Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Glenn Beck's "American Revival" - We Were There

TCGuy and I attended Glenn Beck’s “American Revival” in Orlando, FL on Saturday, March 27, 2010. It was held on the campus of the University of Central Florida in the UCF Arena. The arena holds 8,000 people and it was packed.

Glenn had three guest speakers that did the presentations, along with Pat Gray and Stu Burguiere, his side kicks from the radio show.

The presenters were:
“Faith” – David Barton
“Hope” – David Buckner
“Charity” – Judge Andrew Napolitano

The presentations and key note speech were great and I will get to them in a future post. I thought I’d dedicate this post to my thoughts and experiences of the day.

We were greeted by crowds of people in line having their bags searched and getting wanded down. The security lines were just the beginning of the wait because once we got into the arena, we had to wait in line to get the promised “American Revival Binder”. Did I mention it was crowded? By the time we got through that line, which reminded me of a Disney World line winding back and forth to get into a ride, we had missed the very beginning of the first presentation on “Faith”. “We were not alone” as there were people filtering in for a long time after we sat down in our nosebleed seats.

The crowd was reminiscent of the Tea Party people we’ve met…polite, friendly and all on the same page. I have to tell you this story…

During the presentation on “Hope”, a lady fell down the concrete steps in the section next to ours. This was predicable since there was no lighting in the upper balcony where we were located. Glenn and David Buckner were still talking on stage, but the audience in the balcony was calling for a doctor. Glenn & David didn’t know what was going on and it seemed they thought maybe they were being heckled or something because Glenn kept shrugging his shoulders and looked perplexed while trying to continue with the presentation. Finally the people yelled out loud enough to be heard by him, saying that a doctor was needed. Once Glenn realized what had happened he asked which section she was in and called out for a doctor. Then Glenn asked everyone to say a prayer. He proceeded to bow his head and pray silently. A few seconds later, the audience spontaneously started singing “Amazing Grace”. Talk about “amazing”! This is indicative of the wonderful people involved in the 9.12 Project, the Tea Party movement and all of those who show up at town halls and freedom protests. A far cry from who the Obama administration calls “the mob”, “violent", "racists" and “Nazis”.

Side note:  I read an article on the event posted by Media Matters.  Don't ask why.  Anyway, the author totally lied about this scene.  He said:
Beck and economic commentator David Buckner led the throng in a softly sung "Amazing Grace." It was a moment he reenacted when he took the stage for his keynote, choking back copious tears as he said, "I love you guys."   
This is a lie.  Glenn and David Buckner did not lead anybody in song.  It was sung spontaneously by the audience...totally on their own.  And it is true that when Glenn came out to begin his keynote speech, he walked up from the side aisle and he did sing "Amazing Grace" and comment on the moment and the song.  He did this because it was so beautiful that it happened in the first place.   Suffice it to say that the Media Matters article is a typical Left Wing hatchet job and if you want to read it, you'll have to Google it yourself, as I refuse to link to their lies.

4/5/10 Correction:  I must make a correction to the story about singing "Amazing Grace".  Glenn came back from vacation this morning and commented on his radio show that he was humming "Amazing Grace" after the lady fell down the stairs.  I did not hear him humming, thus I thought people "spontaneously" started singing "Amazing Grace".  My apologies.  But Media Matters is incorrect in saying Glenn and David "led the throng in a softly sung Amazing Grace".  They did not "lead" the "throng" in singing.

Back to the story...

Did I mention it was crowded? We were not allowed to bring any food or drink into the arena, so at lunchtime I got into a line where they were selling pretzels, mini pizzas and water. The stand ran out of both pretzels and pizza and we had to wait for more to be baked. Mini pizzas and pretzels were coming out 5 and 6 at a time, meanwhile the line just got longer and so did the wait.  We were joking that we had better get used to it…like standing in the bread line or in the doctor’s office…(not so funny when you think about it).  (Of course there were other concession stands or we could have gone outside, but by that time it had gotten too late.)

While waiting in line, a lady in front of me made a comment that “she wished all of the people there, and those who thought like us, could go to our own island and start over”. I remarked to her that this had already been done…it’s called America. She realized I was right, but we all remarked on the sad state America is in now.

