Becoming a Better Man, Husband, and Father | Dennis AMA

Dennis.

Dennis.

Dennis.

Dennis Prager.

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I mean, do you think Hitler really inside of his heart, do you think he could be happy, that he was a happy person to himself thinking that what he was doing was the right thing?

The question is, is it first most important to become a better man, or is Is it more important to become a better father or, like, a better husband? Is there a priority? I wondered what kind of airsoft gun you use. In your opinion, how much of a role do you think God plays in finding a wife or a husband for a person?

My wife and I kind of have a little disagreement, and it's nothing serious or intense, but, uh, I drink a bottle of wine a night, which adds up to about 2.5 to 3 glasses of wine, I think.

Yes.

And, uh, she thinks that I'm an alcoholic.

I have a question. A client of ours asked us if we would make a contribution to a charity that they were raising money for. When we looked up the charity on the website, it stands for everything that we don't.

That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.

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I try to have you set the agenda on this hour. 1-800-PREGO-776-2866. Uh, that is 1-800-PREGO-776-2866. Prager, P as in pneumonia, R-A-G-E-R, 776 or 877-243-7776. Whatever you'd like to ask me, anything. It could be silly, it could be trivial. What is my favorite color? That would be actually allowable. I don't know if I have one. Do I have a favorite color? Does that tell anything about you, by the way? I love that stuff. Oh, tell me your favorite color and I will tell you your entire personality trait. System of personality traits. I, I love that stuff, but I am a little, a little suspicious. But I don't know, maybe, maybe that's true. I love it anyway. And we begin with Yakima, Washington, and Jeremy. Jeremy, Dennis Prager.

Hi.

Hi, Dennis. Very glad to talk to you.

Thank you.

Um, I— you see what the screener wrote, what I wanted to—

Well, yeah, but, uh, but nobody else saw it, so—

Oh, okay.

You have to tell—

you have to say it right.

Yeah, well, my wife My wife and I kind of have a little disagreement, and it's nothing serious or intense, but I drink a bottle of wine a night, which adds up to about 2.5 to 3 glasses of wine, I think.

Yes.

And she thinks that I'm an alcoholic, and I disagree. And, you know, it's all mostly said in fun, you know, but I was just wondering your opinion.

Well, it's a fascinating question, which shows that alcoholic doesn't seem to have a very scientific definition.

Does she—

let me ask you the following, and I don't claim to be an expert in this arena, but I do have common sense and I have dealt with the issue in others. Let me ask you a few questions. Number one, does it change your behavior?

No, I never get violent. I never yell.

Well, no, I mean, in any way. I mean, how does it change your behavior? Do you get happier? I mean, you may get better.

I'll probably smile a little bit more.

That's what she said.

There's nothing beyond that.

Does she like when you smile more?

She does.

Okay, so the effects of it she likes. She's just worried that this may be a bad sign. Let me ask you question number 2.

Okay.

I assume you do not operate a motor vehicle after this?

No.

Okay, question number 3.

I mean, really not to that point either. I really have no—

Really? You would not measure, uh, uh, having— No, I don't know. If there were a breath test, you would not actually, uh, be considered driving under the influence? Oh, probably under a breath test.

That's why I don't do it.

Okay, fine.

And I don't want to risk—

Okay, next, next. Do you drink at other times during—

of the day? No.

Do you want to?

Uh, no, not unless we're out to eat for a special occasion.

Right. 4th or 5th. Can you go for 5 days without it?

If I want to, but I haven't seen any need to.

If I gave you $1,000, would you?

Yes.

If I gave you $500, would you?

Yes.

If I gave you $100?

Probably, yes.

Tell your wife all these things.

Okay.

Really, I think that if you would even consider leaving it for $100 for 5 days, you're either very poor or Or quite in control of your drinking. Do you ever miss a night?

Uh, yeah, yeah, I do.

And, and, and what are your— what is your behavior then? And you get, you get down, or does it, does it feel like a withdrawal?

