Glenn: It's time for a reboot

On Thursday's Glenn Beck Program, Glenn explained why the world is in need a reset... but it's not as scary as you may think. Using the metaphor of attempting to reboot an old computer, Glenn showed why 'rebooting' the system might be exactly what America needs. How do we do that? Glenn offers some solutions in the clip below.

The below is the transcript for Glenn's monologue:

We brought this old dusty computer up here, and it’s amazing how slow our computers used to be.  This is an old one from the studio that has just been kind of sitting around.  When was the last time you use one like this?

Alright, I have this here for a reason, because this is the American system.  This is what we have.  Some would say that it’s old, it’s antiquated, it’s not working, blah, blah, blah.  But just a few changes need to be made.  I’ll get back to this here in a second.

First, earlier on this program, earlier this week, we mentioned the story of Madison Root, an 11-year-old girl from Oregon who wanted to help pay for her braces that her parents got her, so she came up with the idea to go to her uncle’s farm and to gather mistletoe which they grow there, put them into bags.  And so she did, and then she started selling them on the street in Oregon.  Great idea, right?  Except that’s not what the town said.

The town decided that they had to shut her down because she didn’t have the proper license or permit.  She’s 11, and they came and said you have to stop.  The town wouldn’t allow her to sell.  They actually told her, because she said what about the people over here that are begging?  And they said well, you can beg.  You just can’t sell.

You can’t sell in the marketplace, okay.  Well, it was the word “marketplace” that caught my ear when I heard the story because I have a marketplace, TheBlaze Marketplace.  Here’s the update to the story.  I had her on this morning, and I asked her if she would sell 1,000 of those.  Well, because of what she said – I’m going to play it for you in a minute – because of what she said and who she is, she sold those 1,000 mistletoes in 30 minutes.

So we called her back and said do you want to do another 1,000?  Do you have another 1,000?  Yeah, within an hour, those were sold out.  We called her up again, and she said I don’t know if we can get these out.  Her dad said we can get another 1,000 out – sold out again.  God bless America.  This isn’t about money.  This isn’t about anything, except someone being exceptional, someone saying I want to work for it.

Now, obviously she has exceptional parents.  We haven’t talked to the parents, but I did talk to her on the radio today.  I want you to listen to what she said.

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Glenn:  Did he volunteer that you could beg for the money?

Madison:  Well, we asked him about the beggars around us, and he said that they’re begging for money, so you could beg, but you can’t sell.

Glenn:  Does that make any sense to you?  You’re 11.  Does that make any sense to you at all?

Madison:  No, it does not make sense, because I’m working hard and trying to get something that I want, and I’m doing something.  I’m applying myself.  But now they’re saying that you don’t need to apply yourself.  You can just sit down and ask for money.  But what it really boils down to is this generation’s work ethic, and I think that how it’s going right now, it’s just disappointing.  It disappoints me that this country has come down to begging instead of working hard for something you want and need.

Glenn:  You go to public school.  Where are you learning this?  Because you’re not learning it in public school, are you?

Madison:  I don’t know.  My dad has his own company.  He’s an entrepreneur.  Everyone, my whole family, has always been entrepreneurs.  They always have some business going on.

That is an exceptional girl.  I mean, I love the fact that she’s like I can’t believe what this country is coming to.  I remember when I was eight, it wasn’t like this.  I mean, come on.  You don’t need a fancy Harvard education to solve America’s financial problems.  What you need is a little determination and common sense, and that is what we sorely lack.

When you have the people in charge in both parties that are supposed to be the adults, and they’re not, and they’re actually advising kids to beg for money instead of working for money, it’s not exactly surprising to learn that America has serious economic trouble.  We’re a group of people that quite honestly our men are addicted to pornography, our young men, and video games, and they’ve been sold a load of goods, a load of goods that everything will just fall their way.  And they know that they’ve been lied to.

So what do you do?  Jim Rogers, one of the top economic minds around the country, a guy I really appreciate, he’s been on the show several times because at least he’ll tell you the truth, no matter how ugly it is.  Now, whether you agree with him or not, that’s for you to do your own homework, but here’s his latest warning.

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Jim:  But eventually, Amanda, of course, the whole world is going to collapse.  We in the West have staggering debts.  The United States is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world.  This is going to end badly.  We’re all floating around on a sea of artificial liquidity right now, Amanda.  This is not going to last.  You know, 2008 was worse than 2002 because the debt was so much higher.  You wait until 2015 or 2016, Amanda.  The debt has gone through the roof.  The next one’s going to be really bad.  Be very careful.  Be prepared.  Be worried, and be careful.

