Glenn Beck and Charlie Kirk Discuss America's Exceptionalism, Socialism's Rise, and the Coming Divide on the Right
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Glenn Beck and Charlie Kirk Discuss America's Exceptionalism, Socialism's Rise, and the Coming Divide on the Right
Glenn Beck sits down with Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, for a candid conversation about the future of America, the threat of socialism among young people, and a critical emerging divide within the conservative movement. Beck shares never-before-told details about a reconciliation phone call with President Trump, while Kirk raises concerns about a new faction on the right willing to use big government to solve cultural problems. The two discuss Winston Churchill's duality, the war in heaven as political allegory, why atheism leads to statism, and how Thomas Jefferson's original Declaration of Independence draft proves the founders understood slavery was evil. Beck reveals rare historical artifacts including Jefferson's handwritten letters, World War II leaflets dropped before Hiroshima, and the original Disneyland prospectus to illustrate American exceptionalism.
Glenn Beck opens by challenging the narrative that young people today are lazy and entitled. He sees hope in Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA, an organization that didn't exist just years ago but now has chapters at over 1,500 schools. Beck describes attending their fifth annual student action summit where over 5,000 students paid their own way to attend from across the country, eager to learn about America's founding principles and constitutional government.
Kirk shares how Beck's work influenced him growing up, particularly Beck's 2010 Restoring Honor rally in Washington DC where Beck predicted that somewhere in that crowd was the next George Washington. Kirk believes his generation can fulfill that prophecy, though he acknowledges challenges ahead.
Beck's Reconciliation Call with President Trump
Beck reveals for the first time publicly that President Trump called him about six months prior to the recording. They hadn't spoken since before the 2016 election. Beck's assistant interrupted a show taping to tell him the president was on the phone, leading to an awkward moment where Beck asked if he could call back.
During their subsequent 30-minute conversation, Beck told Trump he had always said he wanted to be wrong about his concerns and would judge Trump on what he actually did as president, not predictions. They had a frank discussion about Israel and spent 15 minutes debating trade policy, with Trump openly admitting he loves tariffs and trade barriers despite Beck's disagreements.
Beck appreciated Trump's authenticity, noting he didn't pander or tell Beck what he wanted to hear. This honesty, Beck argues, is what people respond to in Trump's leadership style.
The Coming Divide on the Right
Kirk identifies an emerging split in the conservative movement that Beck agrees is critical. A new faction on the right is comfortable using government power to solve cultural and societal problems, including trustbusting tech companies and banning things like pornography.
Beck forcefully rejects this approach, explaining it makes conservatives no different than the progressives they oppose. He traces this thinking back to Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, who believed a group of experts and philosopher kings could decide for everyone else.
The founders believed differently, Beck argues. They understood that some people will fail, some will make terrible choices, and there's nothing government can do to prevent it. Beck shares personal experience from his family where his mother and brother both committed suicide, noting that until individuals decide to change, nothing external can force that change.
The War in Heaven as Political Allegory
Beck offers a spiritual framework for understanding the debate over individual liberty versus collective control. He references the war in heaven where Satan proposed bringing everyone back to God by removing their agency and choice, taking credit for their salvation.
God rejected this plan in favor of one requiring sacrifice and allowing people the freedom to fail. Beck suggests this ancient conflict continues today between those who want to control others for their own good and those who believe in individual responsibility and freedom.
The way Satan convinced a third of angels to rebel, Beck proposes, was by painting God as cruel for allowing suffering and pain when he could prevent it. This same argument fuels modern collectivism.
The Mission Statement of America
Kirk asks what America's mission statement should be. Beck responds by reciting the opening of the Declaration of Independence about all men being created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, with governments instituted to protect those rights.
Beck calls this the greatest mission statement of all time, an aspirational statement the founders knew hadn't been achieved but believed was possible. He compares it to John F. Kennedy's moon landing promise, something that seemed impossible but was accomplished through audacity and belief.
Rather than focusing on America's failures, Beck argues we should celebrate progress while acknowledging shortcomings and continuing to strive toward the founding ideal.
Winston Churchill: Monster and Miracle
Beck uses Winston Churchill to illustrate that individuals are complex and capable of both great evil and great good. To Indians, Churchill was a monster who crushed rebellion and believed they were incapable of self-rule. To Europeans, he was a miracle who saved civilization.
Which was the real Churchill? Beck says both. The question is whether someone progresses morally over their lifetime. Churchill admitted his mistakes late in life and acknowledged he had wrong views when younger.
This same complexity exists in America as a nation and in every individual. We all have dark and light sides in constant battle. The key is understanding we need forgiveness, which should lead us to extend forgiveness and grace to others.
The Rise of Atheism and Statism
Kirk identifies the fastest-growing religion in America as atheism, particularly evangelical atheism where people actively promote their disbelief. He sees a direct connection between atheism and statism, because when people stop believing rights come from a Creator, government becomes the source of rights.
Beck notes that Nietzsche's famous declaration that God is dead was actually a warning, not a celebration. Nietzsche was concerned about what would replace God in people's lives, predicting the rise of science as a substitute deity, which led to eugenics and the Holocaust.
