Our Country Flies on the Balance of Two Wings—Both Left and Right. It Must Be Restored.

June 28, 2017

The Glenn Beck Program

We all have a story that we tell ourselves. The problem with our country right now is we don't have a common story anymore. Our common story is the founding of our country and the Civil War and the civil rights and going to the moon and we can do anything. And after the second World War, we had the Berlin airdrop. We helped people, we were the most charitable. That's our story. That's what we tell ourselves.

That story has been broken by another story. We're nothing, but oppressors. We're oppressors that came and stole the land, killed people, never had any good intentions, enslaved a whole race of people. Even when we had the Civil War, there were no good guys. Abraham Lincoln was even an oppressor. We've only ever done anything for money. We're warmongers. We steal everything that we have.

That's the story that now half of America is telling itself every day, and it is being reinforced every single day.

Stories are really important.

The story in the first half of my life was, I'm a kid who nobody ever understood. And my mom was an alcoholic who committed suicide. My dad and mom got a divorce, nobody understands me. And yet, I have this talent, and I'm going to make it big. I'll show everybody. That was my story in my twenties, coupled with my family suffers with depression and alcoholism. I'm going to kill myself in the end, and I'm going to be an alcoholic. And what happened? By the time I was 30, there I was. Because stories are powerful.

When it comes to politics, who is better at telling stories? The left or the right?

The story that I tell myself every day now is the Jesus story. A guy who grew up with nothing, who taught people during three years of his life just to be honest with yourself, to be humble, to listen, to serve, to search for truth. That you're going to screw up and you should ask for forgiveness. Live those principles and die on those principles, if you have to.

So now that you know my story, what I've tried to base my life on, look what happens: In the last election, I saw a guy running for president who I didn't think lived any of the principles from that story that gets me up every morning. That's the story that I tell myself, that you don't even have to believe in redemption. You don't have to believe in Jesus. You don't have to believe any of it. I do. It's the story that keeps me from drinking and keeps me from imploding. I saw our country going towards a guy who I didn't think lived any of those principles. I was certain of what was going to happen, and tried to warn people and what happened? I imposed, if I may speak to my friends and the left, the tyranny of certainty. I stopped living my principles, mainly humility, because I was certain I didn't have to be humble. I knew the truth.

So people say to me, Glenn, you've got to stop apologizing. No, I don't. That's part of my story. If you make a mistake, as quickly as you discover it, go and ask forgiveness, try to make amends. If they accept it, they accept it. If they don't, they don't. I've done my part. I behaved the exact opposite of my story, which caused cognitive dissonance in me. And if cognitive dissonance lives in me, I know myself well enough, I'll start drinking, because I can't live that way as a split personality. I can't live two lives. I don't know how people compartmentalize their lives. I cannot.

Now we're telling ourselves another story. What I heard from a caller today is exactly what she doesn't like in me and doesn't like in the left. And that is, the tyranny of certainty. "How dare you tell me you're right." I'm working on that. It's really hard to do the job, where the leader of the industry is "on loan from God," and I'm supposed to have the answers, to share those, and remain humble. It's really hard. But you notice she said that the problem is, they think they know the answers --- and we're right.

I think I've been right on a lot of stuff. I just have to realize that my opinion is my opinion. But I also am wrong on a lot of stuff. I believe in eternal truth. I believe in truth from God. A lot of people don't believe that. Okay, then what's the other way of finding truth? Either scientifically proving it, doing a case study and actually proving it in a laboratory, or when it comes to living, you have to have a case study. Well, I don't really want to experiment with people. So we have to go back and look at history and ask: How did it turn out the last time? How did this turn out the last time it happened? What did the people choose?

Do you really believe that the politicians are going to solve health care? Does anybody really in the sound of my voice believe that they can solve health care? First of all, was health care better or worse before Obamacare? It sucked. It had its problems. It's like the United States of America. It is the worst best country on the planet. They all suck, but we're the best.

If you could show me a way to live, really show me a way to live and say, Glenn, here's proof, this is a better system, it makes people more free, it helps people be better. You're able to be yourself and be your better self. I'd do it in a heartbeat. I would surrender my citizenship today. I am not loyal to the flag. I am loyal to the idea of America, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain rights, and nobody can take those rights.

