RADIOSeptember 13, 2022

THIS is how we can END the ‘victimhood’ RUINING America

America has a victimhood problem. And that victim mentality has helped to create a ‘vacuum at the heart of American souls,’ says Vivek Ramaswamy, author of ‘Nation of Victims.’ But, thankfully, Ramaswamy believes he has the answer. He explains to Glenn how rejuvenating Americans' ‘unapologetic pursuit of excellence’ can help to create a new national identity that leaves victimhood far behind…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: There is a must-read book, that has just come out called nation of victims. Identity politics. The death of merit and the path back to excellence. It's out today.

Vivek Ramaswamy is the author, and he joins me now.

Vivek, first question. And don't hate me for this, if I've had it wrong the whole time. I am the worst on names. The worst. And every time I see you on a show, you never correct anybody. And they're always pronouncing your name a different way.

Am I getting it wrong, and you're just being polite? Or is Vivek the way you say your name?

VIVEK: Vivek is right. Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy.

GLENN: Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy.

VIVEK: Right. Exactly. You know, there's TV hits, you usually get three to four minutes. I prefer to talk about content. Since you asked, I love it.

GLENN: Yeah. So, Vivek, out of respect for you, because I'm watching it. And I'm so paranoid, I always get things wrong on names. Always. Like my wife, I would screw up her name. I just wanted to make sure. Okay. So nations -- nation of victims is out.

And you're known at least on this program, as somebody who is very into ESG. You know, very -- against it. You are doing everything you can, to bring back merit. This book does not really deal with ESG or anything like that. This is the answer in our own lives. Would you agree?

VIVEK: That's right, Glenn. I would agree. I think there are two sides to this equation. Right? Even if you think about the kind of stuff we usually talk about in this program. The kind of stuff I'm working on, in the private sector. Yes. That is about corporate meddling in our culture. It is about the use of corporate power to advance one-sided progressive agendas. But it takes two to tango. What do I mean by that? It also takes a population, and a consumer base, that is willing to buy those narratives, and use that to actually be moved by it. So what this book is about is the broader question. Why is it that consumers are so hungry for a cause, and purpose, and meaning and identity. That they fall for these victim narratives. That companies and other cynical actors to sell them. That's what this book is about. And the case that I make in this book is that we've fallen into a moment in our history, where we see hardship as the same thing as victimhood.

Well, guess what, my thesis is that hardship is not the same thing as victimhood. Hardship is part of what teaches who we are, both as individuals and as a people.

And I think the black hole, at the vacuum of Americans. And the vacuum of the heart of the American soul right now, is our absence of a shared national identity. And the case I make in this book, is that we can fill that vacuum, with a shared national identity, based on the unapologetic pursuit of excellence. Through our system of free market capitalism. And as individuals who are free agents in the world. Regardless of the color of our skin. Or where our parents came from. That's why I wrote this book.

GLENN: So where do you think the big turning -- because I think it was 2008. Where the bailout happened. We're now doing all of that. And it's the end of personal responsibility for corporations.

VIVEK: It really was. It was a different level of responsibility at every level of society. So I think 2008 was a big turning point for a lot of reasons. What happened in 2008? We had the 2008 financial crisis. We had the bailouts. We had no accountability for a lot of financial institutions, that took risk at the public -- at the public -- when times were good, they got paid. When times were bad, the public had to bail them out. That was also the birth of the identity politic wing of the new left. It was Barack Obama elected as the first black president of the United State, a lot of victimhood narratives that went with that. We're also in the thick of the greatest intergenerational wealth transfer in human history. From the Baby Boomer generation to my generation of millennials and Gen Z. And I think that creates a new victimhood culture. And a culture of entitlement as well.

Just there were a lot of things around the turn of the last decade. There were a lot of factors in our culture that conspired to create this new culture of victimhood. And one of the things I -- one of the things I describe in the book, is also the rise of a laziness culture. Even in our work. But in our culture more broadly. And one of the things I say in the book, is that victimhood fits laziness like a glove. In that people today, who are lazy, and that don't want to work. Construe that as not just their own sloth. Which is one of the human vices.

But also a narrative of the grand fight of the oppression of capitalism. The oppression of modernity, the colonialism of capitalism. This is the kinds of things you hear, as part of the great resignation in the pandemic, started back in the post 2008 era. So I think it was a combination of a new laziness culture of entitlement, that came from my generation being on the receiving end of this large inter-generational wealth transfer.

But combined with these victimhood narratives, this justified that laziness with a moral veneer.

That is part of what led to us now having a shared national identity based on victimhood. We're a nation of victims. And I think the case I made, we need to graduate from that.

You talk about Plato's ideal society. And you talk about it, because you say, that's how we find the ideal citizen.

What is the ideal citizen in 2022?

VIVEK: In America, this is the question of our hour, okay. So I think there are two parts to what it means to be Americans. And I think each of us has some of this in our heart. On the one hand, we all want to be an individual, who is able to pursue our own individualistic dreams through the system of free market capitalism. That's what we think of as the American dream.

I have that impulse. You have that impulse. Most of the listeners in this program, share that feeling too. That's half the story. That's what I call the pursuit of excellence. The unapologetic pursuit of excellence. But I think there's another half of the story too, Glenn. I think many of us on the right, have missed for years. Which is also our hunger to be part of a nation, that is greater than the sum of its parts. A collective whole as citizens. And that's the side of our identity as individuals, that really, I think revolves around also the revival of civic duty. One of the chapters of the book is entitled A Theory of Duty. It's a play on John Rawls' A Theory of Justice, which was the North Star of the left, for much of the late 20th century.

