Congress might bar you from growing tomatoes in your backyard, because it could affect national tomato prices. This was a major blow to our right to feed ourselves, and that right has been eroding ever since.

How is our right to feed ourselves under attack today?

Last June, the Virginia Department of Agriculture shut down Golden Valley Farms, a small Amish farm owned and operated by Samuel B. Fisher in Farmville, Virginia. Golden Valley Farms had started out selling dairy products, primarily, and processed some meat for personal consumption. However, by popular demand, Fisher began selling meat.

Fisher initially hauled his animals to a USDA processing plant, paid to have them processed, and then hauled them back. This process was time-consuming and costly, and Fisher's customers didn't want the meat processed by the plant. A survey done on Golden Valley Farms customers found that an overwhelming 92 percent preferred meat processed by Fisher. So naturally, Fisher began to process more and more meat for his customers.

Moreover, COVID shut down the USDA plant, which made it impossible for Fisher to process the animals by the USDA anyway, though the demand for meat was greater than ever. Fisher made the call to process 100 percent of his animals himself and didn't look back. That was until June when the Virginia Department of Agriculture caught wind of Fisher's operation and shut it down. The VDA seized all of Fisher's products, and he wasn't allowed to process, sell, or even eat his meat. Then they loaded it up in a truck and left it at the dump to rot.

Nobody ever got sick from eating meat from Golden Valley Farms. This was NOT about "health and safety." This was about control. The fact is that informed adults were not allowed to make a simple transaction without the government sticking its slimy fingers into Fisher's business and claiming it was somehow for "our benefit." But it's not for "our benefit." It's so they can regulate and control what we buy and what we eat, and they cannot stand it when we operate outside of their influence.

What comes next?

Where does this end? With so much of our ability to feed ourselves already eroded, is it too late? Is it going to get worse? Before long, will it be illegal to eat eggs from your chickens or pick vegetables from your garden without getting government clearance first? Fortunately, a solution is already in the works.

Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie recently told Glenn about a new constitutional amendment designed to limit government overreach regarding food production. The proposed amendment reads as follows:

And Congress shall make no law, regulating the production and distribution of food products, which do not move across state lines.

The amendment is still on the drawing board and has not been formally introduced to Congress yet. But this is where you come in. Call your representative and tell them to support Massie's amendment and take a stand for your right to provide sustenance for you and your family.

If we can build skyscrapers, we can rebuild bridges

Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Images

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

I am sick and tired of hearing about our limitations. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge this week is an amazing hero story of the cops and first responders who saved an untold number of lives by doing exactly the right thing quickly. But I’m really tired of hearing about how long it’s going to take us to recover from this catastrophe and how bad it’s going to be.


The immediate impact for Americans regarding this bridge collapse seems dire. If you're waiting for a new car to come in from overseas, prepare to wait longer. The Port of Baltimore stands as the nation’s leading import-export site for cars and trucks. It’s also the leading nexus for sugar and gypsum, which is used in fertilizer, drywall, and plaster. A record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo was transported through Baltimore just last year.

To expect more from our leaders is rational. But to expect the most from ourselves is essential.

The bustling port is now cut off after the 1.6-mile-long bridge crumbled and fell into the river early Tuesday, blocking the only shipping lane into the port.

The officials have said the timeline for rebuilding the bridge will be years. The Port of Baltimore creates more than 15,300 jobs, with another 140,000 jobs linked to the activity at the port. This is a major disaster and will continue to cause significant problems on the East Coast for U.S. importers and exporters.

The bridge collapse means it will not be possible to get to the container terminals or a range of the other port terminals in Baltimore. Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul J. Wiedefeld told reporters on Tuesday that vessel traffic in the port would be suspended until further notice but noted the port is still open to trucks.

Michael Mezzacappa, an attorney and expert on property damage cases in the shipping industry, told the New York Post that the collapse will have a major impact on shipping and traffic routes in the East Coast for the foreseeable future. “It’s not going to get fixed any time soon,” Mezzacappa said. “It’s going to take a lot longer than anyone expects. This is going to be a major problem for the Northeast.”

Remember the American spirit

I am absolutely sick to death of all of these stories that say things like that. Have we forgotten who we are? Have we forgotten what we’ve done?

Let me remind you of the American spirit, a spirit so potent and so vibrant that it has scaled towering mountains, mountains nobody thought they could cross.

It’s the spirit that constructed marvels of engineering. Have you ever been to the Hoover Dam? Have you seen the New York City skyline? The skyscraper was invented here for a reason. Here we are on the threshold of tomorrow, and none of us knows what is going to happen. But I'm getting the impression that we’ve been so beaten down that we believe we’re not going to make it tomorrow.

Have we forgotten who our ancestors are and what they did? If you look through our history even briefly, you will see a group of people who never take no for an answer. You will see a people who can do anything.


I want to stop just briefly in 1930. The Great Depression had its icy grip on us. It was a time that felt like a flickering candle in the vast darkness just barely holding on. Yet, it was in this crucible of adversity that Americans did great things.

The Empire State Building rose. It wasn’t just a structure of steel and stone. It was a beacon, a beacon of hope and American resilience and ingenuity. The way that thing was built — no one has ever seen anything like it before and since. In a record-shattering one year and 45 days, an army of workers, as many as 3,400 men on certain days, transformed this audacious vision into a cowering reality.

If you look through our history even briefly, you will see a group of people who never take no for an answer.

The Empire State Building wasn’t constructed. It was conjured into existence with a symphony of clanging metal and roaring machines and the inexhaustible spirit of its builders. The men perched on steel girders that were being flown in by giant cranes whispered tales about how they could still feel the warmth of the freshly poured metal beneath them. That beam was still warm, even though it was poured in Pittsburgh, put on a train, then put on a boat, then on a truck, then hauled up into the air.

They could fill the warmth because we moved that fast. It was a feverish pace of construction. It seemed to defy the laws of time and physics.

For a long time, it was the tallest building in the world — an architectural achievement. It was also a declaration to the world that America was a land where the impossible became possible, that we are a people of determination, innovation, with a relentless will to succeed.

These aren't merely historical footnotes. They are blazing torches illuminating our path forward. They remind us that when we're faced with adversity, we don't just endure it. We overcome it. We don’t wait for history to chart our course. We write it with the sweat of our brow and the strength of our backs. That’s who we are. Have we forgotten that?

What are we waiting for?

We find ourselves at another crossroads faced with the challenges that threaten to dim the bright future that we all dream for our nation, for our children. The spirit that built the Empire State Building, laid down miles of railroads, cut through the Rocky Mountains, and sent astronauts to the moon is still inside of every heart of every American, somewhere.

Awaken that spirit. Scale new mountains. It's not just rock and earth. Scale the mountains of innovation. Build. Not just physical structures but a future that upholds the spirit of adventure, hard work, and ingenuity. Stop tearing everything down. Let's start building.

Why are we waiting? If this isn't a national emergency, I don't know what it is.

And I don't just mean the bridge. I mean all of it. You might say, “Well, our government has to lead.” Really? Does it? Maybe that’s our problem. America is led by its values and principles that are found in the souls of those who still remember who we are and who we serve. Americans lead the way. The government always follows.

You might say again, "Well, we can’t act without the government." Nonsense! Where are the bridge builders who will stand up today and say, “I'll get it done!” As soon as that happens, you’ll see who is leading and who is stalling. The government is the one that stalls the engine out. To expect more from our leaders is rational. But to expect the most from ourselves is essential.

There is nothing we can't achieve when we all stand together, united by our dreams, and driven by the will to see them fulfilled. Don't listen to anybody else who tells you differently.