The left's gods are the planet, global warming, and socialism, Beck argues. If you don't genuflect to their orthodoxy, you're treated as a heretic who must be driven out. Beck distinguishes between libertarian atheists who don't want to force beliefs on others and evangelical atheists who want to eliminate religion from public life.
Penn Jillette's Transformation
Beck shares the story of his friendship with Penn Jillette, the atheist magician. When they first met in 2006, Penn told Beck that having lunch with him would be like inviting disease into his house because Beck was Christian. Penn later admitted he was angry about 9/11 and had grouped all religious people together.
Through their friendship, Penn changed. Beck saw him speak at an atheist convention, telling fellow atheists not to become what they criticized in the worst Christians, urging them not to drive religious people from the public square but to live together respectfully.
Beck poses Dennis Prager's question to atheists: Do you hope you're wrong? If someone doesn't hope they're wrong about God's non-existence, they want to be right more than they want truth, mercy, forgiveness, and meaning.
The Capitalism and Control Problem
Kirk presses Beck on how free-market advocates address concerns about wealthy individuals becoming so powerful they can control society. Beck admits this is challenging but argues the market works itself out over time.
Beck compares the current era to the gilded age of the late 1800s with its ostentatious displays of wealth. The Vanderbilts were the richest family in America, yet the average American today has about twice the lifestyle benefits they had.
The real problem wasn't the railroads or the wealth, Beck explains, but when people like Henry Ford decided they could control others. Ford supported the national socialists in Germany and required financial reviews before allowing people to buy his cars.
The solution isn't trustbusting or wealth confiscation but making government so small there's no one to bribe. Corruption flourishes when government is large enough to be worth lobbying.
Thomas Jefferson and the Slavery Debate
Beck shares a rare 1830 engraving of the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, showing edits by Franklin and Adams in the margins like a Google doc. He points out that in Jefferson's handwriting, certain words appear in all capitals and printed letters rather than cursive.
The capitalized words are "Christian" and "men" in a passage condemning the king for the slave trade. Jefferson wrote that this "Christian king" took people who never offended him from another part of the world and sold "men" on the open market, then armed them to kill the colonists trying to free them.
This passage was removed from the final Declaration because two states out of thirteen insisted on it for unanimous approval. Beck argues this proves the founders understood slavery was evil and wanted to address it, but political reality prevented it. The document still inspired Vermont to abolish slavery in 1777 and launched the abolition movement.
American Exceptionalism Through Artifacts
Beck shows Kirk a handwritten letter from Thomas Jefferson to Caesar Rodney stating that America is the world's last hope and its loss will be on their heads. He also displays the original prospectus for Disneyland, hand-colored by Walt Disney.
Most powerfully, Beck reveals World War II leaflets that were dropped over 11 Japanese cities, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, warning civilians to evacuate because America had a new bomb with more firepower than all bombs dropped in Europe. The leaflets emphasized that America was targeting the emperor's imperial ambitions, not the Japanese people.
Beck points out that only Israel does anything similar today with the Palestinian Authority. These artifacts demonstrate American exceptionalism—the idea that America operates by different moral standards than other nations.
The Loss of American Speed and Ambition
Beck notes that Walt Disney announced plans to build Disneyland in Orange County in November 1954, and by July 1955, it was open. Today, such a project would require environmental impact statements, endless permits, and protests that would make it impossible.
This loss of speed and ambition represents a broader problem. America is not the nation it used to be in terms of our ability to dream big and execute quickly. The regulatory state and activist opposition have made the kind of ambitious projects that defined American greatness nearly impossible.
Despite these challenges, both Beck and Kirk express hope that the rising generation—particularly those involved with Turning Point USA—can restore American exceptionalism and the founding principles of individual liberty, limited government, and personal responsibility.
Video Transcript
You know, I think one of the biggest lies today is the rap that is given to,
you know, 15 to 30 year olds. They're all called lazy, self-centered, participation trophy generation. Um, you
know, gosh, we're all going to be destroyed when they finally take over, but I don't think that's true. I mean, I
think there are those dirt bags, but that's not the majority. At least the ones I've met. And today's guest gives
me real hope that I'm right on this. He saw a problem and he didn't wait around
for someone else to fix it. Instead, he inspired high school and college students across the nation to be the
voice of freedom. He's a guy who when he was a kid watched my show on television
and by the time he's in uh high school and then in college, he wants to change
the world. He's somebody who President Trump has called a great warrior and is
no stranger to leftist criticism. He's been called every name in the book for daring to support free speech on college
campuses while questioning affirmative action and white privilege. He is the
founder of an organization that was nowhere didn't even exist just a few years ago. It's turning point USA. It is
the largest, most impressive and fastest growth youth movement in the country.
Chapters at over 1,500 schools in America. It's also worldwide now.
Recently, I was invited to speak at their fifth annual student action summit. And what I saw amazed me. Over
5,000 students attending on their own dime from all across the country and
fired up about the truth of America. But before I took the stage, my guest
and I had an opportunity to sit down, and we shared what we've gotten wrong, what our country must get right, and the
amazing things that happen when people work together and do it. On this episode
of the Glen Beck podcast, backstage with Charlie Kirk.
