It is no secret to readers of The God Article that I am not a Glenn Beck fan. Up until his rally in DC, I mostly just found him annoying, manipulative, and an intellectual wanna-be. At his rally, he started treading on grounds that for me are not far from hallowed (both figuratively and literally). He tried to position himself not only as a religious leader (despite the fact that some of his personal beliefs are very different from the majority of Christians in the US) but he tried to do so by pitching himself as a modern day Martin Luther King, Jr. (one of my few personal heroes).
At that point Beck was more than annoying to me; he was dangerous. Before that, I just disagreed with his politics, but I didn't find him particularly dangerous (maybe a little) but when he started co-opting religion to push his less than godly positions, I was done and haven't hesitated to speak out every time his self-promoting, manipulative, over-privileged, pseudo-intellectual talk veers toward the realm of religion. Wrapping Christianity in the assumption of what American exceptionalism has become is not only antithetical to the humility God requires of us, but it is also dangerous for a country that was founded, in part, because of a lack of religious freedom.
So, when I read a blog post on alternet.org about how Beck's show has lost a million viewers (that's a third of his viewership) in just one year, I have to admit, it really made me happy. I'm glad to see that the work of those opposing Beck is making a difference. This is the kind of peaceful, non-violent resistance we are supposed to practice when faced with hurtful forces. Because of the work of many, many people and organizations, advertisers are stepping away from Beck's programs. New York and Philadelphia radio stations have dropped his show. All of this happened on the heals of massive exposure for Beck last year. It's pretty impressive work.
I honestly feel a bit bad about feeling good about his fall from grace in the eyes of his viewers. I wonder if Jesus felt bad about the money changers being kicked out of the temple? Probably not. At any rate, I'll have to work this guilt out with God... but in the mean time, I am glad, I am thankful, that the hurtfulness of Glenn Beck seems to be winding down.
At that point Beck was more than annoying to me; he was dangerous. Before that, I just disagreed with his politics, but I didn't find him particularly dangerous (maybe a little) but when he started co-opting religion to push his less than godly positions, I was done and haven't hesitated to speak out every time his self-promoting, manipulative, over-privileged, pseudo-intellectual talk veers toward the realm of religion. Wrapping Christianity in the assumption of what American exceptionalism has become is not only antithetical to the humility God requires of us, but it is also dangerous for a country that was founded, in part, because of a lack of religious freedom.
So, when I read a blog post on alternet.org about how Beck's show has lost a million viewers (that's a third of his viewership) in just one year, I have to admit, it really made me happy. I'm glad to see that the work of those opposing Beck is making a difference. This is the kind of peaceful, non-violent resistance we are supposed to practice when faced with hurtful forces. Because of the work of many, many people and organizations, advertisers are stepping away from Beck's programs. New York and Philadelphia radio stations have dropped his show. All of this happened on the heals of massive exposure for Beck last year. It's pretty impressive work.
I honestly feel a bit bad about feeling good about his fall from grace in the eyes of his viewers. I wonder if Jesus felt bad about the money changers being kicked out of the temple? Probably not. At any rate, I'll have to work this guilt out with God... but in the mean time, I am glad, I am thankful, that the hurtfulness of Glenn Beck seems to be winding down.
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