Addicted to Outrage - critical summary review

One way or the other, we are all addicted to some form of pleasure. When it comes to “outrage,” the term can be interpreted in so many different ways depending on who is getting the short end of the stick. 
The metaphor is that if America resembles a drug addict, then it must seek professional help. Embracing such a perspective could give us the edge in understanding the political impasse that seeps into the lives of ordinary Americans.

Topping it all off is the mindset pervasive in American society, which prefers emotions over facts. It’s another disputed point, which is hard to solve without being labeled a pawn for the political elite. But let’s see how things unfold.

Glenn Beck’s idea is to leverage recovery programs and policies that will eventually bring the United States back on the top as a global superpower. 
Without further ado, let’s kick things off and learn more about his perspective on this issue.

Freedom of speech or freedom from speech?

Glenn Beck starts by explaining the problem of not listening to the other side. He also points out that the U.S. political climate will improve inasmuch as the people are willing to open their eyes to all possibilities. 

Being shallow-minded not only undermines political progress but also puts the prosperity of an entire nation in jeopardy. For instance, do you know that 20% of Obama supporters voted for Trump in 2016? It’s a bit shocking, to say the least, but that’s the truth. 

Demopublicans, a new term pioneered by the author, describes people who are prepared to give voice to everyone, and take an impartial stance in the battle against political polarization. Those are the people usually branded as centrists, which in today’s polarized America are hard to find.

One particular example most accurately depicts the stalemate and outrage that began cropping up with the arrival of Trump’s administration. 

“The border kids issue” was massively propagated as soon as Trump took power. The truth is that under Obama, the problem also existed and the Democratic Party wasn’t so outraged as it is under Trump. 

Drug cartels operating in Mexico realized that they could get away with pretty much everything by smuggling kids over the border. This policy, practiced under Obama administration, allowed and encouraged cartel members to rent and use children as human shields to avoid any legal ramifications. During the uncontrollable influx of migrants, Obama’s administration didn’t know what to do with the border issue, and the system simply crashed. 

Glenn Beck, one of the few exclusive reporters there on the scene, recalls that the American public was not informed about this political debacle.

As it turns out, any attempt to debunk the horrors committed under Trump will automatically transform you into a monster. 

If you look at the polls, you’ll see that 70% of Americans (Republicans and Democrats in the share) believe that after crossing the border children and their parents should not be separated.

So, what’s the outrage all about? Republicans make the case that the idea of creating a country with zero law-enforcement at the borders, and deregulating immigration will create havoc in the South. No one is sure what the Democrats suggest to do, especially if you take into consideration that the opioid crisis emerged as a direct result of the heroin entering from Mexico.

If a country is unable to balance out justice and mercy, the system will be abused and eventually collapse.

Glenn contends that the legal and social chaos cannot and will not be solved by embroiling in political squabbles. The media, on the other hand, should stop presenting biased information that serves only to mislead the public and stir up more controversy. 

The solution is to establish a borderline between migrants with papers and people with a criminal background that immigrated illegally. How does the whole recovery idea fit into all of this? 

Unlike the much-vaunted information about handling people with addiction, the intake of chemicals is not the only link to modern-day addiction. It can also be used to describe any sort of attachment, take for example social media use, which many believe is comparable to drug addiction.   

The battle for holding the moral high ground is gaining momentum and adds to the boiling atmosphere that is raging the American society.

Sparking that emotional fire and feeling outraged is praised and heavily encouraged by the mainstream media. The battle for the moral high ground is perceived through the lens of politics, not through the lens of societal prosperity. 

Let’s take a look at a practical example:

Each thumbs-up or like can induce a surge of dopamine, and the same logic applies to surges of serotonin and oxytocin. That’s why we have these constant outbursts on social media and a generation of whiners who can’t accept personal responsibility for anything.

The rage is truly shocking, especially if you take into account that Western society has never been freer than nowadays. It’s utterly preposterous to even talk about these things, because requiring legislative action to limit someone’s speech is in direct contradiction to the U.S. Constitution. 

The bottom line is that people are well-fed, prompted into education, provided with the means to pursue better salaries and jobs, express discontent, and enter into politics. 

Today’s world allows you to do whatever you so desire, but you mustn’t dictate your terms to the rest of the world. Despite all of this, the media pushes a narrative that we currently live in a total chaos, caused by those in power. 

If that’s the case, then how come the percentage of Americans living in absolute poverty is less than 0.1% – the lowest ever recorded? How come the homicide rate continues to decline since the 1970s? 

Hollywood also has not been able to sidestep this social cry for equality as we are currently witnessing a surge of politically correct movies. 

Further, the fatalities on campus have declined in recent years and have dropped by a staggering 75% in the past 40 years. 

Which mainstream media outlet have ever broadcasted any of this? CNN, FOX?

Sometimes, being outraged is totally justified. Most of the time, however, it’s merely a virtue-signaling technique to score some sympathy points. Glenn Beck even provides the readers with real-life examples of how pathetic society has become. 

We seem to be screaming about existential issues like whether Kylie Jenner is ignorant, racist, or both for braiding her hair into cornrows.”

If this is our biggest concern, then how outrageous should some people be after living in constant fear for their safety and always close to danger. More than 700 million people worldwide have limited or no access to fresh water and in some cases without a roof over their heads. 

