Restoring Honor Rally
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and many more for this non-political event that pays tribute to America’s service personnel and other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth and honor.
Our freedom is possible only if we remain virtuous and vigilant and help restore the values that founded our great nation. Earlier today, on August, 28th, early estimates of between 300,000 and 500,000+ came to join together in the pledge to restore honor at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. (And as we all know from experience, if the mainstream liberal media is saying 300,000 to 500,000+ the true number is is much higher).
“Thank you to all those that attended 8/28 both in person and online!” Glenn Beck
With your support and help we were able to raise more than $5-million dollars for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
If you would like to donate to their cause you can do so online here OR you can text SOWF to 85944 to make a $10 donation.
Pictures and videos from this event are coming, so make sure to check back on this page and http://www.glennbeck.com/828
The Power of a God Inspired Dream
Throughout history God has used many people as his messenger; many feel that Fox News commentator Glenn Beck is that person for these times. He had a dream about the rally he and Tea Party favorite and fellow Fox employee Sarah Palin (employed by News Corp. which is owned by Fox News) planned (and have now executed) in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC: A crowd that organizers thought could reach 300,000+ and now has been estimated at 500,000+ attendees by the several mainstream media outlets.
The Washington Post reported on its Web site Friday that organizers or the Restore Honor Event got a permit from the National Park Service that saying they expected 300,000 people to attend. Beck, who was joined at the event by Palin, former Alaskan governor and Republican Vice Presidential Candidate, purposely sought to limit crowd expectations during his television show.
What an honor it was to speak today at the “Restoring Honor” Rally in D.C. The following is the text of my remarks. You can also watch a video of it here.
- Sarah Palin
'Restoring Honor” Rally August 28, 2010 Washington, D.C.
Thank you so much. Are you not so proud to be an American?
What an honor. What an honor.We stand today at the symbolic crossroads of our nation’s history. All around us are monuments to those who have sustained us in word or deed. There in the distance stands the monument to the father of our country. And behind me, the towering presence of the Great Emancipator who secured our union at the moment of its most perilous time and freed those whose captivity was our greatest shame. And over these grounds where we are so honored to stand today, we feel the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who on this very day, two score and seven years ago, gave voice to a dream that would challenge us to honor the sacred charters of our liberty – that all men are created equal.
Now, in honoring these giants, who were linked by a solid rock foundation of faith in the one true God of justice, we must not forget the ordinary men and women on whose shoulders they stood. The ordinary called for extraordinary bravery. I am speaking, of course, of America’s finest – our men and women in uniform, a force for good in this country, and that is nothing to apologize for.
Abraham Lincoln once spoke of the “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land.” For over 200 years, those mystic chords have bound us in gratitude to those who are willingly to sacrifice, to restrain evil, to protect God-given liberty, to sacrifice all in defense of our country.
They fought for its freedom at Bunker Hill, they fought for its survival at Gettysburg, and for the ideals on which it stands – liberty and justice for all – on a thousand battlefields far from home.
It is so humbling to get to be here with you today, patriots – you who are motivated and engaged and concerned, knowing to never retreat. I must assume that you too know that we must not fundamentally transform America as some would want. We must restore America and restore her honor!
Now, I’ve been asked to speak today, not as a politician. No, as something more – something much more. I’ve been asked to speak as the mother of a soldier, and I am proud of that distinction. You know, say what you want to say about me, but I raised a combat vet, and you can’t take that away from me. I’m proud of that distinction, but it is not one that I had imagined because no woman gives birth thinking that she will hand over her child to her country, but that’s what mothers have done from ancient days.
In cities and towns across our country, you’ll find monuments to brave Americans wearing the uniforms of wars from long ago, and look down at their inscriptions, you’ll see that they were so often dedicated by mothers. In distant lands across the globe, you’ll find silent fields of white markers with the names of Americans who never came home, but who showed their dedication to their country by where they died.
We honor those who served something greater than self and made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as those who served and did come home forever changed by the battlefield. Though this rally is about “restoring honor,” for these men and women honor was never lost! If you look for the virtues that have sustained our country, you will find them in those who wear the uniform, who take the oath, who pay the price for our freedom.
And I’d like to tell you three stories of such Americans – three patriots – who stand with us today.
The first is a man named Marcus Luttrell. His story is one of raw courage in the face of overwhelming odds. It’s also a story of America’s enduring quest for justice. Remember, we went to Afghanistan seeking justice for those who were killed without mercy by evil men on September 11th. And one fateful day in Afghanistan on a mountain ridge, Marcus and three of his fellow Navy SEALs confronted the issue of justice and mercy in a decision that would forever change their lives.