[Music]
So, Glenn, so great to be sitting down here and uh it's an honor to be able to speak with you.
Yeah, likewise. Thank you so much. I I grew up listening to you and watching your show with the the black.
Thank you very much. It was more instructive than you could have ever imagined though. Wow. That is meaningful.
And you've been right about everything that you predicted. Not everything wrong about Donald Trump.
Well, back I was talking more back in 2012 or 2013, but it's it's really
refreshing to hear people yell to say, "No, I was wrong about something. I've been wrong about stuff. I endorsed Cruz
and I was behind him." I think Trump surprised all of us. Yeah. I you know
what I haven't really even talked about this uh on the air. I think I think I maybe
have obliquely reference referenced it recently. Um but uh must have been about
six months ago. Uh the president called me and we haven't spoken since before
the election. Wow. and uh and we always had a friendly relationship, you know, and he if I were
traveling, I would stay at Mara Lago and he'd be someplace else. Um but uh we
haven't spoken to each other since the election and he called me up and uh I'll
never forget my Scottish assistant who is part of the Moy Royal Marines. He
comes in while we're shooting a show and he's off stage and he's like, "The
president wants to talk to you." And I said, "Cut, stop for a second." "What?"
He said, "The president is on the phone." And I said, "The president of what?
Some university or Bolivia or Yeah. He's the president of Costco. Why
are you inter interrupting?" And he said, "Uh, of your country."
Wow. And uh I said, "Oh crap." And I didn't even know what to
do. And I strangely said, "Can I can you ask him if I can call him back? I'm in
the middle of shooting a show." What a stupid thing to say. And uh so he he
said, "Okay." We finished up the show. I called him back about 30 minutes later. And uh we talked for about a half an
hour. Wow. And it was a it was a really
I I wish more people knew him and could hear him like that.
Um because he he started in and he said um you know I want to thank you for you
know saying some nice things about me. And he thought I was taking this a
different direction. And I said, "Well, I don't know if you know this, but during, you know, the last election."
And he cut me off and he said, "Oh, no. I'm very aware of that." I said, "No, no, no, not that. I I'm clear you are
aware of that." Um, I said, "What I said was, I want to be wrong. I don't think I
am." Yeah. But I want to be wrong, and I'm going to judge him. I'm I'm having to judge him
on what I think he's going to do. Wow. Now, once he's the president, I get
to judge him for what he is doing. And I said, "So there was never any doubt in
my mind at least that if you did the things that you said you were going to do, I'd be a supporter. I just didn't
think you'd do them." And um you know, we talked about Israel. Um we talked about trade and I said, "I
strongly disagree. I bet we spent 15 minutes just on trade." Wow. Um and he did not shy away. He didn't
tell me what I wanted to hear. We had a real frank, honest conversation, which
you don't have usually with a politician. Yes. Um, and I think that's what people like about him. Um,
uh, is that he really will tell you what he's thinking. What the problem is sometimes, and yet
the blessing is he is just PT Barnum. Well, and I I'll I'll tell you, you're a
great um example uh that shows the success of his presidency from a conservative worldview, which is there's
more people supporting him that are saying, you know what, I was hoping he'd succeed, and he has, and he has been
able to deliver results. What's interesting is at the um uh at the time
we're recording this, it's just what day after the impeachment and last night the
president had a uh rally up in Michigan. 17% of those who attended were
Democrats. That's right. And I think there's a lot of people who, you know, I heard Ben
Shapiro say the other day, it's whether you think the president is a killer or a
coroner. These things the press and everything else, they've been dead for a long time.
Now he's standing over the body saying they're dead. And the and the press now and everybody
else is saying, "Look, he killed the press." No, he didn't. Wow. They killed themselves a long time ago. So, is he a
coroner or is he the killer? Wow. Half the country, 40% are convinced that
he's the killer. The other half recognize this stuff has been rotted for
a long, long time. Yes. Well, and Glenn, you and I both share the belief that America is
exceptional. And it felt that before Donald Trump, and I would make I would make the argument most Republicans who are
running for the presidency would not have done what President Trump has done, especially the international TPP, Iran
deal, renegotiating NAFTA. Those are almost untouchable for both parties. You can't you can't go there. But it felt as
if there was a management of the decline of America. And you led the Tea Party movement in in 2011. Those are my words,
not yours. Okay. So 2010 2011 you were a big part of it and you were um you were a v a
very vocal piece of it and President Trump in a lot of different ways has led
the revitalization has had given a lot of Americans hope that they thought that this this country could not be turned
around. You know what's really strange? He has the same thing that Tulsi Gabbard has
and they don't agree on anything basically anything. You know what I mean? But Tulsi is a
she's so far out of the mainstream and she is so far-left. But at no time do I
believe she hates America. I believe she loves America. We just disagree. Yes. And what used to bring us together is
that we can disagree, but we have a fundamental understanding that this country is a positive force and you can
make it. Well, I have I have a working theory about this. This is why Bernie Sanders has a has a group that really
appreciates him and follows him and why even some people on the right will say, "Oh, I I like I I don't like Bernie
Sanders, but I think he really believes what he believes." I think the new era of politics in the bipartisan cartel
that has ruined this, you know, ruling class essentially, you know, very series of destructive policies that have
borrowed too much money and eroded our freedoms and liberties and grew the fourth branch of government. I think the American people would much prefer
someone who's authentic, who says why they believe what they believe, like that conversation you had with the president on trade, even if you might
fundamentally disagree with tariffs, who say, "I'll deal with that way more than an establishment Republican in a
heartbeat." I made argument after argument and he tried to dismantle and but wait a
minute, Mr. President, this blah blah blah. And in the end, he said, "I'm just going to shoot straight with you. I love
them. I love trade barriers. I love the fact that we can get things from people
if we just use our muscle a little bit. I fundamentally disagree, but I hung up
the phone going, "At least he told me the truth." Yes. He was not pandering to me. Well, and that's clarity over agreement.