My story that I tell myself is the greatest blessing of my life. Because it gives my troubles --- I don't want to say suffering, but use that word perhaps in your life or in the life of others --- meaning. It gives my pain, be it emotional or be it physical pain, meaning. No matter what has happened to me, no matter what the situation is, I can walk away from it and say, "Okay. Why did that happen?" Instead of saying, "I can't believe this person. I can't believe everything in my life sucks."

Everything in my life might suck right now, but what gives that suffering meaning? What gives that trouble meaning? Are we even looking for that anymore?

That's what I tried to say with Elon Musk or with George Washington Carver, most of the great inventions of the world came from hardship. You think somebody would have invented the car if we all had flying carpets? No. We had an ox and a cart. We had to shovel the crap from behind them all the time. I mean, you want to talk about gases, okay. Live around some cows for a while. Plow your field with a cow or an ox or a horse. Not fun. So somebody invented a tractor. It's not like the fields were plowing themselves. You know what we should invent? Something I can sit on and plow this field. There's meaning to what's happening in your life. And you can either grab it and figure it out and use it to make your life better, or we can use it to be angry. We can use it to be depressed. We can use it to lose all hope and let somebody else fix it for us. Or we can do it ourselves.

When I say let's come together, I don't mean with the extreme right or the extreme left. I have nothing in common with them. I really don't, besides my humanity. I don't have much in common or much to talk to with people who want to shut everyone else up. But I don't know when this country has ever decided we don't need two wings of our eagle, both the left and the right. I don't know when the eagle said, "I can fly with just one wing."

There's balance to that eagle. Just as much as there is --- and I hate to say this, what an oppressor I am --- there is importance for both a man and a woman. We don't speak the same language. Women, at times, drive me nuts. I'm sure I drive my wife and my daughters crazy. My son and I, we understand each other. It's the women. And the women, they understand each other. Two wings of an eagle, you need both. How stupid would it be for me to say, "You know what we need, you know what would make this planet better? No women." And yet, there are women and progressive groups that say men are useless. It is a lie. It is a lie just as much as I don't need my liberal friends or they don't need their conservative friends.

Together, we can fix this. Together, we will find our way out. But only if you have an honest, open and willing mind and heart.

Trump's 3 BIGGEST border victories

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The Southern Border is healing!

Just hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border. A little over a month later, the tide of migrants pouring into the United States has been significantly stemmed. Trump is delivering on his major campaign promises: stopping illegal crossings, rolling back Biden-era border policies, and using every available resource to fortify the border against future challenges.

In his recent congressional speech, Trump highlighted these border security successes—achievements often overshadowed by the flood of other news stories this past month. To spotlight this monumental progress, we’ve compiled a list of Trump’s three most significant border victories.

1. Significantly reduced border encounters

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images

When Trump took office, it was clear—the sheriff was back in town. According to the Department of Homeland Security, daily border encounters have plummeted by 93 percent since his inauguration. Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up its efforts: in the past month alone, ICE doubled arrests of criminal aliens and tripled apprehensions of fugitives at large. This dramatic shift stems from reinstating strict border policies, restoring common-sense enforcement, and unleashing the full capabilities of ICE and Border Patrol.

2. Major policy changes

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President Trump has also made sweeping strides in border policy. He reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, requiring immigrants to wait in Mexico during their immigration proceedings instead of being released into the U.S. He also terminated the controversial “catch and release” practice, which had allowed millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the country pending court dates. Additionally, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, mandating detention for all illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes.

Another key victory was designating cartels like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations. This classification empowers law enforcement and border agencies to tackle these ruthless gangs with the seriousness and resources they demand.

3. Deployed major muscle

John Moore / Staff | Getty Images

Trump is doubling down on border security—and he’s not holding back. He deployed 1,500 U.S. troops to secure the southern border and restarted construction of the border wall. Among the forces sent is a Stryker Brigade, a rapid-response, high-tech mechanized infantry unit equipped with armored ground and air vehicles. This brigade’s mobility and long-range capabilities make it ideal for patrolling the rugged, remote stretches of the border.

