It is time to come together and lead people out of the darkness

May 30, 2014

The Glenn Beck Program

You may have noticed that Glenn has had a wide range of guests on his programs this week. From Montel Williams to Rabbi Irwin Kula, James Altucher to Kamal Ravikant, Glenn has been speaking to individuals who might not agree with him politically but share common principles and passions. Glenn opened this morning’s radio program with monologue centered on the importance of joining together with those who may have once made us uncomfortable in order to lead people out of the darkness.

Below is an edited transcript of the monologue:

Yesterday, I had several people in my studios here who are very different than me. I have a new friend in Rabbi Irwin Kula. Rabbi Kula is a New York liberal rabbi who three years ago didn't even want to meet with me. He was like, ‘I don't think I'm going to meet with devil boy.’ But he did because he is a man of integrity and courage, and we sat down and had a great conversation.

I told him at that time, ‘Rabbi, here's what I think is coming. And here is what I think we need to do. And I would just ask that you would pray on that and see if you can help.’ A year went by and we saw each other again. And he said, ‘You know what I've learned in the last year?’ And I said, ‘No, sir.’ And he said, ‘How many people have unreasonable hatred for you.’ I said, ‘Do you remember when I asked if we could meet together?’ He said he never hated me. I was a cartoon character to him. And he said, ‘Now my life is so amazing because I am witnessing unreasonable hatred that I never knew.’ And he said, ‘Being your friend is interesting.’ I said, ‘I understand that.’ A year goes by. And he said to me, ‘I'm beginning to understand what you're talking about. I'm seeing what you're seeing now, with the hatred that is growing on all sides. I want to talk you more about it.’ This is before I gave a speech someplace, and he happened to be there. He came up to me afterwards and he hugged me and he was crying and he said, ‘I'm in. I'm in.’

We've been trying to get together now for the last eight months. And we keep missing each other. And finally he got on the plane and he came down yesterday and he sat with me. We had such an amazing chat. A chat about the hole that so many people are feeling. The hole that our kids are cutting themselves, our kids are killing themselves, and everybody is talking about gun regulation. Even, you know, with me, I'm talking about video games. But really, what we should be talking about is the hole that everyone is trying to fill. And we're all filling it.

We're all addicted to something. I want you to really think to yourself: What is it that you're addicted to? And when I say ‘addicted to,’ what I mean is: If I asked you to put it away for a month, could you do it or would you do it? If I said, don't have any coffee for a month, don't have any alcohol for a month, don't have a cigarette for a month, don't view pornography for a month, don't use the Internet for a month, don't use your cell phone or text message or email for a month. Would you do it? Different question than could you do it. Would you do it? Most of us at first would say, ‘Oh, it can't be done.’ But I would challenge you.

Five years ago you didn't have an iPhone. Five years ago you weren't texting. Five years ago you didn't have Facebook. Five years ago we didn't have Twitter. So these things we all lived without just a very short period ago. So the answer is: Yes, you could. But would you?

We are so busy checking the mail. How many times have we been in a conversation. I was just in a conversation… and somebody pulls out their phone because they just got a little buzzzz, and I looked down, ‘Oh, news item just happened.’ Really? I haven't seen you in four months. How about we have a conversation? I didn't even notice it because I thought, ‘Oh, wow, that's important news.’ But was it? Really? I mean I would have found out that news in just a few minutes. Is that news going to affect us somehow or another? Do we need to know exactly what's happening? I understand we're in the news business, so yes, we do. But I'm asking you: When you find out, oh, the guy from the V.A. just apologized. Is that something that you need to know right now? Are you going to affect that somehow or another? Does Washington affect you somehow or another? We're watching the Kardashians, not all of us, thank God.

This is a historic studio. This is where they made JFK and portions of Forrest Gump. All the Barneys were done here. Prison Break was filmed here. Robocop was filmed here. Silkwood was filmed here. These are historic studios. But these studios fell into disrepair, and they just went dark. I really just think they just went dark. This was a bad building when we first came into it. You could feel it. The people were miserable here. It was bad. And we have spent now the last year… trying to get the bad karma out of this building and change the way it feels and the way we relate to each other. And it has been quite a journey.