Yes. Which and or the false agreement that the the the bipartisan coalition that
has really, like I said, ruined our country in so many ways. Not completely, but I find the American people have this
this yearning and this interest, especially young people, for authenticity in our candidates, and that's been deteriorating. So, I have a
question for you. Okay. In the in 10 years, do you think America will be more or less socialist?
I ask this question of everybody, by the way.
Can I answer with a caveat? Of course. If
uh we continue the spending and if we continue
the erosion of of who we are and the
truth, we will be much more socialist. If we if we have this um a real
collapse, an actual depression, people who right now say, "I am absolutely
against socialism. They will want it to be able to weather that storm." Um uh and I'm afraid that we're on that
track. However, I've been really heartened. I mean, Charlie, I don't
think you know the impact. You say, "Oh, Glenn, you made an impact on my life."
Do you realize the impact you're having on the country? I don't I don't
I mean, your organization didn't exist 5 years ago. It didn't exist.
Tonight, I'm talking to 5,000 people and I in in this place that paid to come
across the country. I was on a plane with all kinds of 18 to 24 year olds
yesterday and I realized the people you have. You remember when I
did the thing in Washington DC and restoring honor? I do. And right on the uh Washington Monument,
right? And I said that that day somewhere in this crowd
there is maybe he's seven, maybe he's 15. I saw that speech. Yeah. Somewhere in this crowd is the
next George Washington that will feel it right now. And I am so overwhelmed with
the people that I have met from your organization and the people who are coming. You're raising the next
generation. You are you and your organization. Thank you. really responsible for
um what I think will be the next great generation, but also some real sucky ones are going
to come out of this group, too. You know, there's always there's always there's always a big government
progressive left or right in in every and I want to talk to you about that because that's a great point and I think
the you're starting to see the coming divide on the right. Um, and I have some
sympathy with some of the arguments and it's definitely 100% sympathy with the observations of where the the the right comes from
this, but there's a new right movement um, where they're okay with using
government to trustbust or using government to solve societal cultural problems, banning things, growing
government. So, this idea of banning porn that's been kicked around. So, that that that that's part of it,
right? So, let's talk about I did a whole podcast on that. What's I don't know if you've commented on that publicly or
not, but this is the coming divide though, Glenn. I know I don't like something. This is horrible. This is evil. It's immoral.
It's sin. You are no different than what you're fighting against. Talk about that. This is the divide,
Glenn, that we're that you're going to, By the way, some of the students tonight are going to be looking for that clarity
because they're being told, "Which way do I want to go on this?" Yep. That's the diff. This is this is
the divide that started with the progressive era and the Roosevelt Woodrow Wilson. Those two believed that
the government and a group of experts could decide for everyone else. Philosopher kings. Yes.
Right. That's insanity. And that is the exact opposite of what our founders
believed. What our founders believed was look, you are going to some people and I
know this because I come from a suicidal family. I've had two people, my mother and my my brother commit suicide. So I
know it. Some people's bottom is death and there
is nothing you can do about it. When people say, "Oh, that guy was an alcoholic. That star was an alcoholic
and depressive. We should have seen this coming." Most likely the people in their life did see it coming and they tried to
do things. But until the individual decides to change, nothing will change.
They'll just hide it deeper and deeper and deeper and you will cause more strife by trying to force them to sober
up, get better, be happy. You know what I mean? And um you can't control other people's
morality. You can you can teach why it's destructive, but you become the fascist
when you decide this is immoral and thus I'm going to make sure nobody does it.
Um, there's an argument to be made. It's the efficacy of banning it also is questionable. Black markets pop up.
Look at look at the drug war. Sure. Yeah. Look at look at the drug war and look at it's not Spain. It's the island
Portugal. Are you familiar with they legalized all drugs basically they had the highest addiction rate I
believe in the world on heroin they were losing their entire country. They were
pouring money. What they decided to do was legalize all of it and then take
half of the money they were spending and work on drug programs like AA
programs. Just fund things that work to get people off that. They've completely
healed their country. I mean, there'll always be drug problems, but they've healed their country. We keep going down
the same path. Bad, slap the hand. Bad slap the hand. It doesn't work. And that's growing on the right, Glenn.
