The problem with Glenn Beck is that he's a conservative, and like with all conservatives his value system is so full of contradictions that he's of necessity ineffective, no matter how many people agree with him. In fact, it's a wonder he hasn't died of cognitive dissonance yet.
So, to be done with it, let's do a brief Beck autopsy. His principles, as Wikipedia quotes him, are:
1. America Is Good
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday
4. the family is sacred
5. if you break the law you pay the penalty
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with whom I want to
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion
9. the government works for me — I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Well, #6, #7, and #8 are perfectly fine. But it goes all downhill from there.
Basically, #2 flies straight in the face of #6 — if your life belongs to god, it doesn't belong to you. As does #4 — if family is sacrosanct, all your values that conflict with irrational wants of some random family member are annihilated.
Sure, #1 might be true if you hold that America is the land of #6 — but according to Beck and his ilk it's firstly the land of #2 and #4, which make #6 impossible. And #5 flies straight in the face of #8 — if he disagrees with authority, he'll at some point have to break the law to save fugitive slaves and Jews. Likewise, #3 is at least a tactical mistake — you don't tell the truth to jackbooted government thugs.
Accordingly, if #9 can ever be made to work, I'd love to see how. It sure can't be by conservatives like Beck.
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