Critics of Glenn Beck are coming out of the woodwork. When James Carville calls you a "nut" you know you're doing something right. Not that Beck hasn't opened himself to criticism, but apparently he's tough enough to take it.
Much of what Glenn Beck is about is getting us to act. He is troubled by the direction that our nation's leaders are taking us. He is not alone. He has rallied a segment of the population who were looking for a rallying point. He and Fox News have shined a bright light on corruption in the ACORN "camp" and questioned the qualifications of Obama administration appointees. He's also been very critical of the Republican malaise over the past eight years.
The critical question is; would anyone care what Beck says if it didn't resonate with millions of Americans across a broad spectrum of the population? Probably not. Would we be saddled with health care legislation that the administration and Democratic leadership tried to sneak through Congress before the people woke up and asked, "You want to do WHAT with my health care?" We probably would be! Let's give Glenn Beck credit for being more than just a frantic showman.
Speaking of show business; it seems the news departments of "major media" NBC, CBS, and ABC are becoming more like their entertainment departments. They've lost touch with reality, or at least objectivity, by shamelessly promoting everything Obama. And since Obama shuns Fox News, the "majors" refuse to give credence to anything out of Fox. Meanwhile, viewer numbers grow at Fox and shrink at the "majors" who also have their "nuts," only they call them entertainers.
Jon Stewart says a lot about current politics that sounds nutty and gets laughs but has he inspired anyone to do anything worthwhile? This points out the fact that we have become a nation addicted to entertainment, an "entertaination." The entertainment industry has become a major component of our gross national product, while being entertained takes up more and more of our time and budgets.
Beck inspired and promoted the 9-12 marchers, tea parties and most recently women groups such as "Asamom.com" who put aside party labels and join to promote what is good in America as well as what's good for America. These women freely admit that they were inspired to act by Glenn Beck. They have a lot to offer and have experiences we should listen to.
Glenn Beck was inspired by W. Cleon Skousen, who died in 2006, and whose life story is a patchwork of ups and downs. He wrote books that have inspired many. The attacks on Skousen and Beck seek to defame and diminish their credibility.
Those who follow Beck are for the most part peaceful, law-abiding, and orderly in their protests but no less passionate than the hoodlums who recently protested in Pittsburg at a meeting of the G-20 by setting fires and other acts of vandalism.
Skousen is criticized for many things, one of the more interesting is his being fired as chief of police of Salt Lake City. The reason given was that he had cracked down on gambling in the city. Consider that the state of Utah has a long history of defeating any attempt at legalizing any sort of gambling even though a significant segment of its citizens frequent legal gambling establishments in Nevada, Wyoming and Idaho.
It seems to work, even without gambling revenue. Utah is one of the best fiscally managed states. This seems to justify the ban on gambling from a legal standpoint; the moral justification is up to the individual.
It seems to me that Beck and Skousen are challenging us to decide whether or not the Constitution is a living or obsolete document. Some authorities would have you believe the Constitution is no longer viable. Skousen wrote about how our form of government came to be and how it should work.
His explanation is too rooted in religion for some but you would be hard-pressed to find any of the Founding Fathers who did not have strong religious beliefs. Those beliefs are evident in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.
President George Washington's farewell address included an admonition to future generations. He said, "The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists, until changed by the whole people, is sacred and obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government."
If the people who act to honor and enforce Washington's words are considered "nuts," then it is a title I too will proudly wear, along with that of patriot.
Reynolds lives in Pleasant View.
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