I know it is. And it's almost I don't want to I don't understand. Progressives started in the Republican
side. Yes. And you're seeing the you're seeing it especially with the issue of tech
tech tyranny Facebook Google and there's calls on the right now to either trust
bust them where have we heard that before or and a lot of it is t by bad history
by the way that the trust busting was almost is glamorized from the 19 early 1900s and you educated me on this quite
well about really the reality of trust busting you know and the the
it is the one part of capitalism that I can't
come up with a comfortable answer on um how do you control it when people
become so wealthy and so powerful that they can control so do we take
their money away do we take their control away do we bust them up so they
don't have that much this country was really built by the railroads. Um, you
know, people say, "Oh, the look at the Vanderbilts and what they had just because they built the
railroad." The average American has about twice the benefits and lifestyle
that the Vanderbilts had back then. We have a much better life on average and
just below average. And they were the top of their And they were the No one was even close. Just ask Anderson Cooper. Yeah.
Yeah. No one was even close. I've actually I've gone into the private residence of the Breakers. There's two
floors. Anderson introduced me to the family. I don't know if you know this of Vanderbilt still live in the Breakers.
No, I didn't know that. Top two floors. Wow. Yeah. It's phenomenal. The attic is nothing but
Louis Vuitton steamer trunks that just say Vanderbilt Silver, Vanderbilt China.
Okay. The things that they did was crazy. But they helped us grow.
The problem was is they decided themselves that they could control
things. Henry Ford was an awful he was a socialist. He was an awful guy. He
believed I mean he supported the socialists, the national socialists in Germany.
Um he believed himself I'm going to tell my co-workers what to do. If you wanted
to buy a Ford, you had to come see him. Yeah. And he would go over your financial
records to see if you were even qualified to own. So these people want
to control things. Um, so how do you square that to a free market skeptic?
I can't I can't square it other than it works
itself out. We are going through what we went through in the late 1800s. So you
think it's a gilded era almost that we might be going through? I think it's a guilt the big huge houses
that are built the ostentatious lifestyles that's going to be the breakers of this
century. Okay. And it will bust itself up eventually. Well, the counterargument people will
say, "But no, it took a Teddy Roosevelt to break it up." No, that that's what someone on the far left or the new right would say.
Here's what Teddy Roosevelt did. He broke up uh the the corruption in
politics in New York. You want to fix this? You have to make the government
so small that no there's no one really to bribe.
Okay. You clean the corruption up. It's impossible to lobby a government so small that doesn't exist. Right.
Why? you know, it was Woodro Wilson that really started this this uh lobbying
campaign and they did it in World War I. And so some people that and mind you
Glenn, this is a growing intellectual community. And I respect a lot I agree with them 100% on a lot of their observations, not always with the
conclusions. They'll say, "But that's not achievable. We're not going to get back to constitutional government."
Why? They say the fourth branch of government is untouchable. Not enough representatives. What is what is
achievable though is broad consensus of trying to use the instruments of power towards a moral good
and it's not an insignificant amount of people Glenn that that believe this. I know we cannot become a a a group of
people that don't understand the tyranny of the majority or the tyranny of the
minority and both of which are are just as bad. Yes. Okay. Um and it it
we are a nation of individuals. You must allow me to fail and you must
allow me to succeed. You can't it's it's it's something that
if I may speak in religious terms here. Sure. I'm I'm a Christian. Yeah. All right. So, you know the war in
heaven when uh when uh a third of the angels are lost. Okay. And Satan's up
there and he's like, "I'm I'm going to bring all of them back. I'm going to bring all these people back to you, God.
Uh, but you got to give me the credit." And how was what was his plan? To take
away choice. To take away their choice. They'll do what I say they should do and
then they'll be clean of all sin and so they can come back. Wow. That wasn't the plan that God chose. M
God said no, he'll sacrifice himself. They must be free to fail.
Wow. Okay. That that is the this is the same argument that has been going on if
you're a spiritual person since the beginning of time. And and I've always wondered up until the last 10 years or
so, how how do you stand in front of a group of angels who know who God is?
And a third of them are convinced, "Yeah, God's the bad guy." How do you do that? You do that by saying, "You know
what he wants? You know what he wants? He wants these people to go down there and suffer and hurt and have be in pain
and stumble and fall and some of them won't even make it back.
What kind of dad would do that? What kind of God would do that?
Mhm. That's how you get a third of the angels to fall away. That's what capitalism
stops. They say capitalists, true capitalists say, you know what, there
are going to be places and people whose heart is so big, they want to help. And
we as a society are going to promote the general welfare, meaning we're going to
show, we're going to point those people out and say, "Good job. Good job. Hey, you want help? Go to them." And then
there's something that is so big that only the government can can take care of. We'll consider that. But everyone
has to be able to fall. Everyone has to be able to bleed. Everyone has to be able to succeed because it's about the
individual, not the group. And so well said, skeptics will say, "But that's
doomed to fail because of the law of hierarchies." So that you'll have so many people in the competence hierarchy
that will get so good and will only multiply their wealth and multiply it. And over time, the mob will be created.
no matter what. What is our what is our it's it's a more it's a more pessimistic way to look at it and I'm just saying I
believe it. What is our mission statement as a country? Yeah, that's how how I would articulate it.
