Biden Bashing

Dennis Prager critiques Biden's speech at the McCain Library, then challenges Democratic policies on transgender youth, gender-identity custody, and book bans. The show shifts to a Happiness Hour segment where Prager advises against comparing yourself to others and takes calls from listeners on gratitude, grief, theology, and ideology.
Chapters
Dennis Prager here. Thanks for listening to the Daily Dennis Prager Podcast. To hear the entire 3 hours of my radio show commercial-free every single day, become a member of PragerTopia. You'll also get access to 15 years' worth of archives as well as the daily show prep. Subscribe at prageropia.com. Hi everybody, Dennis Prager. Pleasure to be with you on this Friday. I'm going to start with the speech given by Joe Biden dedicating the John McCain Library, dedicating the John McCain Library. Thank you. At Arizona State University, where I just spoke the night before he did. And by the way, as a side anecdote, you'll find this of some interest. So I was flown in, as rarely happens, but it did happen here. I was flown in and flown back that night so that I could do my show from here. Yesterday, this is something Wednesday night, the plane arrived at a private airport or private airstrip, a private airport or airport for private planes, to be more precise. and we were supposed to, of course, leave from there. President Biden was supposed to arrive at 10-something in the morning on Thursday morning. Our pilots and we learned, that is, those who flew with me learned that there was a complete prohibition on private airplanes flying into Phoenix. From 10 PM. So for more than 12 hours, no private plane could fly in to Phoenix, Arizona. Did I tell you this? Luckily, there was a, uh, an airport for private planes a little outside of Phoenix, so the pilots had to fly the plane 5 minutes to another airport for us to be able to leave. Can somebody explain to me why for 12 hours no private transportation, no private airplanes would be allowed in or out of Phoenix, Arizona? I, I couldn't figure that out. Is that true for every city that he visits? Was it true for every president? I don't know any of those answers. So the— what is this, the John McCain Library? And what does that mean? Is it like a presidential library? All his public papers at Arizona State University. Okay, here we go.
I've come to honor the McCain Institute and Library because they are home of a proud Republican who put his country first. Our commitment should be no less.
Is it loud enough?
Should unite all Americans regardless of political affiliation. And there's something dangerous happening in America. There's an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy. The MAGA movement. Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans adhere to the MAGA extremist ideology. I know because I've been able to work with Republicans my whole career. But there's no question that today's Republican Party is driven and intimidated by MAGA Republicans.
All right. So you see. Okay. So let me, let me say something here. Whenever I hear him speak— doesn't— obviously I don't hear him speak most of the time, so I want to make that clear. He is dividing Americans and trying to create some sort of hatred of, of, well, MAGA Republicans, meaning Republicans who support Donald Trump. So what does it mean, not all Republicans? Nearly all Republicans voted for Donald Trump in the last election. That's just statistically the case. See, I'll tell you why there is real reason for worry over this country. Everything he said is true about his party. Not about the Republicans. Remember something, Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans governed this country for 4 years. What anti-democracy things happened as a result? And if you just go January 6th, January 6th, January 6th, uh, it doesn't help until January 6th when, when he was a president until the virtual last day. What took place? And for January 6th, he wouldn't be attacking MAGA Republicans? If there is a party driven by an extreme, it is the people who drive the Democratic Party into shutting down virtually all forms of energy creation in the country, to the people who back ideas such as California and other states that if you are a child and you come to change your gender, quote unquote, the parents don't even have to be notified. You can flee your parents and come to California, sanctuary state for ruining children's lives. Tell me anything, anything as extreme among MAGA Republicans as the policies that are enacted on children and teenagers in the name of trans? In the name of trans, is there anything? Okay, continue.
Carried out fundamentally all of the institutions of American democracy as we know it. My friends, they're not hiding their attacks. They're openly promoting them.
What is that?
Attacking the free press as the enemy of the people. Attacking the rule of law as an impediment. Fomenting voter suppression.