Yesterday, the [Rabbi Kula] walks in and, I mean, most rabbis that I know, they live in their head. Israel means ‘to wrestle with God.’ That's what the translation is. ‘One who wrestles with God.’ And so most rabbis that I know, they live in their head, and they wrestle with God, and they're just these giant brains. I have met – on very rare occasion – one that lives in the head and the heart… And he walked in here and he said, ‘Boy, there is something happening here.’ I said, ‘Yes, there is, Rabbi.’ And we started to talk and he never talked about my community. He talked about his community. And he said, ‘Let me take the beam out of my own eye before I worry about the speck in somebody else's.’ He said, ‘There's so much hate in my community.’ Now, he's assuming – and I'm going to assume that you are doing the same – as I relate this story, that you're now thinking about the hate in our community. But he said, ‘There is so much hate in my community. And it's becoming unreasonable. And it's because we're lying to each other. We are lying about everything. We're lying about our lives. We're lying about the future. And we're all afraid. And we're lying that we're not afraid. You watch news and they're lying to you about what's happening in Washington. They're lying to you about what's happening with the banks. They're lying to you. And we're starting to separate from each other.’ And he put his head in his hands and the man wept.

We have to love each other. I want to read something we put up on this chalkboard. We have this giant hallway in this studio. It's a four-story atrium in the middle of the studio and this hallway. This is probably 20 feet tall and 40 feet long. It's chalkboard on the side. And I wanted to show you what I wrote on this. And this is for my staff to read:

I believe the world doesn't have to suck. But for that to be true, we have to be our better selves. We must empower, forgive, lift, enlighten, hope, dream, create, and above all, love. Most people will laugh at this idea. Let them. We won't notice it because we'll be busy changing the world. So to all those who visit here, welcome and join us. To the rest of the world, we may appear as mad men. We actually like it that way because they'll never see us coming.

That is a message that I gave my staff and that is a message that I give you today. Religion has been so corrupted. Religion has gone so dead and cold. Religion has become about rules and not about love. It has been about making money and building bigger churches and rock bands or whatever it is, and not about service.

I remember when I said to my wife, ‘Will you marry me?’ And she said, ‘No.’ And I said, ‘Okay, that's not the actual answer I was looking for. How come?’ And she said, ‘Because we don't have God in common.’ And I said, ‘Honey, I believe in God deeply. I just don't go to church because I don't believe in church.’ And she said, ‘We're not going to get married unless we go to church.’ And I said, ‘You got to be kidding me. You come over to my house on Sunday. I have gotten up and I've just watched like The Sopranos on HBO and I'm in a perfectly good mood. I'm good. You, on the other hand, have gone to church. And so now you come over and you spend the first 20 minutes talking to me about how everybody was honking their horns. How everybody -- somebody flipped you off while you were trying to get out of the parking lot. How people only went for 45 minutes and as soon as they had the sacrament, they were gone. Why would I want to go there? I'm great watching The Sopranos. Why would I want to go to that?’ We hadn't found what they were looking for.

But I challenge you. I'm not talking about religion. I'm talking about finding something that fills that hole that doesn't come from man. I don't care what it is, but find something that is bigger than you. The reason why our kids are cutting themselves, the reason why our kids are shooting, the reason why these video games are dangerous is because it aids in the going dead inside. It speeds the process up. There is nothing our kids are shocked by. Nothing.

Do you remember how frightened you were of some things when you were little? Our kids have seen it all. They have seen murders. They have seen rapes. They have seen bloody, dead bodies. They have seen it all. So there's nothing that shocks them and on top of it, there's nothing sacred. There's no reason to be reverent for anything or anybody. Tell me the things you believe in. Tell me the things that are bigger than you. Tell me the things you think your kids have reverence for. Go into our churches. There's no quiet space. If it's quiet, it's because everybody is on their cell phones or their iPads and they're texting. The only reason why it's quiet is because they're living in the cyber world. What is it that fills that?

I challenge you to find something that fills that. That's real. That you're not going to lose if the economy goes down. That will make you stronger if you lose your job. Not weaker. Something that you cannot lose, something that is a lighthouse. It's a polar star. What is it for you?