Yeah. Boy, I would go back to the American Trinity which is liberty in God we
trust. E- plurbus unum which means out of many one and also to be able to live free and make choices you see fit as
long as they don't hurt somebody else. So may I take that and that was that was on that was on right right on the on the May I take
what you just said please go ahead and rip it no no no it's right let me restate it a little more eloquently
we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and
endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights and among these rights life liberty and the pursuit of
happiness and governments are instituted among men to protect those rights
Okay, that is the greatest mission statement of all time.
Thank you, John Lock. And and everyone says, "Yeah, well, we never achieved it." He Yeah, we haven't.
We haven't. Do you realize that aspirational statement, those founders
that wrote that said, "I believe man can do this." That's like John F. Kennedy.
My my father was born in 1926 and and we talked about the moon launch.
Um and I said, "What was that like?" And he said, "Son, you have no idea." When I was growing up, we didn't think
we could go to the moon. Nobody even talked about it. We didn't even think about it. We didn't even have
electricity. The moon was just there and we were here and there's no way we're ever going to go to the moon.
John F. Kennedy says, "We're going to go to the moon. We're going to put men on
it and we're going to return them home by the end of this decade.
Everybody thought that's insane. We did it. Mhm. We did it.
Okay. This is the biggest idea any man has ever had, any group of people. Wow.
What we do is we just say we suck. Instead of saying, "Wait a minute. We we
failed. But have you seen the progress over here? Have you seen this person, this group? Have you seen what these
people have done? And promote the general welfare and domestic tranquility
by saying, "Look at how we're advancing as man." Yes.
Instead, we keep saying, "Man sucks. He'll always suck. And he's got to have
a big government being big brother to hold him in place." M I'm telling you that is an evil plan.
And so you come from the the place and and the opinion that man is broken by
nature, original sin. Every man and every man has to start over. And I hate to oversimplify it, but I
think a lot of the American left because they don't come from a biblical worldview. Yes. And they look at things I believe in more Platonic terms and less arisatilian
terms. They believe that it's the structures and the systems, not the man that is broken.
So they'll they'll make the argument, no, man's actually good, but it's the capitalistic patriarchy.
Or they will make the the statement that man is nothing more than cattle and a a
group of supermen can philosopher kings rise up can be the ranchers of those cattle to
protect the cattle. I reject both of those. Yes. Okay.
Every man is put here with everything he needs. Every man has it in him. Every I love
Winston Churchill, probably the greatest man of the 20th century, right? Unless you're an Indian from
India, then that man is a monster. A monster. Kill them all. Shoot them. Put
them down. They are not capable of self-ruule.
Crush the rebellion. If you only know him there, he's a monster. If you only
know him in Europe, he's a miracle. So, Charlie, which one is he?
Somewhere in between. Yeah, he's both. He's both. Is he the guy he was in uh
1935 when he got kicked out of the the Navy or the British Navy or whatever? Yeah. Is he the guy in 1935 or is he the guy
in 1945 or is he the guy at death? What matters is was he better
earlier or better towards death. He admitted his mistakes by the time he was
old. He said I I was lost. I didn't think it through. I had a different view of things. He was progressing as a
human. And that is the individual responsibility for all of us. And unless
you go through the crucible, unless you are put into the refiner's fire of life,
if you are not allowed to succeed, well, then you're not going to be able to fail. And if you're only allowed to fail
because the entire system is failing, you won't know the sweet. You won't you
won't grow. Yes. So, you have to be able to grow. Winston Churchill is no different than our
country, than you, than me. We all have a dark side and we all have a light side
and it's a battle in between. It's it's a battle our whole lives. The idea is
for you to understand that there is forgiveness for you. So thus you should
provide forgiveness for others and you should provide understanding and grace to others because
you know when you do something wrong and and nobody will ever forgive you. It's just spirals into darkness.
Yes. And I find one of the one of the root causes of this where also
progressivism is able to catch hold is the fastest growing religion in America which is atheism. and the rise of
atheism, not just agnosticism and not just being differential, but the committed I am an atheist and I want to
tell the world about it. I call them evangelical atheists, right? Because they evangelize more than evangelical Christians do.
And you've talked about this at length. There's a direct connection to that to statism. When you are able to get people
not to believe in a higher power, not believe that natural rights actually come from a creator, well, why not government? Government then becomes God.
You know, for most of my life, I thought Nichi was sticking his fist up and
going, "Yeah, God is dead." He didn't say that. God is dead. Paraphrasing
now what? Because man needs a God. So, what are you going to replace him with? And he
was warning, you're replacing him with science. And God help you with the the direction
that you're going right now. And look what happened. eugenics into the Holocaust. All right. So, man has to
have a god. The left, their god is the planet, global warming, socialism. Yes.
And if you don't genulect when you are told to genulect, if you don't say the
rosary the right way, you are a part of the problem.
Mhm. And you must be run out of town because you're a heretic. Yes. Okay. It's the same thing. It's just
their god is different than, you know, the invisible guy in the sky. There is a
difference, if I may say. of uh between atheists. I know um I know
atheists that are not a part of the problem uh because they're also strong
libertarians and so they don't want to force it on somebody else. And you know
my friend Penellet, he he said to me one time, we were just chatting and he said,
"You're a Christian." I'm like, "Yeah, you know that." He said, "Well, I know.