Be worried.  Be careful.  So he says a global collapse.  The world has never seen what is coming, and you know, if you disagree, I hope you’re right.  But this is why Progressives have been feverishly working on building a framework, and when I say that, remember that Progressives are in both parties, because a massive reset is coming.

Let me explain it.  Go back to the computer.  Computer’s finally up.  Our system is like this old computer, and we have just put too much crap on it.  We have put all kinds of bugs in the system.  We’ve just been loading it up with all kinds of applications that are slowing it down, that are bogging it down, that don’t work, and so what happens?  It’s freezing up.  It’s not working, which means because we have done all kinds of repair, at some point, this has to happen, a reboot.

Now, this is the scary part, because you and I can sit here for a while and watch it reboot.  We can sit here and go okay, installing update one of 15; however, when a global system goes down, what happens when all systems go down?  The world doesn’t sit around and go okay, hang on, we’re just rebooting; we’re just trying to put together a new monetary system.  It ends badly.

Every successful investor always says the time to buy is when everybody else is selling.  When everybody else sees calamity, they see opportunity.  The same lesson applies here.  There is opportunity, but not financial opportunity.  We have the opportunity soon to be the people that our founders knew eventually would come.

In the Constitutional Convention, New York was asking for free stuff, and they wanted more free stuff in the Constitution.  And they said we won’t be able to bring this to the people in New York.  They’re not going to want it – what a surprise.  They’re not going to want it.  They didn’t want a new constitution.  They want the Articles of Confederation.

And that’s when George Washington stood up and said with everything that we have given – I’m paraphrasing – with everything that we have given everything, everything that we’ve done, we can’t screw it up now.  We can’t screw it up now.  Let us do the right thing.  Let us raise a standard.  Let’s put a banner up that everyone can see around the whole world and say this is what we think is the best thing, and then let us raise that standard so the wise and the honest can repair it.

We’ve screwed it all up, gang.  We’ve loaded everything onto it.  We have a spending and debt crisis.  If you taxed all Americans 100%, you still wouldn’t solve it, 100%.  There’s overregulation.  When you have an 11-year-old who’s being shut down on the streets because she’s trying to pay for her own braces, what is that?

State sovereignty is on life support.  Your own personal sovereignty is, your church’s sovereignty.  If you’re an atheist, you have…your sovereignty is up for grabs.  The federal government has overwhelmed the system of checks and balances, and the founders knew all of this.  Despite all of the protections they put in, they knew a government would eventually reach overbloated, out-of-control levels because they knew it would go corrupt because people do when power and money is involved.

But that’s why they included Article V of the Constitution, George Washington, so the wise and the honest can repair it.  Well, what is Article V?  Well, Article V basically says Congress can amend the Constitution at any time if two-thirds of both houses of Congress agree.  Well, are you ever really going to get term limits?  No, you’re not.  Why?  Because they’re not going to limit their time in office.  They have to vote for it.  It’s not going to work.  You think you’re ever going to get budget limits where you say spending limit?  You’re not going to get that.  Why?  Because it hurts their power.

The founders knew it.  They had one lever to pull.  If everything else failed, the American people could pull this one lever.  It’s our escape pod.  They lay out a possibility of a convention of states.  If you can’t get Congress to do it, all you have to do is call two-thirds of the states to submit applications on the same issue.

Now, this is something that Mark Levin has come out, and I am wildly intrigued by a convention of states.  And it’s starting to happen.  Check and find out if it’s happening in your state.  If not, find out why.  The question is can we get two-thirds of the states to participate?  Well, there’s a lot of people that are dealing in fear right now and saying well no, it could go horrible.  We could have this global government.

No, you need 13 states, 13 states.  If we can’t get 13 states to say no to global government, we’re going to get a global government anyway, gang.  Yaron Brook, he is from the Ayn Rand Center.  He was on last week.  He actually said something, you know, I think we should rewrite the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence.  Now, that might sound counterintuitive because most people, you know, the ones who are suggesting that we replace these documents are usually the Progressives, and they want to replace it with a charter of positive liberties instead of negative liberties, all the things the government has to do.

No, that’s not what we’re talking about.  Remember, you only have to get 13 states, 13 to disagree.  For an amendment, if you can get 38 states to say yes, do you think we could get 38 states to say term limits in Washington?  Remember, they’re local, so you’re with them.  You’re with the state.  Why wouldn’t they be for federal term limits?

How about unlimited spending?  Do you think your state wants the government to continue to straddle them with all of this debt?  How about do you think we can get 38 common-sense states to say Congress has to live by the same rules that we do for healthcare?

