Glenn Beck attacks Us

I haven’t watched it yet, but… how could someone of average or even sub-normal intelligence and the cognitive functioning to survive to adulthood be so utterly ignorant of history and just life in general to think America is (even assuming this statement is true, which it is not) somehow different or unique from other countries by declaring an allegiance to a divine power? How about… every other fucking country ever in the history of things?

Haven’t watched it yet (can’t watch videos at work), but had to reply to this:

The declaration of independence was more of a letter breaking up with the king of England…

Brilliant. I am totally stealing that.

My (least) favorite line was (paraphrasing)

“Stop looking for more social justice and start looking for more eternal justice”

It is attitudes like this that actually cause all the problems in society.

I like the way he practically sneers every time he says the phrase “social justice.”

Why doesn’t he just come right out and say that non-believers are evil anti-American, communist bastards? You know he’s thinking it.

I think this is the scariest Glenn Beck video I’ve ever watched.

Well, at least he didn’t cry; almost, but, not quite. I am sincerely concerned for the man. I believe that he has lost contact with reality. IANAD, but, I think that after some counseling and medication he could possibly recover. I almost said ‘recover his senses’! How silly of me, since he never had any sense to begin with.

I don’t know about you, but Jesus was filling that gaping hole in my soul last night. Hard. All night long. I woke up this morning stuck to the ceiling of my room.

Looks like some of the letters correcting Beck’s confusing and conflating the Declaration of Independence with the Constitution have actually had a good effect. He actually corrected his slip. Most of the fundie-pundies don’t bother.

The Declaration of Independence is not a legally binding document. It’s a very eloquently worded letter saying “go fuck off” to King George III. Those brave men who signed it knew that their lives were forfeit if they lost the Revolution. The British method of execution for high treason was half-hanging followed by careful disembowelment while alive and conscious. They would watch their entrails burning on a fire before they finally died when their heart was cut out, Aztec-style, still beating.

Given what they were risking, I don’t blame them for mentioning God in the Declaration even though they were mostly deists.

The Constitution, by prohibiting religion from corrupting government, prevents those days from returning.

The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution asserts that the people possess rights not enumerated by the document. The Declaration discusses what those rights are. Ergo, parts of the Declaration of Independence are legally binding within the United States (to the extent that the Constitution is). It’s also morally binding, based on the virtue of it’s being true.

Anyway, the “creator” language in the DoI was a last minute rhetorical flourish. Jefferson’s initial draft said

We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable: that all men are created equal and independent; that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

which is more accurate philosophically, even if the prose doesn’t flow quite as well. Our natural rights are derived from our equal humanity, not from the whim of a deity.

I wanted to jump in and say “We realized that governmental legitimacy comes from the consent of the governed!”

I think you meant to say, “They decided that rich white landowning men should be allowed to vote on whether blacks should be slaves.” No government in history has been based on the consent of the governed. Government is based on deciding who would have a self-interested reason to support the status quo and then making sure that only that group of people has a say.

@Richard Wade:

The Constitution, by prohibiting religion from corrupting government, prevents those days from returning.

No, it doesn’t; we ourselves do that. The document can at best only inspire us to this end.

Suppose Huckabee became president and got his way changing the Constitution to “reflect God’s will.” The document, being nothing more than a brittle piece of paper, would have been unable to stop him. And the main difference between Huckabee and the other theocons is that he alone respects the idea of constitutional law enough to actually bother going through the amending process.

Wow. I’m glad I’m Canadian…. except with guys like this right next door……

And our own government has enough members whose thought lines don’t run very far from this guy’s.

As a recent arrival in the world of atheism, I am grateful to find places where we connect and offer mutual support. Keep up the good work, everybody.

Earlier today I put this comment on youtube:

So God only gave the United States “certain inalienable rights”? That? was nice of him.

Unfortunately, some people didn’t understand that I was being sarcastic and I was called stupid and ignorant. Now I remember why I don’t comment on youtube…

IANAD, but, I think that after some counseling and medication he could possibly recover. I almost said ‘recover his senses’! How silly of me, since he never had any sense to begin with.

