Millennial Caller Explains How a Shakedown and Tough Love Saved Him

Millennials are proving to be a generation beleaguered by low self-esteem. It turns out that parental coddling, participation trophies and being told you can be anything may be a full-proof recipe for personal implosion. Listener Josh, a 24-year-old millennial, called The Glenn Beck Program on Monday to talk about overcoming his personal struggles with drugs and alcohol after receiving a healthy does of tough love from his parents.

Enjoy this complimentary clip from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

Let's go to Josh in Indiana. Go ahead, Josh.

CALLER: Hey, thanks for taking my call.

GLENN: You bet. You're a millennial?

CALLER: Yeah, I'm 24 years old.

GLENN: Okay.

CALLER: So thanks for taking my call.

You know, I was to a certain degree coddled and didn't really know it at the time, and, you know, my parents were doing their best. But, you know, I think a lot of it was just afraid of real life. So it started off that they -- I'm sober three, almost four years now. So I did drugs. Failed out of college. Moved back home. Did the whole millennial thing.

PAT: Wow.

CALLER: But I finally looked up. And I'm a long-time listener of your program. And I had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way, but I think what, you know, millennials need is we need strong American values.

PAT: Hang on a second.

GLENN: Hold on, Josh. Hold on because I want to delve into your story a little bit more. Back in a minute.

[break]

GLENN: Let's go back to Indiana and Josh who is a millennial. You're how old, 25, Josh?

CALLER: Hey, still here.

GLENN: Yeah, are you 25?

CALLER: Twenty-four.

GLENN: Twenty-four.

And you were raised like pretty much everybody else was raised. You know, you're special, and here's your trophy and everything else.

And then you said that caused a breakdown and you started into alcohol and drugs.

CALLER: Well, the thing about it is, you know, I was listening to you guys. A lot of the generation, the millennials, we are looking for our why and our purpose. And, you know, high school, that's not real life. And college, you know, that's also not real life. So it took me a lot of time to sort out what's reality and what's not reality.

GLENN: What do you mean by that? That it's not real life.

CALLER: Well, you know, in high school, it's a whole different system. And in college, it's a whole different system. And you get out in the real world and you start paying bills and you can't necessarily stay up till 2:00 a.m. on the weekends and party and live that kind of lifestyle. And so for me, I got into drugs and alcohol at a young age. Do that. And it really took -- go ahead.

GLENN: So then what turned you around? Because we were talking about this, that I don't believe that -- and this is a real -- a broad generation. Of course, there will be exceptions to every rule.

But generally speaking, people don't make a change in their life until there's a problem. And, you know, the millennials are walking into the world with the lowest self-esteem of any generation ever. And it's because they realize we're kind of a fraud. We didn't actually earn these trophies. We didn't really have to work for it. And so they are looking for something meaningful in their life.

What was the -- what was the turning point for you? And how did you grab a hold of your life?

CALLER: Sure, yeah. For me, it was hitting rock bottom. Getting kicked out of my parents' house and having to make it on my own. But it's tough love. That's what Americans need to provide for the millennials, whether it's the parents or the corporations. You know, it's a good shakedown. And for me, I had to fall back on good values, American values from my parents, that they tried to teach me. But I had to basically reject a lot of -- a lot of the stuff you hear in college and a lot of the stuff you hear in high school.

PAT: So your parents finally said, "Okay. You've been here long enough. You need to go."

CALLER: Yeah.

PAT: And where did you go?

CALLER: Well, I moved out into a halfway house myself.

PAT: Did you really?

CALLER: Yeah. Had to stay sober, go to AA meetings, get a job at Waffle House.

PAT: Wow. Wow.

CALLER: Get a job at Wendy's. Pay my own bills.

PAT: Wow.

STU: That's a lot of living for 24 years old.

GLENN: Good for you.

PAT: Yeah, you've been through some stuff.

GLENN: Good for you. Good for you.

PAT: So are you making it now? Are you doing well?

CALLER: I am. I'm in school full-time. I hold a full-time job myself. Self-employed. And looking to get my degree here and get a job in the health care career.

PAT: Good for you.

GLENN: Good luck with that.

What is -- how is your self-esteem?

CALLER: You know, I -- I had to find my own purpose. It's a lot better now, you know, now that I'm sober and not have cloudy judgment anymore. But I think it's just going to take some time for a lot of millennials to find their self-worth and to make it on their own. And definitely don't need to be coddled by anybody. A good shakeup is really what's needed.

PAT: That's great.

GLENN: Please check in with us again. I'd love to hear how you continue to do. Thanks so much, Josh.

CALLER: Sure thing. Thanks for having me.

POLL: Should Universities allow pro-Hamas protests?

