By: Garry Hamilton

This is interesting.

Blogger Lexington Green – Chicago Boyz – writes I Think I See What Glenn Beck is Doing, wherein he says:

Quote:

The Glenn Beck rally is confusing people.

Why?

He is aiming far beyond what most people consider to be the goalposts.

Using Boyd’s continuum for war: Material, Intellectual, Moral.

Analogously for political change: Elections, Institutions, Culture.

Beck sees correctly that the Conservative movement had only limited success because it was good at level 1, for a while, weak on level 2, and barely touched level 3. Talk Radio and the Tea Party are level 3 phenomena, popular outbreaks, which are blowing back into politics.

Someone who asks what the rally has to do with the 2010 election is missing the point.

Beck is building solidarity and cultural confidence in America, its Constitution, its military heritage, its freedom. This is a vision that is despised by the people who have long held the commanding heights of the culture. But is obviously alive and kicking.

Beck is creating positive themes of unity and patriotism and freedom and independence which are above mere political or policy choices, but not irrelevant to them. Political and policy choices rest on a foundation of philosophy, culture, self-image, ideals, religion. Change the foundation, and the rest will flow from that. Defeat the enemy on that plane, and any merely tactical defeat will always be reversible.

He goes on to address the point that “Beck is unabashed that God can be invoked in public places by citizens…” and goes on to note that…

Beck is attacking the enemy at the foundations of their power, their claim to race as a permanent trump card, their claim to the Civil Rights movement as a permanent model to constantly be transforming a perpetually unjust society.

He references some Reagan observations to provide more context…

Ronald Reagan said we would not defeat Communism, we would transcend it.

As Ronald Reagan also said, there are simple solutions, just no easy solutions.

Oh, and it seems his assessment is accurate:

Whoa. Mr Beck himself linked to this post, and tweeted: “The ONLY guy to actually get it!”

Essentially, Beck has realized that there are meta-levels. Law is a function of policy is a function of culture is a function of belief. And “policy” is where “politics” fits on the scale.

It would appear that he’s playing the long game, but his approach may yield near-term results.