No, it doesn't feel like withdrawal. I may get a slight headache, but there's really nothing.

Well, I mean, maybe others will call in and tell me why I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound like a problem to me, and I don't even drink, so okay.

Okay.

Thank you very much. Interesting question indeed. And this is powerful. This is powerful. Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Rick.

Hello, Rick. Dennis Prager.

Mr. Prager, it's an honor to talk to you, sir. How are you?

Thank you. I'm well. Appreciate it.

Say, I just have a question. I'm walking my daughter tomorrow down the aisle.

Congratulations.

Well, thank you. I'm just wondering what you would say if you have a daughter, what you would say as you were, or right before you walked her down the aisle.

I would tell— that is such a great— Alan, put that down for a subject for an hour. This is a great question. And off the top of my head, I would tell every woman marrying, and whether my daughter or sister or friend, I would say, you, unless the man is a jerk, In which case, nothing matters. But if he's not a jerk, and most men are not jerks, but if—

Right.

Unless he is, you will set the happiness of the home. You will set— you are the minister of the marital— minister of the interior of the marital kingdom.

Okay.

And that, you must know that. That is just the way it is. That is the way it is designed by God or nature. You pick it. And how you bring him and your marriage joy, he will respond, but you are the one essentially in charge of marital happiness.

Oh, that's very interesting.

I do believe that. And I don't think that there are many— in our egalitarian age, everything is assumed to be 50/50.

Right.

Which is a catastrophe. A catastrophe. There are obligations that fall more on men, and there are responsibilities that fall more on women.

Right, right. Well, I thank you very much. I really enjoy your program.

Let me know what happens, and congratulations to you.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much. Well, maybe at some point tomorrow I will be thinking of this man, of Rick walking his daughter down the aisle. Somewhere in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It's very touching, isn't it? Power of radio. You enter people's lives like this. I love it.

I do.

Every day is— every day is more exciting than the previous. And we start with Kelly in Pasadena. Hello, Kelly. Dennis Prager.

Hi, Dennis. How are you?

Hello, Kelly.

I would like to ask—

hello, hello, can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

No, I don't hear a thing.

Uh-oh. I'm here.

That's strange.

You do?

Now I do.

Can you hear me?

Ah, now I do, yes.

Hi.

Hi.

I have a question. A client of ours asked us if we would make a contribution to a charity that they were raising money for. When we looked up the charity on the website, it stands for everything that we don't.

And they don't know that?

Oh, they do know that.

Well, then that's a really— that's terribly selfish. I would never do that to somebody. No, really, that's—

She's kind of pushy.

No, it's not a matter of pushy. That's just unfair to you. I don't mind pushy if the charity is, you know, kids in wheelchairs or something, where, you know, it's a neutral charity. But I assume that this is a political one.

It's a political one. I went all over their site to see if there were anything I could agree with.

I would never do that to anybody. I mean, that's so wrong. I mean, that's morally wrong what this person did. It's not a matter of pushy at all. If the person's pushy for something that does not affect you ethically, I mean, I have— can you— is it on the left, this charity?

Yes.

Okay. Can you imagine, I mean, it would be just as wrong if you were liberals And somebody came to you and said, listen, I'd like you to give— I'm a client of yours, I want you to give to the Republican National Committee.

Well, we were going to ask her to do that in, in, uh, as a giveback, but we haven't done that yet.

I, I, I—

God, I'd love to interview this woman. That's my way of saying I wanna slap them, but I, I, I really would. I'd like to ask that. Alright, anyway, it's totally wrong. What she asked of you is wrong. One should never ask anybody to donate to a political a charity. It's not right unless they know that they're in full agreement.

Right.

Okay?

Okay.

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, that's morally wrong. As I say, pushy's fine, uh, for— for— I mean, pushy people get things done. I mean, I'm— I don't tend to be a pushy person, but I acknowledge that we need them. Uh, all righty, and, uh, in Los Angeles, it's Bruce. Hello, Bruce. Dennis Prager.

Yeah.

Hi.

How are you doing?