Fort Knox exposed: Is America's gold MISSING?

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President Trump promised that we would get a peek inside Fort Knox, but are we ready for what we might find?

In this new era of radical transparency, the possibility that the Deep State's darkest secrets could be exposed has many desperate for answers to old questions. Recently, Glenn has zeroed in on gold, specifically America's gold reserves, which are supposed to be locked away inside the vaults of Fort Knox. According to the government, there are 147.3 million ounces of gold stored within several small secured rooms that are themselves locked behind a massive 22 ton vault door, but the truth is that no one has officially seen this gold since 1953. An audit is long overdue, and President Trump has already shown interest in the idea.

America's gold reserve has been surrounded by suspicion for the better part of a hundred years. It all started in 1933, when FDR effectively nationalized the United States's private gold stores, forcing Americans to sell their gold to the government. This gold was melted down, forged into bars, and stored in the newly constructed U.S. Bullion Depository building at Fort Knox. By 1941, Fort Knox had held 649.6 million ounces of gold—which, you may have noticed, was 502.3 million ounces more than today. We'll come back to that.

By 1944, World War II was ending, and the Allies began planning how to rebuild Europe. The U.N. held a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where the USD was established as the world's reserve currency. This meant that any country (though not U.S. citizens) could exchange the USD for gold at the fixed rate of $35 per ounce. Already, you can see where our gold might have gone.

Jump to the 1960s, where Lyndon B. Johnson was busy digging America into a massive debt hole. Between the Vietnam War and Johnson's "Great Society" project, the U.S. was bleeding cash and printing money to keep up. But now Fort Knox no longer held enough physical gold to cover the $35 an ounce rate promised by the Bretton Woods agreement. France took notice of this weakness and began to redeem hundreds of millions of dollars. In the 70s Nixon staunched this gushing wound by halting foreign nations from redeeming dollars for gold, but this had the adverse effect of ending the gold standard.

This brings us to the present, where inflation is through the roof, no one knows how much gold is actually inside Fort Knox, and someone in America has been buying a LOT of gold. Who is buying this gold? Where is it going and for what purpose? Glenn has a few ideas, and one of them is MUCH better than the other:

The path back to gold

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One possibility is that all of this gold that has been flooding into America is in preparation for a shift back to a gold-backed, or partial-gold-backed system. The influx of gold corresponds with a comment recently made by Trump's new Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who said he was going to:

“Monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people.”

Glenn pointed out that per a 1972 law, the gold in Fort Knox is currently set at a fixed value of $42 an ounce. At the time of this writing, gold was valued at $2,912.09 an ounce, which is more than a 6,800 percent increase. If the U.S. stockpile was revalued to reflect current market prices, it could be used to stabilize the dollar. This could even mean a full, or partial return to the gold standard, depending on the amount of gold currently being imported.

Empty coffers—you will own nothing

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Unfortunately, Glenn suspects there is another, darker purpose behind the recent gold hubbub.

As mentioned before, the last realaudit of Fort Knox was done under President Eisenhower, in 1953. While the audit passed, a report from the Secretary of the Treasury revealed that a mere 13.6 percent was checked. For the better part of a century, we've had no idea how much gold is present under Fort Knox. After the gold hemorrhage in the 60s, many were suspicious of the status of our gold supply. In the 80s, a wealthy businessman named Edward Durell released over a decade's worth of research that led him to conclude that Fort Knox was all but empty. In short, he claimed that the Federal Reserve had siphoned off all the gold and sold it to Europe.

What would it mean if America's coffers are empty? According to a post by X user Matt Smith that Glenn shared, empty coffers combined with an influx of foreign gold could represent the beginning of a new, controlled economy. We couldstill be headed towards a future where you'll ownnothing.

Glenn: The most important warning of your lifetime—AI is coming for you

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Artificial intelligence isn’t coming. It’s here. The future we once speculated about is no longer science fiction—it’s reality. Every aspect of our lives, from how we work to how we think, is about to change forever. And if you’re not ready for it, you’re already behind. This isn’t just another technological leap. This is the biggest shift humanity has ever faced.

