Rabbi Lapin: Here’s a question that should keep you up at night

It’s always a fascinating conversation whenever Glenn has Rabbi Lapin onto the show, and today’s interview was no different. For anyone who doesn’t believe in the power of God and the power of a movement, the Rabbi presented a very important question that will keep everyone up at night.

"How did human beings end up on this tiny speck of dust on the edge of a remote galaxy far, far away, from anywhere?" the Rabbi asked.

There's only two possible answers, and depending on what you believe it dramatically shapes your worldview.

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it may contain errors:

GLENN: Rabbi, I'm glad to have you here. You'll play a role in what we announced on Monday. You were one of the first members of the Black Robe Regiment.

DANIEL: That's right.

GLENN: I can't wait to announce additional things. I don't think I can announce it today. But I'll give you hints of things that is happening in Birmingham. I'm telling you right now, get a hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama, on 8/28. Because you'll want to be there. This thing is turning into something divine and something of historic nature, I think. But you were on the show last night. And we were talking about the lack of faith that people have in God movements. It's amazing to me when I see -- I read Facebook and I read comment sections. People who claim to be people of faith that have no faith in the power of God and a movement. They say, we don't -- oh, yeah, like that's going to happen. What we really need is our guns.

DANIEL: Right.

GLENN: So tell me a little about God and guns and God and people. Because there is a time for guns, but there also is a time for God and people. How do we know the difference? How do we know what time it is?

DANIEL: Well, you know, let me start answering the question with perhaps one of the most fundamental questions that we all need to ask each other in one times or another, in terms of identifying where each one of us stands in terms of our own faith, this is a really useful question. It's something to mull over in the quiet hours of the night when you can't get to sleep. Because when you think about this question, you absolutely guaranteed will not get to sleep for the rest of the night. And that is, how did human beings end up on this tiny speck of dust on the edge of a remote galaxy far, far away, from anywhere?

Now, the way it seems to me is that there really are only two answers to that question. And if I'm wrong, I hope listeners will tell us because I'd hate to make a fool of myself unnecessarily again.

I know of no answers other than these two. The one is that by a lengthy process of unaided materialistic evolution, primitive protoplasm told into Bach and Beethoven.

And if you don't mind me saying so, Glenn, you shouldn't laugh because it's really rude to laugh at other people's belief system.

GLENN: You're right. I apologize. Yes.

DANIEL: I think we should treat them respectfully.

GLENN: Right. You're right.

DANIEL: The other way is that the Good Lord put us here in his own image. Now, I realize that those are both difficult challenges, but there aren't any others. Unless you want to admit the von Däniken school of theology which says little green men in spaceships came and put us here. But all that does is spawn the question of where they came from.

GLENN: Correct.

DANIEL: So I guess we can dismiss that. Well, you got to answer this question at some point or another. Because how you live your life depends on whether you think we're simply an extension of primitive protoplasms and primitive primates that evolved into people. So really, we're absolutely no different -- we're just sophisticated animals. Some of us has more hair. Some of us have less and less. You didn't have to laugh at that.

GLENN: But doesn't that one also delay the question? Because then I just say, well, where did the protoplasm come from?

DANIEL: Well, because it was a lengthy process. We must postulate billions of years. Because we have to wait for that one amino acid that splits because of some lightning bolt.

STU: But how did the amino acid get there? And how did the lightning bolt get there?

DANIEL: Okay. Nobody told me that this was going to be a grueling interrogation. I mean, I'm doing my best to put out the argument for secular fundamentalism.

GLENN: Got it. Okay. All right.

DANIEL: I mean, obviously there is an answer to that question because too many smart, intelligent people have this belief system. So I don't necessarily know where the amino acid came from. But I guess smart people who are -- who subscribe to this view have an answer.

And what this means is that we are animals and, therefore, that it has certain ramifications. One is infinitization (phonetic) because no cow comes to the farmer and says, you know, I think you're taking too much of our milk. The farmer says, look, you know, I got your mother impregnated. I'll cut your carcass away when you die, and from here to there, you give me all your milk. That's the deal. Which is exactly the promise of the ultimate socialist government: You belong to us. We'll provide you with security from the cradle to the grave or we'll promise you security at any rate. We'll educate your kids. We'll take care of your medicine. We'll pay you when you can't work anymore.

