Seriously, there is no greater defender of free speech than isitjustme. After all, if loathsome, despicable, incoherent expression were outlawed, I'd have to go back to downloading porn...even more. The problem with Beck, aside from his heinous message, is his evisceration of the mother tongue. If you feel the need, watch his show. "...and so, like, he thought like, what's that about? And like he said, "wow" and I'm like gee." Mentally challenged valley girls speak more eloquently. Either his teleprompter is slower than he is or he's mostly winging it. It's easy to presume the later because it would be almost impossible to write the way Beck talks. If he has writers, they're not earning their salaries. (Nor are his wardrobe people, unless they are intentionally going for "Ralph Kramden Chic".)
The problem with success is you think you walk on water. No one can tell you anything. Lee Trevino once said that he didn't have a swing coach because he never met one who could beat him. Because Beck's message resonates with a certain tragic hoard of mouth-breathers who feel under-appreciated and disenfranchised, he thinks his whole act is golden. As long as Sarah Palin takes his calls and he rakes in a few bob for Rupert Murdoch, life is good and grammar and syntax be damned. If this is "everyman speak", I want an Ebonics dictionary.
Mostly, Beck is a sideshow and should be taken as seriously as World Wrestling. However, Beck stops being funny when he steps into desecration. On August 28th, Beck intends to hold a Tea Party rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. That happens to be the 47th Anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. So far the Park Service has not issued a permit. (Who says government can't get anything right?) Considering the subtly racist nature of the Tea Party, this would be the equivalent of the Japanese holding a rally at the USS Arizona memorial on December 7th.
No one is suggesting that Beck be silenced. He should be allowed to parade his bile in any public forum that will tolerate him. With permission, he can speak on the steps of the Capitol where Barak Obama took the oath of office. He can run his smack at the Washington Monument or the Jefferson Memorial. I'm sure his words will be just as memorable as Dr. King's. It may be known as the "I Have a TV Show" speech. Beck cannot, however, be permitted to pontificate from the spot where Dr. King spoke of justice and hope. He cannot be allowed to use that important historical place as a venue for trashing the very President who embodies MLK's vision for racial equality. Be a voice for stupidity anywhere else, but not there.
As further proof of his monstrously delusional ego, Beck claims that when the date for the rally was first chosen, he did not realize the significance. That led him to believe that the choice was divinely inspired. To comment on that bit of drivel we have the thoughts of none other than Father Guido Sarducci. When asked if Glen might be a prophet, Father S. suggests that, because Beck is unstable, hears voices and talks a lot, he may very well be a prophet. (Check Steven Colbert's interview with Father Sarducci at http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/313497/june-23-2010/prophet-glenn-beck---father-guido-sarducci)
Most people with IQ's in two digits understand that Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity & Co. are performers in the grand tradition of Will Rogers and Pat Paulson. The tragedy of this crop of talkers is that some folks take these guys seriously. It's one thing to sit in your Barcalounger with a beer and rail against a political agenda you don't support. It's another to grab your flintlock and tri-corn hat and trample hallowed ground. Beck should take his "Restoring Honor" rally to a landfill or a slaughterhouse where the smell of his message won't offend the scenery. Just stay away from the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28...unless you want to see the statue of Lincoln holding his nose.
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