Good, thanks.

Good. Uh, capital punishment. Uh, you take the view that, uh, you're in favor of capital punishment. What would you think of this idea, that anybody who's convicted of a murder be not only sentenced to prison, but they'd be put into a box where they're, they're literally welded in, never to come out again until they come out feet first, so that society would never have to worry about that person ever getting back into society and doing more harm. And then take school kids every second or third year and take them on trips through prisons where they could see these, these walls where these people are locked in and never, never to come out.

Bruce, Bruce, you're cracking me up. So basically what you're saying is let's not kill them, let's torture them for their entire life.

Well, I don't know if it would— they be tortured or wouldn't they?

Welded up in a box?

Yep.

Yeah, I, I think that, that, you know, I don't use the word torture loosely like the Abu Ghraib folks, but that would constitute torture to me. I, I simply believe that if I take your life, I deserve to lose mine. It's very simple but not simplistic. Back in a moment on The Dennis Prager Show.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Alrighty everybody, this is the hour that you set the agenda. Whatever's on your mind on The Dennis Prager Show. I've been rethinking my answer to the guy who drinks a bottle of wine a night. Uh, I— everything I said I stand by. Actually, everything I asked you Uh, but I, uh, I understand the wife's concern. I, I, I don't think that I— in fact, I'm sure I didn't articulate any sympathy for her worry about you. That, that is a lot. I mean, I, I don't— I don't— wouldn't call you an alcoholic because I don't know, even know what the term is, and I generally judge things by their effect. And your willingness to forego it, uh, easily Uh, was a good sign. But a bottle a night is, is, is a lot. And I think it would put me at ease if, if my spouse were drinking a bottle, if they would make it half a bottle a night. But I, uh, I don't want to give you a hard time. I don't want to give her a hard time. But it, it's, uh, it was a very interesting question. And let us go To, uh, Mike in Van Nuys, California. Hello, Mike. Dennis. Hi, Mike.

Hi.

Hi, how you doing?

Great.

Question, uh, for you, uh, your opinion, how much of a role do you think God plays in finding a wife or a husband for a person?

It's a great question. You will love this answer. Or at least, it's not the whole answer, but you will love this. There is a very strong Jewish tradition that asks the question, what has God been doing since he finished creating? Since the sixth day, what's God been doing? And the traditional answer that is given is "מזווג זוגות," which means bringing couples together, which I've always laughed at because. Or not at, but left with, because it shows how complex bringing the right people to the right people is, that that takes up God's whole time. Now, of course, it, it's not meant to be literally taken, but it gives an idea of how complex it is and that it would take God to figure it out in so many cases. I would say that there, there undoubtedly Are people— undoubtedly there are people who have met somebody and it was God who helped facilitate their meeting. I, I believe that. I believe it. And, uh, I wouldn't— I would go so far as to say that there may be even people, uh, who divorce who God brought together for whatever reason that they did. Uh, so it's not even, it's not even dependent fully on did the marriage last, that God may have well brought 2 people together for whatever reasons. So I, I am, I am very much, uh, a believer, but I don't know. I don't say that God brought every 2 people who were together together. Now, certainly I would not say that about Hollywood stars, only because of the nature of the, and the fleetingness of the, of the romance. But yes, I do believe— if I believe that God is active, I, I don't know exactly when, although in my own life I, I certainly have such beliefs. In Burbank, California, David. Hello, David.

Hi, Dennis.

Hi.

I wondered what kind of airsoft gun you use.

Oh, you're, you're talking to a newly minted maven on this subject. I gotta tell you, playing with my son and, and his friends shooting them and getting shot at. I'm— it's a riot. So I now have—

I can imagine.

I now have 2 spring ones.

Spring. Okay.

And I have 1 gas. My son has 1 electric, but we have very strong rules, many including that everybody has to use the same type. You can't have an electric versus a spring.

Oh, I see.

That's not fair. Also, you can never use an electric on automatic. You know, the guy machine guns, of course, he'll get you any time.

