Oscar Winner Meryl Streep Declares 'We’re all Africans'

February 12, 2016

Writer

The Context

Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep recently made some interesting comments at the Berlin Film Festival.

“I don't know very much honestly, about the Mideast, and yet I've played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures. And the thing that I notice is that they're all --- there is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture. And after all, we're all from Africa originally. You know, we're all Berliners. We're all Africans, really,” Streep said.

Alrighty, then.

Streep’s statements just might prove the longer you play make believe in Hollywood, the harder it is to live in the real world.

I’m Not a U.N. Ambassador But I Play One on TV

According to Glenn, these delusions of expertise might put the first man on Mars.

“Can I tell you something, this is why actors are so arrogant. Because there will be at some point, Matt Damon will be thinking to himself, 'Well, I was on Mars," Glenn said. “I mean, I know I didn't really do it, but I studied all of it. I mean, I practically flew a shuttle by myself.' That's what they think because they have dabbled and talked to experts, that they're an expert at everything.”

You Must Have Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express

There is a philosophy out there that says “fake it ‘till you make it,” and Glenn thinks that might be where Streep is coming from on this one.

"Look, I really don't know anything about the Mideast, but I have played --- it's like, "I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night," Glenn said.

What’s With the Accent?

To make her comments sound more important, Streep seemed to take on a light British accent.

“Stop for a second. Stop. Stop. Can you play that again? Has anybody noticed her fake accent? What is that?” Glenn asked.

Glenn couldn't resist trying on the accent for size.

“I'm not English, but I've lived in the United States my whole life, but I really would like to sound a little smarter by speaking the Queen's English,” Glenn said.

Common Sense Bottom Line

Researching roles and playing them on film does not make one an expert --- nor does an affected British accent.

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

GLENN: Okay. Pat, can you play the Meryl Streep line. And give me some context on this.

PAT: They -- they were in a panel discussion. And she was just one of the panelists. And, you know, they're talking about progressive issues like progressives are wont to do. And she came up with this really deep statement. I think this is going to move you a little bit.

MERYL: I don't know very much honestly about the Mideast, and yet I've played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures.

PAT: Oh. I mean, she's qualified then. She's played a lot of different people.

GLENN: Can I tell you something, this is why actors are so arrogant. Because there will be at some point, Matt Damon will be thinking to himself, "Well, I was on Mars."

PAT: I know NASA. I know rocket science. I lived on Mars for a year and a half.

GLENN: I mean, I know I didn't really do it. But I studied all of it. I mean, I practically flew a shuttle by myself. That's what they think because they have dabbled and talked to experts, that they're an expert at everything.

"Look, I really don't know anything about the Mideast, but I have played -- it's like, "I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." But now we haven't even got to her quote.

PAT: No.

GLENN: But we'll get to that in just a second.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: Back in a minute.

(OUT AT 9:33AM)

GLENN: I'm going to tell you -- we're going to be at the Spartanburg County rally for Cruz today at 12:30 Eastern time. That's the Beacon Drive-In in Spartanburg. This is -- this is quite an amazing thing. The people here are truly remarkable. There are about 10,000 supporters that have come in from all over the state, all over the area. They have 80 full-time people that have volunteered their time that is staying at a place called Camp Cruz. And I met people this morning. I was at a rally early this morning. There's people from Tennessee. They've driven hours to to volunteer their time. They've knocked on almost 100,000 doors, like 99,937 doors. Or something like that. I can't remember. And they're expecting their 100,000th door to be knocked on today. I'm going to go door-knocking in a couple of hours. And it's snowing here. That's how much we're committed to it.

But it's an amazing thing. They're making about 25,000 phone calls a day. This is ten times the ground game that Ted Cruz had in Iowa. And that was an impressive ground game. This is going to be a very close race, and it's going to take every single person coming out voting and talking to their friends, their neighbors, about the Constitution. Not Ted Cruz: About the Constitution and returning to constitutional principles.

All right. Let me finish off this Meryl Streep thing. She was at a conference. And she said, "Look, I don't know much about the Middle East, but I have played people from the Middle East on TV."

MERYL: I don't know very much about -- honestly about the Middle East.

GLENN: Stop for a second. Stop. Stop. Can you play that again? Has anybody noticed her fake accent? What is that?

JEFFY: Yes, it's agonizing.

