Tens of thousands of Glenn Beck acolytes gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah over the Independence Day holiday weekend to participate in Beck's multi-day "Man in the Moon" event, which is just the latest annual reminder of Beck's inflated sense of self-importance.
While the centerpiece of the event was the "Man in the Moon" stage show, which Beck promised was going to permanently "change the way we celebrate Fourth of July," the gathering featured a variety of exhibits, presentations, and speeches which, at least according to The Blaze, were all met with wild applause.
For instance, when Sen. Mike Lee praised the Constitution, "the audience erupted in cheers and applause" and when he attacked the Supreme Court, "the audience applauded wildly."
Elsewhere, Rep. Louie Gohmert "received a standing ovation" when he stood up from the audience to praise Michelle Malkin during her remarks as she railed against immigration reform, for which she received "wild applause" from the crowd.
David Barton also spoke at the event and, amazingly, he too "was greeted with intense applause and a standing ovation."
Heck, even a couple that survived a plane crash received a "chorus of applause."
But the highlight of the weekend was the "epic rendition of America’s story" as told from the moon's perspective in the "Man in the Moon" show, during which "the crowd erupted in applause throughout the show. From start to finish, attendees cheered as America’s story was told in great fanfare."
The actual Man in the Moon, not surprisingly, was portrayed by Beck himself and according to this report from the Salt Lake Tribune, the entire thing was as maudlin and bizarre was one would expect from an epic Glenn Beck production:
As Beck began narrating — telling a somewhat biblical version of the evolution of mankind — he took on the role of a watchful moon admiring sister Earth, calling her "Blue," and his face became superimposed upon the giant stage moon.
The moon witnessed mankind, referred to as "the beasts," become greedy and violent and lose its way.
Noah’s ark rode out the flood, followed by a Tower of Babel scenario.
Fast forward, and the Man in the Moon touched upon the evils of slavery and praised Abraham Lincoln.
Dancers illustrated man’s creation of electricity. And, with the coming of the Industrial Revolution, a giant robot in the corner of the stage began moving its arms and upper body.
War was signaled by the sound of sirens as the stage went dark and fireworks shrieked into the sky.
Images of Hitler, and the Man in the Moon told of World War II ending as an atom bomb exploded on screen.
Beck then took the stage as himself again, saying that is how the story ended, for now, but that new chapters would be written.
The audience then watched video of John F. Kennedy speak of reaching for the stars and sending men to the moon.
A visibly aged and wrinkled moon concluded with an impassioned speech about the "puzzle" that is mankind.
"I cannot tell you how your story ends, because I am not the author. You are," said the Man in the Moon. "Love, love one another. I cannot wait to see what you decide to do."
"I am your moon. And you are my beasts," the moon continued, promising to be there in mankind’s darkest hour "to remind you that on the morrow, the sun shall return."
The moon began to spin to the sound of upbeat country music, fireworks once again exploded overhead, and the show was over.
But perhaps the most amazing aspect of the show was that it opened with a flag "raising" ceremony in which "two men dressed in soldiers’ garb who were suspended in the air upside down actually 'lowered' the American flag" upside-down from the ceiling in "an effort to show that America is in distress":
