printYes, I’ve been critical of the irrational, illogical twists and turns in the thinking of Glenn Beck in recent months. (Here). “Skeptic” (the magazine) could use Beck’s conspiracy building tactics to fill an issue on irrational thinking. However, besides exuding goodness, Beck also radiates rebellion. Whatever one thinks of Beck, he is a rebel. And like all real rebels, he too must secede from the system. Glenn’s departure from FoxNews is an act of secession. FoxNews is the system. Beck is no longer able to abide by the ideological and disciplinary constraints imposed by the Republican establishment’s megaphone.
Beck has promised his jubilant adversaries that they were “going to pray for the days of 5:00PM,” intimating that a force of nature has been unleashed on the world. Or as the Judge put it, “Bigger, better and more Beck.”
Go Glenn! Of course, as I had hoped (see “Beck has Left the Building”), The Judge may stand to inherit the slot.
UPDATE (April 7) I: I hear here, and on Facebook, lots of cheerleading for one program, The Judge’s. Or Stossell’s—who is marvelous, but still very much within the remits of conventional, by-the-book libertarianism. I love them both to bits. But none of you so-called “independent thinkers” has noticed that these shows tolerate, 1) the must-have, establishment Tea Partiers, and 2) the Reason and other narrow-faction libertarianism. The shows are still within the, admittedly, wonderful box. Those who say Beck is part of the system are as insane as Beck (who is a good type of insane; a lovable goof, as Huggs put it). Beck is a natural secessionist.
I’m surprised that you’ve all fallen to your knees before (our) ideological correctness, dismissing Beck’s brave act of secession, b/c of his errors of thought. I have news for you: In the liberty-oriented community, people tend to huddle in atrophying intellectual attics, and quibble about detecting and expelling contrarians. Dare to dissent on this or the other point of purity, and keepers of the flame will take it upon themselves to read you out of the movement. This, naturally, makes for tribalism, not individualism. The bad, moreover, have a nasty habit of crowding out the good. Or as one wag once said to me (was it Randy Barnett? I can’t recall), “Quality is never the result of intellectual purges: the most creative and independent thinkers are the first to go.” That makes perfect psychological sense: those who remain feel more secure, group cohesion having trounced intellectual vitality.
UPDATE II (April 9): Larry Auster:
Glenn Beck’s announcement that he is going to “transition off” his daily TV program later this year, whatever that means, is about as coherent as Sarah Palin’s July 2009 announcement of her reasons for resigning from the governorship. Has anyone noticed that Beck, like Palin, is inveterately incapable of forming a cogent sentence, and that one of the reasons for this, as with Palin, is that almost everything he says revolves around himself?
Indubitably true.
Hard to walk off a million audience slot (assuming he wasn’t pushed). It would be great to have the Judge and some libertarian/constitutionalist guests (as opposed to “conservative” Republican shills) if Fox would allow it on their larger news network.
Everything I read seems to indicate that Beck is NOT leaving Fox News. He’s simply leaving his 5pm time slot and that he’ll be doing a different show.
Probably he’s tired of doing a daily. He’ll probably switch to doing an hour or two on weekends (60 minutes style), or maybe an occasional primetime special. That would fit his type of journo-tainment much better.
This whole idea that he’s leaving or been cut lose is just wishful thinking on the part of the Soros/Mediamatters crowd.
I submit if you study the history of Glenn Beck … you will find he was always part of the system ? Follow the Money & Political Trail.
Petition Fox for The Judge.
I will miss Glenn at 5:00 each day. People who criticize Glenn don’t watch his show regularly. He doesn’t have a college degree or a pedigree. He doesn’t fit into anyone’s mold. He is self taught, open minded and a great communicator.
Glenn Beck is a borderline goof. But I like him. Usually. He’s tilting against the windmills of control. You go Glenn!
Without the constraints of establishment “news”, will Glenn move closer to side of liberty? Was he walking on eggshells and stepped over the line one time to many? I didn’t always agree with him, but he does make me think and research for myself.
Perhaps, Ilana, you could interview him for your weekly column; nail him down on issues that are critical for liberty.
[Interesting idea. I’d love to.]
Part of the problem is that people tend to approve or disapprove of the individual, rather than what the said individual does or says. So it’s “I support Beck” or “I hate Beck” rather than “This statement of Beck’s makes sense” or “What Beck just did is stupid”. But once we decide to like a person, that person can get away with a lot, simply by the virtue of being our favorite. (Conversely, once we hate someone, they can do no right.) And then we wonder why the world consistently fails to make sense…
Whatever one thinks of him, he does this country a service by exposing radical leftists in government. I’m fairly certain he helped precipitate Van Jones’ (the Green Czar, or is it Red?) resignation.