This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," March 17, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GLENN BECK, HOST: America, I'm going to be real honest and frank with you. I think that our country is realigning. I think the whole world is realigning. I think it's being divvied up quite honestly. And I think we are realigning with new allies and new friends. Because I can't understand much of what's going on now. The facts do not match what the statements are.
Japan is one that bothers me and it kind of bothers me about -- not just the president but us, too. And the president did just, in fact, deliver a speech about Japan two hours ago and he has made statements all the way along about Japan.
But there is a much more important speech that I'm -- I feel is missing. This is one of our most important allies again. And the disaster has been remarkable. And despite what the president said earlier, we are not helping at the level we should. And I don't mean the government. I mean us.
I hope this isn't the lesson of collective salvation that people are trying to teach. It's not the government that is supposed to take care of things. We are. The president of the United States has a very powerful tool when he wants to make a statement. And it is -- it I the Oval Office. I mean, this is as close as we can get to it. And you've seen this over and over again. Because when the president sits behind his desk, it carries a different message. And it's used on big occasions. It's used before we go to war. It's used when we have major crisis. And it's used when there's just real trouble. And the president needs to capture your attention. And it's usually done at night, like at 8:00, not 3:00 in the afternoon.
The president of the United States needs to connect with people. And I don't know why he hasn't on this. He should have sat down at night in the Oval Office, maybe the next day -- sooner than now -- and said these words to America.
My fellow Americans, I know that you, like me, are heartbroken over what the people in Japan are enduring right now. It was a massive earthquake -- 9.0 -- you know it. You can't avoid it. You've seen it everywhere. It's one of the largest earthquakes in our planet's history and it devastated the region and then sparked a tsunami, which wiped out entire villages and towns. We don't know the full extent of human life lost or property damage, but it is in the tens of thousands that are lost.
The tidal wave has also overwhelmed a nuclear power plant causing what could become a nuclear meltdown that would endanger the lives of thousands more. Not here. But there. I know you've seen some of the pictures and videos that have come out of Japan. The devastation is overwhelming.
Japan is a good friend and ally to the United States. And right now, there are millions without power, food, water or shelter. This is human suffering on a scale that we in this country I hope to God we never face. But the great blessings that we have enjoyed for so long, we can scarcely even imagine what is happening over in Japan.
But even in the face of this horrific adversity, the true spirit and dignity of the Japanese people has shone brightly through the chaos and the fallout. There seems to be a dogged determination in the eyes of those who survived. They remind us of us. The best of us.
People are pitching in and coming together in their communities to take care of each other. As Americans, we relate to that. We relate to the work ethic of the Japanese people. And crossing the mountains and never giving up. A people whose products now -- we used to laugh at, but now we don't laugh at those products. They've become state-of-the-art because this amazing group of people applied themselves out of the literal ashes. And in fair and honest competition, they have at times beaten us, but they have taught us a lesson in doing so. And we will rise to the occasion and each of us will grow stronger in friendly competition.
It is in those challenges of life that we grow as people, but those challenges are usually accompanied by great pain and sorrow. And that is the kind of growth the Japanese people are going through now. Despite the total devastation in some areas of the country, there has been no looting. When our media asks why is there no looting in Japan? You have to ask yourself why -- why is that question being asked? Wouldn't the question -- shouldn't it be good people are good to each other in a time of crisis. When has that puzzled us? That's the question. It says a lot. Not about Japan, but us.
There is still a culture in Japan of respect. Respect for your fellowman. Respect for property. In Japan, the question isn't, why don't I take stuff from my neighbors? The question is, why would I?
This we need to learn from Japan. Japan is a nation that when we were reeling on 9/11, when our hearts were broken, we felt alone and vulnerable. They stood beside us and every day since. Where others turned against us during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Japan never did.
More importantly, they are our friends and our brothers and our sisters. And they have been staggered now by a sucker punch from Mother Nature. We're going to, of course, send the military and the navy and whatever we can, because we're friends. But that's never been the best of America. The greatest news of America is that we are the most charitable nation on earth. We must start that charity mission.
This is the speech he should have given. I'll finish it and tell you about the mission, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: I want you to know I have profound respect for the office of the president of the United States no matter who is in it -- in the Oval Office. And I was showing you a minute ago the speech that the president hasn't given. And I did it sitting here for a reason -- take camera one -- for a reason. This is a different view and it carries different feel and power. An 8:00 p.m. address nationwide about Japan is critical.
In the first six days, our citizens have given $64 million in donations to Japan. But compare that to the $210 million to Haiti six days after the earthquake there. Someone in the press will eventually ask why.
To me, it's not about Japan. I hope it's not about us. Have we already learned the lesson that I feared was being taught? That charity starts with the government. Are we looking to the government, to our military to take care of all of this? Have we learned this from other countries? If so, we must stop.
When it comes to charity, goodness, and helping others, that is who we are. That is who we are best at being. That's where we will always lead the world and America ceases to be America when we lose that.
Japan may make better TVs and cars and they will always lead the country in other things. We may lead in cars or television someday again, I don't know, but we must always lead the world in heart. Or we lose the essence of who we are. Japan needs us. The world is in trouble. And I know you're in tough times. I know. But when the going gets tough, they call the Americans. Please. Can we not be there for the Japanese people just as we were there for the Haitians?
Call the Red Cross. Send a statement to the world. Read it right there. Go online now. Make a donation or text "redcross" to 90999. Make a $10 donation. We must teach a lesson to ourselves. To the rest of the world. To our children. That no matter how tough things get, that America will always lead the world in heart.
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