Glenn Beck’s Crazy 9/12 Tea Party Had Nothing To Do With 9/11

Even leaving aside the supposedly activating 9/12 principles, there was precious little mention of the volunteerism that ran rampant after 9/11, beyond the generic “helping our neighbors” reference early on. That might have been a good segue into President Barack Obama’s designation of the day as a day not only of remembrance but of service, but there was no mention of that.

What was mentioned, in no particular order of craziness and insanity:

• Taking back the government – to do…what? “The question is, who are Americans….do we rule, or does the government rule?” This, by the way, is after a montage of the Founding Fathers. Who wrote the – what’s that thing again? – ah yes, the CONSTITUTION.
• The scary, scary media: “Does the media make the decisions – does the media reflect us, or does the media expect US to reflect THEM?” Beck included himself in the “us” – though, of course, he did so from the comfort of a New York TV studio at Fox News, where he currently HOSTS A DAILY HOUR-LONG TELEVISION SHOW.
  
• Beck, invoking Thomas Jefferson, announced the “Whistleblower Program,” teased for unveiling Monday. What was that again about helping your friends and neighbors?
• Beck bemoaning the partisan name-calling that goes on. Like calling someone a racist. Who does that? Oh, only…Glenn Beck, who as Brian Stelter pointed out, called Obama a racist just this past July.
• A touching montage of faces. Not a montage of the faces of the 9/11 dead, which we saw rise above Jay-Z last night in his tribute concert at Madison Square Garden, but a montage of faces of people who had emailed their photos in to Glenn Beck. Doesn’t quite carry the same…weight.
• Frequent cutaways to the rally in D.C., with excited attendees mentioning frequently how grateful they were for…Glenn Beck.  Direct quote: “Glenn Beck, the American People owe you a great debt of gratitude.”
  
• Beck making an awkward wet-tshirt joke to an elderly couple in their 70s. It was raining, after all. The plucky attendee, bless her heart, was game: “I like playing around in the rain!” I can’t un-see that moment, nor can I un-cringe from the memory.
  
• Beck interviewing someone the Ayn Rand Institute and declaring himself a huge Rand fan (except for his belief in God, of course). No mention of Howard Roark being a rapist, a building-bombing terrorist or a fan of public nudity.
• Does cutting away for 30 seconds to President Obama’s speech count as being mentioned? OK, then, Obama’s speech got mentioned. “Now back to Glenn Beck!”
  

This didn’t feel like a 9/11 tribute. I’m not even sure Beck paused to make mention of firefighters and first responders. It did, however, feel like a crass and obvious attempt to exploit a national tragedy. I would add “for a specific political agenda” but honestly, specifics were what eluded me throughout the broadcast, as the protesters decried government intervention in their orderly, permit-provided, police-protected, traffic-controlled display of public dissent.

It also felt crazy. And, to be honest, very sad.

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This was my impression. I am, however, willing to be corrected! So, to that end, please watch this video and tell me what the point is, other than vague defiance coupled with iconic American images married with confusing Saddam-Hussein-Iraq-War images merged with September 11th images, which should certainly help with all those people who are still convinced that Saddam was connected to 9/11. Good times.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.