I offer what I call A Theory of Duty, which talks about the revival of a civic duty. And the case I make, is it's not at odds with liberty, to have a civic duty. Our civic duty as citizens is different than the freedoms we want to have, in all of the spheres of our life, including economically. And I think it's one of the things that conservatives sometimes get wrong. We get wrong. In our -- in our obsession. We just talked about freedom. And believe me, I'm ten out of the scale of ten on that discussion. We miss the fact, that we have civic duties as citizens, that actually gives us greater fortitude to pursue our freedoms through the system of free market capitalism, through our pursuit of excellence as individuals, which is not the philosophy at the heart of this book, actually.

GLENN: I'm old enough, that in high school, you couldn't graduate without having a class called rights and responsibilities. And we have forgotten the responsibility part. And that is, like you say, huge.

But, you know, I learned something, when I lived in New York City.

When I moved to New York City, I was always a guy, who if there was garbage on the street. I would pick it up and throw it in the garbage can. And it was just ingrained in me. I grew up in a smaller town. And after about two years of living in New York, there was garbage at the front of my building, at sixth avenue. And it was just this newspaper. It was just blowing everywhere. And my first thought was, how much money do I have to pay this stupid city, for them to keep it clean?

And I stopped in my own tracks, and I thought, oh, my gosh. I've turned into one of them!

VIVEK: Well, that's really honest of you, Glenn. To talk about. Look in the mirror that way. That's something more of us ought to do. That's before we point the finger outward, let's take a mirror and look within. It's funny, I'm talking to you from a car in New York City right now, where I'm literally seeing bottles lining the street on the left hand side of my car, without somebody stepping down to pick it up.

And I think that idea of civic duty is something that -- I could call out the liberal side of this. I have been for years. I do a little bit of that in the book as well. But I think it's a place for the conservative movement to look internally and say, all right. Look, we can criticize the poison that fills the vacuum, all we want.

At the end of the day, we're not rising to the occasion. If we don't fill that vacuum with something more meaningful, something more rich, that dilutes the poison.

GLENN: So help me out.

Because, Vivek, I think -- and I know religion plays a big part in religion and in your life. The right would say, we do our civic duty. We're much more charitable. We work through our churches. I know people who go on missions all the time. I mean, we do do our civic duty. That's what they would say.

VIVEK: I think we need more than that. I think there's definite -- that's why -- that's why I'm more interested in speaking to the conservative movement than I am to the left. Because I think that there's a greater chance of filling that national vacuum, and we have to pick which political party or which political movement is going to do it. I'm more optimistic about the conservative movement.

That's why I'm preaching to that choir, rather than the other one. Because I think that's our best chance of success.

I think we need to revive that though. And I think there's one of two directions, for the future of the conservative movement. Either one that wallows in a new version of victimhood, in response to left-wing victimhood.

Which I've been -- by the way, a big critic of. And a lot of what I'm saying is a self-reflection, Glenn. I've spent the last two years criticizing a lot of woke victimhood culture. Left-wing victimhood culture. But one of the things I've learned, introspective for myself.

Is how much -- and we're moving the needle a little bit, by putting the spotlight on the problem. If we want to move the needle in a big way. We won't have a generation left, to save the identity of this country.

And if we're going to do it, it's not going to come by just pointing our finger at all the hypocrisies of the other side. Because that would take all of our time. We would have no time left, and time would run out, before we would be able to save our national identity. We need to fill the void of national identity with something else.

And what I offer in this book is two reasons for that. One is the revival of the shared pursuit of excellence. That's part of what I'm working on in the private sector. In the board of directors at Chevron, last week. Doing what I'm doing at strive. I'm trying to do that through the private sector.

That's still only half the story, though.

And I think that as citizens, we also need to revive our sense of civic duty, to start talking about that more. You know, I think it's a provocative idea, I offered in my last book. I talk about it in this one too, of even thinking about weaving civic service, into education. That's something that makes conservatives, a lot of Libertarian conservatives, even myself, ten years ago, would have recoiled at that idea. That feels like, it's an infringement on our liberty. Well, what I say, is, first of all, if you start at a young enough age, we accept that children, under the age of 18 or 16, are not yet free agents in the world. We have to create those citizens. And weaving the idea of service. Of identity as a citizen in your country, is part of what allows you to actually be an unapologetic capitalist. An unapologetic free agent, once you do enter that free world.

And part of that problem, I think, is we have an entire generation. My generation, that never learned how to do actual service. Nor how to pursue their own self-interests in their own right, by co-mingling the two. We never learn how to actually do either one on its own.

So I think it will actually create a greater generation of capitalists. A greater generation of free individualist agents in the world, if we also revive this idea, of living out our civic duties. And I think you're right. A lot of conservatives in their private lives do that. I think we need to make that as part of a North Star of what it means to America.

GLENN: I think you're seeing that now, with the takeover of the school boards, and you know the local city councils, et cetera.

I mean, conservatives. You know, they were busy keeping their nose to their business. And down to the grindstone. And et cetera, et cetera. And just thought. Oh, this is all being taken care of.

It was being taken care of. Just not in the way we appreciate.

