Is Glenn Beck a Pseudo-intellectual?

[First Thought]

Why he titled it is irrelevant. If you have a point can you make it?

Why he titled the book "Common Sense" is completely irrelevant?

 

[Andalublue]

Why he titled the book "Common Sense" is completely irrelevant?

A lot of right-wing populists do that common sense thing. Saying something is common sense is short-hand for them alluding to all the rancid, obsolete saws of their reactionary creed without actually having to argue them.

For them it's easier to say, "Well everyone knows that....la, la, la" or "Common sense dictates that....la, la, la"because it's a short-cut to action, neatly avoiding the brain.

I have no idea whether this Beck person (sorry, never seen him and only ever heard of him on DP posts) is one of these types, but if the cap fits...cap him.

 

[First Thought]

Why he titled the book "Common Sense" is completely irrelevant?

A lot of right-wing populists do that common sense thing. Saying something is common sense is short-hand for them alluding to all the rancid, obsolete saws of their reactionary creed without actually having to argue them.

For them it's easier to say, "Well everyone knows that....la, la, la" or "Common sense dictates that....la, la, la"because it's a short-cut to action, neatly avoiding the brain.

I have no idea whether this Beck person (sorry, never seen him and only ever heard of him on DP posts) is one of these types, but if the cap fits...cap him.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3J_QLtYqlk&feature=related"]YouTube- Glenn Beck Fail: Best Of Beck Clips[/ame]

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7NUQZiWl6w"]YouTube- Glenn Beck's Crazy Rant On India[/nomedia]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsBvEnaXtgo"]YouTube- Gatekeeping Shill Glenn Beck Called Out on lying on the View[/ame]

 

[Andalublue]

Ewwww! He's a bit of an arse on those clips. He lies and he's a racist against India and the Indians. That's not good. Back to topic... he certainly doesn't come across as any kind of intellectual although, in a rather unpleasant, ranting sort of way, he seems to have some talent as a presenter. Perhaps that's what his Fox viewers like, to have their prejudices expressed as if they did have some intellectual basis.

There are a lot of Glenn Becks out there. Every country I know well has something similar. I guess the strength of Fox makes him news.

 

[K-1]

Let me address the K-1 OP...

I have a hard time connecting Beck to the word 'intellectual'. I might side with much of his politics (not all, but most), but I am not comfortable watching any of his presentations. He's got a goofy demeanor that just irks me a bit too much.

However, that said, I think anyone who has the ear of a significant number of good people, ought to be able to speak to his minions however he likes. So what if he doesn't have a high formal education? Is there something so important to knowledge that only another professor can impart that isn't attainable by reading mass volumes?

You might be showing what is irksome about actual intellectualism and higher education. Namely, it tends to be full of itself. I suggest you do as I do and just change the channel.

If one doesn't need a formal education to impart knowledge -- which I agree that they don't -- why is it that Beck insists on doing things to present the image that he is supremely educated? Why not just, you know, talk? As I said in my initial post, the constant reciting of the point that, besides doing his TV show, eating, sleeping and pooping, all he does is stick his face in dense constitutional law textbooks is the kind of thing that an undereducated, pseudo-intellectual person with a chip on their shoulder engages in.

There are a lot of people who are not formally educated, but are indeed very smart. However, I promise you they don't go around with blackboards whenever they are trying to explain a basic point. Heck, even professors with earned PhDs aren't that ostentatious.

I am a college graduate, but I wouldn't consider myself an intellectual -- at least not now. I have a lot of respect for education and want to matriculate through the academic ranks, but I am not in the least bit snobbish. I change the channel whenever Glenn Beck is on. I only watched yesterday because he had on that Massa guy.

 

[K-1]

My response was directed to the OP, K-1, it was just as pompous as the clips of Beck that get linked on the forums.

Pompous? What was pompous about it? Because I dared to call out someone out for being a pseudo-intellectual who obviously lies about how many books he reads, who runs around with a blackboard trying to explain constitutional law, political science and history as though he is a tenured Harvard professor, and someone who doesn't even write his own books, which he essentially admitted to here:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwzBAgxJbys"]YouTube- Glenn Beck discuss "An Inconvenient Book"[/ame]

While I agree with a lot of what the man says, particularly as it relates to liberals, the man is clearly a fraud.