The last call before the singularity

I've been ringing this bell for 30 years. Thirty years warning you about what’s coming. And now, here we are. This isn’t a drill. This isn’t some distant future. It’s happening now. If you don’t understand what’s at stake, you need to wake up—because we have officially crossed the event horizon of artificial intelligence.

What’s an event horizon? It’s the edge of a black hole—the point where you can’t escape, no matter how hard you try. AI is that black hole. The current is too strong. The waterfall is too close. If you haven’t been paying attention, you need to start right now. Because once we reach Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), there is no turning back.

You’ve heard me talk about this for decades. AI isn’t just a fancy Siri. It isn’t just ChatGPT. We are on the verge of machines that will outthink every human who has ever lived—combined. ASI won’t just process information—it will anticipate, decide, and act faster than any of us can comprehend. It will change everything about our world, about our lives.

And yet, the conversation around AI has been wrong. People think the real dangers are coming later—some distant dystopian nightmare. But we are already in it. We’ve passed the point where AI is just a tool. It’s becoming the master. And the people who don’t learn to use it now—who don’t understand it, who don’t prepare for it—are going to be swallowed whole.

I know what some of you are thinking: "Glenn, you’ve spent years warning us about AI, about how dangerous it is. And now you’re telling us to embrace it?" Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. Because if you don’t use this tool—if you don’t learn to master it—then you will be at its mercy.

This is not an option anymore. This is survival.

How you must prepare—today

I need you to take AI seriously—right now. Not next year, not five years from now. This weekend.

Here’s what I want you to do: Open up one of these AI tools—Grok 3, ChatGPT, anything advanced—and start using it. If you’re a CEO, have it analyze your competitors. If you’re an artist, let it critique your work. If you’re a stay-at-home parent, have it optimize your budget. Ask it questions. Push it to its limits. Learn what it can do—because if you don’t, you will be left behind.

Let me be crystal clear: AI is not your friend. It’s not your partner. It’s not something to trust. AI is a shovel—an extremely powerful shovel, but still just a tool. And if you don’t understand that, you’re in trouble.

We’ve already seen what happens when we surrender to technology without thinking. Social media rewired our brains. Smartphones reshaped our culture. AI will do all that—and more. If you don’t take control now, AI will control you.

Ask yourself: When AI makes decisions for you—when it anticipates your needs before you even know them—at what point do you stop being the one in charge? At what point does AI stop being a tool and start being your master?

And that’s not even the worst of it. The next step—transhumanism—is coming. It will start with good intentions. Elon Musk is already developing implants to help people walk again. And that’s great. But where does it stop? What happens when people start “upgrading” themselves? What happens when people choose to merge with AI?

I know my answer. I won’t cross that line. But you’re going to have to decide for yourself. And if you don’t start preparing now, that decision will be made for you.

The final warning—act now or be left behind

I need you to hear me. This is not optional. This is not something you can ignore. AI is here. And if you don’t act now, you will be lost.

The next 18 months will change everything. People who don’t prepare—who don’t learn to use AI—will be scrambling to catch up. And they won’t catch up. The gap will be too wide. You’ll either be leading, or you’ll be swallowed whole.

So start this weekend. Learn it. Test it. Push it. Master it. Because the people who don’t? They will be the tools.

The decision is yours. But time is running out.

The coming AI economy and the collapse of traditional jobs

Think back to past technological revolutions. The industrial revolution put countless blacksmiths, carriage makers, and farmhands out of business. The internet wiped out entire industries, from travel agencies to brick-and-mortar retail. AI is bigger than all of those combined. This isn’t just about job automation—it’s about job obliteration.

Doctors, lawyers, engineers—people who thought their jobs were untouchable—will find themselves replaced by AI. A machine that can diagnose disease with greater accuracy, draft legal documents in seconds, or design infrastructure faster than an entire team of engineers will be cheaper, faster, and better than human labor. If you’re not preparing for that reality, you’re already falling behind.

What does this mean for you? It means constant adaptation. Every three to five years, you will need to redefine your role, retrain, and retool. The only people who survive this AI revolution will be the ones who understand its capabilities and learn to work with it, not against it.