VIVEK: Exactly. And one of the things I like to do, Glenn. Let's take a step back from the present. Let's take a walk through history. One of the things I do in the book. I talk a lot about a post-Civil War history and the Reconstruction Era. But one of the areas of history I go to is Roman history. One of the things I reminded myself of. You know, you hear a lot of analogies today, between the fall of the American experiment. And the fall of Rome. Well, guess what, there was no one rise or one fall of Rome. There were many rises, and many falls.

And it -- you know what, I don't think we're done with this American experiment quite yet either. There were many rises and many falls of Rome. There were many rises and many falls with this great country, and this great experiment as well.

And I tell the story of, it's interesting, I hadn't studied this since high school. Emperor Septimius Severus, he was known as the black Emperor. Okay. That's how I studied him in high school at least. One of the things I learned doing the research of this book. He only got that name, the black Emperor. In the last few decades. As he was redescribed in modern American history. There was a TV series that highlighted the story of the first black man to walk on England's soil came not as a slave, but as a conqueror. And then they made a whole narrative around it. Well, the funny thing is, if you go back to the Roman era, people could see that he had dark skin. It was no different than someone having dark eyes or dark hair.

The thing they actually cared about were, were you a Roman citizen? Or were you not?

Were you a member of this nation, or were you not?

That's how they actually saw him. And in a certain sense, we've created our vision, even in history. He's the black emperor we need. Not the black emperor he was. That was never how the Romans saw him. And it just shows you how anachronistically we even view history. That if we're able to take off the Googles of the present. The filters of the present. And actually even take ourselves out of the present, it suddenly becomes politically less controversial. We're able to talk about these ideas in ways that are 1,000 years removed. But then you come back to the present and you see what a strange world it is that you live in.

GLENN: Yep. Yep.

VIVEK: And I think that's one of the reasons why I felt compelled to write this book. It's not for everybody. But if you're a lover of history, if you're interested in potentially the parallels between Roman history and modern American history, how we got here, dating back to the post Civil War.

Reconstruction Era, where victimhood culture began, and I think how we were able to translate that into the victim culture that we see today.

You know, for those who actually enjoy that walk through history, that's who this book was intended for, in contrast to Woke Inc. my last book, which was more about current events and the current era. This is a walk through history, that gives us hopefully a different view of the present.

GLENN: Yeah. Well, you've really targeted the wrong audience for that.

VIVEK: I don't know about that. I don't know about that.

GLENN: This audience -- you're speaking their language. It's great. It's called a nation of victims. And it's written by Vivek Ramaswamy.

And we appreciate everything that you do, Vivek. Thank you so much. God bless.

You bet. Nation of victims. A must-read. All right. Back in just a second.

EXPOSED: The DANGEROUS FAA policy that could lead to a DISASTER

The Federal Aviation Administration is out of control and ‪@BlazeTV‬ sent Stu Burguiere of ‪@studoesamerica‬ to investigate. What he found is absolutely shocking! Stu tells Glenn just how far down the woke DEI rabbit hole the FAA has gone. Apparently, even if you ace the merit-based Air Traffic Controller test, it doesn't matter. You have to pass the biographical exam as well, which PENALIZES you if you did WELL in high school science classes. Why? Because according to them, that makes you less likely to be a minority. This puts EVERYONE who rides in an airplane in danger, Glenn says. The whole story is exposed in the newest Blaze Originals documentary, "Countdown to the Next Aviation Disaster."

Watch the documentary NOW at http://BlazeOriginals.com/Glenn

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So the Blaze original has a new doc out perfect for Thanksgiving. Countdown to the next aviation disaster. Before you go get on a plane and see -- well, maybe after you get back home, maybe.

The FAA is completely out of control. Completely out of control.

And we put Stu in a plane and have him fly over the country, to talk --

STU: Hmm. Yeah.

GLENN: To talk to the FAA and others that are fighting against what they're doing. Because there is a major disaster that is right around the corner because of DEI.

STU: How many near-misses? We document a ton of them.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. Do you show the video of them?

STU: Yeah. The video. The footage of --

GLENN: Planes just -- and also, the planes, they're -- there's video of planes that are landing. This just happened to me!

Oh, my gosh. I completely forgot about this.

STU: Really?

GLENN: This just happened to me. I was landing in maybe Fort Myers. We were handing in Fort Myers. And we were coming down. And we were maybe 100 feet from the runway. You know, from land. All of a sudden, we just rocketed up because they put another plane on that runway, right in front of us.

STU: Oh, my God.

GLENN: And it's like, what are you doing?

STU: And this is happening all over the country.

GLENN: All the time. All the time.

STU: And, you know, there's a bunch of different reasons for it. We go through them in the documentary. Which is available, I guess to stream now. BlazeTV.com.

But what's fascinating about it, you know, there's also the whole aspect of DEI.

And how the people who are -- you know, not only overworked. These air traffic controllers.

They're totally understaffed. Overworked.

Also one of the reasons why this all happened. They just stopped blocking white males from getting these jobs.

GLENN: Right.

STU: We go through that whole process.

People who are suing the government now.

To get this all overturned. They caught them though.

This is not questionable. I'll go through all the evidence in the documentary.

It's shocking.

GLENN: Let me ask you something. Would you want a doctor, who was white, if the best doctor was black? Or Asian?

STU: Of course not.

GLENN: Of course not. No one would.

STU: No.