Where? Well, you see, whenever I speak about the Democrats, I give examples, example after example, This is a lie. This is— this is— he is a hate creator. The only president in my 40 years of broadcasting I considered a despicable human being. Vote suppression? Virtually every democracy on earth asks for voter ID. Why is that voter suppression? If it is voter suppression in Democrats' eyes, ah, that's a giveaway, isn't it? Asking for an honest election is a form of voter suppression in Democrats' eyes. It suppresses fake votes. That is the only possible read of what he said. Where is there voter suppression? Blacks have, I believe in the last election, voted in greater numbers. In every election they vote in greater numbers. Who's being suppressed? Maybe Democrat cheating is being suppressed. I can't think of any honest explanation for the term voter suppression. Attacks on democracy. The only way the Democrats can win is to convince liberals, because we don't have a free press. Yes, we attack the press because they're not free. They are mouthpieces for the Democratic Party. That is what we attack. We crave a free press. They hate a free press. If you print what they don't like, they say it's misinformation, like the 51 corrupt heads of former intelligence agencies who said that the Hunter Biden notebook was Russian disinformation in order to suppress— if you want to say the word— suppress votes for the Republican In that case, Donald Trump. I don't know how you fight the lies that the left spreads, and there is no exception in history. That is how the left governs everywhere, anywhere, anytime. Free press, really? Oh, the Democrats are in favor of free speech and free press? Do you know there was just— well, let's see, where was it? I want to get this up for you. Just for the record, and I think you'll find this of interesting. Yeah, here we go. All right, now let's see. There are so many ads that come up that you have to make your way through them. Okay, well, one moment, my friends. One-third of Democrats say Americans have too much freedom of speech. This is a RealClearPolitics poll. This is not a Republican poll. As reported in the— by the Washington Free Beacon, the RCP RealClearPolitics survey revealed that 34% of Democrats believe that Americans have too much freedom of speech. That's the actual quote. 14% of Republicans believe the same. 46% of Republicans believe that Americans have too little freedom. 22% of Democrats agree. Mike Lindell has a passion to help you get the best sleep of your life. He didn't stop at the pillow. Mike also created the Giza Dream bedsheets. These sheets look and feel great, which means an even better night's sleep, which is crucial overall health. Mike found the world's best cotton called Giza. It's ultra soft and breathable but extremely durable. Mike's latest deal is the sale of the year. For a limited time, you'll receive 50% off the Giza Dream Sheets, marking prices down as low as $29.98 depending on the size. Go to mypillow.com, click on the radio podcast square, and use the promo code PRAGER. There you'll find not only this amazing offer but also deep discounts on all MyPillow products, including the MyPillow 2.0 mattress topper, MyPillow kitchen towel sets, and so much more. Call 800-761-6302 or go to mypillow.com and use the promo code PRAGER. All right, we continue with the hate-filled Divide America speech yesterday in Phoenix by the man who happens to be President of the United States.
Did you ever think we'd be having debates at your stage of your careers? We're banning books.
Oh my God, are they Democrats? Oh my God. Okay, here we go, here we go. They lie with the ease with which they— meaning all of the left. There is no leftist that does not use that phrase, that we're banning books. Is there anybody, anyone you know in your family, any liberal who doesn't believe that certain books should be banned from church, from the use of children? Have— haven't books been banned for the use of children? Wasn't there always a children's section in a public library? That means that certain books were banned. That's the reason you had a children's section. That's what he's referring to, this fraud, this liar. Oh God. I went to yeshiva, Jewish religious school, till I was 19. Everyone who studies Judaism, and anyone, I mean, this is basic stuff within the Jewish learning world knows that the ancient rabbi said that the Jewish state was destroyed and the temple destroyed and the Jews dispersed. The great calamity, or two great calamities of Jewish history prior to the Holocaust and modern pogroms, was because Jews hated each other for no good reason. As a kid, I heard this. We heard it all the time. And it didn't mean much because we just, we didn't experience what's called sinat chinam, baseless hatred. But that's what's going to happen in this country. The left's spreading baseless hatred at the right. I spread hatred of the left because the left has earned the epithet, as all totalitarian movements have earned, It's not baseless. The rabbis did not come out against hatred. They came out against baseless hatred. You are hearing baseless hatred. To hate those who spread baseless hatred is moral and is logical. But to spread baseless hatred, banning books, that's it? That's how you leave it? Without telling people that books with sexual content are the primary issue here for children? You don't want them banned, Joe Biden? You don't want any books banned from elementary schools? Is that correct? Continue, please.
Extremists in Congress more determined to shut down the government to burn the place down than to let the people's business be done. Our U.S. military—
is there a question? Is there any amount of spending and debt that should be stopped? Of course. Continue, please.
