From this, we have the Tea Party protests (where the other half of the country finally learned that government is bad, especially if it's run by people with whom you disagree) and the under-reported upon 9-12 Project. Beck lists nine "principles" (they involve liking America and God and family and economic disparity and not trusting the government) and 12 values (Honesty, Reverence, Hope, Thrift, Humility, Charity, Sincerity, Moderation, Hard Work, Courage, Personal Responsibility, Gratitude) and suggests he wants to "bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001."
To celebrate this project, Beck's followers fans all over the country plan to take to the streets today. There are events planned in both Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. While it might be easy to dismiss the Obama hatred here as racism, I think (read: hope) that's not what it is. These people are old-fashioned conservatives who don't think of "healthcare" as a moral principle - making sure everyone has the right and opportunity to see a doctor - but as a cost they don't want to share. ("If they really wanted to be healthy, they would have been born rich like us, right Dad? Now can I drive the truck to Wal-mart to buy beer and guns?")
With that in mind, if you happen to see one of these protests (or if you're taking part) here's a fun little game that might help take your mind off the depressing, unproductive, hate-fueled, often ironic, simpletudes espoused at events like this. You can play as many times as you like, with your friends and family or alone. For every item on the list you see (photographs are the best proof) you get the point value associated. No cheating now; that would violate the "personal responsibility" value.
A sign or rhetoric suggesting someone "take back" the country - 1 point
An image of a snake - 1 point
A sign or T-shirt with a picture of a gun - 1 point
A Sarah Palin sticker or T-shirt - 1 point
Any reference to "death panels" - 3 points
A sign suggesting President Obama was not born in this country - 3 points
Someone suggesting Obama is a terrorist - 3 points
Someone calling themself a "Watchdog" - 3 points
Anything with a subversive use of an Obama logo or ironic use of "change" - 3 points
References to Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid - 1 point each (Bonus 3 points for every misspelled name)
A wealthy white male suggesting he is a victim - 1 point (Bonus 10 points if said male is doing so from inside a luxury car)
Someone eating fast food while talking about how much they love their health insurance - 5 points
Reference to Thomas Paine - 5 points
Reference to Ayn Rand - 7 points
A Ron Paul for President sign - 7 points
A Joe Wilson for President sign - 15 points
Someone waving a copy of Glenn Beck's book, Common Sense - 20 points (Bonus 20 points if the book jacket has been mounted to a poster, or someone is reading from the book into a megaphone)
Someone claiming they want to unify America, then suggesting disestablishing the Union (secession) within 60 seconds - 20 points (Bonus 50 points if it's in the same sentence)
Someone with a good idea that isn't just rousing people in an effort to gain market share and sell books and lower the level of discourse (and by effect consciousness) in this country - game over, everybody wins