Tainted take on GLENN Beck
(In response to Dustin Volz’s Feb. 23 column, “Beck drinks Tea in keynote.”)
After reading the column I found myself worrying about the future of our country. If Mr. Volz’s article is any indication of our generation’s mindset, then we are in for a rude awakening in the future.
Mr. Volz’s article expressed an unfavorable opinion about Glenn Beck’s recent Conservative Political Action Conference keynote speech. At its core, the article disagreed with Beck’s notion that “We (Americans) don’t have a right to health care, housing or handouts,” and that “Progressivism is the cancer in America.”
I personally do not listen to Glenn Beck and consider myself an open-minded individual. Needless to say, the inherent discontent of Volz’s article prompted me to do my own research. After listening to the speech myself and trying to understand both sides of the argument, I came to the conclusion that Beck’s message is constitutionally valid.
The Founding Fathers of this nation created the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as governing documents. They were written to establish a government that would provide a just judicial system and a strong military. They were written to ensure citizens were guaranteed certain rights. They were written to promote the general well-being and happiness of the public.
Unfortunately, many Americans misinterpret these facts. For example, the Constitution does not give anyone the right to own a home, a Mercedes or a ski boat. It also doesn’t give citizens the right to heath care. Instead, financial capability gives an individual the right to own these things. Our society is a capitalistic society that grants us the right to provide for ourselves, and the Constitution was not created so the government would finance the wants of its citizens.
Explicitly put, many mindsets such as Volz’s harbor a “what can my country do for me?” attitude. If it were up to me, my country would stop spending money that it did not have, in order to provide citizens with “rights” that they are not guaranteed.
Sean Wilson Undergraduate