They were on a mission to hunt down a high-level Taliban leader, but they were faced with a terrible dilemma when some men herding goats stumbled upon their position, and they couldn’t tell if these men were friend or foe. So the question was what to do with them? Should they kill them or should they let them go and perhaps risk compromising their mission? They took a vote. They chose mercy over self-preservation. They set their prisoners free. The vote said it was the humane thing to do. It was the American thing to do. But it sealed their fate because within hours, over a hundred Taliban forces arrived on the scene. They battled the four Navy SEALs throughout the surrounding hills. A rescue helicopter came, but it was shot down. By the time the sun set on June 28, 2005, it was one of the bloodiest days for American forces in Afghanistan.
19 brave, honorable men were lost that day. Marcus was the sole survivor. Alone, stranded, badly wounded, he limped and crawled for miles along that mountain side. What happened next is a testament to the words: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.” Marcus and his team showed mercy in letting their prisoners free. And later he was shown mercy by Afghan villagers who honored an ancient custom of providing hospitality to any stranger who would ask for it. They took him in. They cared for him, refused to hand him over to the Taliban. They got him back safely to our forces.
Marcus’ story teaches us that even on the worst battlefield against the most brutal enemy, we adhere to our principles. This American love of justice and mercy is what makes us a force for good in this world. Marcus is a testament to that.
Please join me in honoring retired U.S. Navy SEAL Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell.From the time he first heard men marching to a cadence call, Eddie Wright had one dream in life, and that was to be a United States Marine. And as a Marine serving in Iraq, his company was ambushed in Fallujah. He was knocked out when a rocket propelled grenade hit his Humvee. When he came to, he saw that both his hands were gone and his leg was badly wounded.
He couldn’t fire his weapon, he could barely move, and he was bleeding to death. But he had the strength of mind to lead the men under his command, and that is exactly what he did. He kept them calm, he showed them how to stop the bleeding in his leg, he told them where to return fire, he had them call for support, and he got them out of there alive.
His composure under fire that day earned him the Bronze Star with Valor device. But if you ask him, “What did you get it for?”, he’ll tell you, “Just for doing my job.”
After a long recovery, Eddie continued to serve as a martial arts instructor. He resigned from his beloved Marine Corps a few years ago, but he still lives by the motto: “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”And if you want to see the American spirit of never retreating, no matter the odds – of steady confidence and optimism, no matter the setbacks – look at Eddie’s story. No matter how tough times are, Americans always pull through. As Eddie put it himself: “We don’t really foster the attitude of I can’t. When you have an obstacle in front of you, you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and focus on what you can.”
So, please join me in honoring retired Marine Sergeant James “Eddie” Wright.
Tom Kirk was an Air Force squadron commander and a combat pilot who had flown over 150 missions in Korea and Vietnam. One day on a routine mission over Hanoi, his plane was shot down. He spent the next five and a half years in that living hell known as the Hanoi Hilton.
Like his fellow prisoners, Tom endured the beatings, the torture, the hunger, the years of isolation. He described it, saying, “There was nothing to do, nothing to read, nothing to write. You had to just sit there in absolute boredom, loneliness, frustration, and fear. You had to live one day at a time, because you had no idea how long you were going to be there.”After two years of solitary confinement, pacing back and forth in his cell — three and a half steps across, three and a half steps deep – Tom was finally moved to a larger holding cell with 45 other Americans prisoners, among them was a man named John McCain. In circumstances that defy description, this band of brothers kept each other alive, and one by one, they came home.
Tom was released on March 14, 1973. You might think that a man who had suffered so much for his country would be bitter and broken by it. But Tom’s heart was only filled with love – love for America – that special love of country that we call patriotism.Tom wrote, “Patriotism has become, for many, a ‘corny’ thing. For me, it is more important now than at any time in my life. How wonderful it is to be an American come home!”
Friends, please join me in honoring retired Air Force Colonel Tom Kirk.My fellow Americans, each one of these men here today faced terrible sufferings, overwhelming set-backs, and impossible odds.
And they endured! And their stories are America’s story.
We will always come through. We will never give up, and we shall endure because we live by that moral strength that we call grace. Because though we’ve often skirted a precipice, a providential hand has always guided us to a better future.
And I know that many of us today, we are worried about what we face. Sometimes our challenges, they just seem insurmountable.But, here, together, at the crossroads of our history, may this day be the change point!
Look around you. You’re not alone. You are Americans!
You have the same steel spine and the moral courage of Washington and Lincoln and Martin Luther King. It is in you. It will sustain you as it sustained them.So with pride in the red, white, and blue; with gratitude to our men and women in uniform; let’s stand together! Let’s stand with honor! Let’s restore America!