You’re right. Beck has been one of those New World Order conspiracy theorists for at least the last two years. Ever since the election, he’s really gone off the deep end with crap about FEMA concentration camps and such stuff.

I think it was a different video, but Beck has also apparently blamed us for the economic recession.

Link:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/30/wingnut-extreme-glen.html

After actually watching the video…

…did any other gamers get the eerie sense that they were watching a Command & Conquer cutscene? Is this how he always talks, or did I just catch him in Shitty Acting Mode? I kept expecting him to shout “Peace through power!”

hasty edit: Not to imply that Joe Kucan is a shitty actor, of course.

Jesse, you and all the others that actually sat through more than 20 seconds of that deserve some sort of medal. Not quite sure what kind.

Miko,

No, it doesn’t; we ourselves do that. The document can at best only inspire us to this end.

Oh I completely agree with you. The Constitution is only as strong as the people willing to fight to protect it. It is a set of principles and procedures put down on paper so that they will remain constant and not be easily dismissed by those who would bow to expediency or those who would remake us in their own image. Using the Constitution as our guide and our rallying point, we must fight for our liberty every day, because it is assaulted by “the righteous” every day.

The Becks of the world, the demagogues with their phony piety and their crocodile tears will offer nothing but laughter at the ruins of our freedom if we let them have their way.

Sorry I can’t come up with anything funny about Beck. He is far below mockery. He deserves nothing less than deep, nauseous revulsion. I have no humor in me to make fun of so loathsome a hypocrite.

Glenn Beck has charisma and blind certainty. The combination is rather frightening.

If God existed, Glenn Beck wouldn’t.

I love that Glenn Beck has a problem with school aged children singing about equality (racial or otherwise). I love even more that he feels like showing clips of this will enrage the average viewer, without having to explain how distasteful he finds them. Most of all though, I love how he ONLY likes “equality” when it’s handed down by his ‘Christian God’ and not the garden variety formal equality that is protected by law…

This would all be deliciously ironic if it wasn’t so borderline retarded.

[...] tip: The Friendly Atheist blog and the Pharyngula blog. Feel Free to [...]

In other news, Natalie Portman is super hot.

Did half of those things he said even happen? Last I checked, there is no new money without the “In God We Trust” motto. And who is stopping you from singing Christmas carols?

Now I don’t think that Glenn Beck did rape and kill a young girl back in 1990. In fact, I’m almost certain he didn’t. I’m just concerned about the fact that he has never come forward and denied these horrid accusations.

All he needs to do is provide signed affidavits showing where he was on that night, and this whole thing will blow over. Why does he refuse to display his (obvious) innocence?

I can understand his following better now, at least. I’ve never watched any of his ramblings before, but he’s one hell of an orator. It’s a shame that Americans put more stock in someone who seems to know what he’s talking about than in logic. But then again, that’s pretty much what conservatives have been saying in relation to President Obama’s election. Oh well.

This is the first and probably the last time I’ll visit your website. You say you are the “friendly atheist” and admonish your readers to “mock away.”

Friendly people don’t mock other people when they disagree.

“Let us celebrate our freedom. And die for each other’s freedom if we must.”

Why doesn’t Glenn join the Military? They could use a few more like him to pass out bibles in the Middle East. You would think that be his ultimate duty for his god. And if he died over there, he could be remembered for his godly-duties and that he died for all of our freedoms.

He’d be more popular than ever!

I’ll even pay for his plane ticket if the Military won’t have him.

He just looks like the sort of guy who would leave the studio to snort cocaine from a hooker’s backside. Allegedly.

That supposed ‘correction’ was hurriedly delivered in a manner that wasn’t really sounding like it was to fix anything for the viewer… definite Freudian slip there.

He’s a charlatan and he will say whatever he thinks will get his viewers riled up and angry.

P.S.
In case you didn’t know Glenn Beck is a Mormon

No no no mistype, I didn’t mean moron… he is that too) but he is a Mormon.