This is not hyperbole. I've said it for the last 2 years. Is the strongest military in the history of the world. Not just the strongest in the world, in the history of the world, the most diverse, the most powerful in the history of the world. It's being accused of being weak and woke.
Oh, there's no truth to that, right? And there's no truth to that. What was his name, Milley? Yeah. Oh, you know who he wants to— he wants the members of the armed forces to to learn about white supremacy and white fragility. Oh, there's no true— why would anybody even think that? It's not woke. The man lies. That's the point. Why can he lie so easily? Because truth is not a left-wing value. That's the point. He's not violating his value system. Most people think it's wrong to lie. Leftists do not. I know it sounds amazing for me to say. There is no record of left-wing truth-telling wherever the left has been in power. That is why they suppress dissent everywhere. From the Russian Revolution to the Democratic Party today and its use of big tech to censor things it doesn't agree with as misinformation. There is no example of the left being in power and allowing free speech. There is no example, including today's Democratic Party, including Joe Biden. People are ignorant of the evils that the left has committed historically. Not liberals, not liberals, not liberals. Okay, did I say it enough? This whole speech is an example, just lie upon lie. Oh, the military is not woke? Kicking out soldiers who wouldn't get a vaccine. That's not woke. What is that exactly? What was that? Is that— Mr. President, was that the correct policy, sir? That healthy young people in their 20s should be forced to have a vaccine that, if anything, is more likely to do harm to a 20-year-old than help them? Anne Feinstein has died. May she rest in peace. And I will say nothing about her right now out of respect for the immediacy of her death. The governor of California, a left-wing person, will appoint a left-winger as an interim senator. It's irrelevant. He can choose from millions upon millions of people to say what this president has just said. We who are Republican or conservative in the state of California live in a state governed by people whose values have nothing in common with ours. What was the latest thing that he— he didn't sign a bill? What was that? He, he didn't sign a bill. He didn't sign it. Yeah, had to be considered in custody. Oh yes, that you have to consider If a parent says to their child, their, their daughter, you really are a girl, that has to— there was a bill that that has to be considered in custody disputes. In other words, if, if you, if you actually do affirm the gender of your child, or to use a term that is far more precise, the sex of your child, you will probably lose custody in a in a dispute in the state of California. I know, I know, it's, it's almost too much to believe. So he vetoed that, that he vetoed that bill, but it's irrelevant to most judges. Look, this still could be used. Exactly. All right, let's, uh, well, we'll continue here in a moment. I would not want— I'll tell you this, if I were married and had a child who said that he was a girl or she was a boy and I felt that there was a possibility of divorce, I would somehow figure out a way to move to another state. You will lose the custody of your child in most cases just because you have done the right thing and said to your daughter, "You're a girl," or said to your son, "You're a boy." That is how sick left-wing judges are. That is how sick left-wing courts I, I tell you, it is almost impossible to imagine that these things need to be said. Is anybody saying this or feel the need to say this in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, France, Spain? Even UK now. I mean, if, if this— if what I just said were translated into a continental European language, would, would people even understand what I'm talking about? That if you tell your daughter she's a girl, you can lose this individual forever, or certainly while, while they're a minor. That the government will rule against your raising this child. The parent who says, 'Oh, of course you're a boy,' will almost definitely win in a California court, win custody. How would the average— I, I would love to do this as an experiment— how would the average Frenchman How would the average Frenchman or, or anybody else in Europe react if they heard an American broadcaster saying this? You got to be kidding. That, that really happens in the largest state of your country? You can lose your child if you say that they really are a boy or really are a girl, if that's what they are? Just for the record, my folks, to give you an idea, you must lose respect for any left-wing source, any that believes you can change your sex. Okay, these are sick, bad people. They give it— they give no credence to science. They give no credence to morality. This should be a defining line for how you regard Whether it's the Daily Kos or whether it is Media Matters or any of these other left-wing sources, that is the giveaway that these are bad and sick human beings. Yes, 8-year-old, if you say you're a boy and you're born a girl, then you're a boy. That's bad stuff, my friends. That is toxic. When the government used emergency edicts during COVID to restrict the gathering and worship Churches. 