by Todd Gregory
Glenn Beck announced today that he will hold a rally in Jerusalem in August, called "Restoring Courage" -- sticking with the theme of his Washington, D.C., rally last August, "Restoring Honor."
On his radio show, Beck immediately started in on the hyperbole. After discussing the details of the event, Beck warned his followers that "the very gates of hell are gonna open up against us" and declared, "I believe we live in historic times. I believe historians will remember what we do and what we say."
Restoring Courage will be "the same kind of feel that you experienced" at Restoring Honor, Beck said, "except I will tell you: much more profound. This is a life-changing, life-altering event." Beck even saidthat the rally would "define" its participants: "This will be a -- I think, a pinnacle moment in your life. It will define you. In the end, this event will define you." Beck continued the hyperbole on his TV show today, paraphrasing the Gettysburg Address to say that at his rally in Jerusalem, "possibly for the first time in man's history, God will remember and make note of what we do there."
Beck also did some heavy managing of expectations about what will constitute success for Restoring Courage (he estimated a trip to the event would cost $4,500): "It'll be a godsend if we get seven people there."
All this is in keeping with Beck's breathtaking capacity for self-promotion. When he's not doing his TV or radio show, he's publishing novels or doing live shows, all while hyping each venture in every other venue.
There is perhaps no better example of this than Beck's outrageous predictions about his Restoring Honor rally.
In the run-up to that event, Beck said it would be "a defibrillator to the heart of America" that would be "remembered in American history as the turning point." He literally said that a miracle would occur: "What is going to happen on 8-28 will be a miracle." He also predicted that the rally would "reclaim the civil rights movement," which had been "distorted."
This is the third year in a row that Beck has announced a big live event to be held later that year. In 2009, Beck announced the 9-12 Project in March, which he ended up not attending. In 2010, there was Restoring Honor. And in 2011, we have Restoring Courage.
The difference this year is that Beck is about to lose his platform at Fox News.
Will Beck even have a TV show when this event occurs?
No comments:
Post a Comment