GLENN: Why would you say, oh, on this airplane, or in the seat that decides when and what runway that airplane lands or its course, why would you not want the best person?

It is a matter of life and death. This DEI stuff is -- it is -- it's death. It should be DIE, because it's all about death. In the end, that's what happens when you have unqualified people, building bridges, flying planes, being your -- your eyes in the sky.

That's what happens!

STU: I talked to a guy in the documentary, who took the merit-based test to become an air traffic controller, and got a 100 on it.

A perfect score. Perfect score.

Then they added another test called -- it was called the biographical exam.

GLENN: Really?

STU: Yes.

And it had really weird questions. We go through the test.

Like, something like -- did you perform well in science, in high school?

And you think, all right. Well, I can kind of see why they would ask that question. Right? If you have a scientific mind. Maybe you have an analytical mind.

GLENN: But I bet you they'll score you lower, if you did better in high school.

STU: You know these people too well, Glenn. If you say, yes, you did well in science and high school, you get penalized. To them -- and I think this is a racist assumption. But to them, you're less likely to be a minority if you did well in science and high school.

So you get punished for doing well, in a -- in a subject that obviously would relate to what you're doing.

GLENN: Can you imagine?

Can you imagine if the question was, did you do well at basketball, when you were in high school?

STU: Right.

GLENN: Are you good at tap dancing? Can you imagine.

STU: At least. It would be a positive attribute. And not a negative one.

But, yes. It would be insane.

GLENN: You would immediately say. You're good at tap dancing. You're in drama. Maybe you're gay.

Tap dancing. I don't know. Stereotypical black, you know, I mean from the 1940s.

STU: Right.

GLENN: But you would go, what does that question mean?

Why is that being asked? You did well in basketball. Why is that question being asked?

STU: Right. Uh-huh.

GLENN: This is just -- that's blatant racism.

This is subtle racism, unless you know you get downgraded by saying, yes. I was good at science.

STU: Right.

GLENN: Because normally, you would be like, yeah.

STU: Of course, this is unfair to let's say a white male who is good at science.

You know who else it's unfair to? A black female who was good at science. Right? They were actually punishing people who had good performance in school.

So that they couldn't get these jobs. So this guy, who went through this entire process, wasted years of his life.

Winds up, not getting the job. And now assuming the government, thankfully to expose. That's how they've exposed all of this. We go through all of this in the documentary.

It is called, what is it? Countdown to the next --

GLENN: To the next disaster.

STU: Aviation disaster. Here it is. Countdown to the next aviation disaster. It's available at BlazeOriginals.com/Stu. If you use the code DEI, you'll save 30 bucks on your annual subscription --

GLENN: And you know what is actually really good about this. This is, this is the end of it! This is hopefully the end of it.

Now, they have done everything they can, to bury DEI deeply into all of our agencies. So you can't cut it out.

But it's got to go!

It absolutely -- we have to be merit-based.

I don't want to drive on a bridge, that didn't have the best engineers.

STU: Right.

GLENN: Okay?

You know why the doors are blowing off Boeing planes, and wheels are coming off?

Because they got rid of all of the engineers. Hello. It's life and death.

Gosh, what are we even thinking?

You know who is really going to be -- are you a computer? Are you AI?

Can you put this little puzzle together. So I know you're not a computer. Okay?

Would you do that, if AI, who is now outperforming doctors on cancer tests.

Would you be like, I don't want my human doctor to not have a job.

So I don't care!

My doctor says, I don't have cancer. AI says I do have cancer.

STU: I'm not going to test. I believe the doctor.

GLENN: Right.

STU: Jobs.

GLENN: Because of jobs.

You would never do that. Your life is at stake.

STU: You want the best results. It seems obvious. And it's obviously central to what made America great in the first place.

GLENN: I know. Yes. Yes.

STU: Right? We cared about merit.

And we are going away from that.

Laken Riley trial PROVES Americans are DONE With Open Border LIES

The illegal immigrant who murdered Laken Riley has been found guilty on all counts. It was an emotional moment for many, including Glenn, who is sick and tired of justice being subverted by the current regime. Not only did the Biden administration catch and release this murderer. It gave him a free flight to Georgia, which ended up costing Laken her life. “We’re not going to take it anymore,” Glenn declares. “Justice is BACK.” But it shouldn’t stop there. Glenn reviews some other stories that Americans must not put up with anymore, including how a paper shredding truck was spotted outside the DOJ.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. So yesterday, the judge found -- found Laken Riley's murderer guilty on all charges. Now, listen to this.

But I want you to listen to this, and notice your reaction to it. Maybe it's just me. I don't know.

But listen to this. And notice can't reaction to it, go ahead.

VOICE: One count of murder, found the defendant guilty. Count two, felony murder, I found the defendant guilty. Count three felony murder, I found the defendant guilty. Count four, felony murder, I found the defendant guilty.

Count five, kidnapping with bodily injury. I find the defendant guilty.

Count six, aggravated assault and attempt to rape. I find the defendant guilty.

Count seven, aggravated battery, I find the defendant guilty.

Count eight, obstructing or hindering a 911 call. I find the defendant guilty.

Count nine, tampering with evidence, I find the defendant guilty.

Count ten, peeping Tom, I find the defendant guilty.

GLENN: What are you feeling? It could just be me. What are you feeling?