And then I challenge you to start looking for people that make you uncomfortable. I've had a conversation with Montel Williams this week that was necessarily uncomfortable for him. I've had a Rabbi from the Upper West Side of Manhattan. That wasn't comfortable. We have to start reaching out to people and the best thing about this audience is we have always tried to push and prod and poke and in a safe place make you uncomfortable – just be true. Just be honest. Not ever saying what I think you want to hear. But saying what I believe.

You have this amazing elastic mind that most audiences don't have. You go and look at an NBC audience and they do not have the ability to think out of the box. They don't have the ability to go into an uncomfortable place. And that's the same with most audiences, left or right. You're different. Go find and seek those people because I'm telling you, we need to tie each other together. We need to rope each other together. And we need to find our polar star, so we can lead people out of the darkness.

The Deep State's NEW plan to backstab Trump

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move.

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton. Conservatives cheered, believing we’d taken back the reins of our country. But we missed the bigger battle. We failed to recognize the extent of the damage caused by eight years of Barack Obama and decades of progressive entrenchment. The real war isn’t won at the ballot box. It’s being waged against an insidious force embedded deep within our institutions: the administrative state, or the “deep state.”

This isn’t a new problem. America’s founders foresaw it, though they didn’t have a term for “deep state” back in the 1700s. James Madison, in Federalist 48, warned us that combining legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same hands is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet today, that’s exactly where we stand. Unelected bureaucrats in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice hold more power than the officials we vote for. They control the levers of government with impunity, dictating policies and stifling change.

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege.

We’ve felt the consequences of this growing tyranny firsthand. During COVID-19, so-called experts ran our lives, crushing civil liberties under the guise of public safety. Our intelligence agencies and justice system turned into weapons of political warfare, targeting a sitting president and his supporters. Meanwhile, actual criminals were given a pass, turning American cities into lawless war zones.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that “the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.” Today, we see Jefferson’s prophecy fulfilled. The deep state exercises unchecked power over our freedoms, and information itself is controlled by the fourth branch of government: the legacy media.

Even when we win elections, the deep state doesn’t concede defeat. It switches to survival mode. Trump’s first term proved this. Despite a historic mandate to dismantle the bureaucracy, the deep state fought back with everything it had: leaks, investigations, court rulings, and obstruction at every turn. And now, with the possibility of Trump returning to office, the deep state is preparing to do it again.

Progressives are laying out their attack plan — and they’re not even hiding it.

U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) recently boasted about forming a “shadow cabinet” to govern alongside the deep state, regardless of who’s in the White House. Nickel called it “democracy’s insurance policy.” Let’s be clear: This isn’t insurance. It’s sabotage.

They’ll employ a “top down, bottom up, inside out” strategy to overwhelm and collapse any effort to reform the system. From the top, federal judges and shadow officials will block Trump’s every move. Governors in blue states like California and New York are gearing up to resist federal authority. During Trump’s first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. Expect more of the same starting January 20.

From the bottom, progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union will flood the streets with protesters, much as they did to oppose Trump’s first-term immigration reforms. They’ve refined their tactics since 2016 and are prepared to unleash a wave of civil unrest. These aren’t spontaneous movements; they’re coordinated assaults designed to destabilize the administration.

Finally, from the inside, the deep state will continue its mission of self-preservation. Agencies will drag their feet, leak sensitive information, and undermine policies from within. Their goal is to make everything a chaotic mess, so the heart of their power — the bureaucratic core — remains untouched and grows stronger.

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move. Progressives never see themselves as losing. When they’re out of power, they simply shift tactics, pumping more blood into their bureaucratic heart. We may win elections, but the war against the deep state will only intensify. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force; and force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege. The deep state has shown us its plan: to govern from the shadows, circumventing the will of the people. But now that the shadows have been exposed, we have a choice. Will we accept this silent tyranny, or will we demand accountability and reclaim our nation’s heart?

The battle is just beginning. We can’t afford to lose.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Drone mystery exposes GLARING government incompetence

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone issue is getting way out of hand.

