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This Singer Told People to ‘Love and Value Our Planet’ at a Hurricane Relief Benefit

September 14, 2017
Staff

WRITER

People are wonderful and should love each other … just as long as they all believe in climate change.

That’s the takeaway from Stevie Wonder’s comments during a performance at a star-studded hurricane relief benefit. The “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” singer urged people to set aside all “political persuasions” and care for each other.

People should value one another “as we should begin to love and value our planet,” Wonder said. “And anyone who believes that there is no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent.”

Glenn pointed out two key lessons to be learned here:

1 --- We know from the hurricane aftermath that good causes don’t need celebrity names anymore since only a small amount of funding came from Hollywood.

2 --- We should expect kindness to be accompanied with politics from progressives.

Instead, “let’s actually love people. Let’s actually serve people,” Glenn said. If you’re going to reach out to people, you need to be kind without bringing in political qualifications like the need to believe in climate change.

“Let’s stop hating each other,” Glenn said. “Let’s start seeing that we are alike and start seeing humanity in each other.”

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: So while we're here, let's talk about all of the wonderful things that Hollywood is doing to help out the victims of the hurricane.

They've just had a big gala, where they raised $44 million. Wow. They had a TV network. They had every star known to man. And they raised $44 million.

There's a football player who just raised by himself $32 million.

STU: J.J. Watt.

GLENN: Thirty-two by himself. He did that, you know, with Twitter. "I don't know, I'm thinking about raising some money. You want to help?"

Thirty-two million dollars later. You spend all of this money, all of this production. You bring in every star -- and I'm sure they all -- they were all driving the Leaf. None of them were driving anything that was -- seriously, they were all driving a Leaf. And you brought them all together. And, you know, you had the catering trucks and the catering tents. And everything else, congratulations, $44 million. What happened here? Why only $44 million.

Because Hollywood is irrelevant and they don't even know it. Hollywood -- everybody is sick -- I mean everybody on both sides. They don't need you anymore. To raise money, you don't need people like me anymore. You don't need anybody. You don't need celebrity. You don't need anything.

If you have a good cause and you have a direct way to help, you're going to -- it's great. This is technology.

We don't need the celebrities. And could the celebrities help? Yes. Yes.

J.J. Watt, he's helping. He is helping.

The problem is, they fail to look at what he did, and that is, "Wow. People need help. Let's help them."

And then, I'm not trying to make a political point, I'm not trying to make any point whatsoever, let's just help them.

Is anybody else -- is anybody else bothered, when you go to church -- and every church is like this, when you go to church, and they start talking about how you need to love people so you can bring them in to get baptized. That drives me out of my mind.

STU: Yeah, that whole loving people to join the faith sounds terrible. Hmm.

GLENN: No. No. It does to me. And maybe because -- and maybe because I've just -- I've had shields up on that for so long. And now that I'm sitting in a congregation and I hear people say these things, what it translates to me as, "How can we get people baptized? I know, let's love them."

STU: Again, this does not sound bad. You're saying it's translating to you in a way that it sounds good. If you believe in the faith, you want people to be baptized. You want people to see the light, right? And a good way to do that -- is it hate? If you don't want love, what do you want?

GLENN: I know.

No, this is the intent. Because -- and I don't think is in the intent of the churches. I think this is the -- this is how it's interpreted by some. And that is, we want to change people's minds, so let's go in and become their friends.

Well, that's good.

STU: Isn't this the entire --

GLENN: Would you listen to me for a second? Would you let me finish? Would you let me finish?

STU: Every day on the show --

GLENN: No. Let's love people. Let's actually love people. Let's actually serve people.

Now, I said, it's not the intention, it's how it sounds, especially when it's -- when it's in churches. It sounds this way.

And it's why -- it's why I think we fail. I think we fail as churches sometimes. We fail with people. Because we have another intent. Our intent is to get you to believe what we believe.