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Just one day after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, which left over 1,400 people Israelis dead, 34 different student groups from Harvard University wrote a joint statement pinning the blame of Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel. In the following days after publishing this callous statement, these students staged a walkout and rallied in support of the Palestinians. As Glenn has discussed, this is not an isolated event, and campuses across the country have hosted similar rallies where antisemitic jargon like "we don't want no Jew state" and "globalize the intifada" is freely spewed.

Should Universities allow pro-Hamas protests?

While the Universities have not officially backed any of these rallies or student groups that organized them, they haven't stopped them either, which raises the question: should they? On one hand, these are American students in American Universities, who are protected by the First Amendment. On the other hand, history tells us how dangerous antisemitism is if left unchecked; and what of the rights of Jewish students to be safe on the campuses they pay to attend? Let us know what you think in the poll below:

Should Universities allow pro-Hamas protests? 

Would you feel safe if your child attended a University that allowed pro-Hamas protests?

 Should Universities allow pro-Israel protests?

Is pro-Hamas rhetoric protected by the First Amendment?

POLL: What do YOU think Israel should do about Gaza?

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Should Israel take over Gaza after defeating Hamas? This contentious historical question has resurfaced amid Israel's retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza following Hamas' terror attacks, which resulted in the greatest death of Jews since the Holocaust. Biden and the global elites have warned Israel against occupation of the Palestinian territory. When asked on 60 Minutes if he would support the Israeli occupation of Gaza, Biden said, “I think it would be a big mistake.” Today Glenn responded to Biden’s answer: “I don't think it's a mistake to occupy."

This has been a long-standing, polarizing issue that is now more relevant than ever, and we want to hear YOUR thoughts. Let us know in the poll below:

Would you support an Israeli occupation of Gaza?

Do you think the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza are justified?

Do you think a two-state solution is still possible?

Funding IRAN?! Here are the TOP 5 reasons Joe Biden should be IMPEACHED

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On September 12th, the House announced an official impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden with allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption. Naturally, the media quickly jumped to the President’s aid claiming that “there is no evidence to support these claims” and that the whole affair is a witch hunt.

If you’ve been listening to Glenn, you know that this is simply not the case. Biden has been committing impeachment-worthy deeds before he even stepped foot into the Oval Office—there’s no shortage of evidence to justify this inquiry. Here are 5 scathing reasons why Biden should be impeached:

He was responsible for the Afghanistan withdrawal disaster.

Click here for full video

The Biden administration began with the US's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Under his watch, Biden left thousands of US citizens and allies stranded in the Taliban's hostile regime. Countless Afghan allies have been murdered by the Taliban due to the Biden administration's negligence.

He was involved with Hunter Biden's illicit foreign business dealings.

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There is clear evidence that Joe Biden was more than aware of his son Hunter's foreign business dealings. From suspicious money laundering through the Biden family's accounts to Joe's involvement with important business meetings within Hunter's company, there is mounting evidence to warrant an impeachment inquiry.

He lied about his involvement with Hunter's business dealings.

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Not only did Biden involve himself with his son's less-than-legal foreign business ventures, but he lied to the American people about it too, claiming he had NO KNOWLEDGE of what was going on.

He failed to protect the Southern border, and actively made it worse.

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Biden singlehandedly turned the Southern border into the worst illegal immigration crisis in US history. He reversed many policies set in place by the Trump administration, resulting in 2.3 million illegal immigrants flooding into the US under his watch, a historic high.

He sent IRAN AND HAMAS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

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Biden reversed the Trump-era policy that halted all funds going into Iran. The Wall Street Journal revealed the smoking-gun evidence proving that Iran trained AND funded Hamas before its gruesome terror attacks against Israel. Moreover, shortly before the attacks, the Biden administration unfroze $6 BILLION dollars of Iran's assets as a part of a prisoner swap. On top of this, Biden resumed $200 million worth of "humanitarian aid" to Gaza that Trump had ended—because the money was being used to buy weapons for Hamas.

Top 5 economic milestones that show HOW BAD Bidenomics has made the economy

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From groceries to house prices, everything seems to get more expensive, and you can thank Biden for that. Glenn recently exposed the truth about 'Bidenomics' and the havoc it has wrought on the American economy. Here are five economic milestones during the Biden administration that expose the glaring track record of "Bidenomics:"

In July 2022, the inflation rate hit 9.1 percent, a 40-year record high.

In June 2022, gas hit an all time record high of $5 a gallon for the national average.

61 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck as of this September.

Interest rates reached a 15-year high at 5.25 percent and are still increasing.

Americans have $1 trillion in collective credit card debt, in part due to food/staple pieces being very high.