I didn't know if you knew that. And I said, 'What are you talking about? He said, 'You know, you never asked me
what I know about Jesus and to be baptized. And I said,
well, I figure you're smart enough to know and I shouldn't. He said, but
doesn't that isn't that part of your creed to be able to do it? And he said,
I actually kind of feel bad that you didn't think enough of me. And I said, I
no, I was actually trying to respect you and not, you know, do that. And he said,
yeah, but it's in your creed to do that. Um, so I know people that like Penn
who's changed. When I first met Penn, I asked him, I said, uh, I just finished a
show with him. This is like 2006. And uh I said, "Hey, next time you're in town, uh let's get together, have
lunch." And he looked at me, this is off air, and he said, "Are you are you
kidding?" And I said, "No, why?" And he said, "It'd be like me having uh uh
lunch with a disease. You're a Christian." And I said, "Whoa, yes." And
he said, 'I would never have a religious person in my house. It would be like inviting the plague into my house. And I
said, Pen, boy, I've thought a lot of things about you in my life, but not that you were a bigot. And he told me
later he got into the elevator and he just kicked himself, but he was angry about 9/11. And he had grouped all
religious people into one ball. Wow. And through our friendship, you
know, of me just being there and, you know, always being his friend, he
changed. And he is he is not preaching the hate and division. In fact, he's
preaching to his atheist friends. I saw him on stage at the atheist convention saying, "Don't be what we've always said
the worst Christians are to us. Don't try to run them out of the square.
just live with one another and respect one another. I'm afraid that is that's the minority
of atheists though. A vast majority of atheists and the Dennis Prager has the
best question about it. He spoke at the atheist convention once they've invited him and he asked the question, do you
hope you're wrong? And it's a great question to ask Penn because if you don't hope you're wrong,
then you want to be right more than what is good. Think about it. You you we you want to be right more than ever. having
an afterlife, mercy, forgiveness, believing there's a ubiquitous creator behind everything that we know to be
true. I don't think Penn would say he hopes he's wrong. So, he hopes there's nothing. He wants to just be nothing more than a clump of
cells and bacteria. Yeah. He thinks that we live a good, decent life now. Enjoy every second. Be
good. So, he thinks this is perfect then. No, he just thinks make the best out of it.
But he should at least hope there's an after. He he meaning would you believe the Bible if it's true pen? That would that's what I would ask.
I have asked him that and I've asked a few of my atheist friends if I could prove it to you which I don't
think you can either way. Mhm. Uh but there's good evidence to get people. Yeah. But within striking distance
I agree but faith is required. Okay. So uh if I could prove it to you would you
change your mind? That's the question to ask. If they say no, if I said no, if
they came to you and said, "If we could prove that there is no God, I reject
that immediately because you can't prove that. But if you could, and here's the
evidence, Charlie, there is no God. Would you change your mind?"
So, we have to answer that the same way. We'd have to be as open-minded, right? We'd have to knowing that no
proof on either side would actually ever do it. That's correct. Right. But yeah, I am
I am I I mean I look at my faith, you know, people
like you actually believe in that stuff. You know what? I'm a recovering
alcoholic and even more important a recovering dirt bag. I spent a lot of my life being an absolute dirt bag and I
know what what my will got me and it got me nowhere except into the center of
misery. Um and when I went looking for a faith, I went looking for God. I I was looking
just for something that would make me a happier person, make me nicer, make people um make me just love people,
you know, um and and to control the worst urges in me.
I don't care if I have to drink chicken blood if it works for me.
Celebration. Yeah. Celebration. You know, if I get to if I get to heaven and God is like a some big
space octopus and he's like, "You never saw this one coming."
I'd go, "No, never thought that." But I guess I guess guess I have to embrace
that. Sure. Absolutely. So, I visit campuses a lot and we're so thrilled you'll be able to speak to our students and the rise of
socialism is real and the destruction of our public education system. Can't wait. And so can you give a little
bit of a preview or as this will record indefinitely in perpetuity? G give it
give it to those that can't be there. Give give me the I can't give it I can't give it to you.
Uh and I want our students look up to you and admire you so much. Ben
it's really nice and if you could remember my name I would believe. I was saying Glenn Beck. Ben Ben.
I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Relax. Okay. Uh let me just start a couple things first.
This is uh this is an 1830 engraving of
the original Declaration of Independence, the first draft. Wow. Okay.
And if you look at it here, you can take that one. If you look at it, you will see um on the sides uh on
the course of human events. Yeah. And in the on the borders, you'll see things like Franklin or Adams.
That's like a Google doc where Franklin went in and said, "Don't like that line." And so he would write Franklin or
Adams. Do you see that? Yeah. Isn't that amazing? So, I want you to notice that. Look through.
They scratch stuff out here. I know there's a lot different in this draft. And this So, this is the first draft.
This is the first pass, right? And so, before it got the king's eyes, right? So, before Congress got a hold of
it. Okay. This is Franklin. Uh, this is Jefferson. than Franklin and Adams
going, "Okay, I kind of like that. Let's present it to Congress." They presented it to Congress. They talked about it.