GLENN: Pretty much, honestly like cows.

DANIEL: The ultimate socialist government views us as its property. Which is one of the reasons that the Nazi government opposed smoking. I mean, you read some of the Draconian regulations about cigarettes and cigars in America, but it echoes more than anything else Nazi regulations about that. And the reason is because if you belong to us, we don't allow you to damage yourselves. We don't allow valuable cows to rub up against barbed wire fences because we don't want them to do that. We don't want to lower their value. It's exactly the same over here as well. So another ramification of that takes us back to your question, which is --

GLENN: I don't even remember my question. It's been so fascinating. But...

DANIEL: If we are nothing but animalistic creatures that have evolved to some level of sophistication, then when you buy a cow, the color of its skin becomes very important. Because if I want a black and white Hereford cow, do not give me a brown Jersey cow. And that is why the emphasis on race and skin color is most intense not in the evangelical churches of America. As you know, I speak in 40, 50 churches a year. And these are beautiful, welcoming places of true colorblindness. This is the modern Luther king quote you mention. I speak in these churches. The pastor might be a black congregant. White. A mixture. Nobody cares because we're talking about the content of our character. We're speaking about the bleast (phonetic) in our souls.

But the more you move toward the temples of secular fundamentalism, the universities of America, the campuses, that is where consciousness and focus on race reaches intense and almost intolerably, unimaginable levels. And so the more you believe that we're here because of an accident of evolution, the more you're going to be obsessively preoccupied with skin color. And the more you're focused on the other alternative, the only other alternative -- God you put us here. Well, if he put us here, then we're all in his image. And it doesn't matter whether our teeth are green or our skins are yellow. It just doesn't matter. That's not the issue.

GLENN: Wow. This is why -- this is why NASCAR has him as their rabbi.

DANIEL: No. But now you do too.

GLENN: That's right. That's right. You started talking to me last night because we were talking about evil. And you start talking about somebody I never heard of. The guy who Hitler dedicated Mein Kampf to.

DANIEL: Yes.

GLENN: Tell me about this.

DANIEL: This is fascinating stuff. And by way of brief introduction. I would just say that among the statesmen of the western democracies in the 1930s, as far as I've been able to ascertain, only one bothered to read the book that Hitler wrote, and that was Winston Churchill. Nobody else bothered to read it. Hitler, if nothing else, was honest and forthright.

GLENN: Oh, he was completely clear.

DANIEL: Yes.

GLENN: I read that in my '30s because I wanted to know -- I'm of German background. Did my relatives know? If they read that book, absolutely.

DANIEL: How could you not. Right? Although it was bantry (phonetic) to own a copy. I'm not sure that ordinary Germans actually read it. It's turgid impenetrable prose. But if you actually work your way through it, you really do get a sense of exactly what the plan is. It's extraordinary. This was written nearly 20 years before the war. It's really remarkable. So he dedicates the book to a guy called Dietrich Eckart. And Dietrich Eckart is an occultist, and he's a guy who understands the forces of evil. He's a man who is in possession of ancient Germanic and Norse legends and mythologies that find their way later on -- or, at least I should say earlier than Hitler in the mid- to late 1800s in the music of Richard Wagner, which as you know is music that the Israeli Philharmonic will never play. And most particularly, in a 17-hour stretch of music called The Ring Cycle, made up of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung.

The reason this is so important is because the first one, the Rheingold is all about dark hunchbacked black-cloaked little men who live underground and all they want is gold, suggesting obviously Jews. The rest of the 17 hours -- by the way, Hitler sat through at least 20 performances of The Ring Cycle.

GLENN: The whole thing?

DANIEL: Yes, the whole 17 hours of it. Because he was taught -- you'll remember, he was nothing at the time of World War I. And it was only after that that he was seen to be such a useful tool by people who understood some of his forces. And these are the forces that infused the entire belief system of the Nazi hierarchy. And no doubt, because belief is such a powerful fuel, even belief in something false, still imparts an energy -- this unquestionably is something of what drove the whole Nazi movement to, you know, close -- to ultimate victory. They came horribly close to winning.