No, that's not my intent. My intent is to get you to see that I'm just like you. I just -- I'm just like you. I don't need you to believe what I believe. We just have to stop hating each other. That's my goal. Let's stop hating each other. Let's start seeing that we are alike and start seeing humanity in each other. Let's just see that, you know what, you could hate me, but why don't you hate me for real, authentic reasons. Okay?

STU: Right.

GLENN: Why don't you hate me for that?

Until that time, how about we just love each other and cut each other some slack and help one another?

And it's my belief that if you are a happy and genuine person, somebody in your life is going to say, "You know what, I can't figure this out. You seem to have this mastered. What is it that you have?" Well, I'll tell you. I'll tell you.

That's your opportunity. But we set out, sometimes, we set out with, I'm going to get them in the boat. I'm going to get them in the boat. I'm going to get them baptized. I'm going to do X, Y, or Z. You know what, do your part. And that is, love people. We're missing the love people part.

Actually do that. No other agenda. Love people.

When you love people, they will see, "Wow, I like that guy. I like those people. I may not agree with those people. But I like them." Then you have all kinds of opportunities ahead of you. Then that's the time to talk about those opportunities.

Hollywood is not -- they did not do this because they genuinely love the people in -- in Houston. Maybe some of them did. But far too many of them started doing things like Stevie Wonder. Listen to Stevie Wonder.

(music)

STEVIE: We've come together today to love on the people that have been devastated by the hurricanes.

GLENN: Great. Great. Great.

STEVIE: When love goes into action, it preferences no color of skin.

GLENN: Oh, boy. Here we go.

STEVIE: No ethnicity.

GLENN: Agenda.

STU: But, I mean, that's true.

STEVIE: Beliefs.

GLENN: Agenda. Agenda. Agenda.

STEVIE: No sexual preferences and no political persuasions. It just loves.

GLENN: Uh-huh. Okay. Good.

STEVIE: As we should begin to love and value our planet --

GLENN: Agenda.

STEVIE: -- and anyone who believes that there's no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent.

GLENN: Agenda. Okay. That sounds like --

STU: Wait. A blind guy is telling us that.

GLENN: Yeah. And that's love. That's a prayer. That's a prayer.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: That's a prayer. You must be blind or unintelligent.

STU: Amazing. I mean, of course, as it relates to hurricanes, that is not what -- even the global warming thesis says, that there's going to be more hurricanes. They actually say there's been a decrease since 1880 in the number of hurricanes hitting the United States of America. You know, that's an amazing thing.

And I think you kind of look at that and you say, why apply that there? Why insert that into the middle of this? Because you're right, like the other stuff you're talking about, agenda, agenda. You're looking at it -- I mean, I hate to point this out, but you're looking at this in a cynical sort of way, right?

GLENN: It's Hollywood, yes. They deserve that. Yes.

STU: A correct cynical way. But, you know, there's nothing wrong with saying, "We embrace all races." Of course. Those are things we actually believe.

GLENN: There's not. There's not. I do.

STU: You just don't believe it from these people because people in Hollywood are constantly coming with an agenda. And then he proves the point seconds later.

GLENN: Correct. Yes. Look, if he said -- if he said everything that he said, "Look, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you have the Confederate flag, you don't want to -- or, you don't want to stand for the American flag. It doesn't matter. We have to love you and serve you. Period." That would have been great.

STU: It doesn't matter if you believe Harvey and Irma were caused by global warming or you feel like we've seen these storms a million times before and it's no big difference.

GLENN: Exactly right. We have to love you.

STU: We're there for you. And, again, it's not that way. You're an idiot. You're blind. You're unintelligent. They can't help themselves.

GLENN: No, they can't. Because -- because their agenda is more important. And, look, I want to make this really clear. Do I want people to find the joy that I have found in my faith? You bet I do. You bet I do.

STU: You should, right?

GLENN: I have found great joy -- I am alive today because of that. I would not have made it without that.

So I -- I do want to share that. But that's not my agenda. That's not what I get up for in the morning. That doesn't -- I'm sorry. But that is -- to me, I don't even think that was Christ's agenda. That was the result. He knew that would be the result of the way he lived his life and loving everyone, truly loving everyone. Where are your accusers now?