Do you play around the house or do you go to an organized thing?

No, no, no.

Around the house.

in the yard, and we use trees as places to hide.

They don't make a mess, those balls?

They do.

Yeah.

That is correct, and I am sure that we have ruptured a number of lawnmowers which pick up plastic pellets. But no, if you use the plastic ones, it's not going to rupture anything. There are ones out of aluminum that may be tougher. I happen to like, of all of them, spring is the most skilled because You have to reload every time. Not reload, but you know, what do you call it?

Yes, re-cock it.

Re-cock it, yeah. But there's a blast, no pun intended, to the gas, which I get a big kick out of, that you can actually, you know, just every time you pull the trigger. I did not think I'd get into this, but it is a lot of fun. And kids just, they love when their dad plays with them. It really means a lot to them. And I say this to all the fathers listening. That when you can do what you're— if you can do sometimes what your kid wants, go to their level, it is— it's a really meaningful thing to them. And so they— he and his friends just love when I play, and I'm delighted that they love when I play. And I do.

You're a big target though.

Big target. Not only that, listen to this. They all dress— this is hilarious— they get ready as if they are going to Iraq. They get into, you know, garb. They wear all black not to be seen as easily. Meanwhile, I'm 6'4 and in shorts, long white legs standing out. I mean, I get— I don't think I ever won.

You should camo paint your legs.

Yeah, right, exactly. That's what I— that's right, green and black. Exactly. Look like a tree. That is right. Well, you tell me what you get when you, uh, when you finally get one.

Okay.

All right, thanks very much.

All right, bye. I really do.

I get such a kick out of it. And, uh, you know, I, I would be more than happy to discuss with any parent, well, but my kid is playing with guns. I'd be more than happy, but since it's not raised, uh, I'm going to, uh, gonna, gonna— what am I going to do? Since it was raised, I will avoid it. That's it. Okay. Alrighty. To Sandy in Denver. Denver, I just said Denver. Hello, Sandy, Dennis Prager.

Hi, Dennis.

Thank you for taking my call.

I admire you so much.

Thank you so much.

And I'm trying to read the books you recommend of all the people you interview and your books too, but I'm also wondering if you read fiction.

I made a decision many years ago on 2 grounds that I unfortunately don't read fiction. It's extremely rare. And the re— yes, the reasons are not that there is not an immense amount to be learned. There is. But I have no choice. I have to know— I simply have to know so much of what has actually happened and is actually happening that I just can't afford that time. Secondly, I read slowly. If I read fast, and I envy fast readers, I've never been and will never be, probably, although there are speed reading things that help, but for what I have to read, Right. And mark up everything I read. I mark up everything, every book, every article. I read slowly.

Wow.

And therefore, I would read a work of fiction in the time that I, you know, it would take too long. But there are works of fiction that I read earlier in my life that remain with me much more than almost any work of nonfiction. Great fiction is awesome. Is awesome. The fact that I don't read it is no reflection on it. It is just—

Right.

Yes. So, all right. On the other hand, one should not read only fiction, in my opinion. One, one does need to know, uh, one needs to know what has happened or what is happening. And, but for many people, fiction is their TV. And frankly, it's far super infinitely superior to TV. So you enjoy yourself if you do, Sandy, read fiction. But if I could have any book, great history.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

Mr. Prager, my name is Gregory.

I'm a direct descendant of the World War II generation. Take care of yourself and welcome back. May the Almighty keep you safe and well, and the same thing with the rest of your family.

Shalom.

Are you enjoying Timeless Wisdom? We'd love to hear from you. Call 877-243-7776 and leave a review, share your thoughts, or just even an encouraging word for Dennis. Your voicemail might just make it on the show. That's 877-243-7776. That's 877-243-7776. Thanks for listening and for your support. Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Alright, let me take a really tough one, and I mean it. This is— I never thought about this one. I'm gonna have to respond spontaneously. In English, Indiana— you pronounce it English or English? John?

Hello, Dennis.

Hi, is it English or English?