As an illustration of this madness, it’s vital to mention the case when a liberal sex-education instructor referred to genitals as male and female. A pretty casual thing turned into an all-out attack on gender neutrality, and she was forced to apologize for presuming a person’s gender identity based on their reproductive parts. It’s simply ridiculous.

The stigma attached to post-modernism

Sadly, the American public suffers constant bombardments with news of identity politics and the concept of liberty, the very bedrock of US democracy is losing ground. No one seems to appreciate the concept of freedom, which puts the individual and not the collective at the center of the cultural structure. 

Many political factions and lobbyists ventured to enforce political correctness and now make that the purpose of the law. Meanwhile, they show no interest in giving space to other personalities with rather opposite views to share their opinion on sensitive topics. In a nutshell, the Western world has started to neglect basic biology, neglect human laws, overlook the virtues of logic, and shift that attention on emotions. 

Inasmuch as we all feel sympathy for people who can’t seem to accept their biological gender, it is entirely unacceptable to discard the biological implications.

The consequences can be dire because this situation might incentivize sex offenders, abusers, and pedophiles to exploit the system in many ways.

Of course, there's the need for holding conversations, and everyone should state their issues so we can resolve them in the most effective way possible.

But don’t jump on the latest bandwagon and blame the patriarchy for everything wrong in our society. Throwing temper tantrums is not very productive either. 

The Weinstein case also draws a rather dark picture of the educational system that is currently overrun by liberals. The struggle of a liberal professor at Evergreen State College, who didn’t want to succumb to the mob mentality, became the epitome of this corrupt system. 

His presence on campus became a burden, as a rally of infuriated students demanded his resignation. The stalemate reached a boiling point when the organizers requested all “white” to leave campus for “Day of Absence.” 

He replied: “There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves from a shared space in order to highlight their vital and underappreciated roles, and a group or coalition encouraging another group to go away.”

He was bullied, nagged, and labeled a racist and white supremacist. At one point, he was even held hostage by those who “value” freedom of speech. 

The values that Bret Weinstein fought for crossed swords with the dominant rhetoric of the radical left that subdues free speech. The Bill of Rights encompasses the rights that every American is entitled to, including freedom of speech. 

The 20th century is enough of a reminder of what can happen as soon as you start to play games with identity politics. Someone would claim that radical leftists demand justice, but, as far as truth goes, they seek power. 

The change in humanity 

Renowned scientists and entrepreneurs fear that technology might be the cause of world destruction. Therefore, those like Elon Musk leave all possibilities on the table, even the craziest of them all – colonize Mars in years to come. 

Millions are going to lose their jobs, as artificial intelligence will soon replace a bunch of them that previously required human effort. In the aftermath of this social phenomenon, we will also witness the breakdown of the nuclear family structure and the reduction in birth rates. 

Glenn also reflects on the threads that resonate with two different groups of Americans: active and asleep. 

If you’re a part of the sleep category, then definitely you’ll be prone to collective thinking and identity politics. Moreover, politicians need an adversary, much like Hitler needed an arch enemy (the Jews) to facilitate his rise to power. To top it all off, universities are gradually converting into mass indoctrination and lie-spreading centers.

You have to understand that blaming something will not make the problem go away. For instance, the American people these days are led to believe that the problem with wage-stagnation lies in Mexico and China.

iPhone production is a case in point. American market cannot compete with the “slave-labor wages” offered in China and South America. North Americans are not prepared to work under the same conditions that an average Chinese finds acceptable. 

Whenever automation replaces slave labor, you can bet your house on the rumor that jobs will not be returning to the United States. Any serious market analyst would immediately lay out a strong case against manufacturing jobs returning to the United States while citing solely economic reasons. Anyway, back to the mental and social aspects of American politics.

Glenn also holds in high regard the idea of contemplating before giving your opinion on something. Before sharing your thoughts, it’s best if you can search to truly understand the depths of the topic you wish to discuss. He created an acronym:

• T stands for truthful.
• H stands for helpful. 
• I stands for inspiring.
• N stands for necessary. 
• K stands for kind.

The Ultimate Program

The “Glenn Beck Coming Together to Save America” program consolidates pretty much everything we included in this microbook. It is also backed by several so-called recovery programs that advocate for economic reforms on a state level. 

The program is not about making political alliances whatsoever, but to encourage you to embrace personal responsibility for your life. Once you do that, you can easily make a case about your political beliefs or any other topic for that matter.

Here's the step-by-step process:

• Admit to yourself that you have a problem.
• Understand and accept the potential consequences of taking no action.
• Find places of agreement.
• Take a moral inventory.
• Have faith that doing this will make a significant difference in your life and in the future of this country.
• Determine the facts and deal only with facts.
• Set realistic goals.
• Don’t label people.
• Open yourself to new possibilities.
• Be generous of spirit and share your discoveries with others.

Final Notes

In all honesty, criticizing the cultural establishment of the United States is not as straightforward as stating an opinion. 

With that said, we felt connected to the message conveyed through this book, and the idea of valuing freedom of expression. Take notes, and take a critical overview of the whole situation.

12min Tip

Shutting down someone purely based on ideological reasons is textbook fascism. Free speech is how you fight tyrannical governments, and people who want to exert authoritarian control over others. So, value everyone’s right to say whatever they like, even if you disagree with them fully.