"I am asking you to trust yourself...."

Glenn Beck's monologue during his show on the Fox News Channel Monday has been hailed by many.

Here is an excerpt from Glenn Beck:

My critics are right. I have something in common with Howard Beale:

(BEGIN "NETWORK" VIDEO CLIP)

PETER FINCH AS HOWARD BEALE: "I want you to get up now. I want you to get out of your chairs and go to the window. Right now. I want you to go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell. I want you to yell: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more!' "

(END VIDEO CLIP)

I have noticed a trend now in any story about me in the press. But it's not really about me — it's about you.

People are telling you to not trust me because I'm "crazy," have something to gain or am just a Republican hack in disguise. The obvious insinuation is, if you're watching, you're one of the three as well.

But what they've missed is I am not asking you to trust me. I am asking you to trust yourself.

People try to say this is all about ratings. Well, my opinions have not always been so popular. They just recently have come into fashion, I guess.

Another thing my critics point out is the fact that I cry like a little girl. I am sorry if that destroys my credibility with you, but I stopped hiding or being ashamed of who I am a long time ago. If you don't like it, that's OK. I am who I am — nothing more and nothing less. Big girls don't cry, but I do.

I feel passionately about my country and the people in it. I — like you — believe in its promise and think that over the years that promise has been used, distorted, and tarnished. I don't believe in the promise of government. I believe in the promise of the dreamer — the one whose face drips sweat from hard work, but refuses to give up because they know they can still change the course of their lives.

Only in America can this still happen, but I think our collective gut is warning us that this is in jeopardy.

For those of you who have followed me over the years, you know that I — like you — wanted change last November. The right was frustrated, because we felt as though we were betrayed by the Republicans on things like big government, debt, and border security.

We all want change.
...
When I said I wanted change, what I meant was: No more lies, games, earmarks, or politicians saying one thing and doing another. Don't do the right thing for your party or special interest group. Do the right thing for the country even at your own political peril. Honesty is what you say or do when people aren't watching. Integrity comes from doing the right thing even when it hurts.
...
So do I ask you to trust me? Nope. Instead, I ask you to do something that this whole broken system of government and media has taught you not to do: trust yourself. Empower yourself. Take charge of your own life. Don't take my or anyone else's word for anything. Read, question every angle, and trust your gut.
...
I am an imperfect guy. In my life I have done some pretty bad things — not jail-worthy, but definitely blush-worthy. I am a recovering alcoholic and I feel like a recovering dirt-bag too. I stopped drinking in the '90s and then really sobered up as I found faith in the late '90s. I am a small businessman: radio, TV, Internet, books and I print a news and humor magazine. I built it from scratch with the help of an amazing group of people. In 1999 I couldn't afford my rent of $695 a month.

Things have changed and as of right now my business is doing well, but like you I'm concerned about tomorrow.

It is true to say, I am not the most well-educated guy on TV ... I didn't go to college until I was in my thirties. When I did go, I went as a special student: I didn't go to get a degree nor did I receive one. I went to find some answers, but due to the "broke" part of divorce, I could only afford one semester. So, instead of college, I went to the bookstore. I still go to the bookstore.

While it isn't Cornell, I'm hoping self-education can work 5 percent as well as it did for Mark Twain, Henry Ford, and Benjamin Franklin. My imperfect education continues, now thankfully with the help of some dedicated researchers, historians and educators have volunteered to help me find the answers I seek. Many of them do this because they sense some of the same things I do.
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What I am doing right now is the biggest risk of my life and it is a game I have gone into knowing that I most likely will lose. The odds are not in my favor — because of what I have come to believe and then say, I am making no friends on either side of the aisle. Believe what you will on why I am here, but I am sitting at this table playing my cards face up in hopes that others will join me soon. [Emphasis added.]

Read the entire monologue.