Earlier this month, Glenn first reported on the mysterious drones stalking the night sky over New Jersey, but the situation is increasingly concerning as the sightings have escalated. Not only have drones been seen across the Northeast Coast, including over New York City, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but recently, they have been spotted over the night skies of San Diego and other parts of Southern California.

It doesn't take an expert to identify the potential dangers and risks that dozens of undetectable, unidentified six-foot or larger drones pose to national security. Yet, our government's response has been one of unimaginable incompetence, leaving us to speculate on the origin and intention of these drones and wonder in astonishment at the government's ineptitude. Here are three examples of the government's lackluster response to the mystery drones:

Iranian Mothership and Missing Nuclear Warheads

- / Stringer | Getty Images

After several weeks of hubbub, New Jersey Representative, Jeff Van Drew gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that the drones originated from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States. This theory has since been disproven by satellite images, which show that all Iranian drone carriers are far from U.S. shores. Another theory suggests that drones may be equipped with sensors capable of detecting nuclear material and that they are looking for a nuclear warhead that recently went missing! With these apocalyptic theories gaining traction in the absence of any real answer from our government, one can't help but question the motive behind the silence.

Pentagon's Limp Wristed Response

Alex Wong / Staff | Getty Images

In a recent press conference, national security spokesman John Kirby responded to reporters demanding answers about the government's lack of transparency, which has caused increasing public anxiety. He insisted that the drones did not pose a threat and were not assets of a foreign power, such as from Iran or China--even though he is still uncertain about their identity and origin. He also claimed that many of the sightings were simply misidentifications of normal aircraft.

This lackluster answer has only further inflamed national anxieties and raised even more questions. If the government is unsure of the identity of the drones, how do they know if they are a threat or if they aren't foreign assets? If they aren't foreign, does that mean they are U.S. assets? If so, why not just say so?

The Pentagon has also stated that they are leaving it up to local law enforcement to spearhead the investigation after concluding that these drones pose no threat to any military installation. This has left many feeling like the federal government has turned a blind eye to a serious issue that many Americans are very concerned about.

Where's Pete Buttigieg?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

We are in the closing weeks of the Biden administration, and with the finish line in sight, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg probably figured nothing else could go wrong on his watch—but boy was he wrong. As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg is in charge of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing all air traffic across the nation. One would think that mysterious, 6-foot-long, seemingly intractable drones are invisible on radar and flying above major cities would pose a serious threat to the myriad of legal aircraft that traverse our skies. Yet, Buttigieg has been silent on the issue, adding another failure to his resume which includes: malfunctioning airplanes, the train derailment in Ohio, and the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, just to name a few.

Glenn: How Alvin Bragg turned hero Daniel Penny into a villain

Michael M. Santiago / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty.

America no longer has a single, shared understanding of justice. Two Americas now exist, each applying justice differently depending on who you are and where you live. One America, ruled by common sense and individual courage, praises heroes who stand up to protect others. The other, driven by political agendas and corrupted institutions, punishes those same heroes for daring to act.

This stark division couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Daniel Penny, the Marine whose trial in New York City this week drew strong reactions from both sides across the divided line of justice.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare.

Penny was on a subway train last year when Jordan Neely — a man suffering from severe mental illness and reportedly high on drugs — began threatening passengers, saying, “I’m going to kill you all.” The fear on that subway car was palpable, but nobody moved. Nobody, that is, until Penny did what needed to be done. He took action to protect innocent lives.

In the America many of us used to believe in, Penny’s response would be heralded as heroic. His actions mirrored the courage of Todd Beamer on Flight 93, who, on September 11, 2001, rallied others with the words, “Let’s roll,” to prevent further tragedy. But in New York, courage doesn’t seem to count anymore. There, the system turns heroes into villains.

Penny subdued Neely using a chokehold, intending only to restrain him, not kill him. Tragically, Neely died. Penny, filled with remorse, told the police he never meant to hurt anyone. Yet, instead of being recognized for protecting others from a clear and present threat, Penny stood trial for criminally negligent homicide.