STU: What am I feeling? Am I hearing that? I mean, I'm happy that justice is at some level hitting this guy. But more anger of how unnecessary it was.

The fact that on a free flight to go to Georgia in the first place.

GLENN: Yeah. I know. The Biden administration put him on one of those ghost flights in the middle of the night. So he could live in Georgia. Yeah.

STU: It cost this poor woman her life.

And, you know, she's just one prominent example. This story has been told way too many times.

GLENN: Here's what I feel.

First emotional because you can hear the parents gasp and cry in the back.

And happy for them, sad at the waste. But also, we are not going to take it any more!

Justice is back. That makes me feel good. All this bullcrap of, oh, these poor immigrants that have come in. They're not all bad. This guy was in the Venezuelan gang. And so was his brother. And you know how he tried to get off? He said, it was my brother, not me. No, it wasn't me. It was my brother.

STU: It was basically, you know, a version of the O.J. defense. DNA can't really tell between me and my brother.

GLENN: My brother, right.

And the reason why they had DNA because it was under her fingernails, as she scraped his arms, his face, and his back. And they had pictures of the claw marks that she left on him.

So justice is served.

Now, here's the other thing: He's not going to get the death penalty. Maybe life in prison. No chance of parole. But I don't trust that stuff. He's not going to get the death penalty. Why? Because a prosecutor, who is a Soros prosecutor said, that's not real justice.

Now, they're talking about reversing that. This new prosecutor. Because I don't know if you know this. That prosecutor lost, I think by 17 points.

It's over!

It's over. Now, there are some states now, that are saying, you know what, this drives me out of my mind. These people are so lacked of any kind of principles.

They change with the wind. There are no principles.

Just a few -- what? A month ago. Two months ago. All of the cities. All of the people in the cities. From San Francisco, to New York.

Were saying, this is going to collapse our city. We can't handle all of these people that have come across the border. Where -- they were sending them to Texas.

New York was taking people and sending them from New York, to Texas. Because they just couldn't handle it. Like Texas could.

Okay.

Now they're all -- they've all changed overnight.

Now, oh. We're going to protect these people. How dare the big, bad government come in and try to take.

We're just going to cuddle these people.

It's over, gang. It's over. And I hope, that the president finds the constitutionally legal way to cut you off from every funding.

You want to play that game?

Fine. Then your city doesn't get any federal dollars. You want tolerance that. That's fine.

Because you're costing all of us, you're costing us money.

Because you're going to ask for a federal bailout.

And the other part of that should be, you're not getting one.

California, you want to play this game. We're not going to pay for it.

I love California.

I think California is the most beautiful state in the -- in the union. I've always -- since a kid, I've always wanted to live in California.

The reason why I don't, is because they're insane!

They're insane!

I don't want to live with the insanity.

And I know that I'll be impoverished in the end by it. And so will all of my neighbors.

I don't want to live in that!

So I don't live in California, because you want correct California. I live in Texas.

Because I would like to be -- have California more like Texas.

But it's not.

So I live in Texas.

Because I know the state won't impoverish me. I know the state won't take all of my rights away from -- I know they won't coddle criminals. So I live in Texas. Don't you dare come for a handout from me.

You made your bed. You pay for it. And if you want to keep criminals in your state, if you want to coddle those people, that's totally fine with me.

But I honestly believe maybe we should check your passports, when you come across the border of California and New York.

Are you here legally?

Because if they leave those states, they should be arrested and deported.

And I don't want any of them moving into my city or my state. Pragmatism, but they're going to eventually. And your people eventually will move to my state.

And they will vote for the same damn things. Because they're too stupid to understand what caused their state to become like that. I've got to get to Florida.

Oh. Why are there no progressives we can vote for?

Because you haven't wrecked it yet.

STU: I think too.

I know you say this. You want to deal with these people, fine.

In reality, of course, I know.

GLENN: We have to.

STU: It is a federal issue.

This was the left that prevented states like Arizona from implementing and enforcing immigration law. Because this has to be done at the federal level.

Well, hopefully Trump is about to show you, what that looks like. And it should be done at the federal level.

So he will -- I think overrule and overrun some of these people who are trying to avoid the law, in their local jurisdictions. And he should do that.

You know, Glenn, one of the most frustrating things about the Laken Riley.

We talk about the borders being open.

People flowing over all the time.

That is awful.

Obviously, borders are till to protect completely.

People are going to get across it, at some level.

But we caught this guy. This isn't an example of a guy sneaked across the border.

Then released you him into the country.

He got arrested multiple more times while he was here.

We still give him a free flight.

We still put him up in the Roosevelt hotel. With free lodging.

Then we sent him to Georgia with a free flight.

He got arrested there with his brother. We still kept releasing him. And then, after all of that, he murdered this poor woman.

It's -- it's not even a case where like, okay. This is difficult. I get that. That can happen.

GLENN: This one is not.

STU: This is not what that is. And it happens over and over and over again.

God, if we could just stop some of those.

Talking about standing up. They could at least stop some of those.

GLENN: We are going to. We are going to.

That's what we voted for. We voted for an end of all of this.

By the way, have you heard that the DOJ has just put a paper shredder truck outside of the FBI office.

I swear to you, if they shred anything that we need. And they're like, we lost it. We shredded it. We don't know what happened to it.

Put them in jail. Don't fire them.

Put them in jail. It is time that we say to this government, enough is enough.

We're going to live by the laws of the land.