[BREAK]

GLENN: So we're talking to rabbi Daniel Lapin, and he's talking to us. And there's a point to this. And it goes back to ISIS and what's happening in the world. But this guy that Hitler dedicated Mein Kampf to, he was an occultist.

DANIEL: Yes, Dietrich Eckart.

GLENN: So he studied the dark arts, if you will.

DANIEL: Yes, which are the mirror image of the Bible and God.

GLENN: You mean the opposite? Yeah, mirror image.

DANIEL: Yes. Yes.

GLENN: And what did he teach him, and what was it -- where was this Hitler fascination with this, and what did he teach him?

DANIEL: Well, whether you -- whether you believe and are exposed to a worldview that is comprehensive and that essentially explains and makes sense of the world in which we live in. Basically revealing how the world really works. This is incredibly seductive.

And you have such a worldview and I have such a worldview, and we largely share our worldviews. And there's not a lot of mysteries. There are things we don't understand. There are things that are a little bit outside of our range of comprehension that reside in that gray dark area just beyond the stage we can see. But by and large we know we have a road map to reality.

Well, the dark side, the forces on the other side are just as effective, a road map to reality. Accepting that one leads to an ultimate bright light to hope and redemption. The other leads to an abyss of eternal darkness.

That's why the Wagnerian musical drama, The Ring Cycle ends with Götterdämmerung, which is, in fact, the twilight of the gods, where everything comes tumbling down and everything burns up. And the stage darkens. And the curtain comes down, and there's absolutely nothing left, which is essentially, again, the difference between a secular worldview of life and a religious world of life, where we understand life to be in much the same way like a child in utero.

The child says, you know, I'm really not looking forward to the end of this nine-month period when all this ends. This will be like dying. It will be terrible. With no comprehension that that's the real beginning.

So we look at life the same way. That it's a preparation. It's a growing period. It's an opportunity to develop our spiritual connection with our Father in heaven. And this leads to a wonderful, bright optimistic sunlit future. The secular viewpoint is that, at the end of the day, there's absolutely nothing. The curtain comes down onto an eternal darkness. Your soul doesn't exist. You are nothing but a cunningly arranged set of molecules of carbon and hydrogen and oxygen. And when they stop pumping, that's the end of it all.

These are the two opposing visions. One is driven by the Bible. One is driven by occult forces of the darkness. And you're absolutely right. It has now spread to the Middle East.

GLENN: In what way?

DANIEL: Well, one of the most important principles of Judeo Torah teaching is the separation of life and death. Meaning, that as long as we are in the world of the living, God doesn't want us to tamper with the dead. So he doesn't say, oh, you cannot raise the dead. He says, don't do it. So when King Saul tried to raise Samuel and bring back the dead, that was a real problem. He was able to do it. But it wasn't good. And so we are -- are asked to keep things separate. Now, Jews even more than anybody else, as the people who have been given an additional set of rules, like 613 of them, if you really want to know. Are also given, for instance, when we eat, we don't eat milk and meat together. No dairy products belong with meat.

GLENN: Because one represents life. One represents death.

DANIEL: Exactly. Milk is the initial food of every mammal baby. Nothing dies to provide it. It's obviously associated with life. And meat, although admirable when grilled, nonetheless is -- if you know what I mean.

[BREAK]

GLENN: We're having a fascinating conversation with Rabbi Daniel Lapin. And Daniel Lapin's web address is youneedarabbinow.com.

DANIEL: No. Sorry, Glenn. Youneedarabbi.com.

GLENN: Oh. Okay. I guess the emergency version is now. I need him now. You need a rabbi, stat. But youneedarabbi.com.

And he's a good friend of the show. And fascinating. Just a great historian and just a great teacher. But we've been talking about Hitler. The occult. And it has led us now to the mixing of life and death which brought us to the separation of milk and meat.

DANIEL: Yes.

GLENN: If you keep kosher.

DANIEL: Yes, correct.

GLENN: And if I'm not mistaken, at one point, you and I were having a conversation off-air, and I had brought up something that was going on, but basically it was like a snuff film.

