I can’t stand it:

I have known countless people who have no worse medical problems than I do, but they sit home and collect welfare and Social Security. It’s people like me that find this appalling that you are asking about. I find it appalling when a government makes it’s people dependent upon it. I find it appalling people  don’t mind being dependent. I find it appalling when govenors, congressmen and senators, and yes presidents lie, cheat and steal from the people. Any of this sound like jolly old England or Communism to you yet?

What?

Is this person trying to tell me that England is communist? Does this person know what kind of government England has?

Can this person describe for me what communism actually is?

Or does her “gut” - which she actually references elsewhere in the e-mail! - and Glenn Beck tell her everything she needs to know?

The lack of basic knowledge inherent in this letter just slays me. Here is someone with no real grasp of politics, who exhibits no knowledge of history or economics or the basic structure of governments. Rather, she knows what has happened to her, but has no framework for it; Glenn Beck provides the framework, and away we go.

She and others like her are absolutely entitled to their opinion.

But the thing about populism is that it - Glenn Beck - tells them that even if “the people” have no frickin’ idea what they’re talking about, society and government must heed their opinion; because it emanates from “the people,” their ideas are “truth,” even if their idea is that England is communist.

Note also the hatred of the poor. That, too, is growing on the right - and a subject for this week’s print edition.