He's -- he won't stone somebody who broke one of his laws. He won't stone them.

Where are your accusers?

Does that mean he -- does that mean he was endorsing her? No.

His agenda is love. Love. And did she go back and -- and get right back into bed with somebody else? Probably not.

How many people -- we don't know this. But how many people did she change because he just showed love? He didn't stop and say, hey, by the way, and the only way is through me. He didn't do that. He said, "Where are your accusers? Well, I'm not going to condemn you either. Go and sin no more." That's it.

That's it. Oh, by the way, I did save you, so now I have to do this. Now you have to believe these things.

No, he loved. All of our love, it seems to have an agenda. All of the love in the world seems to have an agenda. An agenda-driven love will not change anything.

$44 million. That's nice. It's nice. When Hollywood stops with the agenda, maybe they'll be able to make a big impact again.

The Crisis of Meaning: Searching for truth and purpose

Mario Tama / Staff | Getty Images

Anxiety, anger, and chronic dissatisfaction signal a country searching for meaning. Without truth and purpose, politics becomes a dangerous substitute for identity.

We have built a world overflowing with noise, convenience, and endless choice, yet something essential has slipped out of reach. You can sense it in the restless mood of the country, the anxiety among young people who cannot explain why they feel empty, in the angry confusion that dominates our politics.

We have more wealth than any nation in history, but the heart of the culture feels strangely malnourished. Before we can debate debt or elections, we must confront the reality that we created a world of things, but not a world of purpose.

You cannot survive a crisis you refuse to name, and you cannot rebuild a world whose foundations you no longer understand.

What we are living through is not just economic or political dysfunction. It is the vacuum that appears when a civilization mistakes abundance for meaning.

Modern life is stuffed with everything except what the human soul actually needs. We built systems to make life faster, easier, and more efficient — and then wondered why those systems cannot teach our children who they are, why they matter, or what is worth living for.

We tell the next generation to chase success, influence, and wealth, turning childhood into branding. We ask kids what they want to do, not who they want to be. We build a world wired for dopamine rather than dignity, and then we wonder why so many people feel unmoored.

When everything is curated, optimized, and delivered at the push of a button, the question “what is my life for?” gets lost in the static.

The crisis beneath the headlines

It is not just the young who feel this crisis. Every part of our society is straining under the weight of meaninglessness.

Look at the debt cycle — the mathematical fate no civilization has ever escaped once it crosses a threshold that we seem to have already blown by. While ordinary families feel the pressure, our leaders respond with distraction, with denial, or by rewriting the very history that could have warned us.

You cannot survive a crisis you refuse to name, and you cannot rebuild a world whose foundations you no longer understand.

We have entered a cultural moment where the noise is so loud that it drowns out the simplest truths. We are living in a country that no longer knows how to hear itself think.

So people go searching. Some drift toward the false promise of socialism, some toward the empty thrill of rebellion. Some simply check out. When a culture forgets what gives life meaning, it becomes vulnerable to every ideology that offers a quick answer.

The quiet return of meaning

And yet, quietly, something else is happening. Beneath the frustration and cynicism, many Americans are recognizing that meaning does not come from what we own, but from what we honor. It does not rise from success, but from virtue. It does not emerge from noise, but from the small, sacred things that modern life has pushed to the margins — the home, the table, the duty you fulfill, the person you help when no one is watching.

The danger is assuming that this rediscovery happens on its own. It does not.

Reorientation requires intention. It requires rebuilding the habits and virtues that once held us together. It requires telling the truth about our history instead of rewriting it to fit today’s narratives. And it requires acknowledging what has been erased: that meaning is inseparable from God’s presence in a nation’s life.

Harold M. Lambert / Contributor | Getty Images

Where renewal begins

We have built a world without stillness, and then we wondered why no one can hear the questions that matter. Those questions remain, whether we acknowledge them or not. They do not disappear just because we drown them in entertainment or noise. They wait for us, and the longer we ignore them, the more disoriented we become.