English.

Just as the language. English, Indiana. John, go ahead.

Hi.

Yes, sir. This is John from your last 2 cruises.

Oh, hi, John.

Hi.

It's such a pleasure to talk to you again.

Thank you.

Um, I wondered, I've heard you say if you were a parent and, uh, would you rather your child smoke a cigarette or cheat on a test?

Right.

And I wanted to know what you would say. Um, in regarding, uh, to marijuana.

Right, that's a great question. And I said I'd never actually thought it through, and I'm gonna do it with you on the air. When I ask the question of parents, would you rather your, uh, your teenager smoke a cigarette, uh, or cheat on a test, what I am contrasting is, are you more concerned with your child's character or your child's eventual, and I mean really far down the road, health. And to me, there's no question, I'd rather my child smoke a cigarette than cheat on a test.

Right.

However, I don't think that the problem with marijuana is a health problem. So we're now— we've now changed the question, 'cause I do believe, and this will disturb a lot of people, And I don't mean to disturb them, and I may well be wrong, but my inclination is not to regard marijuana and, and certainly not the more intense or heavier drugs as just health problems. I regard them as character problems.

I see.

And so what you're asking me in a sense is between 2 character problems. I think that a high school kid smoking a joint is an issue. I think almost anybody smoking a joint. I mean, except I don't have a problem with cancer patients having marijuana or anything like that.

That's right, I'm glad to hear that.

Oh, it's a non-issue to me. That's, to me, crazy. It's crazy that somebody could alleviate some pain with cancer with marijuana and it should be banned. I don't want to go there.

Yeah, it's just draconian.

Well, it is. It's heartless in the worst sense of the word. But for the— the problem is that a lot of people fighting for legalization of marijuana use the good intentions of the great majority of Americans to get the door opened to legalizing marijuana generally and will abuse it. That's the problem. But in and of itself, of course a cancer patient should have the ability to access a joint. I mean, it blows my mind. All right, anyway. But having said all that, outside of certain circumstances, the reliance on getting high is very, very troubling to me for the development of one's character, as is cheating on a test. So now we're talking apples-apples, and therefore I, I, I don't know exactly. I would have to know the circumstances under which each of them happened. How often is the cheating? How often was the marijuana? Was the marijuana a one-time experiment, or was the cheating a one-time experiment? You understand?

Yes.

But to me, the eventual health benefits pale before character developments. But I do regard the use of marijuana as a character issue, as cheating on a test.

Okay? Yes, I understand.

All right. Thank you very, very much. I hope I got that. That was a tough one. All righty. 1-800-PRAGER-776 in Minneapolis. Tony. Hello, Tony. Dennis Prager.

Hi Dennis, thank you for taking my call.

Thanks for calling.

Uh, first I must preface by saying, um, I listened to you for a couple years here and you really have helped me in my daily struggle to become a better man.

Wow, that's, that's some compliment. Thank you so much.

Which brings me to my question, is it first most important to become a better man, or is it more important to become a better father? Or like a better husband? Is there a priority?

Yeah, better man will always win because a good man will become a better father and a better husband.

Okay, that's exactly what I was thinking.

Oh good. Okay, I'm gonna let you go because of a lot of noise there. Oh, absolutely. Work on your— men, work on yourself. And likewise, women. It is the better a woman you become The more at peace with your female nature, the more at peace with being a woman and working on your character and also working on suppressing the bad parts of the female nature, just as men have to suppress the bad parts of male nature. Part of being a man is self-suppression, or if you will, channeling. Same with a woman. I cannot emphasize this too often. That we do not— I do not believe that by and large we raise girls to confront their natures as much as we raise boys to confront their natures. And we are paying a terrible price for both sexes.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Okay, and we go to Los Angeles and James. Hello, James. Dennis Prager.

Yes, sir.

Hi.

Hey, well, my question is, I was wondering on that, on happiness in a relative sense, on what you would think of, like, I mean, do you think Hitler really inside of his heart, do you think he could be happy He was a happy person to himself, thinking that what he was doing was the right thing.

