The other day Glen Beck summoned a newly elected congressman from Minnesota to be on his cable TV show. A show that is touted as being "a fusion of entertainment and enlightenment'. Some might argue that the show is neither, but I like to think that in this particular show there was some enlightenment. The world has now been enlightened at least somewhat because the world has been put on notice that one Mr. Glen Beck is in deed a kook and a bigot.
Now, there is nothing wrong with being a kook on TV, as it has its share of them. Kooks can be very entertaining. Alas, TV is no place for bigots because bigots do harm. Lot's of it. The entire premise of the old Archie Bunker television show "All In The Family" was to expose us to how bigots think, and that harm that they do. The great Carroll O'connor, star of that show was the furthest thing from a bigot, but he played one on All In The Family. He was good and he was convincing. Indeed, the show was itself steeped in a gritty 1970's style Jim Croce song kind of realism. At the end of the day, (the show) Archie always made us think this: that yes, one day there really will be brotherhood this land, but no, it will not be because of people who think like Archie. That was the whole message of the show. For good or for bad, brotherhood will only come to this land when people who think like Archie all die out. This was the idea that floated within the undercurrent of the underlying message of all of those show plots.
So, time passes and it is now 2008, and the people in this land select as their president a black man with an "Islamic sounding" middle name. And it seems that yes, after all of this time, this land is ready to settle into its own brand of peace and brotherhood. The kind that only Archie's "meat head" son-in-law was capable of understanding. Today, in these modern days that we live there are millions and millions of little children that were born well after the last of the real Archie Bunkers moved on. These children have therefore no realistic chance of being influenced by the kind of folks like Carroll O'connor's brilliantly played Archie Bunker character, and when they grow up we can expect much from these children in the area of tolerance and just plain decency and fairness as long as we take pains not to pollute their thinking with bigotry and hate. And in this regard things look good, but, not so fast, thanks be to Fox we have Glen Beck.
Here is a little bit on the exchange that took place between Beck and his congressman guest:
BECK: I will tell you, may I - may we have five minutes here where we’re just politically incorrect and I play the cards face up on the table?
KEITH ELLISON: Go there.
BECK: OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I’ve been to mosques. I really don’t believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I - you know, I think it’s being hijacked, quite frankly.
With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, ‘Let’s cut and run.’ And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, ‘Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’
And I know you’re not. I’m not accusing you of being an enemy, but that’s the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.
After airing Beck's comments on his show "The Daily Show", John Stewart said: "Finally, a guy who says what people who aren't thinking are thinking."
John Stewart if funny, and I think I prefer the original Archie Bunker.
About The Author:
This article was written by J. Mark
Soveign who owns and writes
for Wertheim Communications LLC as well as for Mooker.Com