Meaning is still available. It is found in rebuilding the smallest, most human spaces — the places that cannot be digitized, globalized, or automated. The home. The family. The community.

These are the daily virtues that do not trend on social media, but that hold a civilization upright. If we want to repair this country, we begin there, exactly where every durable civilization has always begun: one virtue at a time, one tradition at a time, one generation at a time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The Bubba Effect erupts as America’s power brokers go rogue

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

When institutions betray the public’s trust, the country splits, and the spiral is hard to stop.

Something drastic is happening in American life. Headlines that should leave us stunned barely register anymore. Stories that once would have united the country instead dissolve into silence or shrugs.

It is not apathy exactly. It is something deeper — a growing belief that the people in charge either cannot or will not fix what is broken.

When people feel ignored or betrayed, they will align with anyone who appears willing to fight on their behalf.

I call this response the Bubba effect. It describes what happens when institutions lose so much public trust that “Bubba,” the average American minding his own business, finally throws his hands up and says, “Fine. I will handle it myself.” Not because he wants to, but because the system that was supposed to protect him now feels indifferent, corrupt, or openly hostile.

The Bubba effect is not a political movement. It is a survival instinct.

What triggers the Bubba effect

We are watching the triggers unfold in real time. When members of Congress publicly encourage active duty troops to disregard orders from the commander in chief, that is not a political squabble. When a federal judge quietly rewrites the rules so one branch of government can secretly surveil another, that is not normal. That is how republics fall. Yet these stories glided across the news cycle without urgency, without consequence, without explanation.

When the American people see the leadership class shrug, they conclude — correctly — that no one is steering the ship.

This is how the Bubba effect spreads. It is not just individuals resisting authority. It is sheriffs refusing to enforce new policies, school boards ignoring state mandates, entire communities saying, “We do not believe you anymore.” It becomes institutional, cultural, national.

A country cracking from the inside

This effect can be seen in Dearborn, Michigan. In the rise of fringe voices like Nick Fuentes. In the Epstein scandal, where powerful people could not seem to locate a single accountable adult. These stories are different in content but identical in message: The system protects itself, not you.

When people feel ignored or betrayed, they will align with anyone who appears willing to fight on their behalf. That does not mean they suddenly agree with everything that person says. It means they feel abandoned by the institutions that were supposed to be trustworthy.

The Bubba effect is what fills that vacuum.

The dangers of a faithless system

A republic cannot survive without credibility. Congress cannot oversee intelligence agencies if it refuses to discipline its own members. The military cannot remain apolitical if its chain of command becomes optional. The judiciary cannot defend the Constitution while inventing loopholes that erase the separation of powers.

History shows that once a nation militarizes politics, normalizes constitutional shortcuts, or allows government agencies to operate without scrutiny, it does not return to equilibrium peacefully. Something will give.

The question is what — and when.

The responsibility now belongs to us

In a healthy country, this is where the media steps in. This is where universities, pastors, journalists, and cultural leaders pause the outrage machine and explain what is at stake. But today, too many see themselves not as guardians of the republic, but of ideology. Their first loyalty is to narrative, not truth.

The founders never trusted the press more than the public. They trusted citizens who understood their rights, lived their responsibilities, and demanded accountability. That is the antidote to the Bubba effect — not rage, but citizenship.

How to respond without breaking ourselves

Do not riot. Do not withdraw. Do not cheer on destruction just because you dislike the target. That is how nations lose themselves. Instead, demand transparency. Call your representatives. Insist on consequences. Refuse to normalize constitutional violations simply because “everyone does it.” If you expect nothing, you will get nothing.

Do not hand your voice to the loudest warrior simply because he is swinging a bat at the establishment. You do not beat corruption by joining a different version of it. You beat it by modeling the country you want to preserve: principled, accountable, rooted in truth.

Adam Gray / Stringer | Getty Images

Every republic reaches a moment when historians will later say, “That was the warning.” We are living in ours. But warnings are gifts if they are recognized. Institutions bend. People fail. The Constitution can recover — if enough Americans still know and cherish it.

