Blog
LatestArticlesVideos
Radio
LivePodcastSerialsStations
TV
Podcasts
The Glenn Beck ProgramThe Glenn Beck PodcastThe Beck Story
Fine Art
Real Estate
More
AboutCharityBooksSponsorsShopContact
SEARCH
Live Radio

©2024 MERCURY RADIO ARTS.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2025-09-18

September 18, 2025
Chris Brady

TOP OF HOUR 3
GUEST: Peter Navarro
TOPIC: What happens when the American justice system is weaponized against you.

News...

Trump designates Antifa as terrorist organization
"I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION," Trump posted on Truth Social.

'The counteroffensive begins': Report exposes Soros' Open Society funding of alleged pro-terror leftist groups
Glenn Beck indicated that he would personally send the report to President Trump.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon Launches Nationwide Civics Push
"A country cannot survive if its values are forgotten by its people. More than ever, we need to restore the vitality of the American spirit, and this coalition will take bold steps to educate, inspire, and mobilize youth toward active and informed citizenship."

FBI sources alleged Biden stopped Burisma investigation ‘to protect the interests of Hunter,’ new docs show
Sen. Grassley released new FBI documents from multiple confidential sources claiming Joe Biden intervened in Ukraine to shield Burisma while Hunter was on the payroll — raising questions about bribes, foreign interference, and a years-long FBI cover-up.

Jim Jordan grills Kash Patel on all the things the FBI is not doing (anymore)
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan ran through a list of Biden-era FBI abuses — spying on parents, censoring speech, targeting pro-lifers — and Patel confirmed each has stopped.

Man tears down Trump sign, then opens fire on business owner in North Carolina
A man ripped down a pro-Trump banner outside a rafting company, then allegedly fired multiple shots at the owner after being confronted.

Florida man accused of threatening to 'personally' assure all conservatives are 'systematically erased'
"Her oppressors will suffer by my hand I promise," another alleged message read.

Wife and son helped father dismember man's body with a chainsaw after a lethal poker game, police say
Prosecutors say the son told police that his father had woken him up and asked him to "chop up" a body. The mother, when allegedly explaining her actions, said, "A wife got to do what she's got to do."

Charlie Kirk...

Glenn Beck Breaks Down Honoring Charlie Kirk — Placing Rush Limbaugh’s Golden Mic on His Desk
Guest-hosting "The Charlie Kirk Show," Beck shared the story he never got to tell Charlie in person.

House panel asks online forum CEOs to testify after Charlie Kirk assassination
A U.S. House committee on Wednesday asked the CEOs of online platforms Discord, Steam, Amazon-owned Twitch, and Reddit to testify at an October 8 hearing following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, citing the "radicalization of online forum users."

State Department cuts off radical trans group tied to Charlie Kirk assassin plot
Feds confirmed they're investigating Armed Queers SLC over possible links to Kirk's murder; the group’s ties to a State Department-funded NGO have now been severed as the agency scrambles to distance itself from the socialist militants.

Arizona bill would rename highway to honor Charlie Kirk
State Senate President Warren Petersen plans to rename Loop 202 after Charlie Kirk, calling his assassination an act of evil and urging Americans to carry on Kirk’s legacy of faith, patriotism, and bold conservative activism.

Nexstar And Sinclair, Two Largest Station Groups, Wield Influence In ABC Decision To Pull Jimmy Kimmel In Light Of His Charlie Kirk Comments
Their announcements on Wednesday come amid the furor over host’s comments about the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination, with the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, threatening some kind of FCC action.

Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘unprecedented’ rejection by broadcasters a ‘turning point’ in media, FCC chair Brendan Carr
“This action today by Nexstar and Sinclair, frankly, it’s unprecedented. I can’t imagine another time when we’ve had local broadcasters tell a national programmer like Disney that your content no longer meets the needs and the values of our community.”

Trump Absolutely Revels in Kimmel Suspension — Pushes NBC to Axe Jimmy Fallon Next
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” Trump wrote. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”

ABC airs ‘Celebrity Family Feud’ in ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ spot after late night show taken off air
Sinclair stations will play “a special in remembrance” of Charlie Kirk during the coveted time slot starting Friday.

Brian Stelter Aghast at ABC’s ‘Chilling’ Decision to Suspend Jimmy Kimmel
Stelter went on to say that “other station owners were probably also getting scared” and said the U.S. is now “less free” and this will have “a chilling effect.”

Video: Jimmy Kimmel celebrates Tucker Carlson getting fired from Fox in 2023

Video: Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin compares Kimmel and other late night 'comedians' to 'Modern Thomas Paines'

Keith Olbermann proves once again why he's a piece of trash
"Burn in hell, Sinclair. Alongside Charlie Kirk."

