New American Hero: Glenn Beck

A survey of post 8/28 reactions suggests the conventional punditry is having a hard time figuring out what to make of Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally staged in front of the Lincoln Memorial yesterday. As we noted a week in advance of the event:

”Pravda will be preoccupied with silly score-keeping. How many people were in attendance? How many people attended some counter-rally with Al Sharpton? Because it is the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech, what are racial (or racist) conclusions that should be drawn from Beck’s decision to schedule it on August 28? What does it mean for Beck’s ratings? What will Bill O’Reilly think?

If you view the pictures of the event, or this video, there won’t be any question about whether the event was well attended; and there won’t be any question about whether there was some racist message.

Beck’s event, as we all now know, was about the need for America to turn back to God, to recognize the role that faith in God has played in the formation and development of America, to call on a new faith and trust in the enduring rightness of America’s ideals. It was inspiring and moving in person and on C-SPAN, but in ways the ruling class just cannot grasp or describe. They will try to move on to another subject as quickly as possible, but in doing so, they will demonstrate once again just how far out of touch they are with the American people and with genuine faith. We think the ripple effect of Beck’s event will be enormous and very positive for America, though it will take place under the Pravda media radar, and it will actually build in impact over the next several years. November 2 will be the start, but it will only be a start.

As Beck noted repeatedly, America is at a crossroads. It is in some ways the most dangerous time of its history, because the present attack on America and on God is more mental than physical. There are no bombs exploding in America’s cities. But the drumbeat of godless intellectualism has been trying for decades to exterminate God and faith in God in America, and the 2008 election that placed godless intellectualism in charge of all three branches of the American government has made that extermination seem at last to be within reach. The result is that a mental war has escalated and is raging in America, and the media—the eyes, ears, and noses of American society, but not its heart and soul—are on the side of the extermination. This makes for a very tough battle; one that weighs down good and decent people every day.

Which is why Glenn Beck is a new American hero. Right under the noses of the Pravda media, and in the face of their relentless mischaracterization and smearing of his motives, he organized and carried out a huge event, and delivered a message, that connected with the heart and soul of America.

People who listened know the message was an inspiring one of Christian faith—of basic American decency and goodness and greatness that is derived from its founding reverence for ‘divine Providence’ and the desire to be humble and trustful, honest and honorable as evidence of that reverence. There was not a trace of racism or hatred in Beck’s message; if anything, Alveda King’s talk of love and of one human race is the key to the healing of race conflict, as we’ve noted before. (And Sarah Palin, caught on tape wiping away an honest tear in her eye during the singing of Amazing Grace, very likely became the next President of the United States in that moment).

It’s ironic but encouraging to note that Beck repeated and commented upon Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, and its continuing power and relevance today (as we also noted, here). We’d guess that Beck knows his American history well enough to know that even the Gettysburg address received the usual leftist response (chonicled in "The Eloquent President") at the time it was delivered.

Consider the snot-nosed elitism of the Chicago Times commenting on Lincoln's address (do you hear the foreshadowing of a New York Times/George W. Bush echo?):

“…the cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat, and dishwatery utterances of a man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States...”

Or how about the Harrisburg Patriot and Union, also wanting to change the subject and move on:

“We pass over the silly remarks of the President; for the credit of the nation, we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall no more be repeated or thought of.”

We know there will be countless commentaries besmirching Beck’s event; even some on the conservative side will downplay it; and, though we hope not, the talk radio giants may succumb to the pettiness of rivalry and choose to give it short shrift. But it was what America needed, when it needed it. And for that, Glenn Beck deserves Americans’ thanks and a lasting designation as an American hero.

Paul Gable

August 29, 2010