In Alvin Bragg’s New York, justice bends to ideology. The Manhattan district attorney has made a career of weaponizing the law, selectively prosecuting those who don’t fit his narrative. He’s the same prosecutor who twisted legal precedent to go after Donald Trump on business charges no one had ever faced before. Then, he turned his sights on Daniel Penny.

A jury may have acquitted Penny, but what happened in New York City this week isn’t justice. When the rule of law changes depending on the defendant’s identity or the prosecutor's political motives, we’re no longer living in a free country. We’re living in a state where justice is a game, and ordinary Americans are the pawns.

The system failed Jordan Neely

It’s worth asking: Where were activists like Alvin Bragg when Neely was suffering on the streets? Jordan Neely was a tragic figure — a man with a long history of mental illness and over 40 arrests, including violent assaults. The system failed him long before he stepped onto that subway train. Yet rather than confront that uncomfortable truth, Bragg’s office decided to target the man who stepped in to prevent a tragedy.

This isn’t about justice. It’s about power. It’s about advancing a narrative where race and identity matter more than truth and common sense.

It’s time to demand change

The Daniel Penny case — and others like it — is a wake-up call. We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty. Americans must demand an end to politically driven prosecutions, hold DAs like Alvin Bragg accountable, and stand up for the principle that true justice is blind, consistent, and fair.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare. It’s time to choose which America we want to live in.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

CEO Brian Thompson's killer reveals COWARDICE of the far-left death cult

Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Early on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 4th, Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant, UnitedHealthcare, was walking through Midtown Manhattan on his way to a company conference. Suddenly, a masked and hooded figure silently allegedly stepped onto the sidewalk behind Thompson, drew a 3-D printed, silenced pistol, and without warning fired multiple shots into Thompson's back before fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle. After a multiple-day manhunt, a 26-year-old lead suspect was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized by an employee.

This was not "vigilante justice." This was cold-blooded murder.

As horrific as the murder of a husband and father in broad daylight in the center of New York City is, the story only gets worse. Even before the murder suspect was arrested, left-wing extremists were already taking to X to call him a "hero" and a "vigilante" who "took matters into his own hands." Even the mainstream media joined in on the glorification, as Glenn pointed out on air recently, going out of the way to show how physically attractive the murder suspect was. This wave of revolting and nihilistic fanfare came in response to the findings of online investigators who surmised the murder suspect's motives to retaliate against healthcare companies for corruption and denied coverage. The murder suspect supposedly underwent a major back surgery that left him with back pain, and some of his internet fans apparently viewed his murder of Thompson as retribution for the mistreatment that he and many other Americans have suffered from healthcare companies.

me liking tweets celebrating the assassination of the united healthcare ceo pic.twitter.com/N41w51ZuZR
— 🔻 (@pegasustits) December 5, 2024

The murder suspect and his lackeys don't seem to understand that, other than depriving two children of their father right before Christmas, he accomplished nothing.

The murder suspect failed to achieve his goal because he was too cowardly to try.

If the murder suspect's goals were truly to "right the wrongs" of the U.S. healthcare system, he had every tool available to him to do so in a constructive and meaningful manner. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in the Baltimore area, became the valedictorian at a prestigious all-boys prep school, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in engineering. Clearly, the murder suspect was intelligent and capable, and if he had put his talent into creating solutions for the healthcare industry, who knows what he could have accomplished?

This is the kind of behavior the far-left idolizes, like communists on college campuses who wear shirts that celebrate the brutal Cuban warlord, Che Guevara. Merchandise celebrating the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is already available, including shirts, hoodies, mugs, and even Christmas ornaments. Will they be sporting his face on their T-shirts too?

A liberal TikToker is selling a t-shirt that glorifies the recent assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in NYC.
“deny , defend, depose” was reported to have been on the shell casings. pic.twitter.com/IWpHYkx2lF
— SteveSant66 🇺🇸 (@SSant66) December 8, 2024

This macabre behavior does not breed creation, achievement, success, or life. It only brings death and risks more Americans falling into this dangerous paradigm. But we still have a chance to choose life. We just have to wake up and take it.

Glenn's Show Prep