And that includes all of this red tape bullcrap.

All of it!

You want that law? Pass it through Congress. Not through some bureaucrat. That we don't even know who they are. We never voted for them.

Why do they rule over our life?

By the way, the House ethics committee has decided not to release the Gaetz investigation. Okay. At least temporarily, they're not sure. Because it's not finished. Now, the DOJ finished it, over two years ago.

Okay? This has got to stop. I don't know if Matt Gaetz is guilty or innocent of what they accuse him of. I have no idea. But just like Brett Kavanaugh, this smearing of people, has got to stop!

If he's guilty, charge him.

Make sure he has a fair trial.

And let the chips fall where they may.

But they won't charge!

They're not charging. Because they know that the people who are including the women, they know that they are not trustworthy.

The DOJ -- this is the guy. The biggest opponent of the DOJ. He's got real teeth on the DOJ.

So all of a sudden, the DOJ finds these accusations. Okay. All right.

Maybe he did them.

Then investigate.

And if you don't have enough to charge him.

Then you shut your mouth.

Now, you might continue to investigate. But you shut your mouth.

When you have enough to charge, then charge!

We're not a country that should allow for another take, the smearing of individuals based on stuff that is not chargeable.

They've made this guy practically into a pedophile!

What? What? What did -- where do you go to get your reputation back?

Because if they can do it to him. They'll do it to you.

Now, he may not be -- I don't think he's a saint. I think he's a long way away from a saint.

But I don't know who to believe.

That's for a area to decide. But once somebody is charged.

Not investigated.

Charged! If this -- the Democrats or some of the sleazy Republicans decide to release this, all of those people should either be impeached, or we should primary them.

Because this kind of stuff has got to stop!

Does it mean we let some bad guys get away?

Yes!

But wouldn't you rather have one bad guy get away, than one good person, get smeared. And their life destroyed?

That is justice!

Why Oklahoma RETURNED the Bible to schools

Oklahoma has become the first state to put the Bible back into classrooms. Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters joins Glenn to explain why and respond to critics who yell “separation of church and state” at the top of their lungs. Why wouldn’t the Bible be in schools, Walters argues. It’s the most popular book in history and the key to understanding our founding. So, instead of lying to our kids, he’s giving them access to the primary sources. Walters also gives his take on Trump’s promise to dismantle the Department of Education and his pick of Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So why do we believe in the underdog? To have

We always root for the little guy. Never count the little guy out. What does it mean? We're battling the giants.

It comes from tasted and Goliath. That is part of our culture. You don't have to believe there was an actual giant, and tasted defeated the giant with one rock.

I happened to believe that story. But you don't have to. But if you don't know that story, you don't really understand the West.

And the Bible is littered with those stories. Almost every phrase, famous phrase that we've ever spilled out of our mouth, over and over again, comes from the Scriptures.

And their famous phrase is because everybody used to know them. Everybody knew the Scriptures.

Well, now nobody does. So you don't really understand the giant. You don't understand the little guy going up against the giant.

You don't understand the reference of, wow, that's a tasted versus Goliath thing there.

They don't know what that means. The Bible is important, even if you don't believe it to be a miraculous book. If you just look at it as the world's first history book, even if you look at it as the world's first history book, as man understood and could explain history at the time.

You can't understand Macbeth. You can't understand Shakespeare. You can't understand our Declaration of Independence if you don't understand the Bible.

And dismiss it. So now Oklahoma schools, the head guy. The superintendent, Ryan Walters, who has been on this program before, has now just dedicated all kinds of money to put a Bible in every school. What does this mean?

You're going to hear all kinds of distortion on this. But we will talk to -- we're going to talk to Ryan right now. And get his take on it.

Hello, Ryan. How are you?

RYAN: I'm great. Thank you for having me on, Glenn.

GLENN: Great. So I want to talk to you about the Department of Ed. In a second. But first, let's talk about what you're doing with Bibles in schools. Why are you doing this? And what does it actually mean?

RYAN: Yeah. Look, the left. I'll give them credit. They've been a tremendous force for the last 40 or 50 years. And, frankly, broader society to believe that somehow our Founding Fathers believed there shouldn't be a Bible in the schoolhouse or there shouldn't be prayer in the school.

But look it's not my fault the Supreme Court in the 1960s misinterpreted the establishment clause. The reality is, absolutely you can have a Bible in school. You should! The Bible is the most read, the most purchased book in American history.

It's more cited in any other book, since the 18th century. How in the world do you teach American history without the Bible.

How do you explain the Pilgrims? How do you explain the idea where the rights came from God? How do you explain Martin Luther King Jr. is a letter from a Birmingham jail.

Where you reference Daniel, Shadrack, Michadrack, and Bendigo.

How do you understand this? And, again, what the left has been able to do is create state-sponsored atheist centers by saying, no.

No mention of God. We're going to distort American history. And tell kids, this country is an evil, racist place.

The state played no role. And so we're bringing the Bible back. We're very excited to put the Bible first in every classroom. It will be understood. And it's a historical context.

To your point, what leftist. You don't have to agree with the Bible. You can be offended. That's all well and good. And that's fine.

But you can't lie to our kids about our history and the influence that the Bible and Christianity played.

GLENN: Right.

And, you know, I can't remember the name of the big atheist. He was one of the biggest atheists around. He said, you will not understand western culture.

He was not a Bible thumper by any stretch.