Flashback: AOC Cheers Carlson’s Firing: ‘Deplatforming Works’
“Deplatforming works, and it is important, and there you go, good things can happen,” she said.

Flashback: NY Times columnist Charles Blow dismisses idea of ‘cancel culture’
In 2020, Mr. Blow argued that so-called cancel culture is just accountability, saying public figures face consequences for their actions and shouldn’t complain when organized dissent threatens their influence.

Politics...

Four Republicans join Democrats to block censure of Ilhan Omar over Kirk comments
Nancy Mace blasted GOP colleagues Mike Flood, Jeff Hurd, Tom McClintock, and Cory Mills after they voted with Democrats against censuring Omar for reposts blaming Charlie Kirk for his own assassination.

Kamala Harris reveals her ‘first choice’ for running mate wasn’t Tim Walz: Book
Buttigieg “would have been an ideal partner — if I were a straight white man,” Harris wrote. “But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man,” she continued.

Senate Republicans clear path to confirm Trump nominees in bulk
GOP senators cut the threshold to advance sub-Cabinet picks from 60 votes to a simple majority, setting up quick confirmation of dozens of Trump appointees after a prolonged period of Democratic obstruction.

House Republicans Vote to Give More Tariff Power to Trump
Republicans passed a resolution that prevents Congress from ending the national emergency Trump is using to impose tariffs until March 31.

Hakeem Jeffries Faces Progressive Revolt for Holding Out on Mamdani Endorsement
"Is this a leader that truly represents me, or will this leader discard me when people think I'm too progressive?"

Economy...

Here are 5 key takeaways from the Fed’s big interest rate decision
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday delivered on a widely anticipated quarter percentage point interest rate cut that will take its benchmark down to a target range of 4%-4.25%, its lowest in nearly three years.

Cracker Barrel stock falls as company reports mixed earnings after rebrand controversy
The chain posted weaker-than-expected profits and projected lower 2026 revenue, sending shares down 10% in after-hours trading.

Immigration / Border...

Trump Revives 12-Question Citizenship Test That Biden Said Created ‘Barriers’ For Immigrants
"English and civics knowledge is essential to showing an alien’s commitment to fulfill the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship."

Deported illegal alien with DUIs charged in NYC teen’s murder
ICE sources say Edwin Cruz-Gomez, a Honduran national deported in 2005 and repeatedly arrested for drunk driving, was ignored by Biden-era enforcement priorities before allegedly killing 16-year-old Jhoanny Gomez-Alvarez in Queens.

American cocaine now cheap and pure as ever thanks to new Mexican drug lord
Cocaine is flooding the U.S. again at record purity and low cost as traffickers shift from fentanyl to coke, with use soaring nationwide despite military and law enforcement crackdowns.

Israel...

The MAGA Youth Are Still Pro-Israel, Free Beacon-Echelon Insights Poll Shows
They may be listening to anti-Israel influencers, but they are mostly unpersuaded.

Bernie Sanders: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
The far-left socialist senator said for the first time on Wednesday that Israel is committing “genocide” in its war against Hamas.

Jewish and Christian worshipers sing and pray at Temple Mount in memory of Charlie Kirk
The group, led by a former Likud MK who survived an assassination attempt, worships openly on the Temple Mount in remembrance of the slain conservative influencer: "We are here to pray."

Israeli anti-missile laser system 'Iron Beam' ready for military use this year
A low-cost, high-power laser-based system aimed at destroying incoming missiles has successfully completed testing and will be ready for operational use by the military later this year, Israel's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Europe...

Trump’s UK state visit honors US-UK alliance as Britain roils with censorship and unrest
President Trump’s historic visit came amid mass protests, rising support for Farage, and outrage over free speech crackdowns — including arrests for anti-migrant posts and flag bans. At a pro-British rally, speakers mourned Charlie Kirk and slammed censorship, while Trump focused on deepening trade ties with the U.K.

Trump Welcomed To Windsor Castle With Royal Carriage Procession For Unprecedented Visit
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump were treated to full royal honors in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, riding by carriage to Windsor Castle and welcomed by King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Catherine, Princess of Wales.

Entertainment...

HBO Max Announces Series Dramatizing Hamas’ Oct. 7 Terror Attack On Israel
The limited series will include "seven emotionally gripping and artistically interwoven narratives of love, courage, sacrifice, and survival."

Clint Eastwood's prediction for which actor will be a legend 'in 100 years'
Director Cameron Crowe revealed in a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times that Eastwood once told him his prediction for who will be a legend 100 years from now: Tom Cruise.

Media...

