The Line in the Sand Is Here': Beck's Bold Speech at FreedomWorks' 'Free the People

Glenn Beck urged an invigorated crowd Friday night to "draw a line in the sand" and decide right now what it is they are willing, and are not willing, to accept.

"If you don't draw a line in the sand, you will just keep drifting," he declared.  "You have to know what you're willing to do and not willing to do right now." 

Speaking at FreedomWorks' 2013 "Free the People" event in Salt Lake City -- the day before his "Man in the Moon" event at the same amphitheater -- Beck praised the commitment of the audience to the issues of civil rights and the United States Constitution.

(Photo: Mark Mabry)

"While people say that all we care about is an election, we're four years away from a presidential election, two years from a congressional election, and look: there isn't anyone on the left or the right that can put a crowd like this together at this time, [because] all we really care about is basic human rights and the Constitution of the United States of America," he said.

So what does it mean to draw a line in the sand?  Where does that fall?

Beck said "it's easy" because "it's about civil rights."

"Most of America is saying the same thing, but using a different language," he said. "Some say civil rights, some say Bill of Rights."

"We're saying the same thing, we're just saying it differently, and that's why we have to understand that we are on the verge of a new civil rights movement -- but it has been going on since Moses."

But while he is optimistic, Beck said he has grave concerns with our "common posture," particularly with regard to technology.

His conversations with Ray Kurzweil, the chief of artificial intelligence for Google and a chief consultant for Microsoft, among others, have alerted him to plans to have your phone be able to "answer your question before you've asked it, or maybe even thought it."

"How?" Beck said. "It will be listening and reading everything you say, write, and read," whether you are using your phone at the time or not.

"It's already happening," Beck said, noting that advertising already reflects your internet activity.  "[But] convenience is about to go dark on us if we don't draw a line in the sand...because it's going to be a very quick and slippery slope into it."

The NSA already knows "exactly who you are, and they have the ability now to know everything about you and store it," Beck said.

"The line in the sand is here. It is only going to get worse from here," he said.  "Ray told me we're 10 years away from what's called the singularity, or the merging of man and machine. This is Terminator, Matrix stuff..."

At that, the jumbo screens transformed into what appeared to be the lens of a phone, watching unaware Americans of all ages. But soon, the people themselves began to change, resembling that technology that was spying on them.

"What do you think Google glasses are?" Beck demanded.  "Google glasses are to give people power.  I [can] look at you, scan your face -- they'll tell me exactly who you are, what websites you read, exactly who you are...They put you at a disadvantage."

"That world is being created, it is coming," he said. "So where is the line? It is very simple: the Constitution of the United States of America."

Beck said there are two sides to enacting change: political -- which is why he said he is proud to stand with Freedom Works, an organization he said isn't in the corner of the Republicans or Democrats, but the Constitution -- and a mixture of constitutional and spiritual.

"We'll be launching that part of the movement soon, and we are going to stand and draw a clear line in the sand," Beck said.  Part of the plan to reclaim the culture, saying it is his hope that they can "create a culture that celebrates America, [and is] not ashamed of fearing God."

Beck noted that he has been maintaining for years that his audience will be pivotal in the history of America.

"People came here from Italy to be here tonight, looking for a movement they can model," he said. "People from Hong Kong, China, Japan, Canada, because they need a model.  You are the model the world is crying out for! Stand up and take the reins!"

After an exciting preview of Man in the Moon part two -- which he is already planning, involves a 2000-voice choir and full symphony orchestra, and will begin with the voyage to America -- Beck concluded: "People came here for a reason, to follow their conscience, to be free!"

"Find out why you have made the spiritual journey to America," he urged.  "Make the journey again.  Stand, protect, defend.  Love one another with honor and courage...because there is no other freedom if we lose it here. Trust in God and divine providence, and all is well."

After the event, FreedomWorks grabbed a few minutes with Beck backstage. You can see Beck's reaction to the speech -- and his optimism -- in the behind-the-scenes video below:

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