God bless you! And God bless America!
Beck insisted all along that the assembly -- on the same steps where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech exactly 47 years ago – was not to be a political rally, but rather a gathering to restore honor in America and to bring America back to her roots through celebrating the military, patriotism and American heritage… which includes a deep faith and reliance on God. Event organizers not only discouraged participants from bringing signs, but no current officeholders are scheduled to speak.
After attending the rally or watching it online, we can all agree that Beck kept his word. Beck’s rallying cry was that one man can change the world and to save America, we must turn back to God and get back to our churches, synagogues, and temples…!
Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally today, on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” had some grandiose goals: bringing America back to God; restoring the honor, faith, and charity of the nation; and awakening America as to the impending political “storm” in our future. The religious message seemed to be the most finely-tuned, leaving the political message aside in favor of calling for Americans to return to churches.
Beck spanned the history of many enslaved people, up until the struggles of the American Revolution, the Civil War, and beyond– describing the construction of the Washington monument and hitting on the history of Egyptian slaves. He warned that, as a nation, America was “about in as good of shape as I am, and that ain’t very good,” and that Americans had to prepare for an upcoming storm that our “soft life” had not adequately prepared us for. In order to prepare, Americans had to go back to churches, back to synagogues, and yes– back to mosques. He endorsed the tithe system and told the crowd to go to “God’s boot camp,” but in order to trust in churches, “we must make sure that our churches stand for things that are good… we as a people must strengthen our spirit.” These points were by far the most significant chunk of the address, and possibly the most polemic, as his political calls were for unity, but he gave no room for dissent in the importance of America having spiritual guidance from a higher power and, possibly much more impacting than that, his insistence that organized religion specifically is the key to “restoring honor.”
About the event itself, Beck noted the size– “It must be a big crowd, because they violated the airspace to get a shot of it” — and the bipartisanship, citing an anonymous Obama administration organizer that had visited the event venue yesterday. He encouraged the crowd to “defend those who we disagree with,” and, as always, to “question with boldness” and not with fear– “fear only wakes you up for a short time.”
By far the most passionate political part of his speech, and the most memorable positive message he gave, was about the power of the individual– something he believed Americans were increasingly losing faith in. “One man can change the world,” he reminded the crowd, holding back tears. Later, even more emotive, he thanked the people who had brought their children to the rally, and assured them that, looking out on the crowd, he was looking at “the next George Washington… they may be eight years old, but they are here.” This was the most political part of his message– devoid of party or individual politicians, but hoping for the type of sacrifice the Founding Fathers gave the nascent nation.
It was overwhelming as we see several hundred thousands people standing together, locked arm-in-arm, peacefully standing together! And all along Beck and organizers said the event is bigger than any single one person; it is not about one person like some detectors tried to make it.
At Beck’s request, event attendees left their signs at home, but T-shirts carrying their mottos could be seen everywhere. Bloomberg News featured an article yesterday: Beck-Palin Rally in Washington Drawing Supporters of ‘Babies, Guns, Jesus’ inspired by the T-Shirt of Catherina Wojtowicz, 41, self-employed event organizer from Chicago’s Southwest Side said she wanted to celebrate the Constitution and see Beck in person. is one of those who traveled to Washington to see Beck and Palin. She arrived in the capital wearing a T-shirt that carried Palin’s name and “Babies, Guns, Jesus.” Wojtowicz, who was meeting in Washington with about 40 members of the Chicago Tea Patriots group, was quoted in the article saying, “He talks to you and not at you. He’s giving you an education.”
The “9/12” march in Washington last September was the first national gathering to demonstrate the size and potential influence of the Tea Party movement. Today’s rally was next step which encompassed a much wider net of Patriots and People of Faith.
It was reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols who was honored and team manager Tony La Russa, who plans to introduce him, said they agreed to appear only after being assured the rally wouldn’t be a political event.
Purple Hearts, inspired by the original meaning of the purple heart given out by George Washington, were given to 3 people for Hope, Faith and Charity. And Beck’s big surprise was the rebirth of the Black Robe Regiment. He had nearly 250 new Black Robe Regiment founding pastors join him today on stage, and there were approximately 2000 pastors, ministers, priests, rabbis, etc there at the event.
…Still, the rally has been surrounded by political activity.
Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said he asked people to donate to the event, saying in an interview that it was a “good thing for our country.”
Americans for Prosperity, another Tea Party group, is holding its political action convention in Washington over the weekend and busing people to the rally.
Michele Bachmann and FreedomWorks, a political organizing group affiliated with the Tea Party, expects 1,600 people to attend its gathering in Washington today. Members will hear lectures by leaders including Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who organized a Tea Party caucus in Congress, and will be briefed on how to organize voters to support conservative candidates.