How about this one, I mean, I don’t know if there’s any ground support for this one, but how about matching the salaries of Congress to the median salary of those in the private sector?  They start making $65,000 a year like you are, and they don’t have all the fancy healthcare and everything else, they’ll fix this damn economy.  They’ll want your salary to go up because theirs will.

The point is we’re standing at a crossroads, and geez, we’re still on 15 of 15.  What happens when we reboot the system?  Because nobody has ever printed money and had it work out.  So what happens?  Are we going to move forward in fear or in love, in charity, in hope, in thinking about a brighter future?  I choose the latter.

All the tools have been put in place to make it happen.  It’s just going to take a major change in consciousness.  Einstein said the consciousness that created the problem can’t solve the problem, so it’s a major change in consciousness.  Get out of the system.  But it’s not just consciousness.  It really is only perspective.  A change of perspective, I believe, is a miracle really.

In Miracles and Massacres, we highlight some of the miracles, and people say no, a miracle is when, you know, God parts the Red Sea.  Really, is it?  Is it?  I can tell, I’ll bet you, you give me ten minutes, I bet you I could come up with 100 miracles I’ve seen in my lifetime, and none of them were parting the Red Sea, but they’re miracles because it’s a change in perspective.

And that’s what we need in a big way, because the current train of thought is leading us off a cliff.  We need to rid an entire generation of the lies that they have been taught and are currently being taught, that you can’t make it on your own, that you’re not good enough, that you’re not successful or you’re going to have a crappy job because somebody else became successful.  No, that’s not true.

We need to think out of the box.  We need more Madison Roots, more 11-year-olds that say I just want to sell this to pay for my own braces.  We need more voices teaching opportunity over hatred, oppression, more people teaching work ethic over welfare.

I’ve had a miracle happened in my life in the last few weeks, quite honestly.  I was on Hannity’s TV show for the first time ever this week.  That wasn’t a miracle.  The miracle was, and David Barton wrote to me last night about it.  He said Glenn, I’ve never seen you like this before.  I said I haven’t been this way.  It’s a miracle.  I had a very awkward pause.  Watch.

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Hannity:  What do you think privately is going to happen to this country?

Glenn:  I think…I think that we are…

Hannity:  In trouble.

Glenn:  Yeah.

This was the strangest thing for me on television, because I really couldn’t answer that question.  You know what I feel is coming.  I mean, reboot, it’s coming.  I couldn’t answer the question, what do you think is coming?  Now, I know I’m usually the Debbie Downer at parties because, you know, oh Glenn’s going to talk about economic collapse and make everybody cry.  Okay, I mean, I got it.  I got it.

But that’s not the way I view things really anymore.  I mean, I do think the reboot is coming, but I’m more optimistic than ever before.  My perspective is changing.  I am seeing the calamity, but in that calamity I am seeing tremendous opportunity if we choose it.

The Jim Rogers comment I played earlier, I don’t agree with that entirely.  I do think that it is coming, but you don’t need to be afraid.  Don’t be afraid, in fact.  If you are afraid, everybody else around you will be afraid.  Be confident.  Know that we survive.  Be good to your neighbors.  Be good to your family.  Raise them to be ready, to be prepared.

We have a chance.  In fact, I tell you now we are the people that our founders saw, the wise and the honest.  They knew it would fall apart.  They knew the system would have to be rebooted, and in 1822, Jefferson and Adams are going back and forth, and they said you have to trust the people, trust the people.  They’ll see what we were doing, and they’ll do it better.  We don’t have to deal with the compromises on slavery.  We need to free all people.

I’m really deeply religious.  You’re an atheist?  I’m fine with that.  We can’t regulate each other.  That is old thinking.  All of these czars and everything else, I mean, think of the miracle that has happened to a good portion of America in the last ten years.  Are you the same person that was reacting today the way you were reacting after 9/11?  I mean, are you the same person?  Would you say yes to the Patriot Act today?  I wouldn’t.  I wouldn’t.  I’ve changed.  That’s a miracle.  America is waking up.

We are the people who will raise a new standard, and it’s already happening.  You’re just not seeing it.  The amazing story from Highland Michigan, this is a town that is now known for prostitution and drug dealing and crime and violence.  Unemployment is 24%.  It is about as desperate as you can imagine, but there is a group of people that are not accepting any excuses.  They are not accepting the circumstances around them.

A 25-year-old teacher, affectionately known as Mr. V to his students, has decided he thought he could pull off a miracle.  What you’re about to see is that, a change of perspective.  It is a miracle in progress.

'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 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?

Do you think the Gen Z support for Trump is an opportunity for conservatives to win them over with anti-establishment reforms that preserve liberty?