It does not take a majority. Twenty percent of the country — awake, educated, and courageous — can reset the system. It has happened before. It can happen again.

Wake up. Stand up. Demand integrity — from leaders, from institutions, and from yourself. Because the Bubba effect will not end until Americans reclaim the duty that has always belonged to them: preserving the republic for the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Grim warning: Bad-faith Israel critics duck REAL questions

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Bad-faith attacks on Israel and AIPAC warp every debate. Real answers emerge only when people set aside scripts and ask what serves America’s long-term interests.

The search for truth has always required something very much in short supply these days: honesty. Not performative questions, not scripted outrage, not whatever happens to be trending on TikTok, but real curiosity.

Some issues, often focused on foreign aid, AIPAC, or Israel, have become hotbeds of debate and disagreement. Before we jump into those debates, however, we must return to a simpler, more important issue: honest questioning. Without it, nothing in these debates matters.

Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

The phrase “just asking questions” has re-entered the zeitgeist, and that’s fine. We should always question power. But too many of those questions feel preloaded with someone else’s answer. If the goal is truth, then the questions should come from a sincere desire to understand, not from a hunt for a villain.

Honest desire for truth is the only foundation that can support a real conversation about these issues.

Truth-seeking is real work

Right now, plenty of people are not seeking the truth at all. They are repeating something they heard from a politician on cable news or from a stranger on TikTok who has never opened a history book. That is not a search for answers. That is simply outsourcing your own thought.

If you want the truth, you need to work for it. You cannot treat the world like a Marvel movie where the good guy appears in a cape and the villain hisses on command. Real life does not give you a neat script with the moral wrapped up in two hours.

But that is how people are approaching politics now. They want the oppressed and the oppressor, the heroic underdog and the cartoon villain. They embrace this fantastical framing because it is easier than wrestling with reality.

This framing took root in the 1960s when the left rebuilt its worldview around colonizers and the colonized. Overnight, Zionism was recast as imperialism. Suddenly, every conflict had to fit the same script. Today’s young activists are just recycling the same narrative with updated graphics. Everything becomes a morality play. No nuance, no context, just the comforting clarity of heroes and villains.

Bad-faith questions

This same mindset is fueling the sudden obsession with Israel, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in particular. You hear it from members of Congress and activists alike: AIPAC pulls the strings, AIPAC controls the government, AIPAC should register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The questions are dramatic, but are they being asked in good faith?

FARA is clear. The standard is whether an individual or group acts under the direction or control of a foreign government. AIPAC simply does not qualify.

Here is a detail conveniently left out of these arguments: Dozens of domestic organizations — Armenian, Cuban, Irish, Turkish — lobby Congress on behalf of other countries. None of them registers under FARA because — like AIPAC — they are independent, domestic organizations.

If someone has a sincere problem with the structure of foreign lobbying, fair enough. Let us have that conversation. But singling out AIPAC alone is not a search for truth. It is bias dressed up as bravery.

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

If someone wants to question foreign aid to Israel, fine. Let’s have that debate. But let’s ask the right questions. The issue is not the size of the package but whether the aid advances our interests. What does the United States gain? Does the investment strengthen our position in the region? How does it compare to what we give other nations? And do we examine those countries with the same intensity?

The real target

These questions reflect good-faith scrutiny. But narrowing the entire argument to one country or one dollar amount misses the larger problem. If someone objects to the way America handles foreign aid, the target is not Israel. The target is the system itself — an entrenched bureaucracy, poor transparency, and decades-old commitments that have never been re-examined. Those problems run through programs around the world.

If you want answers, you need to broaden the lens. You have to be willing to put aside the movie script and confront reality. You have to hold yourself to a simple rule: Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

That is the only way this country ever gets clarity on foreign aid, influence, alliances, and our place in the world. Questioning is not just allowed. It is essential. But only if it is honest.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The melting pot fails when we stop agreeing to melt

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Texas now hosts Quran-first academies, Sharia-compliant housing schemes, and rapidly multiplying mosques — all part of a movement building a self-contained society apart from the country around it.