I believe that there were many sincere Nazis, people who truly believed that killing every Jew, Jewish man, woman, and baby was a good thing. There really were people who believed that. There are many in the Muslim world today who believe that of Jews, and they're sincere. Now, are they happy people? In general, I believe that good people are happier than bad people. There is some form of comfort in massive hatred. There is. But in the final analysis, it doesn't come from a happy disposition. And our reports of Hitler were that he was essentially anhedonic. The man did not have a joy of life. And certainly later on in his life relied on tremendous injections from his personal physician to keep— to sustain his mood to even continue with life. I don't believe, in the final analysis, that people choose evil from a happy part of themselves. I do not identify the suicide terror world and its supporters with happiness. They may be jubilant at the death of Jews or Americans, but these are not happy people.

Okay, I see. Okay, Dennis, I appreciate it.

Yeah, it's a great question. It really was. I thank you very much. All right, and also in Denver is Diane. Hello, Diane. Dennis Prager.

Hi, thank you for taking my call.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, earlier this week you talked about the boy in Utah who almost died because he was too scared of strangers. So I want to know what we should be teaching our kids so that they're safe without making them scared of all strangers.

It's a very fine question. Other than never go to their car. If, if a stranger beckons you to, to his car, don't go. And never go anywhere and don't go out of a classroom unless there is a code word. I, unless you live in a particularly awful neighborhood, I think that you have to just take the risk. I mean, there is risk-taking in having children, and any parent who wants to have no risks to their child will risk a very confused and psychologically undeveloped child. So there's a price paid for absolute safety. And I have decided that I would gamble with absolute safety for the sake of their psychological and emotional health.

Do you let your kids, your son, go anywhere by himself?

Yeah, let's see, where does he go? He will go to get something to eat that is nearby, yep, during the day, sure. Yes, I do. But of course he's 12 now. I don't know at what age we started allowing him to do so.

So even not in groups, like he's not walking?

No, not necessarily. That's right. And I certainly flew on his own very early, but of course that's so safe. I mean, it's, you know, they're— you bring them to the airport and an adult picks them up at the other end. But I will tell you, parents need to acknowledge that a price is paid for absolute safety. And moms in particular need to— that's why moms and dads have different roles. Mothers worry more. I remember how often my father would say to my mother, what are you gonna do, keep him in a china closet? And I— it's funny 'cause I never understood what a china closet was. I thought it was a closet from China. And I, you know, I didn't, I didn't understand. But he was right. And you can't— on the other hand, mothers have to worry too. And now to Pasadena and Kathy. Hello, Kathy, Dennis Prager.

Hello, it's such a pleasure to talk to you. I'm so honored.

Oh, that's very sweet. Thank you.

I just want you to know that every time that you say, Alan, write that down, it just cracks me up, and I just started to wonder, how long is that list?

I just asked him that, knowing your question, and he said it's 3 pages long.

Oh my gosh.

That's a fabulous list. But I want to tell you, though, it is a major factor in why this program is, and this is my intention for the show, to be relentlessly interesting.

And I know that. I mean, I often wondered, what would you do without him? In fact—

I would shoot myself. It is clear. It has been established.

I have this image of you in heaven with Alan following you around. Whenever you think of a question for God, Alan, write that down.

That is funny. No, he's not following me around. I wish he were. I actually, believe it or not, don't see him quite that often.

Oh, really?

Yes, it's something— I mean, you know, we have the show, obviously, but beyond that— and we're very dear friends, our friendship has preceded this— but we're not in each other's physical presence all that much. And so I will often text message him with, oh, got an idea. And so that'll work too.

Well, it really works. And I just wanted to— Give a good going, Alan, too.

Oh, he needs that.

He needs that.

He suffers from deep— he suffers from deep insecurity, so it's very good that you said that.

Oh, well, keep up the good work.