Now, what does the Declaration of Independence say at the very top when in the course of human events?
No, the very top. Well, I'm going to read this. Is that okay? Yeah. Go ahead. Uh, a Declaration by the Representatives
of the United States of America in general Congress. So, something that did not officially exist,
right? But what does the official the one that was approved? I don't know.
Unanimous declaration. Wow. Okay. So they started and Thomas
Jefferson said you have Do we all agree that if we aren't completely in lock
sync that the king will find a way to worm him himself between us and he'll
split us apart one by one and we'll be done. Wow. So, is everything have to be unanimous? Yes or no? They all voted
yes. Jefferson, you go write it. Okay. So, I want you to notice that the only words that are capitalized in that
are United States of America. Okay. Look at uh this this is incredible. By the way,
look at Thank you. Look at stuff all day. Look at that page. Do you see anything capitalized or printed?
Christian and men. H. Now, why why would you notice
that that it's nowhere else underlined, too? Yeah. There's it's nowhere else in the document.
Wow. He doesn't print anything. Everything is in cursive. He doesn't his handwriting
changes at that point. Okay. You know what that is? That's Thomas Jefferson
alone at night writing the first draft. Wow. And in it he says, "And the worst
usurpation, the worst thing he has done is this Christian king
handwritten out. That's uh that's all printed. That's all caps lock basically,
right?" And under time, right? He's mocking this Christian king
has taken a group of people who never offended him from another part of the
world. Basically criticizing slavery maybe or Yeah. bought and sold. Right.
Right. Put them on a boat if they survived. He sold capital letters men on
the open market. Really important because uh blacks weren't men. How could
Thomas Jefferson write all men are created? Oh, he knew. He knew. That's
why he in his own zeal he capitalized
men. He sells men on the open market. And now he's taking the people who are
trying to free those people. We have tried over and over and over again and he blocks us every step of the way. And
now he's t tell telling these people that he'll buy their freedom if he will
if they will kill the people who are trying to set him free. Wow. Okay. Jefferson didn't understand
slavery. The founders didn't include this. Remember unanimous declaration.
Wow. Two states out of 13. Two states said
that has to go. Two out of 13. So don't tell me we were built by racists that
didn't understand. They understood. They knew. And inspired by this document, in 1777,
Vermont abolished slavery. I mean, this document inspired the abolition movement. It took 30, 40, 50 years. But
the the the lie of the left is that we're a racist country from our from our founding.
Correct. What else you got here? Uh let's see. I'll show you this. This is really kind of cool. Uh this is and
we only got a couple minutes because then we got a So this is handwritten uh this is to uh
Caesar Rodney uh one of our founders uh written by Thomas Jefferson. Just read
the last couple of lines. This is incredible. You might recognize that letter.
I'm not great at reading cursive. I'm going to confide in you Glenn. He says basically I see the storms
the world entire from the calamity threatened. Yeah. I see storms are the world. We are the world's last hope and its loss will
be on our heads. God help you and preserve you.
I think that might be a Latin phrase at the end. I mean here that's that's Jefferson one
of his more famous lines. We're the world's last great hope. Quickly, this is the original perspectus for
Disneyland. The handc colored by Walt which was actually Disney World. No,
this is Disneyland in California. Yeah, this is Disneyland in 55. Okay. He did was that first in in
California. He never saw the Florida one be built. Is that right? No, he died before 66, I think. And that was
opened in 72. And Epcot was not supposed to be what Epcot is now. Um, you know
what this is? Have you ever seen this? No, but it looks Eastern. So, it looks like uh if I had to guess
um a picture of bombers either. Obviously from 1940s, probably World War II, Japanese, you know,
Japanese. Okay. This American. Okay. On the back it says, "We have a
new bomb." So, we were letting people know before we dropped the bomb. Only 70 million of these were dropped.
Leaflets. Leaflets were dropped from the sky. Uh, over 11 cities. These are the cities
here. And Hiroshima and Nagasaki are two of the cities. And on this it says, "Get
out of the city. We have more firepower in one bomb than all the bombs we have
already dropped in Europe. Get out. Food and water will be scarce.
We are not after you. We are after your um emperor." And you
and his imperial ambitions. Not after you. Tell me where that is in history. We don't even know.
Only Israel would do that with the Palestinian Authority. And they do. Correct. Um, I have Lincoln's bloody uh
collar in here. I have the the torch from the 36 Olympics. It's going to be a But Glenn, we're just like every other
country. No, we're not. We we are an exceptional country. You know, we we may be on that road. Um,
Walt Disney in 1954, in the uh I think it was November of
1954 said, "I want to build a park and I'm going to build it in Orange County."
Okay. And it was a Orange Grove in the in the
now Anaheim, California, right? In the in in the fall of 54.
In July of 55, it was Disneyland.
It's amazing. So, we are not the nation we used to be. Now, you'd have to get envir You'd have
to get environmental impact statements. You'd have to never get that done. They would march in the streets. No,
that's Well, Glenn, it's such an honor to be able to speak with you. This is awesome. Can't wait to have you speak to our students.
I'm I'm proud to be here for the proud of you. Thank you that you've made on my life. Thank you.
