Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sarah watches Glenn Beck and it goes fine.

Several students in my class watch Glenn Beck and bring it up on occasion. While I know his general philosophy, I've only really watched his show via clips on The Daily Show. I decided to be fair I should probably watch an entire episode. I roped by grandmother in for what I described as an "adventure."

And away we go...

* A few minutes in, I think I've gotten emotional Glenn Beck, not political Glenn Beck...No, wait. We only get uplifted if we do the hard work. I'm supposed to downsize and purge. Where are my political ideas? I didn't watch this for organizational tips.

* Whoa! I didn't know Glen Beck was an alcoholic!

* Oh somehow we've moved into appreciating freedom. Guess that's not on the purge list. Neither is Glenn's Woodrow Wilson doll.

* Ronald Reagan Reference #1! Too bad I can't drink.

* We're hitting the hardest time in America's history. "Maybe with the exception of the Civil War." Maybe. MAYBE. In between telling us we should know about America's history, I wonder if Glenn had time to remind himself that 618,000 Americans died.

* We need to be our highest self. This is like half Rush Limbaugh - half Oprah.

* I'm learning about his 40 Day/40 Night Challenge. I wish I would have filmed Nicholas's reactions as I read this aloud. Excerpt: "Do the hard things." Nicholas response, "That's what she said."

* He's emphasizing Thanksgiving and going back to spirit of the first Thanksgiving. Sorry, I'm not trying to idealize Puritans. Those guys were jerks. Jerks who believed children who cursed their parents should be executed, fornication deserved a whipping, and that the Pope was the anti-Christ.

* Whoa. "Spacetime." You lost me Glen. I rewound. Still don't understand.

* New project but we don't get to know until next year.

* He's spending a lot of time on Wilmington, OH. A small town that's economy is tanking. There's a LOT of glamorizing the town and the people there, who are all noble apparently.

* I'm becoming concerned that Glenn doesn't have a point.

* OHHHHHHHHH he's going to cry!!!!!! Wait, he held it together. Damn.

(Commercial break)

* Ok, we're back to Wilmington, OH. I think that's our focus today.

* America is about to get punched in the face. I wasn't aware. Maybe we don't get to find out who is punching us until next year either.

* Where did Glenn Beck get a rabbi? That's what I want to know. Wait, I got my answer. Please not the Board of Directors.

* Half way there. This went faster than I expected.

(Commercial break)

* Fox News update.

* "Things are going to get worse in America." Damn. I guess I should keep that from my 18-month-old and fetus.

* My grandmother is out. She's had all she can take.

* We have to be on God's side. He jacked that quote from Honest Abe.

* He's pushing the secret project again.

* "If you've ever given me an ounce of credibility..." and the jokes just write themselves!!!

* "I've never asked for your trust." Somehow I don't believe that.

* To prepare for the secret project, we're downsizing and humbling ourselves... More talk of the secret project. I'm getting annoyed.

* We're supposed to be grateful. No beef there. Although we're supposed to "invoke loss" in order to really feel the gratitude. Not sure about that.

* "The problem with charity." Can't wait for this one.

(Commercial break)

* Receiving something for nothing corrodes our souls. We're supposed to help someone earn their own way. I was just thinking that Mother Theresa was out there CORRODING souls.

* Oh, he's using Oprah to prove his point OUT OF CONTEXT.

* FYI, if you don't give your kids chores, they will love you less.

(Commercial break)

Side note: There have been gold commercials at EVERY break.

* "Magic is going to happen...again." You gotta admire his confidence.

* Now, he's asking the soup kitchen guy about entitlement. The nice soup kitchen owner says he sees more grateful people who come back to help the soup kitchen. Glenn isn't happy with that answer so pushes for the negative experiences.

* I agree that some people aren't appropriately grateful for the things they receive (including rick people) but the difference between me and Glenn is I'm not sure you can do anything about that. People will always exploit the system. You just hope they're the minority.

(Commercial break)

* Bye bye Glenn! It's been swell.

So, that was...fun. I didn't realize that Glenn's message was so emotional and tied up in religion. I thought he was more overtly political. I've got to say I almost prefer that approach. If you want to argue policy, that's fine. Why does it have to be so linked to being a good person? Or being on "God's side"? Atheists can be patriotic freedom-loving Americans and there are liberal progressives who get down on their knees every day and pray...wait, this is starting to sound familiar. ;)

Saturday, November 13, 2010