All right, he will. Thank you. That's, that's great. It's a great call. How long is the list? I didn't know either. I actually asked him. What would I do without him? I wouldn't shoot myself, but I threatened to. That's why— that way he just remains working with me because of guilt, because he just doesn't want me to shoot myself. We will continue on the Dennis Prager Show with your questions. What is anything you'd like me to deal with, from the most heavy to the most light? 1-800-PRAGER-776. We resume momentarily.

Thank you.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

All right, in Los Angeles, Tim. Hello, Tim. Dennis Prager.

Hi, Dennis.

Hi.

My question is, my stepdaughter— not my stepdaughter, my stepsister My stepmother's daughter just killed herself, and she had 3 small children. I just wondered, what do you say to the mother?

Well, other than— in other words, what do you say in addition to what you would say if, let us say, she had died of a disease or of a drunk driver? What additional things would you say because it's a suicide? Is that what you're asking?

Yeah, other, other than, other than I'm sorry, what else can you say?

Well, there isn't always that much, but I— the thing that comes to my mind is that I would assume that any parent whose child commits suicide has enormous guilt, and you need to reassure her that she, the mother, is in no way responsible unless the, you know, unless the mother I don't know, abused her as a child and, you know, locked her in a closet and then froze her.

No.

Exactly. But otherwise, it is not the parent's fault. And parents— parents, the burden— I'm a parent. The burden we parents have about our children's happiness is, is really unfair to us, but we have it. I mean, parents feel bad if their kid— and their kid could be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, it doesn't matter. They feel bad if their kid is depressed. Imagine how they feel if the kid commits suicide. So what you have to try to do is reassure her, you are not responsible. We don't know why people commit suicide, but it has nothing to do with you.

How do you say that?

In those words. Say, if you're close enough to say, listen, It's the— maybe the most natural thing for you to feel some responsibility. You have none. You must say that to yourself, and you must know it, even if your heart tells you otherwise. I am talking to your mind, and your mind must know you are not in any way responsible. Okay?

Yep.

That's the best thing you could tell her, I think. Denver, Mark. Hello, Mark. Dennis Prager.

Oh, hi, Dennis.

Hi.

I just wanted to let you know that I discovered a reliable way of keeping slow drivers out of the left lane.

Other than bumping them?

Well, that works, but this is a little better. And it's funny, I was taking my video camera in for repair, and so it was in the right seat there, and there was a slow driver in the left lane, and I got that video camera out, put it right on the dashboard there, And pointed it at him, and he couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I love it. I love it.

If it were— I think anything that will not cause an accident should be done, because I consider that to be selfish, narcissistic, and injurious to the flow of traffic. And I thank you. I love it. Any other ideas to get slow drivers out of the left lane? You will always have a voice on this show, The Dennis Prager Show. Uh, in Queens Creek, Arizona. Nathan. Hello, Nathan. Dennis Prager.

Hey, Dennis.

How you doing?

Okay. Thank you.

I've been an avid video game player for quite some time now, and I have noticed, uh, myself slipping into a pretty lazy cycle of putting video games over work as far as priority. And I'm wondering if, uh, you think this is common among video game players.

I believe that anything can become— anything with a screen can become addictive. There is actually— they have done physiological experiments and show we are actually— there's something, there's an effect of that tube, or even if there's no tube, if it's an LCD screen, but there is an effect that watching a screen has On people, and TV, computers, video games are examples of it. And so there you can absolutely become addicted to it. There's no question. One could become addicted to almost anything, as it happens, wherever there is a great chemical— to the extent that addiction is chemical and not just psychological, there are actual endorphins or other chemicals that are secreted. That are pleasure— that are pleasure-inducing, and we seek to repeat pleasures. And pleasures—

Sorry.

That are gained through addiction need to be increased. That is why dope addicts, uh, narcotic addicts, they need a greater dose or a more frequent dose because the same pleasure can now be derived only at a greater dose. And you have to watch out for Is an hour that gave me pleasure in the past now insufficient and it must be 2 hours? So my question to you is a time one. How much do you spend playing video games?

Uh, probably about an hour and a half a day or so.

