He stole the spotlight during this slow summer news season. You can read dozens of articles criticizing the speakers, estimating the true attendance numbers, and commenting on the racial undertones of the setting. More important, the content of Glenn Beck's attempt at "Restoring Honor" failed to fulfill the rally's central goal of furthering civil rights.
Let us praise Glenn Beck for sticking to his word on one issue. On the surface, the rally was religious and not political. At least that was my initial thought until I saw the Chris Wallace interview. What Beck thought was the message of the rally: "If it's just the message for the day [August 28, 2010], it's pretty meaningless." No argument here. There were conservative speakers planting fears of an apocalyptic future because America has turned away from God, a familiar message if you have ever attended Mass. But Beck went on to add that we are "40 days and 40 nights away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America." Easter is much further away than 40 days and 40 nights, so it is safe to assume that Beck was referring to voting the Democratic incumbents out during the midterm elections.
The other inconsistencies lie mostly in the issue of civil rights. During his interview with Wallace, Beck emphasized "to whom" over "from whom." According to Beck, it is people of faith, specifically faith in God, who need to reclaim equality and justice. At this point, the rally can no longer be considered a civil rights movement as Beck claimed. Since the inception of America, Christianity has always been the predominant religion. No one will complain if a chapel is built a block away from Ground Zero, if a church refuses to acknowledge same-sex marriages, or if a president is Southern Baptist instead of Presbyterian. Christianity has always enjoyed the perks of being the unofficial national religion, often at the expense of other religions. Freedom of religion has always been an unalienable right, so what is there to reclaim? Do Christians not already enjoy equality and justice?
Even more surprising is Beck's exclusion. People of faith and believers in God are the ones that Beck believes should be reclaiming their civil rights. Does Beck think that 15 percent of America does not deserve the same rights afforded to Christians because they do not identify with a religious group? What about the millions that belong to Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.? I would be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of people who actually believe that the 24 percent of the non-Christian population has taken over this country during the last two years . The reality is that America is not a godless country. Yet religion, even Christianity, is not the glue in everyone's life and the nation would not fall apart even if it were removed.
I was sickened to even hear Beck mention how inspiring Martin Luther King was at his rally. King transcended politics while Beck masks his political agenda with religion. King stood for inclusion and tolerance while Beck stands for Christian self-segregation. King was a unifying figure while Beck continues to divide America. Regarding our troubled nation, Beck told Wallace that he does not "see a political solution because I think we are too divided." This rally was part of the problem, not solution.
We may be living in a troubled nation, but during difficult times we have to choose our leaders carefully. Besides admitting that he was wrong for calling President Obama a racist in March, the only other worthy line from Beck's interview was, "I'm not Martin Luther King." That is because King was an honorable leader.
Hung Vu's is an opinion columnist with The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at h.vu@cavalierdaily.com.
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