Beck's Rhetoric Fuels Anger

The following is my response to a letter to the USA Today editor (March 30, 2010), entitled Beck’s Rhetoric Fuels Anger. I think it is important that we stand up to obfuscation of fact, tortured logic, and hysteria coming from an uninformed public, all of which fuels vitriolic rhetoric from the left. The letter to the editor follows.

In her letter to the USA Today editor (March 30, 2010), entitled Beck’s Rhetoric Fuels Anger, Marilyn Mulvihill of Sewickley, PA, asserts that “Beck teaches revisionist history at best,” yet does not cite one example. Exactly what is he saying that is revisionist? Historical events to which he refers either occurred or did not occur. Second, she states “[the] recent ugly taunts toward members of Congress, the violence at congressional offices, and the yelling of ‘baby killer’ on the House floor are proof that his tactics are working.” I have two problems with this statement: (1) the quote is incorrect – “it’s a baby-killer” is the correct quote and was directed toward the legislation and not an individual – and (2) correlation does not imply cause – she provides no factual evidence these events were directly attributable to any actions by Glenn Beck. While, Ms. Mulvihill is entitled to her opinion, she is not entitled to her own facts nor is she entitled to twist logic beyond what the facts can support. I do acknowledge her First Amendment right to express her opinion, but I have carefully reviewed the Constitution, and cannot find her right not to be offended.