And is that your— is that your only, uh, diversion?

From what?

From, from, you know, is that your only pointless diversion? I play Spider Solitaire. I probably play an hour a day. I don't worry about it taking from my work, because you're not supposed to work all day. You're allowed. I would just max it out at 90 minutes. All righty. Let's go to Denton, Texas. Drew. Hello, Drew. Dennis Prager.

Sir, I thank you for this call, and I'll try to be brief and to the point, but I want to say you've changed my life in regards to Jewish people, and I've seen that I've had a bias, very subtle, but it's very deep. But my life has been changed, and I do thank you, sir. My question is in regards to the will of God. Coming from a Christian perspective, there's people, say for instance like Billy Graham, who says, you know, the will of God for my life is to be an evangelist.

Mm-hmm.

But what is the Jewish tradition, and what is your thoughts on the will of God for a person's life? Like, did you think Hey, the will of God for my life is to be a talk show radio host.

You're asking, in effect, in some sense, the wrong guy. I had such a strong sense of divine mission. I wrote it in my— in the journal that I kept in high school, that I believe that I am on this earth to try to influence people to be good. That's what I wrote when I was a junior in high school. I don't— that's not a normal thing to write, but I have always had a sense of mission. in that sense. And it is on the rare, rare, rare moments of my life that it has left me. I was bereft of a sense of purpose and it was very painful. So, I was blessed by God with a sense of that so early, I didn't really need to work at it. But generally speaking, one thing that Judaism— remember, Jews have to be divided between those who live Judaism and those who don't. There are very many secular Jews, unlike secular Christians, although there really are secular Christians, they're just not in name, uh, you know, cultural Christians they're called. There are, if you will, cultural Jews. But Jews who take Judaism seriously have a built-in mission because there is a belief that the— which you share as a Christian— that the Jews are God's chosen people.

Mm-hmm.

And, and, and have to be a light unto the nations and have to live a certain life Uh, of, of holiness and ethics, uh, emanating from observance of the laws. One area where there would be a Jewish-Christian difference on the role of law, but, uh, but it is built in. And so now your question might be, how does one individually find one? And that would be the same for a Jew or a Christian or anybody else, I think. I wish I had more time on that. Likewise for John and Jennifer and Anthony and the names that I don't see, because coming up now are the highlights of the week that we put together for you. So you always enjoy that. Stay tuned, I'll be right back with you.

Tomorrow on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.

The university is secular, and there is more idiocy in the, in the university than at your local church.

Well, it's funnily enough, if that's what you mean, I didn't think that was the shape your question would take.

Well, let's be— let's be—

If that's what you mean, I—

Yeah, that is what I mean.

I actually, in some ways, you're pushing at an open door. I mean, the same is true of Hollywood, I suppose. It's not exactly religious. It's very respectful, too much so, I think, of religion, but you couldn't say—

Well, leave Hollywood. The university takes secularism seriously. It is the most secular of our major institutions, and it's the only place in the Western world where people still believe, for example, that men and women are basically Exactly the same, just as I was taught when I went to Columbia University.

I don't know if it was actually taught by the university, but I know what you mean. It seems to be a prevalent assumption. They confuse equality with identity, but that's not necessarily secular.

No, no, no, but a lot of— but it doesn't matter if it's necessarily.

But I mean, why don't I just concede this to you now? I mean, an atheist can be a nihilist. or a fascist. It can be a National Socialist, though most National Socialists were pagans and worshippers of odd cults, and of course many of them were Christians too. An atheist can be a Stalinist. An atheist can be a sadist or a masochist. There's no— it doesn't say anything about your morality or your intelligence to be a non-believer.

Alright, so all I'm saying is when you spoke about— I think you used the word stupidity as essentially synonymous with religious belief. I'm saying to you that institutionally, there is more stupidity in secular institutions than in religious ones in my country, the United States of America.

Join us tomorrow to hear more on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. We want to take just a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. Go to lifeaudio.com to find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network, including shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.

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