The Only Thing We Have to Fear...

Monday's show was all about fear of the government:

States, companies and individuals fear what happens when they take bailouts and stimulus money.

We also all fear that the government is going to devalue our currency further, if and when the Fed is forced to buy even more Treasury bonds.

And, we should all fear the hidden links between the government and shadowy organizations, even if we don't know them all yet.

But there's some encouraging news from Europe, of all places.

Usually, when people are scared they turn to the government. But in Europe, they're rejecting the nanny state. While I could say, we should be more like Europe, we don't need to even leave this country for more proof this is a good idea.

It sounds an awful lot like what happened in the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan.

Under Jimmy Carter, the country's unemployment and inflation were both in double digits and the income tax rate on the "rich" was 70 percent. Reagan cut taxes and reduced the size of the federal government, ushering in untold prosperity.

Instead of cowering in fear under the nanny state, we should reject big government and look inside ourselves for all the things that built this country into what it was.

No matter what anyone tells you, fear never played a role during our greatest moments.

— Watch "Glenn Beck" weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on FOX News Channel