American conservative radio host Glenn Beck brought his crusade against political apathy to the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center in Benton Harbor, where he was received Wednesday night to a standing ovation by a packed crowd.

“Big government always goes bad,” said Beck, arguing personal responsibility is key to a successful democracy. “If we want small government, they’re going to say who will take care of the poor? Let’s just reach out and fill the void ourselves. We can keep the wolves from our door by being decent, informed and doing what God told us to do. If you can’t find honorable people on the ballot, step up yourself. Evil is growing, but so can goodness. Only your honor and truth matter. They are the only way to be a giant in your own sphere. Don’t take stuff spilling out of the television as fact.”

The host of the “Glenn Beck Program,” which airs nationally, accused the public of a self-imposed ignorance — in spite of the vast amounts of information available at everyone’s fingertips – that has delivered the country to the precipice of destruction.

He said such apathy makes citizens susceptible to distractions, ranging from Republicans’ illusory “war on women” to President Obama shifting  his views — from opposition to support — on gay marriage.

Beck told his hosts , The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan, and their guests, that voids tend to be filled by fascism or communism if good people don’t speak up.

Wearing a suit with black tennis shoes, the former Fox commentator talked about his Texas neighbor, Ross Perot, and how the “power of the press is incredibly seductive. It’s like the Hotel California. No one ever leaves.”

Beck indicated, that while he’s no Mitt Romney fan, it’s more important that President Obama not be re-elected.

“The Tea Party is the answer,” Beck said, teasing his audience about a global summit July 26-28 for which he rented the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium.

“There are tough times ahead, but there are answers everywhere if we look,” he said. “We are not the people our detractors say we are. We are Americans. Let us swear to one another and mutually pledge to become the giant you were meant to be.”