DANIEL: That's right. Or you're so good.

GLENN: Remember? And we were talking about something that was in the news. And I was like, this is so disturbing.

DANIEL: Yes.

GLENN: And I said to you, the worst thing that -- that just makes my skin crawl is when you cross sex with extreme deadly violence.

DANIEL: Yes.

GLENN: And it just -- it doesn't feel like there's anything more wrong than that.

DANIEL: Okay.

GLENN: And you explained that to me.

DANIEL: Okay. So you put your finger on it. And I'll just paint in some of the spots you left out. But you're exactly right.

Again, something that's required in -- in the Torah -- and, I mean, this is something that I recommend literally for absolutely every married couple. It's a commandment only for Jews. But that is that marital intimacy is suspended once a month for a period of time. And, I mean, obviously it's difficult, particularly for guys obviously. But to be forced to interact with your wife nonphysically for a week is really very valuable. To be in a situation where not every situation can be resolved with an arm around the shoulder and a kiss, but that it needs to be resolved with words and communication is enormously valuable. And why?

Well, because anybody with any sensitivity recognizes that the Good Lord created men with an infinite capacity to produce seed at almost any age, whereas he chose to create women with an absolute finite limited number of eggs. So the loss of an egg every month for any sensitive woman is sad because it's one less opportunity for life. And so foolish and insensitive people say, oh, you know, it's just hormonal imbalance. It isn't. It's a genuine, authentic sadness which suffuses any sensitive woman at the loss of an egg. You know, it's not the end of the world. But it's sad

GLENN: Wow. I've never thought of it that way. That it's actually a God-given sadness because there's death. Well, not death.

DANIEL: That's right. But loss of a potential of life.

GLENN: Exactly.

DANIEL: But it wouldn't make sense then. In the same way you would want to keep milk and meat separately, similarly you would want to keep the most life-affirming act that a man and woman are capable of doing, we would want to keep that separate from the moment when there's a subtle subconscious, but sometimes overwhelming sad awareness of death. Keep them apart again.

So this is why sex and death are kept so apart. So, for instance, if a husband is in mourning for the loss of a father. Although many would say, what a great way for his wife to comfort him in the best way she knows how. No. It's bringing two things that don't belong together. Our sanity and our grasp on reality is preserved by keeping life and death separate and far apart from one another.

Now, back to Wagner and the whole Germanic system of viewing reality. That ring cycle is absolutely filled with sex and death. In fact, about the only time that anybody seems to get aroused is when they're just about to die. And the whole story is bizarre in this way. Many of the biographers of Hitler and of the Nazi period insist that Hitler remained a virgin until just before he and Eva Braun took their lives. In other words, it was at that moment that all of the studden the guy had a libido.

Now, what were the 9/11 -- what was Muhammad Archer doing on the night of September the 10th, 2001? I think everybody knows. He was indulging physically with a woman. That's what he was doing. What is that all about? The night before you're about to become a martyr for your holy religious cause? It's bizarre. No, it's not if you remember that's part of the Germanic occult that was embedded in all of Nazi philosophy. And so for this reason, something which was taken for granted, we've heard so much of it -- think for a moment, isn't this weird, when you martyr yourself in Islam, where you get to is kind of like a Spanish bordella (phonetic). Seventy virgins. Yeah, right. What's that all about? Well, as long as you see that Judeo-Christian view is that life and death apart, therefore the Satanic occult mirror image of it must mean that sex and death go together. We were speaking about a particular horrible form of underground entertainment that does bring together sex and violence and death. And two people who have become sufficiently imbued with dark forces that that becomes very appealing and very seductive.

GLENN: So is this why -- because I always thought, you know, ISIS is kidnapping women and children and then enslaving them. And then giving them to the soldiers. And I just thought that that was -- like the Germans used to bring hookers in. Because guys have a libido, whatever. Is there more to that than just the libido?

DANIEL: Yes. There's much more to that, yet. There's more. It is the domination of women and a dark derivation of satisfaction of imposing power over women.

GLENN: Rabbi, where are the -- where are the Christians, the activists, the -- the women activists? Why is everyone so silent on this? Let's start with the left, then we'll get to the right.