It is time to talk honestly about what is happening inside America’s rapidly growing Muslim communities. In city after city, large pockets of newcomers are choosing to build insulated enclaves rather than enter the broader American culture.

That trend is accelerating, and the longer we ignore it, the harder it becomes to address.

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world.

America has always welcomed people of every faith and people from every corner of the world, but the deal has never changed: You come here and you join the American family. You are free to honor your traditions, keep your faith, but you must embrace the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. You melt into the shared culture that allows all of us to live side by side.

Across the country, this bargain is being rejected by Islamist communities that insist on building a parallel society with its own rules, its own boundaries, and its own vision for how life should be lived.

Texas illustrates the trend. The state now has roughly 330 mosques. At least 48 of them were built in just the last 24 months. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex alone has around 200 Islamic centers. Houston has another hundred or so. Many of these communities have no interest in blending into American life.

This is not the same as past waves of immigration. Irish, Italian, Korean, Mexican, and every other group arrived with pride in their heritage. Still, they also raised American flags and wanted their children to be part of the country’s future. They became doctors, small-business owners, teachers, and soldiers. They wanted to be Americans.

What we are watching now is not the melting pot. It is isolation by design.

Parallel societies do not end well

More than 300 fundamentalist Islamic schools now operate full-time across the country. Many use Quran-first curricula that require students to spend hours memorizing religious texts before they ever reach math or science. In Dallas, Brighter Horizons Academy enrolls more than 1,700 students and draws federal support while operating on a social model that keeps children culturally isolated.

Then there is the Epic City project in Collin and Hunt counties — 402 acres originally designated only for Muslim buyers, with Sharia-compliant financing and a mega-mosque at the center. After public outcry and state investigations, the developers renamed it “The Meadows,” but a new sign does not erase the original intent. It is not a neighborhood. It is a parallel society.

Americans should not hesitate to say that parallel societies are dangerous. Europe tried this experiment, and the results could not be clearer. In Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, entire neighborhoods now operate under their own cultural rules, some openly hostile to Western norms. When citizens speak up, they are branded bigots for asserting a basic right: the ability to live safely in their own communities.

A crisis of confidence

While this separation widens, another crisis is unfolding at home. A recent Gallup survey shows that about 40% of American women ages 18 to 39 would leave the country permanently if given the chance. Nearly half of a rising generation — daughters, sisters, soon-to-be mothers — no longer believe this nation is worth building a future in.

And who shapes the worldview of young boys? Their mothers. If a mother no longer believes America is home, why would her child grow up ready to defend it?

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world. If we lose confidence in our own national identity at the same time that we allow separatist enclaves to spread unchecked, the outcome is predictable. Europe is already showing us what comes next: cultural fracture, political radicalization, and the slow death of national unity.

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

Stand up and tell the truth

America welcomes Muslims. America defends their right to worship freely. A Muslim who loves the Constitution, respects the rule of law, and wants to raise a family in peace is more than welcome in America.

But an Islamist movement that rejects assimilation, builds enclaves governed by its own religious framework, and treats American law as optional is not simply another participant in our melting pot. It is a direct challenge to it. If we refuse to call this problem out out of fear of being called names, we will bear the consequences.

Europe is already feeling those consequences — rising conflict and a political class too paralyzed to admit the obvious. When people feel their culture, safety, and freedoms slipping away, they will follow anyone who promises to defend them. History has shown that over and over again.

Stand up. Speak plainly. Be unafraid. You can practice any faith in this country, but the supremacy of the Constitution and the Judeo-Christian moral framework that shaped it is non-negotiable. It is what guarantees your freedom in the first place.

If you come here and honor that foundation, welcome. If you come here to undermine it, you do not belong here.

Wake up to what is unfolding before the consequences arrive. Because when a nation refuses to say what is true, the truth eventually forces its way in — and by then, it is always too late.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.