Glenn: Individuals can change the world

May 23, 2014

The Glenn Beck Program

On radio this morning, Glenn reflected on some of the news stories of the day that are shaming private businesses into making certain decisions. As Glenn explained, private businesses have the right to make decisions and operate as they see fit, and he proceeded to dive into a monologue that considered the ever-changing role of gatekeepers and the power of the individual to overcome those barriers to entry.

Below is an edited transcript of the monologue:

There’s a story about Amazon. Amazon is getting pushback because they're in dispute with some publisher – and I don't know what even the dispute is about – but they don't want to sell these books made by this publisher. So people are standing up and saying, ‘Amazon can't silence my book.’ Yes, they can. They're a private company. Yes, they can.

This is where freedom of speech and freedom gets ugly. Yes, they can. I don't have a problem with it unless it's a regulated industry. In other words, if the government said, ‘No one else can sell books online except… Amazon.com and iBooks… And if you want to, you got to come through us.’ Well, then you have a problem because then a publisher cannot get his book out. But if all the private companies, in an unregulated situation, decide, ‘I don't want to do it,’ then nobody is there to force them to do it. You can't force people to do it, if it's all purely private.

[…]

They're making the case that Amazon is crushing voices. No, Amazon has the right to do that as long as it's not a government regulated industry. And government regulation is the problem. If I can start selling books myself online, I may not be able to compete and make it as good as Amazon right at the very beginning. It's like WalMart. WalMart started out with a guy's truck, man.

For some reason, this Disney prospectus is going around. There's like the second story I've read and the Huffington Post has a story about the prospectus of Disneyland that I have, and they're showing pictures of it on the Huffington Post today. I don't know why. But the most amazing thing about that is in 1953, he was told no by the banks. But there was no government regulation. Think of the restrictions of this. October of 1953, he's turned down. He needs $17 million. He's turned down by all of the banks. By the end of 1953, beginning of 1954, he has financing. So he gives it the green light in the beginning of 1954. Summer of 1955, he has purchased the orange field in California, cleared all of the land, built all of the infrastructure, designed and built all of the rides, all of the merchants, done all of the publicity for it, and opens the gates in 18 months. There's no way you get even the ground study in 18 months [today]. That's when a man was free.

Now, let me ask you this. I'm using Walt Disney because I relate to him. I thought about this the other day. Imagine America, what would we be like if Walt Disney never lived? What would America be like if Walt Disney never lived? How much history would have been lost? How much joy would have been lost? How much would we not believe in the entrepreneur in a one man can make a difference? Think of that. Walt Disney, he was not the smartest guy in the room. He had sheer willpower. The same thing with Steve Jobs. It was sheer willpower. Pixar did not want Steve Jobs… In the end, they had to take the offer from Steve Jobs. But everything he did was sheer willpower. ‘No, guys, we're doing it. Let's go. We're doing it.’

Can a man still do that? We're building this network. Yes, you can build a television network. You can build a successful television network, successful book publishing company. You can build a successful new charity. You can even make your own jeans and sell them and make that a success. Yes, you can do all of those things. Now, can you get the mass distribution? I can't build a mass distribution platform anymore. You cannot build Comcast. You have to go through the government. So I can only build so much. And then the gatekeepers start. That's what we came away from. That's what we wanted to escape – the gatekeepers. And that's what they're putting everywhere. Sure, you can educate yourself. Go ahead. Do your home-schooling thing. Of course, if you do that, you have to take the SAT, and you won't make it to college. But go ahead. You can do that. They will only allow you to get so much. And the rest of it, if you want the real prize, you play ball.

Look at this with political parties. You really think you can get elected? I did. I used to believe that a man could just go be who he is and then become the president of the United States. I don't believe that anymore. You can only go so far, and then the uber powerful along with their parties and their machinery step in.

Now, I hope we find that to be incorrect. I didn't believe in gatekeepers three years ago. I believe they believed they existed. I just believed you could get around them. I'm still looking for the way around them. I do believe there's a back door somewhere. We're going to short-circuit this system somehow or another. It's going to work. But because of the sheer willpower that it takes, how many Disneys are we missing? How many people have given up in our society because they believe the lie: You can't make it? How many Steve Jobs? How many teachers? How many great conservative thinkers? How many great actors that are conservative that just didn't make it? Couldn't make it. Stacked against them. How many great writers?

