The Colonial Dispatch - August 30, 2010
Knowledge empowers us. Actions Unite Us.
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Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally Be sure to listen to this week's episode of Constitutional Commentaries dealing with the "Stolen Valor Act" which was intended to protect real Warriors and Veterans from those who falsely claim to be. Posted: August 29th by Reason TV On August 28, 2010, Fox News host Glenn Beck held his "Restoring Honor" rally at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The aim of the event, explained the lachrymose TV personality, was to "come celebrate America by honoring our heroes, our heritage and our future." As the Washington Post reports, "For too long, this country has wandered in darkness, and we have wandered in darkness in periods from the beginning," Beck said, at times pacing at the memorial. "We have had moments of brilliance and moments of darkness. But this country has spent far too long worried about scars and thinking about the scars and concentrating on the scars.Despite the presence of former Gov. Sarah Palin and many Tea Party trappings, the event was not political, or at least not in any conventional sense. Rather, the speakers called for bringing religion into the public square and using it as the guiding force in all aspects of American life. Reason.tv was on hand to take in the day and talk with some of the thousands of people who showed up (crowd estimates were unavailable at the time of this writing, though the crowd felt thinner than the one at last year’s Tea Party rally). Most of the people we talked to were openly skeptical of politicians of both major parties and agreed strongly with the religious bent of the rally, often arguing that some sort of religious orientation was necessary for what that saw as a return to national greatness. "What We Saw at the Glenn Beck Rally in DC" was shot by Jim Epstein with help from Josh Swain. Edited by Epstein and Meredith Bragg. Hosted by Nick Gillespie. Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable iPod, HD and audio versions of this and all our videos. Wrap-Up Thread: The Mall, After the Glenn Beck Rally — Spotless, of Course Posted: August 29th by Frank Ross Typical of those darn conservatives to pick up after themselves. Don’t they know that’s what public-service employes unions are for? The party’s over.
Sunday Morning Sports Pages: Albert Pujols at the Glenn Beck Rally Posted: August 29th by Frank Ross Outta the park: Who’s up next? Posted: August 29th Obama says he ignored Beck rally... (First headline, 1st story, link) Posted: August 29th Do you think Glenn Beck is leading by example? Is he accomplishing what he set out to do or is his ... The Business of Being Glenn Beck Posted: August 28th Glenn Beck is one of the most divisive figures in America. Forbes reports on how he's profiting from ... Posted: August 29th by Mike Merritt 
People filled the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument
and out to Constitution Ave and Independence Avenues.Saturday’s Restoring Honor Rally featured a number of concepts, among them faith, hope, charity, sacrifice, unity, the power of one person, as well as honoring existing and future heroes. I’d like to add another one: size. As in, the size of the audience was somewhat overwhelming. As an example, I’ll use my trip to the event. I was running a little late, so I decided to take a taxi. I’m glad I did, because as I approached the memorial the car passed by a huge crowd walking there on both sides of the street. For me, it was already clear that this was going to be a major event. The question is, did Glenn Beck do what he set out to do: restore honor to America? I believe the answer is yes, but it will take a while. Beck used Restoring Honor to recognize soldiers and other Americans who have sacrificed for their communities and their country. Merit badges were awarded to these heroes for their selfless acts, whether it is leading troops while severely wounded, as Eddie Wright did, or pledging to donate $2 billion to charity, as John Huntsman has pledged to do. Beck went further. Explaining that heroes were simply normal people that do things other people don’t want to do, he challenged his audience to become heroes themselves and said that people must look to themselves to make a difference. Of course, that doesn’t mean that people don’t need inspiration, and for that all the speakers featured at the event asked the audience to turn to God and rely on divine providence to show them the way to help move America forward. So did Beck’s message resonate? As an atheist, I know it didn’t work quite as well with me. I can get on board with the points about hope, charity, and sacrifice, but I’m just not going to turn to God for guidance about how to do those things. That said, I know that a majority of people do look upwards, so I believe the message resonated fully with the faithful in the audience. However, if we are to be successful in the effort to take back the country, it will take all kinds. Even us atheists have faith in something, even if it’s not a deity. I get my inspiration from the promise of America itself, so that is what I’ll use to take my part in restoring it. It will not be easy to move the country forward, but if we commit ourselves to sacrifice and charity, and throw in a little hope and faith, future generations will indeed, as Beck says, find themselves in a freer country. Posted: August 29th Many creeds, colors in attendance refute charges of racism against rally ... |
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