Image from Esquire
Of the topics I've talked about on this blog, there are quite a few about religion, about religion mixing with politics, about right-wing bloviators, and about Glenn Beck specifically. This post kind of brings it all together. As I and others have noted, the scary thing about conservative politics lately, with the crazed town hall meetings, the tea baggers, and the rest of it, is that politics seems to have become religion to some people.
Their political identity and ideology is so intertwined with who they feel themselves to be, they can no longer entertain anything contrary to their beliefs. They seemingly cannot even question them. Their leaders have become like holy men and women, and nothing they do--witness Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann--can dim their halos in the eyes of their fanatical following. Don't even get me started on St. Ronald Reagan. . .
Added to this mix is a group of pundits who resemble cult leaders. There are many, but Rush Limbaugh and Beck are the two who most resemble a Jim Jones. Limbaugh for instance tells his listeners they need not go anywhere else for news. He says "do NOT doubt me." And if it is meant to be funny, he is underestimating his audience's capacity for humor. Beck got a later start than Limbaugh, but has seen a meteoric rise since his move to FOX "News." His nonsensical ramblings string together just enough fear, doubt and paranoia to sound plausible to his scared, gullible, paranoid audience.
The most puzzling aspect of his personality to me, is the fact that Glenn is a Mormon, and the bulk of his followers are. . .not. In fact, I think it is a safe assumption that his audience is composed of more fundamentalist Christians than is true for the general population. These folks are generally suspicious of Mormonism, some going so far as to label it a dangerous cult. But as dangerous as the Cult of Beck? I'm not so sure. Especially now that he's telling people to walk away from their churches. And for promoting "social justice?" I'm an agnostic, but that sounds like a Christian principle to me. Will Beck convince them that it's not?
[Excerpt]
Beck attacks social justice
Glenn Beck has repeatedly attacked the concept of social justice and churches that promote it, asserting that it is "code language for Marxism" and warning that "when you see those words, run." In fact, numerous churches and religious faiths, as well as prominent religious scholars, espouse social justice, including the Catholic Church, the Conservative and Reform movements of Judaism, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. . .
Read more at: Media Matters
Their political identity and ideology is so intertwined with who they feel themselves to be, they can no longer entertain anything contrary to their beliefs. They seemingly cannot even question them. Their leaders have become like holy men and women, and nothing they do--witness Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann--can dim their halos in the eyes of their fanatical following. Don't even get me started on St. Ronald Reagan. . .
Added to this mix is a group of pundits who resemble cult leaders. There are many, but Rush Limbaugh and Beck are the two who most resemble a Jim Jones. Limbaugh for instance tells his listeners they need not go anywhere else for news. He says "do NOT doubt me." And if it is meant to be funny, he is underestimating his audience's capacity for humor. Beck got a later start than Limbaugh, but has seen a meteoric rise since his move to FOX "News." His nonsensical ramblings string together just enough fear, doubt and paranoia to sound plausible to his scared, gullible, paranoid audience.
The most puzzling aspect of his personality to me, is the fact that Glenn is a Mormon, and the bulk of his followers are. . .not. In fact, I think it is a safe assumption that his audience is composed of more fundamentalist Christians than is true for the general population. These folks are generally suspicious of Mormonism, some going so far as to label it a dangerous cult. But as dangerous as the Cult of Beck? I'm not so sure. Especially now that he's telling people to walk away from their churches. And for promoting "social justice?" I'm an agnostic, but that sounds like a Christian principle to me. Will Beck convince them that it's not?
[Excerpt]
Beck attacks social justice
Glenn Beck has repeatedly attacked the concept of social justice and churches that promote it, asserting that it is "code language for Marxism" and warning that "when you see those words, run." In fact, numerous churches and religious faiths, as well as prominent religious scholars, espouse social justice, including the Catholic Church, the Conservative and Reform movements of Judaism, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. . .
Read more at: Media Matters
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