Media Still Missing Message of Restoring Honor Rally

This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," September 2, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GLENN BECK, HOST: Hello, America.

Look, I'm not challenging anybody's faith — not challenging anybody's faith. I'm trying to understand where policies come from.

You know, you want to understand me, you have to understand that I'm a man that believes in God, that I'm a conservative. I mean, that was the first thing I think I told you on this program — or at least one of the first things. I'm a conservative. You need to know. This is an opinion show.

See, you need full disclosure to be able to figure people out. There are huge problems going on today. That's why we need full disclosure.
What did the president say? More transparency, not less — that helps people understand.

The border — a sheriff now says that the Mexican drug cartels control parts of Arizona. Why? Wouldn't you like to know? Would somebody be transparent and tell us how and why they're making these decisions.

Our troops are still in Iraq and Afghanistan except now they're military advisers, which I'm pretty sure is what we did in Vietnam and that didn't work out well.

We have states and cities going broke and they're firing police officers and firemen — teachers first — when there is other stuff to cut. Why? Transparency. Can someone tell us why?

More people are on government assistance. Homeless population in New York City is up 50 percent. The economy is still tanking. Unemployment is still — still high, and yet, we are making decisions that don't make any sense.

So, all I'm trying to do is figure out how — how are we making these decisions. And the people who are informing us, or who are supposed to inform us, keep America informed on everything that's going on — I mean, they can't even figure out what this is. They're still going, well, I don't — I don't understand what's happening.

Maybe — maybe I should start speaking slower. This is about honor.
I mean, how are we supposed to fix things when they can't even understand faith, hope and charity?

The weird thing is that they — they understood this hope. I mean, I didn't understand it. Did you understand it? I kept saying — wait, wait, what does this mean exactly? I couldn't understand the cryptic smoke symbols of the Obama "change" campaign. There were no specifics. Remember that?

But they could figure this out, but they can't figure this one out.

Does everybody know — they're kind of similar. They got this one. But this — I mean, really? It's beyond their wildest comprehension.

You know why? Because they speak the same language here. They don't here.

It's not that difficult, really. You see, I generally don't hide my language and what's going on. I don't — I don't — I tell you straight up, faith: that's Sam Adams. That's because he was a guy — read Sam Adams, read his words. You have can't have a country really stay on the track without faith. You can't have a country without truth. That's hope. You can't have a country in a small government without charity. That's Ben Franklin.

It doesn't get more complex than that.

I'm not questioning anybody's faith or anything. I'm just trying to understand the world we live in. And I'm trying to understand — please explain in terms that people who don't speak liberation theology language or oppressor-victim language — which is what that is — explain it.

I mean, I'm sorry, we're not all Marxists.

Here's one of my favorite quotes from The Washington Post in the faith section. This is their latest on trying to explain this: "Is Glenn Beck preaching Mormon restoration theology?"

Uh-oh!

Now, this is a stellar piece, coming from a run-of-the-mill Catholic, or at least that's what he says, who doesn't let any politics get in the way of the things he believes. Like when he was reporting on Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral, he said that the most Catholic part of the mass was when Kennedy's grandchildren asked for universal health care.

I used to be a Catholic. I don't — I don't think that's actually part of the mass. But maybe — have they changed it?

Here's what he writes: "I think Mr. Beck is preaching Mormon doctrine of restoration. The first Mormon Joseph Smith was both the head of the church and a likely candidate for president of the United States. His idea was to restore America to Christianity by rewriting the laws of the nation according to what God told him. In some, restoration theology is a theocracy."

Oh, man, I was this close to establishing a theocracy. And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids!

Yes. The faith section in The Washington Post — wait a minute, the faith section in The Washington Post? Oh, my gosh, isn't that the same section that Jim Wallis is a part of? I — yes, I think it is.

Anywho, what I really wanted was a theocracy. I mean, a small government guy, a libertarian, of course, theocracy comes right to mind. Yes, I think we'd be better off if we were run like Iran, where they bury people up to their necks in sand and then throw rocks at them because they're different — who isn't really?

I was this so — I mean, I had the bikes on the way to your house!
Baptismal camps all over the country. Oh, yes!

America, really?

I mean, these guys actually think, you're getting sleepy.

Small government. Small government, if you really believe in small government, if you're a libertarian, what does that require? It requires that you self-regulate yourself.

Well, how do you do that? Critics have spent the last year calling me anti-government. Nancy Pelosi cried on TV because of all the anti-government rhetoric going on.

I'm not anti-government. I'm anti-big government. Suddenly, now, I'm looking for a religious takeover of the government?

So, it's big huge — how do guys you sleep at night? Or are you just so oblivious to things you're just like — I don't know how the media does it.

Let me quote Benjamin Franklin. The media is watching: Benjamin Franklin, he was a Founder. He actually wrote to the president of Yale and the president of Yale said, what, how do you define the American religion?

This is it, America. This is it.

Franklin said, "I believe in one God, creator of the universe, that he governs it by his providence. He ought to be worshipped, that the most acceptable service we could render to him is doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal and we'll be treated with justice in another life respecting the conduct of our souls in this one."

He said, "I take that to be the fundamental principles of all sound religion."

So, America's religion, this is it, gang. This is all you need to know: There is a God. He is going to judge us. We should be good to each other, because daddy is going to be pissed in the end if we're not. That's it.

That's called a big principle. I don't think we even have principles in much of Washington anymore. That's the problem. And that's why the charges of theocracy — really? That's why on the stage on 8/28, Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons — representatives of all faiths on stage.

Why? Because we can agree on those basic principles: God lives. He is going to judge us. Be good to people. That's it.