DANIEL: Yes.

GLENN: Why?

DANIEL: Well, I think primarily because the -- the principle guiding philosophy of leftism is the abolition of Christian faith. There is nothing more important than that. And this is why it is that the forces on the left, you will remember, years ago, including the NAACP dramatically and vindictively opposed the nomination of Clarence Thomas, who when I last checked, was indeed a colored person.

GLENN: Right.

DANIEL: And his nomination was opposed by organizations who exist to advance --

GLENN: The color.

DANIEL: Right. Or how about when women like Sarah Palin were being treated unfairly and cruelly, where was the National Organization of Women? And so we realize then that -- that there's almost a Marxist cynicism to all of this. We don't really care about people with dark skins. We don't really care about women. We must exploit.

GLENN: But that goes -- that's one thing. That would say, okay, I understand why you would stay silent or whatever. But in this particular case, when you have gay people being thrown off the roofs of buildings, when you have women being sold into slavery and raped, and just horrible stuff. Not like Clarence Thomas. Well, chancer Thomas that will pass some things that will be bad for the -- these people are evil. And they stand with them. Sometimes actively really kind of throw -- provide cover for them.

DANIEL: Yes.

GLENN: So that's different. Why do you suppose that active running cover for them is?

DANIEL: Well, we began to just touch on this on last night's TV show, which I found fascinating. And really, what we have to ask ourselves is, what sense -- to answer your question, what sense is there in those on the left hurling vitriol at Christianity, which responds with love, whereas they love and embrace Islam, which if it had the chance would take their heads off.

GLENN: Correct.

DANIEL: So there is a bizarre love affair between the liberal left and the forces of Islam. Astonishingly. Many, many people on the left, regardless of their nominal religious affiliation will tell you that they consider Christianity in America to be a more serious peril than Islam.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. We've heard that.

DANIEL: Right. So what are they getting at here? What's going on here? And I do believe that cowards are attracted to force and power. And I do think that to the same extent that Christianity is -- look, I'm Jewish. But my understanding of Christianity is about love and compassion. To that same extent to which Christianity preaches compassion and benevolence, Islam preaches cruelty and brutality. They are two opposite ends. They're two extremes of that spectrum line. So I think as a result of that, when people find themselves -- let's put it this way, Stockholm syndrome. What is that? That's somebody who is a captive. And after a period of time, he starts building an emotional connection with his captor. What's that about?

Well, when you're a captive. When you're a hostage, you're totally dependent. Life and death depends on your captor. And so he is the manifestation of strength. You are the ultimate expression of weakness. And I think weakness is attracted. I'm not a psychiatrist, but in an almost psychosexual way, they're attracted to strength. And so Christianity is a lot more difficult to feel an appeal for by these people because, well, you know, Christianity is too nice. And you'll find people in entertainment who will tell you, we will mock -- I don't want to mention their names. But there are comedians with foul mouths who mock Islam -- excuse me, mock Christianity, mock Judaism. The Book of Mormon on Broadway. And the LDS Church was very, very mild about it. They didn't do anything. Why didn't they do a show on Broadway called the Crazy Book of Islam? The Koran?

GLENN: Because everybody would be dead.

DANIEL: They'll tell you! They said, we don't want to get killed. That's all. There is something appealing about strength. You know, it's the same way that the new recruit in the military really can get attached to a very powerful commanding officer who fills him with a sense of confidence and he's in charge. Well, people say, I'll follow him into the gates of hell. I think that the left feels a very similar -- the left is essentially spiritually and morally weak. They feel an enormous attraction to a world force for all its brutality and cruelty. For all its distortion and strangeness, no one can argue that these guys exhibit real strength. I mean, you insult us, we'll just take your head off. Now, there's something delightfully straightforward about that in a mutilated and bizarre kind of a way. And I think the left feels that attraction very strongly.

GLENN: Our guest is Rabbi Daniel Lapin. Youneedarabbi.com. Youneedarabbi.com is his website. And if you've never heard him speak in public, he is fascinating. Really fascinating.

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

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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.

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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 critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

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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 America’s next generation trading freedom for equity?

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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?