Weekly Written Analysis 2

Glenn Beck. Everyone has heard of him. You either love him or hate him. I find him interesting. I do not believe everything he says and sometimes I don’t like the way he says things either. But I do find some of his points valid. Glenn Beck is neither a republican nor democrat. He is a libertarian who calls it like he sees it. When it comes to the criticizing politicians, everyone is game. He refers to himself as “the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment” (Time, 2009). He claims to be the voice of the people.


Sometimes he appears to me as a “gloom and doom” kind of guy and uses fear to make his points. But I have to ask myself, when do we become afraid? When it is too late? Post-trauma? I believe the American people have become numb and overwhelmed to the point of being paralyzed. It’s like being part of a debate and the opponent is overwhelming us with big words and fancy phrases (smoke and mirrors) that leave us confused and empty. Regardless of our view, we don’t speak up. We don’t make a stand. We believe that the act of voting is the only voice we have. Some of us believe the act of voting is meaningless and actually refuse to participate. What has happened to us? Well, I will tell you that I am afraid. I am afraid of how greed and power has clouded our judgment as a nation. Below is an excerpt of a statement Glenn Beck made regarding 9/11 and the site of the former Twin Towers. Regardless of your political view, his comments hit a nerve. It’s about us, the American people, and he reminds us of who we are. I believe we need to be reminded of who we are and we need to send a message to Washington that we, the people, are the only special interest group they should be catering too. And he said,

"Let me tell you something. I believe that if it were up to you or me, just regular schmoes in America, the Freedom Tower would have been done years ago. And it wouldn't have been the Freedom Tower; it would have been the Freedom Towers — because we would've built both of these towers back the way they were before! Except we would've built them stronger! We would've built them in a way that they would've resisted attack. And you know what? My guess is they would've been 25 stories taller, with a big, fat 'Come and Try That Again' sign on top. We would've built it with our bare hands if we had to, because that's what Americans do. When we fail, when we face a crisis, we pull ourselves up and make things better. I believe the only reason we haven't built it isn't because of Americans. It's because we're being held back. And who is holding us back? Politicians. Special-interest groups. Political correctness. You name it — everybody but you."

Whether you like him or not, one thing is true. His voice is loud and clear – just look at his earnings and show ratings. He’s representing somebody out there.

Reference

Von Drehle, D. (2009, September 17). Mad man: is Glenn Beck bad for America?. Time, Retrieved October 7, 2009 from http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1924348,00.html