“We see Glenn Beck as a guy who is bringing revelations of understanding to the American people,” FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey, a former congressman from Texas and House majority leader, said in an interview. “Glenn Beck is the instructional arm of the small-government movement and we are the action arm.”
The leader of the House Democratic campaign effort, Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen, challenged the claim by rally organizers that the event is nonpartisan. “It’s a blatant political effort,” he told reporters at a Washington press conference Friday. “You’ve seen Glenn Beck and a lot of the talk show hosts on Fox News out there talking about this election” for 15 months.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee organized an effort to knock on 200,000 doors this weekend in the most competitive House districts across the U.S.
Plus Beck’s rally had competition (not much) from the Reverend Al Sharpton and other African-American and civil rights leaders, who held their own event in D.C. today to commemorate King’s “Dream” speech and focus on improving education equality and concluded with a march to the site of a planned King memorial, near Beck’s rally.
Organizers of the Sharpton rally said in a news release that Beck is attempting to “hijack the dream” by pushing for an expansion of states’ rights, “the exact antithesis of the civil rights movement and Dr. King’s legacy.”, an argument had to substantiate since MLK’s niece chose to support and participate in Beck’s event.
“Dr. Martin Luther King would also have been a Beck target,” Jim Wallis, an evangelical author who plans to speak at the Sharpton rally, said in an e-mail fundraising letter to supporters. (Jim Wallis has been a Beck target for good reason and we suggest you do a little research on him if you are not a regular Beck watcher or familiar with the liberal Wallis, who promotes social justice). I believe King’s niece would disagree with Wallis’s remark!
“We refuse to let Mr. Beck’s rally cast a dark shadow over the civil rights movement,” said Wallis, president of Sojourners magazine.
Beck has said it was a coincidence that his event was scheduled on the anniversary of King’s speech, for when he asked the National Park Service for dates available at the Mall, 8.28 is what was offered to him. Since then he has certainly realized that it was meant to be on that date. Dr. Alveda King, a critic of gay and abortion rights and a niece of King, spoke at today’s rally. At an anti-gay-marriage rally earlier this month in Atlanta, she likened gay marriage to “genocide,” saying that heterosexual marriage guards against “human extinction.” (If you are not familiar with Planned Parenthood’s history or Founder, Margaret Sanger, a little research will quickly show you that Sanger was a Progressive and believer in eugenics, who hoped to use Planned Parenthood to that end, especially in Black Communities.)
Last year, Beck said on Fox that President Barack Obama is a “racist” with a “deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.” He later told CBS’s Katie Couric in an interview that he was “sorry the way it was phrased.” The majority of Americans now believe that Barack Obama is not a post-racial man, as we had all hoped, and that the White House uses the race card far too often.
Some Comments from ‘Restore Honor’ Attendees:
MSBS05: By end of rally, dense crowd all the way to Washington on Monday. 5-6 times the MLK crowd in 1963, much bigger than the press estimates!
BRC - Home from the Rally. What a great event - peaceful and uniting. God was most certainly with us!
IATTRALLY: There were many more people in attendance than 500,000.
CaGal: Al Sharpton has gone from the Million Man March to the Dozen Dude Dud.
TeaPartier: You could feel God all around at that rally!! It was like standing in the light… Love, Faith, Patriotism everywhere!
Beck Quote: "We're not here to curse the darkness, we're here to turn on light."
(Full Event Video’s Below)
Video : Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ part 1
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ Rally part 2
Video: Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor’ Rally part 3 (Palin)
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ Rally part 4
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ part 5
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ part 6
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ part 7
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ part 8
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ part 9
Video: Glenn Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ part 10
Related:
A Meditation on Glenn Beck’s Divine Mission
Video: We Need Heroes
Video: Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem at the Glenn Beck ‘Restoring Honor’ Rally 8.28.10
Tonight! America's Divine Destiny
C-Span Link to Entire Restoring Honor Rally (03:28:29)
Video - Restoring Honor 8/28: Al Sharpton vs. Glenn Beck
Dept of Labor Sec William Spriggs gave political speech at Sharpton rally (in DC) about how they are putting economy in drive …yeah right! And, Bashed Beck.
DLOESCH: Sharpton's Rally- Total opposite of Glenn Beck's rally. Full of hate. Talk about a contrast! Had to turn it off
Glenn Beck Devine Destiny and Restoring Honor
MLK’s Niece, Dr. Alveda King to Stand With Glenn Beck at ‘Restore Honor Event in…
Video: Restoring Honor Rally – Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King
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