GLENN: I just -- I would like you to know --

PAT: I don't know --

GLENN: I'm not English, but I've lived in the United States my whole life, but I really would like to sound a little smarter by speaking the Queen's English.

MERYL: I don't know very much -- honestly about the Mideast. And -- and yet I've played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures. And the thing that I notice is that they're all -- there is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture. And after all, we're all from Africa originally.

PAT: What? No.

MERYL: You know, we're all Berliners. We're all Africans, really.

GLENN: We're all Berliners. We're all Africans.

PAT: Do you know Berlin is not in Africa, pumpkin? Do you understand?

GLENN: Well, I don't know about geography. But I have played people from all over the map.

PAT: I love that. Because she's obviously going to the JFK thing.

GLENN: Yes, yes.

PAT: (foreign language) whatever it was he -- (foreign language). And he was trying to pander to the Germans at the time or whatever.

GLENN: And it worked.

PAT: But she goes to, "We're all Berliners. We're all Africans." What?

GLENN: Well, I like the way she does it. She's so pretentious, and she doesn't even know it.

You know, I've played many people before. And, you know, when it comes down to it, we're really all from Africa. I mean, we're all Africans, really.

PAT: No. No.

GLENN: These people are so -- they're so skin-crawly.

PAT: Oh, they are. And then she kind of -- I think she's looking for sort of somebody to help her out because she's looking around the room and going like, "Right? I mean, we have all these people who can comment and --

GLENN: You little people.

MERYL: So I think we -- look, we have a critic on our jury. We have a director on our jury. We --

PAT: Will one of you not help me out on this? We're from Africa. That's all the same.

GLENN: We all have a New Zealand tattoo, a native New Zealand tattoo on our faces. Because that's what we all are. And we have a critic here. A director. And a HEP gaffer. And the gaffer -- gaffers are almost like giraffes. They both have a "G" at the beginning of it, so we're all really giraffes too. Isn't that right? Will anyone go with me on that?

PAT: We're all really giraffes. I like that better, actually.

(laughter)

GLENN: I mean, I -- I have a dog, but what's the difference between a dog and a hyena and a polar bear? There's really nothing. They're all animals. And they're all from different parts of the world. And I've never been an animal. I have had animalistic tendencies in some of my movie characters that I have played. After all, I didn't actually boil the bunny. But it was somebody that was old and aging like me that played that role at one point.

PAT: Glenn Close, Meryl Streep. Same thing, right?

GLENN: The same thing. We're both old and aging actors. Nobody plays attention to us anymore. And we're both really pretty pretentious at this point. And it's only because we like to be like Lady HEP Judy Dench. Why don't they call me Lady Meryl, Meryl Streep.

STU: Dame.

GLENN: Yes, Dame Meryl Streep. You can call me Dame Meryl Streep. That's why I'm working on this accent.

STU: Is she trying to do one of those conception in what paradigm type of thing?

PAT: Yes.

STU: Because I think what she's trying -- is she trying to say that there are no nations?

GLENN: Yes.

STU: Like, we're all humans, and there are no nations. And that's a false construct. Is it one of those type of --

GLENN: Yes, it is.

PAT: She's trying to beat this guy.

VOICE: You know, under whose conception? Under what paradigm? I'm just resisting. What am I resisting? I don't know. The collectivization of manufacture, the institutionalization of the human psyche.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: Shut up. Shut up.

PAT: Manufacture.

GLENN: What is it that I'm really rebelling against? I don't know.

PAT: I don't know.

GLENN: I love that. What is it that I'm really saying here? I don't know. Perhaps you know --

PAT: It's all artificial constructs anyway.

GLENN: I'm saying things, but they don't really mean anything. But if I say, "I don't know. Maybe, you know, it's kind of something that you'll say, "Oh, oh, oh, I know exactly what he's saying. And you'll make it up in your head. And then you'll think, boy, he's so smart."

PAT: So brilliant. So brilliant.

GLENN: And we'll boil our giraffes.

Featured Image: Meryl Streep attends the 'Hail, Caesar!' premiere during the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Berlinale Palace on February 11, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

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

PHILL MAGAKOE / Contributor | Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Picking up his torch

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two turning points, decades apart

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

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

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

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

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

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

A time for courage

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

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

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Muhammad to Marx

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

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

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

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

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

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

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

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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