St. Glenn Beck’s Religious Followers

What happens when you hold a candlelight vigil to discuss talking points from Glenn Beck’s show, while a George Washington re-enactor speaks for the president from beyond the grave? You get a Tea Party religious service. In this service, the knowledge is from Glenn Beck, the Bibles are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the country is facing a moral crisis because of the sins of its citizens. We even formed a prayer circle.

After protesting on the Capitol lawn and marching into congressional officers, the majority of Tea Partiers called it a day and went back to their hotels. Not everyone though. A small group of true believers decided to assemble behind the Capitol and in front of the Supreme Court to hold a “Candlelight Vigil.” The group was no larger then 30 and it whittled down to 20 as the night wore on. FrumForum doesn’t know when they first assembled but they were still there at 9pm.

They were huddled in a circle, around a man who later identified himself as Dan Egtvedt. Clasping their candles in their cups, they came in close so they could to listen to Egtvedt and receive his wisdom in the dark of the night. He was holding a flag that looked like the Revolutionary War era Betty Ross — thirteen stars arrayed in a circle — but this one also had two Roman numerals in the middle (“II”). He said this was the flag of the 2^nd American Revolution, and Egtvedt was going educate the crowd on the principles of this revolution, with a little help from George Washington.

Yes, George Washington was there too. He was not simply a man in a period-era costume, he was the republic’s first president. People addressed him as George, and pointed out that he was the model citizen. “Didn’t you go down on one knee and tell the people you would not be their King?” inquired Egtvedt, “No you got it wrong” replied George, “I went down on two knees.”

Before the assembled could receive their history lesson, they needed a prayer, and they received it from a Jewish Tea Partier who was going to state the Shema Yisrael. The group even overcame some slight cultural barriers in the moment. Egverdt asked, “Would it be respectful for us to be bow at this point?” and was told “You don’t have to…you actually rise when this is done because you get up in august of the holy presence.”

Even the language of the Old Testament can resonate with the Tea Party movement: “we are an ancient religion…and we are trying to change this country, and get back to virtues that come from Deuteronomy.” A woman listening nodded in agreement, “As Christians, we understand that about our Jewish brothers.”

Although scholars and academics have long explored the differences between Judaism and Christianity (“Trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity to readers of The New Republic is not easy” wrote W.H. Auden) in that moment, the moral absolutism of Judaism was perfectly wed with the Tea Partiers’ desire to see the United States return religion to public life. “There is one all-powerful master of this universe who has no beginning and no ending. He is a just God. He is the ruler of Heaven and of this Earth. ["That's right" said someone in agreement] And it is his will that shall be done tomorrow, and it is his will that will be done the day after tomorrow, and every other day.” Chants of “Amen” were joining in. “We shall live with these repercussions, we shall pray for justice we shall pray for goodness, and we shall live in affliction if that is his will.” The chants of Amen came with agreement. Even if the House does pass a bill, they can’t deny that it is part of the master plan of a lord who works in mysterious ways.

The spirit of the Lord now invoked, Egverdt began explaining why they were there. As he spoke, it became clear that there would be no conservative or Republican talking points. Arguments about being able to sell insurance across state lines or why employer-provided healthcare is preferable, have no place in a time of prayer.

The forum was almost educational. The word ‘almost’ is key because everyone already knew the correct answers to his questions. He would ask the crowd “Can anyone explain what progressivism is?” “Gradual Communism” replied one man. Although everyone already knew that, this was going to be a learning opportunity: “I want everyone to say that” and the crowd obliged. “Gradual Communism” they said, like a troop of middle school students.

Egverdt held the floor of the session, moderating answers as people spoke. His voice was calm but charismatic. People were silent as he spoke and held up the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. He ‘tested’ them by giving them a chance to help complete his sentences. He would start, “They call themselves both Republicans and Democrats…and they’ve acknowledged that they are…” he would let the sentence hang and then turn to someone in the crowd. He would turn to them and state, “say the word”, and someone would respond, “progressive.” “That they are progressives!” he would repeat with agreement.

With George Washington in the crowd, Egverdt had an avatar he could point to, a living and breathing representation of what had been lost. He would point to George and say that he fought, “in the first revolution, against Tyranny that came across the sea.” Mr. Washington, as the man who fought back the British and established the Republic, had wisdom from beyond the grave that the crowd listened to: “The Nazis were progressive” he said, to replies of “yes, yes, yes.” He proceeded to explain how passing the healthcare bill would be similar to the Anchluss of Austria.

The crowd could not spend the entire evening only talking about the encroachment of progressivism, they also had to take action. They decided to turn and pray in the direction of the Capitol, raising their arms up at a 60-degree angle, to silently send their prayers to Congress. If a less discriminating journalist had passed by at that very moment, he would have had a golden opportunity to make untoward comments about the Tea Party’s ‘true’ political sympathies. This was poor image control.

Seized in the religious moment, someone in the group decided everyone should join hands and form a circle so that everyone could pray. They placed their candles in the middle, and formed a ring. Many people at the Tea Party rally would agree that there are political problems with the government. This group went further, this was a cultural, and religious crisis.