Miscellaneous…

There was a rousing “Amen” from the audience after Glenn said a prayer at the end of the “Faith” presentation.

There were “Boos” from the audience any time a photo of Nancy Pelosi and the gang popped up on the big screens that were posted on either side of the arena.

There were “Cheers” from the audience every time they wanted to show a presenter that they heartily agreed with his remarks.

Glenn asked that the 8,000 people in attendance to share their experience at the “American Revival” with others. I will write about the presentations on “Faith”, “Hope” and “Charity” in another post and share some of the reading material in the binder we received.

Click below to see a slide show.  Don't click on the big arrow in the middle of the photo (this will throw you off of the post).  Click on my Avatar at the bottom left hand corner of the photo to see the scroll bar.



The next "American Revival" will be held in Phoenix, AZ on April 10, 2010. If you are able, I would highly recommend attending this event. The speakers are knowledgeable and the presentations are entertaining while teaching you things you probably never knew. Click here for more information.

To be continued...

The Conservative Lady: UPDATE:  Video Added - American Revival: Faith
The Conservative Lady: UPDATE:  Video Added - American Revival: Hope
The Conservative Lady: UPDATE: Video Added - American Revival: Charity
The Conservative Lady: American Revival - The Conclusion - Videos and Final Words
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10 comments:

  1. I'm glad you went and offered an account.

    I've considered going... I live within a 20-30 minute drive from the arena here.

    I know this might sound lame, but it's tough doing the 'single guy' thing all day at an event like this, so I'm hesitant.

    We'll see...

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  2. Hi Sol:
    I was wondering if you were close enough to go to the Phoenix event.
    Believe me, it won't make any difference whether you're there with someone. Most of the time you're sitting in your seat listening to the presentations anyway. It's like being in school. There's only a couple of 10-15 minute breaks and a 1 to 1-1/2 hour lunch break...and you'll probably be standing in line at a concession stand or taking a stroll outside if you can get back in after leaving the facility. (We could only go out and return 1 time - after that you weren't allowed back in. Security issue.)
    Don't miss out on this if you can swing it...you'll kick yourself if you do. You never know...you might meet some new "conservative" friends while you're there.
    All I can say is don't let going alone be the reason you decide not to go. It was a great day with a lot of friendly, like-minded people.

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  3. Thanks for the first hand account...

    Your discription of the crowds is exactly why I didn't go... Wheelchairs and huge crowds don't get along, although I'd probably been nearer to the stage...

    We had another sign waving on Del Prado, saving the republic bit by bit...

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  4. Your life is so exciting! Good to know people that are out making their voices heard.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Trestin:
    We do get around, but our drive to Orlando on Friday wasn't exactly "exciting". An idiot light lit up on the car dash and we wound up going to a car dealer to find out what was wrong. Turns out the alternator went and they didn't have spare parts (had to wait until Monday to come in). They gave us a rental car to use until the car was fixed. So today my husband is traveling to Orlando to pick up our car (approx 3 hrs one way.
    And by the way, you are making your voice heard every day, too. Not to mention serving your country.
    Take care.

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  6. Born Again American:
    I can understand not wanting to be in a crowd and dealing with a wheelchair, although they were there. We had a guy sit behind us toting an oxygen tank around.
    Glenn Beck is a capitalist, so I would bet that he will sell DVDs of the Revival once he's done doing them, so you will probably get a chance to see it at some point.
    I hope the weather was better this time for your sign waving on Del Prado.

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  7. Hi TCL: This is the most interesting post. You are so lucky to have gone. I agree w/ your advice to Soloman. I go everywhere by myself, and this event sounds like the perfect place to go to alone, incase you meet some like minded friends! I wish it would come to Chicago.

    You should email this account to Glenn. It is such a lovely and moving post, I bet he'd love it.

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  8. Hi Bunni:
    I'm glad you enjoyed the post. We had a great time and I'm really glad we went.
    If the first 2 "revivals" are successful (and the first one certainly was), maybe Glenn will hold more around the country. I'm not sure they'd let him into Chicago, though...Obama has buddies there, ha, ha.

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  9. Janie Lynn:
    It was great and I recommend anyone who is in the vicinity of Phoenix on April 10th try to attend.

    ReplyDelete

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