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He wouldn't.
Mr. Beck speaks out against attending universities so his followers don't learn anything that he does not himself inform them about on the air and online, now with Glenn Beck's own "news" source, TheBlaze.com. Beck is becoming his own misinformation empire, and higher education would only interfere with his business plan, unless, of course, Beck gives the thumbs up to "selected" universities in the months to come. The following comes from Beck's Fox show on 9/01/10, and it is posted at Mediaite. The analogy Beck uses near the ending is the subject of this post.
This attack against higher education is nothing new for the right or for Mr. Beck. William F. Buckley attacked elite universities in his God and Man at Yale. Beck's disdain for highly educated people is obvious when he refers to Obama appointees as "eggheads" and pretty explicit in Beck's book, Common Sense. In a review of that book on A Candid World, "Glenn Beck's Common Sense is no such thing," the author writes of it;
If a single theme can be said to dominate Beck’s book, it is that bizarre recurrent cancer on American thought, anti-intellectualism, a tirade against “experts,” defined as “Ivy Leaguers” who think they know better than “cabdrivers, mothers, or plumbers” (11; see also 65, 71, 85) and, of course, middle-class married men with children. Elites are known by their knowledge and beliefs, not their money, setting up a bizarrely schizophrenic valorization of the financially common, married to a defense of the wealthy. Elites are dangerous....
The following interviews with people at his rally suggests just how effectively a lack of higher education makes people gullible to beliefs that are not grounded in reality.
To be fair, both sides can present video of supporters that show them in a poor light. Earlier this year, Beck repeatedly used a video of a woman in Detroit who had gathered at some location in Detroit to collect some of the "free Obama money" that was in fact not being given away.
The difference is obvious to contrast: whereas Glenn Beck wants to keep his flock away from higher education, it's a safe bet that President Obama would want all Americans to be able to attend the best college people are qualified to attend regardless of the ability to pay for it up front. Whereas Glenn Beck does not want his followers to understand that, in the video above, Beck is quoting Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, out of context and unjustifiably fear-mongering; the President would want all Americans to be able to listen to anyone like Glenn Beck and comprehend that Beck's concern about re-education is unwarranted and shameless deception. No, Beck doesn't want his minions obtaining higher education; that would undermine his whole enterprise.
Since this is the first Fox show that Beck has addressed anything but his rally or Beck's consequent demands on his followers, the 40 day, 40 night challenge, it seems that the second step (after returning to God and religion) to restore honor in America for Glenn Beck is to keep people from attaining higher education. Beck needs to keep his flock away from an understanding of the world that Beck does not share, so higher education becomes analogous to brain washing. Of course, nothing like that happens at Beck U, his paid, online propaganda machine. David Barton "teaches" there, and his grasp of history is as solid as an atom.
Before more people start swallowing Beck's propaganda, get involved
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6 comments:
Where, precisely, does Beck state that he doesn't want people to pursue higher education?
It's not in the clip that you posted, so where and when did he say that?
Oh, that's right. He didn't.
You're lying again Victor.
Shame on you.
Anonymous, calling universities re-education camps is not encouraging people who listen to Mr. Beck and actually take anything he says as something other than absurd entertainment to go to college.
It's not a lie; it's an analysis of his words. You want to offer a counter analysis that differs from my understanding of his propaganda against universities, go ahead.
What lie? Show where I lie because I don't think you know the difference between an analysis leading to a conclusion and misrepresenting reality and calling it truth. Of course, if you believe anything Glenn Beck says, that's understandable.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been hoping there were other people out there calling Beck on his anti-intellectualism. You're right on the money with the notion that this anti-intellectualism goes hand in hand with a desire for his own personal ability to shuck and jive the American people. Demagogues always attack the intellectual class (see: Mao, Chairman; Stalin, Joseph; Hitler, Adolf).
I've got a post along very similar lines at my blog, if you'd care to check it out:
Thanks for the sober commentary on Beck, as well as the references to other commentators. That's extremely valuable. Yes, the ironic thing about Beck is that he wails and gnashes his teeth about how universities are trying to indoctrinate students into socialsm/communism, but it's his incessant attacks on intellectuals that is truly Mao-like.
See my post on this theme here, if you like: http://paxrhetorica.blogspot.com/2010/09/open-letter-to-glenn-beck-on-why-he.html
Ted,
It's interesting that those who comment agreement with this Review generally use their names while Beck's defenders just about NEVER use their full names.
I'll check it out Ted, thanks.
Why do you care about the names of the people who comment?
Anonymous, a better question is why people make comments and prefer to not be identified. Anonymity gives people a license to say mean, nasty things that they would not if it could be traced to them.
Who supports this liar and anti-intellectual hypocrite? Lots of anonymous people who prefer not to identify themselves.
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