Step Right Up, Folks

I had the dubious pleasure of watching Mr. G. Beck confusedly rave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, thanks to a streaming live feed provided by MSNBC. If you missed it, you're probably kicking yourself right about now-- but it's all right, you really didn't miss much.

Mr. Beck's passion for oration is obvious, and matched only by his inability to form even one coherent, arguable point. The only message I could glean from his climactic address was that America's greatest flaw was wandering far from God, and that we should be much more religious-- in our personal lives and in the dealings of our country. The rest was a lot of disconnected palliatives about our inherent superiority. It made me think of The Merchant of Venice: "His reasons are as two grains of wheat in two bushels of chaff: you shall seek all day ere you find them, and when you have them, they are not worth the search."

Anyway, it's pointless to even ask what the speech meant anyway, because the guy's clearly just shilling snake oil, liver pills, laudanum, tracts of bunco land. Having a point or outlining a course of action would be counter-productive, in Mr. Beck's case. It would lend some degree of definition, which is absolutely the last thing he wants. His vagueness and relentless back-pedalling are the perfect tools for his persona. Actually conveying any sort of specific information is anathema. He only wants people to pay attention. Anything beyond that he'll just make up as he goes along.

If you ask me, what it is is damned impressive. He's making an awful lot of money from some very befuddled people, and although it makes me feel like Goebbels to say it, I respect that.

And that's about as far as I'm willing to take it. I don't think the Beckster is going to instigate some nation-wide revolt, for a couple reasons. One is that he doesn't want to. He wouldn't know what to do if that actually happened. Two is that he has no message to rally behind, other than "Aggh! Look out!" Pressed for details on what we should be looking out for, or what to do about it, he dissolves into the choicest word-salad. No agenda, like I said. He's just making it all up on the spot. And third is that his followers seem to lack real vigor. These are not lean and hungry rebels. They lack the strength of their convictions, unless confusion, apathy, irascibility and disgruntled-ness are convictions. Also they're old.

Anyway, it was a muffled thud of an arguable success, for some people, probably, and it had bagpipes at the end, too!