Now, how does this all fit in? Because now, people are also saying, well, Glenn Beck is talking about faith. Yes, I've been talking about faith and charity for about a year now.

I've only read one piece so far that pretty much nailed it. One. And it t comes from a guy I've never even heard of, completely unknown blogger. I have no idea who this person is, what the politics are, what he'd written in the past. He could be a serial killer. I don't know.

But this is one post that actually gets it. It's short and to the point — so I want to share some of it with you. Take notes, Huffington
or Washington Post, you are about to get a lesson now from user Lexington Green on ChicagoBoyz.net. They get it.

Here it is: "The Glenn Beck rally is confusing people. Why? Because he's aiming far beyond what most people consider to be the goalposts.
Someone who asks what the rally has to do with the 2010 election is missing the point. Beck is building solidarity and cultural confidence in America. Its Constitution, its military heritage, its freedom. This is a vision despised by most people who have long held the commanding height of the culture. But it's obviously alive and kicking.

"Beck is creating positive themes of unity and patriotism and freedom and independence, which are above mere political or policy choices, but not irrelevant to them. Political and policy choices rest on a foundation of philosophy, culture, self-image, ideals, religion. Change the foundation and the rest will flow from that. Defeat the enemy on that plane and any merely tactical defeat will always be reversible.

"Showing the people who believe in God and practice their religion, key, are fellow citizens who share political and economic values with majorities of Americans is a crucial step. The idea that these people are an American Taliban is laughable. But showing the fact to the world and to potential political allies who are not religious is critical.

"Beck is attacking the enemies of the foundations of their power, their claim to race as a permanent trump card, their claim to civil rights movement as a permanent model to constantly be transforming a perpetually unjust society.

"Ronald Reagan said we would not defeat communism, we would transcend it. Beck is aiming to have America do the same thing to its decaying class of overlords. Transcend them.

"Beck is prepping the battlefield for a generation-long battle. As Ronald Reagan said, there are no simple solutions, just no — there are simple solutions, just no easy solutions."

Thank you. Thank you for one person who has access to the Internet for getting it.

It is a generation-long battle. Remember what I told you before?
That this is 100 years — 100 years they've dismantled us. They dismantled our history. They dismantled our founders, our religion, our faith, our Constitution. So, yes, it must transcend politics.

But how? Watch. I'll show you this.

This is our problem that we have right now. We have Democrats and Republicans and they're trying to solve all of these answers — all of these problems. We go to them and say, how do we solve homelessness? Abortion? Corruption?

But a lot of times, these guys are corrupt and these guys are corrupt.
So, how are they going to give you the answer? Because these guys don't have any principles. We've seen it time and time again. Drain the swamp. Drain the swamp. I'm going to drain the swamp. No, I'm going to drain the swamp.

Hello?

The founders knew what was critical. That is nature's law and nature's God. What does that mean? There's laws in nature that you can't violate. God, himself, can't violate them or the whole thing collapses.

So, you get yourself in line with those laws and then you look to those laws and nature's God and you can solve these things. You can solve them through these people, but these people change when the people start to say this is important. It's a bigger — it is the answer.

Now, some people say, well, that doesn't include the non-religious.
Well, that's not true. Explain Thomas Paine. Some people say he was an atheist. Explain Penn Jillette. I mean, we're not close or anything, I think he'd like me to stop, you know, saying that I know him, but I like him and I respect him. We disagree on a ton of stuff when it comes to religion. He doesn't believe in God. He doesn't believe not just because he saw a billboard that said "God is dead" or that his parents told him that — this is a man, he's a really smart guy. One of the smartest guys I know.

He has searched and he honestly questioned and he found out what he believes. He's not bluffing about that he believes that there is no God. He knows it for him. He's done the work.

That's all I'm asking you to do. Do your homework. Know. You cannot sit there on the sidelines.

You have to know yourself. What is the history of the country? Why does our Constitution work? How does our economy work?

You must know nature's law and nature's God. If it means that you come up and you're an atheist, that's fine. Seek out God. Get on your knees. As Jefferson said, you got to question with boldness even the very existence of God.

If we restore our knowledge of history, restore our Constitution, and restore our faith, we will restore America. I don't think I've been real subtle about this message. Have I?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: We will be fine. I choose to know, so I can — so I can depend with firm reliance on God's protection. You will then no longer have a choice, because you know what is true, you know who you serve, and you must stand there because you have no other choice. Know who he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: And you will know who you are.

Look, America is an idea. It's not about politics. America is the idea, if I had to describe it in one word, it would be "freedom." Freedom to live your life and that means go to any church or not go to any church that you want. If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference does it make? But by going away from those nature's law and nature's God, it does pick your pocket. It does break your leg. And then you have to stand in line for universal health care soon.

Freedom — is that the idea in America anymore? I think the idea in America right now is survive or penalize, or stop, don't do that! That's not freedom. That's the idea of America.

You — you have the freedom to create. You have the freedom to dream.
That idea comes from one source. And it is only attainable or allowed when you have self-regulation.

We don't need Cass Sunstein if we're all living within the parameters we set for ourselves. We need a Jesus or a Buddha or in the case of Penn Jillette, I don't know what he — just a little self-control. He does it without Buddha or without Jesus or without Mohammed. But he does it.

I can't — I find it hard to believe that I have to tell Americans to think big. But perhaps it's more hard to believe that we actually think we can get our answers or our counsel on solving these gigantic problems from the Republicans or the Democrats or, worse, from the press — from people who think so small that they believe everything is about the next election.

— Watch "Glenn Beck" weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel

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