Beck and Palin’s new religion

Written by Nathan Hansen Friday, 22 January 2010 08:00

I decided this semester against my better judgment to watch more of Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly. I figured this would both allow me understand their deranged psychology better, and also give me more ideas for columns. And Glenn Beck’s interview with Sarah Palin did not disappoint: those two are crazy!

After watching several episodes of Glenn Beck’s program, I would like to posit that Beck is nothing more than your average cultist, and his cult is the cult of the Constitution.

To people like Beck and Palin, the Constitution is not a document written by men in committese after several revisions and compromises. No, to them it is the Word of God beamed down by Him to his prophets the founding fathers. To go along with the Ten Commandments of what we shall not do are the ten God-given freedoms in the Bill of Rights.

According to Beck and his ilk, we need to turn the clock back 1776 and get rid of all the laws and amendments and court decisions that have cropped up over the years because these go against God’s will. Only God can grant you rights according to Palin and Beck.

The only problem with this is that which God grants, God can take away, and then the will of the people does not matter. Which I find to be pretty illiberal and a big deviation from what the founding fathers really wanted.

I guess that since the idea of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people was coined by the Lincoln and not God, then democracy was just a cover-up for the American theocracy under the founding fathers and espoused by Beck and his ilk.

Wow. Can you say crazy? This country was founded on religious freedom and turning the constitution and our founding into a new religion does a disservice to our country, our identity, and our freedoms.

Nathan is a senior studying mathematics.