The moral dilemma: When do you stop being human?

The real danger of AI isn’t just economic—it’s existential. When AI merges with humans, we will face an unprecedented question: At what point do we stop being human?

Think about it. If you implant a neural chip that gives you access to the entire internet in your mind, are you still the same person? If your thoughts are intertwined with AI-generated responses, where do you end and AI begins? This is the future we are hurtling toward, and few people are even asking the right questions.

I’m asking them now. And you should be too. Because that line—between human and machine—is coming fast. You need to decide now where you stand. Because once we cross it, there is no going back.

Final thoughts: Be a leader, not a follower

AI isn’t a passing trend. It’s not a gadget or a convenience. It is the most powerful force humanity has ever created. And if you don’t take the time to understand it now, you will be at its mercy.

This is the defining moment of our time. Will you be a master of AI? Or will you be mastered by it? The choice is yours. But if you wait too long, you won’t have a choice at all.

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

Trump's Zelenskyy deal falls apart: What happened and what's next?

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Trump offered Zelenskyy a deal he couldn’t refuse—but Zelenskyy rejected it outright.

Last Friday, President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington to sign a historic agreement aimed at ending the brutal war ravaging Ukraine. Joined by Vice President J.D. Vance, Trump met with Zelenskyy and the press before the leaders were set to retreat behind closed doors to finalize the deal. Acting as a gracious host, Trump opened the meeting by praising Zelenskyy and the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers. He expressed enthusiasm for the proposed agreement, emphasizing its benefits—such as access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals for the U.S.—and publicly pledged continued American aid in exchange.

Zelenskyy, however, didn’t share Trump’s optimism. Throughout the meeting, he interrupted repeatedly and openly criticized both Trump and Vance in front of reporters. Tensions escalated until Vance, visibly frustrated, fired back. The exchange turned the meeting hostile, and by its conclusion, Trump withdrew his offer. Rather than staying in Washington to resolve the conflict, Zelenskyy promptly left for Europe to seek support from the European Union.

As Glenn pointed out, Trump had carefully crafted this deal to benefit all parties, including Russia. Zelenskyy’s rejection was a major misstep.

Trump's generous offer to Zelenskyy

I believe Trump is playing 4-D chess with Zelenskyy. pic.twitter.com/L19RtQdCF6
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck)
March 3, 2025

Glenn took to his whiteboard—swapping out his usual chalkboard—to break down Trump’s remarkable deal for Zelenskyy. He explained how it aligned with several of Trump’s goals: cutting spending, advancing technology and AI, and restoring America’s position as the dominant world power without military action. The deal would have also benefited the EU by preventing another war, revitalizing their economy, and restoring Europe’s global relevance. Ukraine and Russia would have gained as well, with the war—already claiming over 250,000 lives—finally coming to an end.

The media has portrayed last week’s fiasco as an ambush orchestrated by Trump to humiliate Zelenskyy, but that’s far from the truth. Zelenskyy was only in Washington because he had already rejected the deal twice—first refusing Vice President Vance and then Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It was Zelenskyy who insisted on traveling to America to sign the deal at the White House. If anyone set an ambush, it was him.

The EU can't help Ukraine

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After clashing with Trump and Vance, Zelenskyy wasted no time leaving D.C. The Ukrainian president should have stayed, apologized to Trump, and signed the deal. Given Trump’s enthusiasm and a later comment on Truth Social—where he wrote, “Zelenskyy can come back when he is ready for peace”—the deal could likely have been revived.

Meanwhile, in London, over a dozen European leaders, joined by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, convened an emergency meeting dubbed the “coalition of the willing” to ensure peace in Ukraine. This coalition emerged as Europe’s response to Trump’s withdrawal from the deal. By the meeting’s end, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a four-point plan to secure Ukrainian independence.

Zelenskyy, however, appears less than confident in the coalition’s plan. Recently, he has shifted his stance toward the U.S., apologizing to Trump and Vance and expressing gratitude for the generous military support America has already provided. Zelenskyy now says he wants to sign Trump’s deal and work under his leadership.

This is shaping up to be another Trump victory.

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