Jeremiah Shrugged
By Mitch Berg
Everyone knows one; the neighborhood Jeremiah.
He’s the guy who hangs out at the hardware store, stocking up on the one hand, ranting about the “Trilateral Commission undercutting our currency” and proclaiming that “in five years the United States’ll be like Red China” on the other. He was a survivalist before the term became a dirty word; he’s positive that the end of civilization is nigh, and he never stops talking about it.
Or should I say, never stopped. Because you knew him during the Carter and first term of the Reagan Administration.And though you last talked with him twenty years ago, and wonder if American Idol isn’t evidence that he was at least partially correct, you still recall the sense of crushing fatigue his harangues left wafting over you.
Glenn Beck does that to me.
Allahpundit talks about Beck:
Even before watching this, if you’d asked me which media star’s most likely to turn survivalist, move to the mountains, and start doing his show from a lead-lined bunker, there’s no doubt what the answer would have been. There’s something “off” about Beck in a way that’s not true of other chat-show hosts, although that’s not necessarily a criticism: O’Reilly and Hannity can be tiresome in more than small doses but this guy I find watchable even at a stretch. Partly it’s the sheer bravado of the performance, partly it’s the challenge of trying to figure out what’s going on in his head to make him the way he is. As big an audience as he has, I’m surprised it’s not bigger. He’s one of a kind.
Look, don’t get me wrong; it’s always prudent to be prepared for emergencies; putting extra food by is just plain smart; anyone who doesn’t have guns and ammo laid in isn’t really all that American anyway.
And he’s right, in the sense that all real conservatives are right; this country has painted itself into a corner, with endless entitlement spending and the stupid, neo-socialist policies of the past ten years that privatized the fruits of greed but socialized the results of stupidity.
But – how do I put this – Glenn Beck bores me just as silly as his equally-nutty, slightly less listenable forebears in nuttiness do. This nation is in a bind – and this current trough in the business cycle is just the beginning – and The One’s policies seem sure to keep the bind going for a nice long time.
But more than any other talk show host – more than O’Reilly, vastly more than Hannity or Limbaugh or anyone in the Salem or TRN stables of hosts – when I listen to Beck, I feel like I’m listening to someone who regards the whole mess as less than a blight on the nation he loves and the society that allows him to earn a living doing what he does than as material.
I know he has fans out there. Let me break this down for you; stop.
Whenever I bag on Beck, his fans write in to defend him. Feel free. But be advised; you’re wrong.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:56 am
I was sincerely convinced after reading the first few paragraphs you were talking about yourself. I’m still not sure you weren’t.
“”But be advised; you’re wrong. “”
The almighty omnipresent ‘mitch’ has spoken! All Hail Reagan *genuflect*
Flash
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:05 am
Beck. Three levels for me:
1.) Show Prep, but he buys it “enough”.
2.) He believes it too much.
3.) It’s all a show. You don’t put on a show, you don’t get your dough.
Never can figure him out. Sumthin’ strange about that guy. He seems to say the right things, but…
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:43 am
“”But be advised; you’re wrong. “”
The almighty omnipresent ‘mitch’ has spoken! All Hail Reagan *genuflect*Flash
Or, more simply and with even less punctuation:
But be advised; you’re wrong Flash.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:44 am
I put Beck in the same bin as Savage: why bother? Life’s too short.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:27 am
Not a big Beck fan either. However, if you take in Savage purely from an entertainment standpoint–which is the only logical way–he can be pretty danged good at times. Few have his ability to deliver a coherent ten minute monologue with barely a pause. You don’t have to agree with him. You can even think that what he says is bat-shiite crazy, but you have to admire his proficiency at the talk radio craft.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Beck was a lot more listenable a year or two ago. When I heard him get choked up to the point of his voice quivering a couple weeks ago, being able to tell he was in tears, I felt sorry for him. When I heard it again, the same WEEK, well…I wanted to call and tell him to take a vacation and regroup his head.
I haven’t been able to catch his tv show on FOX yet. When I saw it on CNN a few times, he was really good.
He’s always been more of a “tying the loose ends together to get a clearer view of the big picture, and where it is leading us” than a “focus on an issue” person, for the few years I’ve heard him.
The first time I heard him, it was a 45 minute rant on some state DMV office, about how when he didn’t do EXACTLY as the counter worker told him to do, that worker would go on a 3-5 minute walking trip around the office and waiting room. It was entertaining.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Chad, did you just call Michael Savage coherent? Can he talk about the same thing for more than a minute without shooting off into what his dog did yesterday or how when he was a kid he worked harder than everyone else … and did I tell you about this great Chinese place just off the Wharf I ate at last night?
Actually, you’re right. He can go on for ten minutes about food.
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Disco Stoo- I’m not a regular listener, but when I do hear him he seems to stay on point. Some of his best material is the non-political though. He told a story about a hotel stay being disturbed by copulating seals that was an absolute gem.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:05 pm
When ever the talk turns to survival I alway remember Mas Ayoob’s observation that there are Hard Core and Soft Core Survivalists. Hard Core’s are a cross between the Weavers and Ed Begly. Off the grid, self sufficant and well armed.
Soft Cores are more like the Mormans and the Boy Scouts, well prepared to overcome minor to mid level dislocations. Lots of batteries, flashlights, food/water, radios, minor medical supplies, and also well armed.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Our economy is collapsing IMO because Fed, State and local govt are spending far to much, our answer spend more.
When our econ collapses the worlds will as well. They are also coming to the same conclusion that spending money they don’t have is the answer.
Have a backup plan, don’t quit your day job and you don’t have to get off the grid just prepare for what if.