When we first started writing books, Rush Limbaugh was an anomaly. That's what they told us. What Rush Limbaugh did is an anomaly? Excuse me? He sold like 650 million books. What are you talking about? ‘Well, that's Rush Limbaugh.’ Yeah, he's not the only one who makes us good points, you know. ‘Yeah, well, Conservatives don't read.’ How many great conservative minds, how many great conservative professors have been lost because they've been ground up into little bits. Some have been humiliated. Quite honestly, how many of them became just raging alcoholics because their spirits were crushed?

We have the opportunity to be so much better than we are. There is a new day coming, a new dawn coming. There really is. I was listening to Pandora yesterday, and I'm hearing this group. And I'm like, ‘Wow, I like that song.’ I hear another group I had never heard. ‘Man, I like that, too.’ I'm a radio guy. I'm a broadcaster. I remember when the record companies used to come into the hallway and wait to meet with people like me. I remember being 18 and seeing the record producers come and wait in the hallway and beg the program director of WPGC in Washington, D.C., ‘Just give this song a chance.’ The graft that used to happen, the games that used to happen… that's the way the system worked. It was corrupt. Now, you can record something on your phone that is good enough and could be heard anywhere. Millennials don't. Baby boomers do. Really? Where is the individual in that?

I believe in the power of the individual. I believe there is a millennial living in America now who will change our world for the better. There is a millennial that is living in America right now that will change the landscape of technology. There is a millennial in America right now that will change the landscape of politics in America for the better. There is a millennial living in another country who will move to the United States and change the way we communicate with each other through a form of communication that we don't even understand yet. We don't even know of. There's a millennial living somewhere who will see America as a faded shining city on a hill and find the way to make it shine again because I believe one person changes the world.

Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and, yes, Stalin and Hitler and Bin Laden – the struggle of good versus evil. It's the struggle of one individual, and their one struggle between good and evil that changes things. I choose to focus on the good, to believe in the good, to pray for the good, to expect the good, to demand the good because… I'm still lucky enough to believe that the vast majority of people are good. They're courageous. They're tireless. They're decent. They're loving. They fear God.

It's not the collective. Enough with the collective stereotypes. Believe in the individual. Which means if you do believe, like I do, it's up to you to be good. It's up to you to be decent. It is up to you to be loving. And then look for the ripples. It is the ripples that will save the world. Today, make some. Make just one ripple.”

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

PHILL MAGAKOE / Contributor | Getty Images

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The dangerous lie: Rights as government privileges, not God-given

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

POLL: Is Gen Z’s anger over housing driving them toward socialism?

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A recent poll conducted by Justin Haskins, a long-time friend of the show, has uncovered alarming trends among young Americans aged 18-39, revealing a generation grappling with deep frustrations over economic hardships, housing affordability, and a perceived rigged system that favors the wealthy, corporations, and older generations. While nearly half of these likely voters approve of President Trump, seeing him as an anti-establishment figure, over 70% support nationalizing major industries, such as healthcare, energy, and big tech, to promote "equity." Shockingly, 53% want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election, including a third of Trump voters and conservatives in this age group. Many cite skyrocketing housing costs, unfair taxation on the middle class, and a sense of being "stuck" or in crisis as driving forces, with 62% believing the economy is tilted against them and 55% backing laws to confiscate "excess wealth" like second homes or luxury items to help first-time buyers.

This blend of Trump support and socialist leanings suggests a volatile mix: admiration for disruptors who challenge the status quo, coupled with a desire for radical redistribution to address personal struggles. Yet, it raises profound questions about the roots of this discontent—Is it a failure of education on history's lessons about socialism's failures? Media indoctrination? Or genuine systemic barriers? And what does it portend for the nation’s trajectory—greater division, a shift toward authoritarian policies, or an opportunity for renewal through timeless values like hard work and individual responsibility?

Glenn wants to know what YOU think: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from? What does it mean for the future of America? Make your voice heard in the poll below:

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

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