On Saturday, August 28, Fox News conservative pundit Glenn Beck is hosting a rally at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. called Restoring Honor. Set to take place from 10 am to 1 pm, this apolitical event is billed as a gathering to “honor our heroes, our heritage, and our future” and is expected to “pay tribute to America’s service personnel and other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth, and honor,” according to Beck’s website. Contrary to popular belief, Beck stresses that the event is not a Tea Party rally, nor is it political in nature.
“There will be absolutely no politics involved. This rally will honor the troops, unite the American people under the principles of integrity and truth, and make a pledge to restore honor within ourselves and our country.”
To emphasize the apolitical nature of the event, Beck has asked attendees not to bring signs of any variety to the gathering, in that “they may deter from the peaceful message we are bringing to Washington.”
Despite the seemingly benign intents of the Restoring Honor rally, the event has faced fierce opposition from civil rights leaders angered over Beck’s choice to host the rally on August 28, the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Confused by the anger that the date of the event has provoked, Beck responds, “Blacks don’t own the legacy of Martin Luther King just as whites don’t own the legacy of Abraham Lincoln.”
In response, social activists, including Reverend Al Sharpton, are planning marches and demonstrations on the same day in order to coincide with Beck’s event.
Similarly, New Black Panther Party Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz promises that the New Black Panther Party will meet Beck at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
The Left’s attempts at creating controversy over what should be a completely uncontroversial event have done little to deter Americans from making plans to attend.
Buses from as far as Washington State and California as well as Vermont and New Hampshire have been scheduled to take interested parties to the rally, and many have already been sold out. Likewise, hotels in the Washington, D.C. area are filling up quickly.
According to the Conservative Daily News, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly projects that the event will host approximately 15 to 20 thousand people, while Beck is hoping for well over 100,000.
Aware that many Americans are unable to attend the event for financial, work-related, or personal reasons, Beck has asked Americans to participate in any way they can, whether it is through spiritual engagements like fasting and praying, or through social participation such as promoting the event to friends and families, or donating money to the event (as all proceeds will be to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation).
Above all, Beck has emphasized that the event should encourage Americans to restore honor in their own lives.
While Beck has worked hard to keep much of the event secretive to preserve the element of surprise, announced speakers at the event include Beck, Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent, Dr. Alveda King — niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Marcus Luttrell.
Country artist Jo Dee Messina is set to perform at the event as well.
Beck contends that Restoring Honor will be an event “for the textbooks.” Whether such an rally will make its way into the pages of notoriously unpatriotic school textbooks is debatable, but one thing is certain: Americans across the country (including yours truly) are excited at the potential and will be flocking to D.C. on Saturday to be part of something big.
Those interested in the event should visit http://www.glennbeck.com/828/ for further information.