A woman who initiated the ring said: “Heavenly father we come before you, knowing that the sins of the nation are a stench before you.” Her own issue of preference made itself immediately clear, “forgive us for the millions of children that we have allowed to be killed in abortuaries.” But that was not the only thing that people wanted forgiveness for that night. The members of the ring would chime in with what they wanted to be absolved for, among them being:

“Father forgive us: for our arrogance as a nation.”

“Father forgive us: for the arrogance of man.”

“Father forgive us: for our ingratitude.”

“Father forgive us: for allowing the schools to teach our children that promiscuity is better then chastity and purity.”

“Father forgive us: that we’ve let evil into our lives pervasively…whether it be love for money, or love for sex, or love for inappropriate behavior, or love for anything that is not Godly.”

“Father forgive us: for worshiping idols.”

“Father forgive us, for becoming ‘me the people’ instead of ‘we the people.’”

“Father forgive us, for allowing post-modern society to not have any absolutes as you dictated. All things being equal, all lifestyles, all religions, as opposed to your standards.”

“Father forgive us, for allowing our education system to teach our children that they are the ultimate authority instead of you. May you return the Ten Commandments to our nation’s school. Forgive us for not fighting hard the day that they suggested that they be taken out.”

“Father forgive us: for how we feel about Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama.” (They laughed at this one, “love the person, not the philosophy” reminded George Washington.)

Liberals will be pleased to know that they also had someone say: “Father forgive us: for how we have taken advantage of other races.”  Advocates of paleo-masculinity on AlternativeRight can also be pleased that a woman made the following remarks:

“This is not so much as a ‘Father forgive us’ but maybe it is…The Lord was the head of the Church, and men were subject to being under the Lord, and women were subject to being under men. And even though we are a nation of equals…I want our men to be men again, and stand up and love their country, and love their women, and love their children.”

By now it had been more then an hour, and it was time to wrap things up. They were making plans for tomorrow, and for prayer sessions to be held in the morning of the healthcare vote. “They are trying to make us look like idiots or racists, we need to show them that we are a godly people” explained Egverdt. After they set their watches, and George Washington explained why the United States was a Christian country, they decided to fold up the giant American flag that they had with them.

The crowd grabbed the sides of the flag, and stretched it out flat. Egverdt reminded them that while they may wave yellow flags that say “Don’t Tread on Me”, that this was the flag they were defending. He then had an idea: he got them to raise the flag above their heads, and they stood under it for the Pledge of Allegiance, “You are now under the liberty flag” he began. They stood under it, and then gave the pledge. The ritual complete, Egverdt announced that they were now worthy of defending the Republic.

The group dispersed and Egverdt became free to answer some questions. He identified that he was from Northern Virginia, and that his initial involvement was actually in John McCain’s campaign, “He was my third choice, because I did my research. I recognized that he was a socialist… it was the lesser of two evils.” His story changed however, and there was a moment when he stopped having to feel guilty about his support, “and then Palin came in, and she was my justification to start rallying. If they got elected, she was strong enough to stand up to McCain.”

When asked which leaders got it, he responded without missing a beat, “The one that most gets it? Glenn Beck, he understands what’s going on.” As for his opinion on Ron Paul, the CPAC presidential straw poll winner: “I got to put him in the middle of the road… I think that financially he is a wonderful guy, and he has some other things that I don’t agree with.”

As the interview wrapped up, Egverdt was caught up in a discussion with a fellow Tea Partier about the role of environmentalism, “There are people in the progressive movement who want to demonize God, the latest thing they are doing is saying that Mother Earth [matters]…they’re saying that God doesn’t matter anymore.” Accusations that environmentalism is a sort of liberal religion are not new, but when cap-and-trade bills get debated in congress, no one holds a pow-wow in front of the Supreme Court to pray that Gaia will inspire the senators to vote for cloture.

At this candlelight vigil, the teachings of St. Glenn Beck were treated as holy writ. George Washington had reached a level of deification amongst the people there so they played along with the man in costume because he said what they wished George Washington would say if he was alive today. Egverdt had used a highlighter pen to circle the 10^th amendment so he could find it as he read it out to the crowd, as if quoting scripture.

This may have only been a group no larger then 30, but no one in the group felt they were witnessing anything surreal. Of the estimated 40,000 people who descended on Capitol Hill, how many of them would have found it abnormal that they were chanting back amateurish political history, oblivious to the pedagogical patterns being implemented?

This event is tribute to the astounding influence of Glenn Beck’s program upon the conservative world.  Some conservatives criticize Beck for suggesting that Republicans are no better then Democrats. But the problem runs deeper: Here is a man who packages and disseminates a world view about governance that is totally out of step with reality and history.  This world view is being propagated and utilized by religiously inspired populists who pretend that they are imparting ‘knowledge’ to one another when they are really just regurgitating the same lines that they saw from the chalkboard that day.

This worldview lends itself to paranoia. It lends itself to viewing the passage of a healthcare bill not as the unwanted  result of a legislative process run by wrong-headed people, but as a sin sent to America by a God who is displeased that we don’t teach abstinence in the schools.

William F. Buckley’s campaign against the conservative fringe in the 1960’s is well-documented. He once wrote: “How can the John Birch Society be an effective political instrument while it is led by a man whose views on current affairs are, at so many critical points . . . so far removed from common sense? That dilemma weighs on conservatives across America.”

My pieces on FrumForum: http://www.frumforum.com/author/noah-kristula-green
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