Why You Should Boycott Glenn Beck

Why should you boycott Glenn Beck? The short reason is that Glenn Beck is the exact opposite of everything that informed and thoughtful journalism should be, even while he panders his beliefs and ideals on a news network.

The issue, when deciding to boycott Glen Beck, is not that the man has impassioned conservative beliefs. The issue is that he does not rely on factual statements to back up his beliefs. Millions turn into his show every night, and he is irresponsible enough to produce a show that does not offer one shred of factual evidence to support the rantings he subjects his audience to. Certainly, his audience should be blamed for being gullible enough to buy the "facts" he shoves into their laps, but so too should Glenn Beck be held accountable for his version of the "truth."

Instead of facts, Glenn Beck relies upon emotional manipulation. From night to night, Glenn Beck will turn reduce himself into a pile of tears as he turns his weeping face to the camera. The reason for his hysteria are always some variation of the same: he is afraid for America. He is sad for America.

Why is he afraid and sad for America? Because the entire nation is not made up of conservatives. That the man wants to cram everyone into the same tiny pigeon hole, or reduce them down to a scary enemy of the United States is reason enough to boycott Glenn Beck.

For those that think it isn't reason enough, consider more closely your American history. Glenn Beck's hysteria has no right to be on a news network, as it certainly doesn't hearken to any responsible journalist. But it does have a very obvious precursor: Joseph McCarthy. Like McCarthy, Beck resorts to fear-mongering without a shred of factual information to back up his hysterical "fear for America" outbursts. The only differences between them is that McCarthy's bogeymen were commies, while Beck has to rely upon the scary socialists.

While no doubt both McCarthy and Glenn Beck are firm in their conviction that they are doing the right thing, if there was ever any reason to fear for America, it is because of men like them. That is surely reason enough to boycott Glenn Beck.

In the world of television news that you would expect and that a new station would report what happens and not give you their opinion on what happens. This is especially not the case when it comes to fox news. Fox news advertises that they are “Fair and Balanced” when to anyone with a reasonable mind and they are in fact the exact opposite of their tag line.

Take for example in the way they have attacked the Obama administration from day one. During the Bush administration Fox News repeatedly referred to those Americans protesting the president and his decisions as nut jobs, whacko's, and as un-patriotic citizens.

Before the Obama administration Fox News did not support protests or those who questioned former President Bush. Now that the Democrats are in power, Fox has supported, helped organize and broadcast from multiple protests against the current administration. Policies enacted by Republican leaders are now being blamed on the current administration whereas before they were praised by the same ‘news’ channel.

One need not look any further than the talk shows hosted on this news channel. Featuring extreme right wing characters such as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, who have both shown that they are not afraid to invent, distort and completely twist the facts to fit their agendas. Both of these talk show hosts are known more for their loud and combative nature when interviewing anyone who has an opinion that does not fit with their republican ideals, than they are for any truthful representation of the news.

This can be seen and heard easily by performing a search online. Anyone can find multiple video clips that will show how Fox News repeatedly spins any news story to fit a right wing agenda. It would seem at times they don’t even try to make enough effort to make their stories seem fair or balanced as long as they get their opinion across.

Fox News used to, it seems, attempt to cover up their strict right-wing spinning but that has completely changed. Fox News is the absolute worst representation of news as they see fit to broadcast. If you have any intelligence you will see Fox News for what it is, an extreme right-wing propaganda machine.