This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," March 17, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "At Your Beck and Call" segment tonight: Fox News analyst Glenn Beck, a big-picture guy, as you may know. He often pinpoints lessons from the big news stories we report on here, so that's where we begin with Beck this evening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'REILLY: So for you, Beck, what is the major lesson that the world should learn from this Japanese horror?
GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The people. Watch the people. I'm going to do a special on tomorrow, Friday, on my program on look at the lack of looting. Look at what they're doing. What -- how did these people become like this? Even on 9/11, I mean, we had our police reports and everything else way, way down. But we still had crime, etc., etc. Not in Japan.
O'REILLY: Well, Katrina is the best comparison. I mean, a lot of trouble in Katrina. A lot of looting down there, and some law enforcement left their positions. They fled. But the Japanese for centuries have gone by a code of conduct where you obey authority. That's No. 1.
BECK: It's not only that. It's not only that. They're good to each other. They still respect their elders. And they also have -- I'm trying to remember the name of this. It's a concept that I just read about today that is, you work hard, and you better yourself.
O'REILLY: Yes. There's a philosophical component in Japanese society that says it's you are not the center of the universe. Your people are. That's why they were such a tough opponent during World War II.
BECK: Right.
O'REILLY: Even though they were misguided and they were doing bad things at the behest of a terrible government, they firmly believed that the homeland -- they would die for the homeland, crashing planes into carriers and everything else.
BECK: I think the other lesson to learn for us over here, outside of the obvious tragedy, is that the media is, again, focusing on the wrong thing. The nuclear power plants are in trouble. Obviously, they're in trouble. It's not Chernobyl, and even if it were Chernobyl, the U.N., the most -- the biggest number they can come up with is 4,000 people will eventually die. Hang on just a second.
O'REILLY: All right.
BECK: There is a bigger meltdown happening, and it is called the economy of the world.
O'REILLY: But the drama -- and I'm going to -- look, there has been overhyping of this story of the nuke stuff.
BECK: You have the -- you have the surgeon general of the United States saying, you know, buying those iodine tablets is not necessarily a bad idea.
O'REILLY: These guys are -- come on. But the drama is -- and media always goes for drama, and that's what the folks are following.
BECK: You want drama? You want drama?
O'REILLY: Listen to me for a minute, Beck. You'll learn something here. The drama is...
BECK: I wore my -- I wore the most collegiate...
O'REILLY: We'll get to your dopey sweater.
BECK: No, I wore it just because it was like old school chums here. Bill O'Reilly.
O'REILLY: Calm down or we'll pour water on you. The drama is whether this thing is going to go. All right. And you know, if you were inside and had cameras inside watching Japanese workers -- and there are some Americans in there, as well -- trying to cool these things down, using everything, that's a big drama. That's a big story.
BECK: A hero story again.
O'REILLY: Right. Absolutely.
BECK: It's a hero story, but it's not being approached as a hero story.
O'REILLY: No. There's a lot of panic because it drives numbers. It drives ratings.
BECK: But that's ridiculous. Is that -- really, are you admitting that that is what the news media has turned into now?
O'REILLY: Absolutely admitting that. I am absolutely telling you that the news media in America -- not lately; it's been going on for 30 years -- will always go for the most sensational part of the story. Always.
BECK: I think it's wrong.
O'REILLY: You think it's wrong.
BECK: I think it's wrong. I don't think your theory is wrong.
O'REILLY: You've got to get out of the media then, because this is what the media is all about, all across the board.
BECK: OK.
O'REILLY: We don't want to lose you. We don't want to lose you.
BECK: Listen to that: "We don't want to lose you."
O'REILLY: We don't want to lose you.
BECK: Who's going to be my meat shield? That's what he's thinking.
O'REILLY: I like -- I like your point about the Japanese people, and I think the world could learn from Japanese society: how disciplined they are, how respectful they are, how generous they are to each other. Not so much to outsiders though. I'm not going to -- I'm not going to make this a Kumbaya moment, because Japanese look down on many outsiders. We are gaijin when we go there. I just spent a lot of time there. My father was in the occupation there, so it is...
BECK: I have never been there.
O'REILLY: Japan is a fascinating place to go. But it isn't an idealistic society at all. But they do treat each other very well, and that's what you're seeing here. Now, the sweater, you've got a bee on your sweater. What's going on with the sweater?
BECK: The fighting bees. We'll fly...
O'REILLY: The fighting bees?
BECK: We'll fly up your nose so fast, sting you.
O'REILLY: Is this from a certain school?
BECK: No. This is just because the bees know.
O'REILLY: OK. So you just bought this or you had it made?
BECK: No. Yes, I had this made. The bees know. 1791. And the bees know. Just the fighting bees. I really wore it today because I thought -- see, I'm trying to do everything I can to...
O'REILLY: Collegial.
BECK: ...to try to suck up to you a little.
O'REILLY: Oh, you don't have to do that.
BECK: No, to feel like I'm a part of your world. And I thought everybody in your world -- I'm going to wear an ascot next week.
O'REILLY: I thought this was your high school sweater, your letter sweater and you were on some team named the bees or something like that.
BECK: No, what team?
O'REILLY: You've never played a sport in your life.
BECK: No. Ut-uh. No. What team has the bees?
O'REILLY: There's a lot of bees.
BECK: The Bees?
O'REILLY: The Sacramento Bee, that's a newspaper.
BECK: That's a newspaper. A sports team. The bees.
O'REILLY: All right. So that's just a nice sweater to look like Ozzie Nelson?
BECK: No, to come to speak like this with you, Bill. You remember when we were in college, old chum?
O'REILLY: All right. Glenn Beck, everybody. I can't explain him. Nobody can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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