He was a die hard atheist. And said, the Bible needs to be taught, or you don't understand Western culture.

That's pretty clear.

MATT: That's exactly right. And that's where I challenged, you know, the left on that. Where, okay. Guys, explain the Pilgrims. If you can't mention the Bible and Christianity. Think of how quickly that morphs into a bizarre argument. And like you said, look, again, you have to understand our history, in order for us to continue as a civilization.

Here's the reality. We know what happens as a civilization. When you teach the next generation.

To hate and reject that civilizational value.

It doesn't continue.

Our young people have to understand, this is where we came from.

This is history. This is how we got to where we are.

This is how we became the greatest country in the history of the world. Again, leave it up to individuals to make their own determinations on what they believe, on what they believe the fast forward is.

But you can't even have a conversation about the path forward. If you don't understand the path.

Look, we have allowed the left to dominate and control education. We've got to fight back against that. Look, the key way to do that.

By the way, you can notice it by their reaction. They don't want the Bible in school. They don't want the Constitution.

Of course, the Federalist Papers. They want people reading about them, not reading them.

So they just want to critique from the 1960s about them. We want all those primary sources in the classroom.

Let the kids read it. Let them understand it. Let them come to their own conclusion. But put those great works in front of our kids.

GLENN: So how is this going to go with teachers? Teaching this.

Because I don't want somebody's view of the Bible, one way or another.

I do want it taught, as history. You know, I don't mind praying in school. I don't mind. You know, whatever.

But I -- I don't want us to go the opposite direction, and say, if you don't believe the Bible is the Word of God, then you are just a Neanderthal.

And I don't have any faith in the teacher's unions being able to teach it, without disdain.

MATT: And look, here's the reality with that.

We have to do this the right way. We've already put out guidance that said, listen, you're not to come out here and push your view of religion on to the kids.

Okay? This is a history lesson. This is understanding as a historical context.

Again, we give these examples as our guidance.

And said, listen, you are to teach it in its historical context, in these specific standards. So we've laid out, this is how you teach it. This is where it is. This is the historical context around it.

Again, if we have somebody in there, attacking religion, trying to push that view on kids, they're not going to teach in the state of Oklahoma.
We're not going to tolerate that. You've seen these leftist activists. We've been crystal clear.

You have educational standards. You will educate, not indoctrinate. And if you cross that line, you will have to find another profession.

GLENN: All right.

Can we talk a little bit about what your thoughts are on the Department of Education, and getting rid of that?

How real do you think this is?

MATT: Oh, I think it's very real. I have several conversations with President Trump about it. And I think he's been crystal clear. It's going to be gone. He wants the plan. He wants the road map for it.

Like Linda McMahon is a great choice, the Department of Ed. She has taken on huge endeavors like this before, head-on.

And look, I think what you do, is you eliminate that agency.

It's got to be a top priority from day one. You walk in. You decimate the -- all the jobs programs out of it.

You get ready to fire a bunch of personnel. They would be packing their bags right now. Then we go into Congress, and we don't need this. Why in the world are we doing this?

And if you want to continue some of those programs, you walk around the state to let them have full authority, on how to spend the money.

But no longer do you go to 5,000 nearly employees in DC and let them attach all these strains. All this indoctrination, all of their woke agenda on to our educational systems. It's up to the state.

So, again, there's some ways to do this. They have some options.

One is a block grant. One is to return it to the state. And say, look, you guys make the decisions of where your money goes.

Solve your own problems. It's amazing to me, Glenn. To listen to the weeping and gnashing of teeth from the left.

I'm like, guys, for over 200 years, we didn't have a Department of Education.

We developed the greatest country in the history of the world. Some of the greatest minds were forged in just a one-room schoolhouse, focused on the basics. Right?

So, look, this is a deviation from American history.

The last 40 years from the Department of Ed, and everything has gotten worse.

So their scare tactics are not going to work. I think President Trump has a clear mandate. I think he's focused to dismantle it. Not to play around the edges, but for Ed to be gone. States have the power, and then we will push states to give the power back to parents like we do in Oklahoma. That's where power rests. That's where God intended it, and that's where we will put it.

GLENN: And how fast do you think -- I mean, President Trump told me, if it doesn't happen in the first 100 days, I'm going to have a hard time getting it through.

You know, I got the impression when Linda McMahon goes in. She's for school choice, blah, blah, blah. But do you get the impression from the president, that this is -- shut this thing down, beginning day one?

MATT: Yes, sir. He's been crystal clear, both publicly and privately. I want it gone.

I have laid a marker down, that agency represents -- it's the belly of the beast. It really is.

This is the training ground for the Deep State, right? So no. Get rid of it in its entirety.

I want the thing to shut down. I want the building bulldozed. Like I want it gone.

I don't want any remnant of a Department of Education.

I think Linda McMahon is there to do just that. I think they've been absolutely working for it. It has to happen fast.

President Trump won a crystal clear mandate in this election. And, Glenn, he laid out. I mean, how clear can he be?

That agency is gone. He wasn't like, hey, we're going to do some things. Congressmen will get on board with that. The American people are sick of watching our kids having a woke agenda pushed on them from Washington, DC.

Our Founders would be rolling over in their grave, if they knew that DC was dictating over the summer.

Hey, all states. You have to allow boys and girls sports. Boys and girls bathrooms.

