Glenn Beck: Love or Hate

When I was getting ready to come to America, my father would make me watch Fox news, especially Bill O’Reilly show every day to make sure I understand the country I’m going to as a grad student. My dad who has never been to US, believed that the conservative media presents the real . For him, the liberals were too few and an ignored mass in the country.

After hearing his one sided comments which often were not very kind to the immigrants and religious minorities for six months, I wished he would get out of America and see the world for himself.

I was relieved when I saw that the America Fox news presents is not the real one. After two years of happy American life I was faced with Glenn Beck, who made me question myself if the I saw the real one? Listening to the conservative host made me question if liberals are indeed a minority in .

First time I listened to Glenn Beck was on CNN, on his show. He was talking about the missing Egyptian students. The way he made fun of their names, the place they come from, portraying them as some camel riding terrorists shocked me so much that I haven’t missed a show of his since. I know he kept on saying, “I am not saying that they ARE terrorists” but the way he twisted the whole story to favor the terrorist theory made it clear what his objective were. As an international student in I know how strict the immigration policy is for us. We have to report to the DHS every time we change address, even if you move across the street they have to be notified. After 9/11 the system of SEVIS was devised which helps the DHS track every move of the students. In this environment of heightened security if the students go missing, it does call for attention but not a campaign to smear a culture and country.

It is not that I hate every word Glenn utters. I really appreciate his for the stand he has taken said the child molesters and sexual predators. I applaud him for following the case of a handicapped girl molested in her school. He did everything to get answer from school authorities and local leaders, this was a story not featured in any prominent media. But he slipped when it came to the conflict between and . He presented as a nation with no mistakes, and we all know this is not true. I support ‘s right to defend itself but then in an effort to support why forget the people of
Palestine
who have been reduced to living in ghettos, denied even basic human rights. I really wished Glenn Beck, a person who does not wish to be a politically correct puppet, would raise the issue of Palestine, I wanted him to look deeper on how vested interests did not allow Lebanon to be a true democracy thus giving birth to Hezbollah , I wanted him to not take sides and speak what he saw, but that did not happen.

I have my differences with Beck, but then I have to say that he does speak his mind and makes no apologies about it. This something very rare in media now days. He might say something which I disagree about but there are things which we agree on. Isn’t this what stands for? There is a place for every one of us to express ourselves, whether we agree or not.

My love hate relationship with Glenn Beck goes on; I hope he will take time out to read about the “real”
Middle East
and Islam.