See below…
http://www.glennbeckmormon.com/

Being a Mormon, Glenn Beck had better be glad it’s okay to bow out of the prevailing religion.

I dislike the last 20 seconds…

let us die to for each other’s freedom, just not kill each other.

As a vet I do not like posturing by a guy who sits behind a desk and acts like he is putting his life on the line. Unless you are wearing the uniform you are not really showing me you are willing to die for “us”. Especially after you just alienated atheists who happened to be vets.

Why does Glenn Beck seem completely normal in this video or is it just me? Not so much the 2nd half and the mormon “testimony” part but overall…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USpeolBTKIo

I think their dirty little secret (Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, et al) is that they know they are lying and they are doing it on purpose. They found a recipe for financial success. Make up outrageous lies and then say them with authority and the uneducated masses who want to believe what you are saying will spend time listening to your program and money on your stupid books. I don’t think they even believe the nonsense they spew, but those millions in their bank accounts sure are real. They laugh all the way to the bank.

If Glenn Beck is against you then you must be doing something right.

What is this void he speaks of? I have no void. I know of one void though and it is between Becks ears. He makes me feel kind of ill when I see him and the fact that so many people agree with him and act as if he is some sort of hero is frightening.

beckster, they are political ministers in other words. Good points you made.

I watched this last night, and I got this creepy sense from his facial expression that he knows he’s pulling a fast one on his viewers. I didn’t see him believing his own words.

Probably I am too optimistic, though.

Beckster,

I agree 100%. I always tell people (including a Beck/Hagee/Pat Robertson fan I know) EVERYTHING on TV is purely entertainment. These guys are entertainers of the political genre.
To me they are no different from Colbert or Stewart – except the latter use humor instead of drama (in the form of vitriol).

A month ago I read Glenn Beck’s Common Sense. In it, he styles himself a modern Tom Paine and calls Americans to action to take back their country.

Beck’s solution? We use democracy to defeat progressive ideals, and we need more god in American society.

What Beck fails to realize is that his model, Tom Paine, wouldn’t be pleased at all with Beck claiming the title of one of his books. The Rights of Man argues for some very progressive ideals (particularly a chapter on the benefits of progressive taxation, which Beck especially hates). The Age of Reason is Paine’s full-throated attack on Christianity in particular and religion in general.

I think Beck’s thought process in writing GBCS was, “Paine wrote Common Sense to fire up people, so I’ll write Common Sense to fire up people,” without ever realized what it was that Paine was trying to fire people up about.

Thunderf00t has done a rebuttal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMwZ76QB7uk

How did i not notice the similarities between Glen Beck and Lewis Prothero.

Its the exact same kind of childish brain dead rhetoric that Prothero pushes to the ignorant followers.

The guys such a joke, how can he be so popular?

He finds a minority scapegoat. Blames them for the woes of society. Then does not even really tie in any facts.
What actions of “A” (the ‘nones’) caused the result of any outcome “B”?

Gee, I wonder in history past if anyone has played this “find a minority and blame them for failures of the people and institutions I believe in” card before?

I could hear Prothero’s speech in my head while watching that (before i even scrolled down to see Hemant had linked it). The purpose is the same in both cases, make people scared enough that they turn to you (fox and the republicans) for the solution (to a problem that never existed).

People like Beck think one thing of religion for sure, that its useful. Maybe he thinks it’s true as well, but to him it’s usefulness is far better specially at its ability to gain loyal followers with just a few words.

While I found that completely ridiculous, this article sheds some interesting light on these idiots:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/opinion/02brooks.html?_r=1

Brilliant. And I agree, Natalie Portman is super hot.

You now have me wondering if he plagerized Vendetta. Somehow I wouldn’t be surprised.

Excellent rebuttal by Thunderf00t, Tony. Thanks for posting the link.

Good. We can use a lot less god in our society, look at all the wonderful things that it has plagued our society with. Wars, racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, heterosexism. I think this country would do just fine if we were somehow able to get rid of this insane notion of a god. I think our country is getting better because of the fact that more people are starting to wake up to reality.