Alan Dershowitz Explains Why Trump’s Media Lawsuits Are Set Up To Fail In US Courts
“In the United States, he would have to prove not only that there were factual misstatements, not opinion, but factual misstatements, but that they were made with malice, that is, they were made with reckless disregard for the truth,” Dershowitz said.

Embarrassment For MSNBC, CNN As Upstart NewsNation Wins Out In Primetime Ratings
The flailing liberal networks fell short in the coveted 25-54 age demographic.

CA legislature passes bill creating news subsidies to be overseen by the state's governor
“Just like the Washington Post doesn’t run negative stories about Jeff Bezos — because he owns and funds it — Governor Newsom and the Legislature are creating the same conflict of interest with this new fund,” said Republican state Assemblymember David Tangipa.

Environment...

Biden Climate Adviser John Podesta Appears as 'Expert Witness' in Lawsuit Alleging Trump's Energy Policies Are Killing Children
Podesta's testimony defended green energy industry, which he directed billions to as Biden WH official.

LGBTQIA2S+...

Founder of pro-gun LGBTQ group investigated in Charlie Kirk shooting is radical trans leftist who advocated violence
The Justice Department is investigating posts by Ermiya Fanaeian, who also founded a local chapter of the CCP-backed Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Can We Finally Admit The T In LGBT Stands For Terrorism?
The perpetrators of these heinous tragedies and those who cheer them on couldn’t be any clearer as to what their motivation is or who their targets are.

Education...

Three-quarters of Jewish students worldwide hide their religious identities — survey
Some 78% of Jewish students now conceal their religious identity and 81% hide their Zionist identity on campus, according to a survey of 1,727 students in more than 60 countries.

Health...

Rand Paul grills former CDC chief on child vaccine mandates
At a Senate hearing, Paul argued the COVID shot shows no statistical benefit for children and pressed officials to justify giving infants hepatitis B and 6-month-olds the COVID vaccine, saying recommendations aren’t backed by science.

AI...

AI supports dishonesty in humans, making it easier for users to cheat with an accomplice
A new study found people were far more likely to lie and cheat when assisted by AI than when working with other humans, showing how machines create moral distance and make unethical behavior feel easier and less personal.

AI CEO says technology ‘moving very quickly,’ could soon replace more jobs
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei doubled down on his warning that artificial intelligence could soon cause mass unemployment, even as the technology’s current capabilities lag behind many predictions.

Mark Zuckerberg unveils $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses
“These are glasses with the classic style that you’d expect from Ray-Ban, but they’re the first AI glasses with a high resolution display and a fully weighted Meta neural band,” Zuckerberg said.

Travel...

Spirit CEO says struggling airline will slash flights, braces employees for more job cuts
CEO Dave Davis told staff the carrier will slash November flights and shrink capacity by 25% as it negotiates with unions and lessors, warning more job losses are likely as the airline struggles to stabilize.

Sports...

FBI boss shocks Capitol with brazen display of soccer loyalty
As FBI Director Kash Patel lit into lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the real shock came from his neck — a Liverpool F.C. tie, forcing patriotic Americans to watch the FBI’s top cop openly side with the global menace of soccer over real football.

Sept. 18, 2012 - Worldwide tensions... Why Washington fears us... Would the death of the GOP be a good thing?... Obama’s presidency by the numbers... The real story behind what happened in Benghazi...

Revealed: The quiet architect behind Trump’s war on Big Gov’t

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Trump’s OMB chief built the plan for this moment: Starve pet programs, force reauthorization, and actually shrink Washington.

The government is shut down again, and the usual panic is back. I even had someone call my house this week to ask if it was safe to fly today. The person was half-joking, half-serious, wondering if planes would “fall out of the sky.”

For the record, the sky isn’t falling — at least not literally. But the chaos in Washington does feel like it. Once again, we’re watching the same old script: a shutdown engineered not by fiscal restraint but by political brinkmanship. And this time, the Democrats are driving the bus.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills.

Democrats, among other things, are demanding that health care be extended to illegal immigrants. Democratic leadership caved to its radical base, which would rather shut down the government for such left-wing campaign points than compromise. Republicans — shockingly — said no. They refused to rubber-stamp more spending for illegal immigration. For once, they stood their ground.

But if you’ve watched Washington long enough, you know how this story usually ends: a shutdown followed by a deal that spends even more money than before — a continuing resolution kicking the can down the road. Everyone pretends to “win,” but taxpayers always lose.

The Vought effect

This time might be different. Republicans actually hold some cards. The public may blame Democrats — not the media, but the people who feel this in their wallets. Americans don’t like shutdowns, but they like runaway spending and chaos even less.

That’s why you’re hearing so much about Russell Vought, the director of the United States Office of Management and Budget and Donald Trump’s quiet architect of a strategy to use moments like this to shrink the federal bureaucracy. Vought spent four years building a plan for exactly this scenario: firing nonessential workers and forcing reauthorization of pet programs. Trump talks about draining the swamp. Vought draws up the blueprints.

