Beck's Dream

Beck's Dream

This column originally appeared in the Williston Observer on September 2, 2010.

Last week, on August 28, Fox News personality Glenn Beck held a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Beck is simultaneously put upon a pedestal by the extreme right wing and denigrated by the majority of the left wing for his utterances, conspiracy theories, near-lunatic rants, and unsubstantiated claims.

Many liberal personalities and organizations were especially critical of Beck because of his choice not only of date for his rally but for its venue. The famous "I Have a Dream" speech was given by Martin Luther King, Jr., on August 28, 1963 on those very steps. Considering the vitriol that Beck has launched against President Barack Obama, including unsubstantiated claims that Obama has hate for "white people and white culture," many have taken personal offense at the event and its organizer.

I can't say that I take the same offense. I'm a great admirer of King's, and admire his I Have a Dream speech so much that I include it in a short list on my web site, a list of documents that I consider of uncommon importance to the nation. And, to be sure, I have no love for Beck. I shake my head in disbelief at his antics, guffaw at his misstatements, and cringe if I ever mistune to his radio or TV programs.

But in the great tradition of the 1st Amendment, Beck has every right to speak his mind in a public venue, and to gather supporters and detractors alike to witness his speech and those of his invited guests. As for the date, there are, after all, only 365 days in a year, and only about half of those in Washington's warm days. As for venues, there are only a few as iconic as the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. If we start to restrict dates and places because something of import happened there once, we will eventually run out of dates and venues.

I honestly don't know if Beck's choice of the date and place is a deliberate affront to the memory of King, but to me it almost doesn't matter. Even a deliberate affront is an exercise of free speech. If a man is being a fool, his actions will show him to be a fool. If a man speaks like a fool, his words will show him to be a fool. Let the man speak unmolested, that we might all hear.

And hear we did - from continuous coverage on Fox to lengthy articles on national news sites, Beck certainly got his chance to air his views. More than anything else, it turned out to be an old-fashioned revival.

In the weeks before the rally, Beck started to say that his event, which was entitled "Restoring Honor" and which was ostensibly held to honor members of the U.S. military, could actually be witness to the word of God emanating from his very mouth. Beck said all he was going to write down for his speech were bullet points, in case "the Spirit wants to talk."

Then, at the rally itself, Beck said that beginning with his rally, America was "turning back to God - for too long, this country has wandered in darkness." Stay tuned to find out when the Church of Beck is slated to open. Beck has said that his inspiration to organize the event came from God himself, that God dropped a "giant sandbag" on his head.

The crowd was substantial, though estimates varied from between 78,000 to a half million. Fortunately for Beck, and unfortunately for those of us who are amused by the sometimes silly, sometimes badly spelled, sometimes ironic, and sometimes hateful placards carried by the Tea Party faithful, most attendees heeded Beck's request that such placards remain out of the rally. The reason for the request, Beck said, was that the event was not political in nature. This in itself is laughable - it was, of course, all about politics.

Last time I wrote about the importance of upholding our freedom of religion, even if the religion is one we do not understand or agree with. I've written before in defense of speech I disagree with, have done so again today, and will continue to do so.

Only by supporting and defending the free speech rights of our foes can we reasonably claim them and defend them for ourselves.