Summary Of Glenn Beck's Book 'Arguing With Idiots'

Glenn Beck has already been established as a man of controversy, and with a book titled Arguing With Idiots, there are sure to be skeptics of the credibility and seriousness of the book. The book could almost be classified as a rant, but it is a well thought out one, and it should have more than enough evidence to prove Beck’s various conservative points. This book seems to be meant as either something for Americans who oppose Glenn Beck and his positions, or a book to confirm conservative beliefs and provide multitudes of answers to opposing arguments. It may seem as if it is just another political science book about politics, and in some ways it is just that, but the format of this book is quite different from the rest. In the section of …show more content…
It is essentially a theoretical argument between him and an “idiot”, addressing the topics of capitalism, the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, education, energy, unions, illegal immigration, regulation, owning a home, America’s economy, the Presidents, universal health care, and the Constitution. A major recurring topic in the book is how big government and too much control is “...poison to a free society, a very dangerous overextension of government the usurps our personal autonomy and undermines a wide variety of freedoms, all the while claiming that doing so is beneficial to us and our fellow citizens” (Beck, 173). Beck is an obvious advocate for smaller government and more freedoms for the people, and his passion for his position on these topics resonates throughout the book. He is often aggressive and even mean or rude in his arguments but it doesn’t seem as if this would cause the reader to put the book down immediately. It might even increase the reader’s willingness to continue. He includes such overall silly (but often logical) graphics in the margins such as the “Top Ten Bastards of All Time” list (Beck, 223), in which Adolf Hitler is ranked at number 6 while Tiger Woods is ranked at number 2. Even through all this, the reader may find something about Glenn Beck and his ideals which they never would have heard or thought of by listening to his critics or …show more content…
Every argument or question that I have ever heard from somebody who’s pro-gun control is addressed in this section, such as “Then why does gun control work so well in other countries?” (Beck, 53) and “...the Second Amendment is outdated...we have a modern police force so citizens don’t need guns anymore” (Beck, 45). I am a conservative, perhaps a libertarian, and Glenn Beck is also within that range of political and life values. I agree with nearly every point he makes, and almost every one of his points seems to be an extension of my current opinions. I can see the logic in decreasing the scope of the government, and the lack of logic in a large increase of the scope of government. This is what he addresses in every issue, and I have an overall agreement with the book, both because of his convincing manner and because of my predetermined beliefs. I can honestly say there was nothing in the book I disagreed with. While this may seem a quite unlikely, I’ve already had very similar thoughts to the ones I found in this book before reading it. I still found a way to benefit from this book. It gave me new ideas for improving my own arguments in debates and discussions about politics. It could help an independent or undecided person to see from a conservative viewpoint. Liberals and other opposers may use it as a guide for what their opponents will try to