The Democrats and media are threatened by Vought because he is patient, calculated, and understands how to leverage the moment to reverse decades of government bloat. If programs aren’t mandated, cut them. Make Congress fight to bring them back. That’s how you actually drain the swamp.

Predictable meltdowns

Predictably, Democrats are melting down. They’ve shifted their arguments so many times it’s dizzying. Last time, they claimed a shutdown would lead to mass firings. Now, they insist Republicans are firing everyone anyway. It’s the same playbook: Move the goalposts, reframe the narrative, accuse your opponents of cruelty.

We’ve seen this before. Remember the infamous "You lie!” moment in 2009? President Barack Obama promised during his State of the Union that Obamacare wouldn’t cover illegal immigrants. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted, “You lie!” and was condemned for breaching decorum.

Several years later, Hillary Clinton’s campaign platform openly promised health care for illegal immigrants. What was once called a “lie” became official policy. And today, Democrats are shutting down the government because they can’t get even more of it.

This is progressivism in action: Deny it, inch toward it, then demand it as a moral imperative. Anyone who resists becomes the villain.

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

Stand firm

This shutdown isn’t just about spending. It’s about whether we’ll keep letting progressives rewrite the rules one crisis at a time. Trump’s plan — to cut what isn’t mandated, force programs into reauthorization, and fight the battle in the courts — is the first real counterpunch to decades of this manipulation.

It’s time to stop pretending. This isn’t about compassion. It’s about control. Progressives know once they normalize government benefits for illegal immigrants, they never roll back. They know Americans forget how it started.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills. If we don’t take it, we’ll be right back here again, only deeper in debt, with fewer freedoms left to defend.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Britain says “no work without ID”—a chilling preview for America

OLI SCARFF / Contributor | Getty Images

From banking to health care, digital IDs touch every aspect of citizens’ lives, giving the government unprecedented control over everyday actions.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood at the podium at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London and made an announcement that should send a chill down the spine of anyone who loves liberty. By the end of this Parliament, he promised, every worker in the U.K. will be required to hold a “free-of-charge” digital ID. Without it, Britons will not be able to work.

No digital ID, no job.

The government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Starmer framed this as a commonsense response to poverty, climate change, and illegal immigration. He claimed Britain cannot solve these problems without “looking upstream” and tackling root causes. But behind the rhetoric lies a policy that shifts power away from individuals and places it squarely in the hands of government.

Solving the problem they created

This is progressivism in action. Leaders open their borders, invite in mass illegal immigration, and refuse to enforce their own laws. Then, when public frustration boils over, they unveil a prepackaged “solution” — in this case, digital identity — that entrenches government control.

Britain isn’t the first to embrace this system. Switzerland recently approved a digital ID system. Australia already has one. The World Economic Forum has openly pitched digital IDs as the key to accessing everything from health care to bank accounts to travel. And once the infrastructure is in place, digital currency will follow soon after, giving governments the power to track every purchase, approve or block transactions, and dictate where and how you spend your money.

All of your data — your medical history, insurance, banking, food purchases, travel, social media engagement, tax information — would be funneled into a centralized database under government oversight.

The fiction of enforcement

Starmer says this is about cracking down on illegal work. The BBC even pressed him on the point, asking why a mandatory digital ID would stop human traffickers and rogue employers who already ignore national insurance cards. He had no answer.

Bad actors will still break the law. Bosses who pay sweatshop wages under the table will not suddenly check digital IDs. Criminals will not line up to comply. This isn’t about stopping illegal immigration. If it were, the U.K. would simply enforce existing laws, close the loopholes, and deport those working illegally.

Instead, the government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Control masked as compassion

This is part of an old playbook. Politicians claim their hands are tied and promise that only sweeping new powers will solve the crisis. They selectively enforce laws to maintain the problem, then use the problem to justify expanding control.

If Britain truly wanted to curb illegal immigration, it could. It is an island. The Channel Tunnel has clear entry points. Enforcement is not impossible. But a digital ID allows for something far more valuable to bureaucrats than border security: total oversight of their own citizens.

The American warning

Think digital ID can’t happen here? Think again. The same arguments are already echoing in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration is out of control. Progressives know voters are angry. When the digital ID pitch arrives, it will be wrapped in patriotic language about fairness, security, and compassion.

But the goal isn’t compassion. It’s control of your movement, your money, your speech, your future.

We don’t need digital IDs to enforce immigration law. We need leaders with the courage to enforce existing law. Until then, digital ID schemes will keep spreading, sold as a cure for the very problems they helped create.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.