I mean, I couldn't even imagine explaining that to a George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. Yeah, someone in DC made that decision one morning, and tried to tell us to do it.

I mean, it's just -- the American people are fed up, and they've elected Donald Trump to do that. I think he will absolutely fulfill his promises, as what we saw in the first term. I think that agency is gone.

GLENN: When do these Bibles start to go into schools in Oklahoma.

MATT: Today actually. Actually today. We got the Bibles yesterday. We will start moving them into districts today. We are very excited.

And, again, we're going to make sure our kids understand the role the Bible played in American history, as you pointed out. I don't know how you know American history without the Bible.

You can't. So we're very excited. We want our kids to understand the nation's history. And we want them to be patriotic.

We are unapologetic about that, Glenn. In Oklahoma, we want patriotic opportunities. We want them to love this country. We want them to move forward in the understanding that this country will cease to be great, if the citizens don't understand his principles and advocate for those moving forward.

We're unapologetic about that here.

GLENN: You are also, I believe. The reddest of red states now.

Correct?

MATT: We are. We are. All seven counties went for President Trump here. We love President Trump here in Oklahoma.

GLENN: So what has the push back been like, and what are you expecting coming your way?

MATT: So the unions are just losing their mind, of course. You know, and the Democrats are losing their mind. But listen, hey. We have some week-kneed Republicans up here, and I've just been crystal clear with them. We're moving forward. This is a clear agenda that has been mandated by the people. They want the Bible back in schools. They want their schools back to parents. And back teaching patriotism and love of country.

We're going to do it. So weak-kneed Republicans, you better get out of the way.

Because the reality is -- here in Oklahoma. All 77 counties voted for President Trump.

It is America First agenda here. We are full steam ahead. We will be tip of the spear for President Trump and his education agenda. And, Glenn, he's done laying out the most aggressive education agenda in this country's history. Universal school choice nationwide, to a tax credit.

Patriotic education, and no Department of Education, and prayer back in schools?

I mean, this is exactly the plan to move education back to allowing America to continue to be that greatest country in the history of the world.

President Trump laid it out there. We will absolutely be the tip of the spear in making sure all of those things happen. And, again, RINO Republicans move out of the way. The people are so tired of winning elections. And let's play around the edges.

This is a mandate. This is not -- by the way, Glenn, I've told our folks in Oklahoma. This is not a bipartisan mandate. I don't know where this comes from.

All right. Let's go cut a deal. No, no, no, no. It's full steam ahead.

The American people voted for a clear agenda of America. We're enacting it. This is not a bipartisan mandate. It's a President Trump. America first mandates. We are moving forward. Full steam ahead.

GLENN: Are you being considered at all, for any role in the -- in the end of the Department of Education? Because you've done a tremendous job, in Oklahoma.

MATT: Well, I appreciate that. We've gotten to have some great conversations with President Trump's team. Look, I think they did a great job with Linda McMahon. I think she will be incredibly dialed in.

I think she will absolutely lead the charge to get rid of that agency. I think they've cut a tremendous -- every day, you wake up, and see President Trump's appointees. And think, wow, this is fantastic.

GLENN: I know. And the one thing about it is whether you like it or not. They are all revolutionaries.

They are all -- none of them are like -- no. Let's sit down and talk about this.

I mean, they're clear on what they're going to do. And he's putting the fiercest fighters of the big state. Or Deep State in every single appointment.

MATT: Could be more.

Listen, fundamentalist hear it from the president's own mouth. You're hearing it from his personnel decisions. He's absolutely dead serious.

This agenda that he ran on. That he was crystal clear with the American people on.

The American people overwhelmingly voted for.

It's going to get done. He is clear. These things are going to happen.

I believe Linda McMahon was exactly the right choice to come here.

She's only gotten done everything she's ever done in her life.

I mean, she just literally -- hey, what's in front of me? Got it. And just does it.

So it's going to be done.

And again, you've got to have states step up. And that's what we -- we are so excited to work with President Trump and his team. We told him. In Oklahoma, it's going to get done. Prayer will be back in school. The Bible will be back in school.

We will teach patriotism. We will continue to be the tip of the spear on school choice.

Every state has to have school choice. We have to continue to take on the woke left, with an offensive game plan.

We don't play defense anymore. Okay?

For those Republicans that didn't get the memo. We got it in the last election.

If you need it any louder, the American people want action on a true conservative America first agenda. Let's act. The states enact President Trump's agenda. Let's move the country forward.

And show them what conservative principles look like in action. Here's the reality, Glenn. And we know this. They work.

That's where it's full steam ahead, guys. Get these principles in action. Let's get the policies enacted.

Because the people of Oklahoma will see it, and improve their lives. They will see a better school. They will see a better education system, which will lead to a better society.

Which leads to a stronger state and stronger economy.

Oh, you have to do the thing. You can't just talk about -- President Trump is clearly a man of action. He's the man for the times. Look, I think he's very Churchillian. You look at a guy who is doing it alone. He was standing up against these threats. And you have Republicans going, oh, he's too much. You're going, oh, he's not. He recognizes the threats that the left represents. And now the American people have turned to President Trump. He's the man for the hour.

I couldn't be excited.

GLENN: I think you made a great case on Churchill.

Ryan, thank you so much.

This is Ryan Walters. He is the Oklahoma state superintendent of schools, and Oklahoma is putting Bibles back into schools today. Thank you, Ryan, appreciate it.