3 pastors faced the risk of imprisonment, unlimited fines, and their own churches being ripped apart, but they took a courageous stand and reopened their doors in the face of a world that chose to comply. The Essential Church is a feature-length documentary that explores the struggle between the church and government throughout history. The story uncovers those who have sacrificed their lives throughout history for what they believe in. Rediscover why the church is essential and how we can prove that this stand remains true from a scientific, legal, and most importantly, biblical perspective. This is not your typical movie. You should see the movie with your friends and family. The Essential Church is streaming today exclusively at salemnow.com. That's Essential Church, salemnow.com. Streaming at salemnow.com. Happy, happy, happy hour! It's the happy, happy, happy— that was a note off. Hey everybody, the Happiness Hour, every single Friday that I have broadcast since 1999, is devoted to The happy hour. You know why? Because the happy make the world better, the unhappy make it worse. Just know that. It's the happy, happy, happy, happy hour. Yes, it is. Well, my friends, I've written a book on happiness, given innumerable talks on it, and now 20 4 years. And you figure, what am I on, uh, there are 52 Fridays in a year. I miss about 6. So what's 46? Really, what is 46 times 20, 24? I wonder how many people can do that. Without a machine, without writing it down. That's how many happiness hours. How much? 1,564 hours on happiness. Wow. Got a good topic for you today. And that is inevitably people compare themselves or their lives to others. It's not necessarily a bad thing. You probably thought I would say it's a bad thing. It depends how you do it. And that's— I'm gonna help you, I think, today by telling you how to do it. That doesn't lead to intrinsic unhappiness. People compare everything about themselves. Women compare their looks to other women. Men compare their incomes to other men, or their success, or their fame, or some other macro achievement, or what's considered an achievement. People compare their children to other people's children. It, it's almost inevitable because there's no— theoretically, there's no objective standard to the word fortunate or lucky or or even rich. But there, there has to be some way out of that morass. There is an inevitable comparing. So I have a few suggestions, and the biggest one is this: instead of comparing yourself to those you think have more of whatever it is you're comparing, Compare yourself to those who have less. I, I have done that my whole life. It is part of the reason that I never complained about my income or anything else in my life, because I, uh, it's not even an effort. I'm very lucky. I inevitably do it because it's the only rational way. There will always be people who, who have more of whatever that is you're comparing. I, I, since I'm so open about my life, because not that I enjoy that, but it helps you if I give you a personal example. I never had as many stations or listeners as Rush Limbaugh, who was on the exact same time as I on talk radio. Just the way it worked. And I don't believe that I was upset by it one day in my life. And that was true for nearly all of my career. In fact, I was very happy that he was successful. It's a really good example Because if I did do that, I would have been in a constant state of dissatisfaction. Wow, look at that, on the same time, started the same, virtually the same time, and look at how many more stations, how much more money he makes, how many more listeners he has. It's almost inevitable, and I never did it. All I did was marvel at the number of stations and number of listeners that I had. I mean, how many national talk show hosts from 12 to 3 Eastern Time in the U.S. were there? 2? 3? Out of a few hundred million Americans? Wasn't I like about as lucky as you can get? That's what I thought and still think. He's passed obviously. As it happens, the Wall Street Journal asked me to write a column on his life when he died, which I did, and obviously you can read it. And I think I would have to be sort of out of my mind, really have lost perspective, if I had allowed that to compromise my happiness. I mean, it's inevitable. I have one envy in life. I always say that. Literally one. I envy people who have private jets because I fly every week and life would be much, much simpler for me. I could spend much more time at home if I had a jet to take me back after a lecture, for example. But it's, uh, so, so am I going to let that in any way compromise my happiness? Isn't the fact that I'm still traveling so much and people requesting me to speak, isn't that like pretty much in and of itself a source of tremendous satisfaction in my life? But every one of you can do that, or I assume every one of you. I can't imagine who can't. You know, if you travel coach and you wish you were in first class— and by the way, I don't blame you, it's a completely understandable desire— and incidentally, it's a great metaphor. If you're in coach, do you compare yourself to people who aren't being asked to go on a business trip and flown somewhere, or people who do not have family to go to and, and visit, and whatever reason you're flying? Or do you compare yourself to the people in first class? And the people in first class, they comparing themselves to the people who have a private jet? And the people who have a private jet, are they comparing themselves to people off a bigger private jet? Their jet can't go across the country without refueling in Texas. Whom do you compare yourself to? That's the subject of this Happiness Hour. 1-800-DENNIS-PRAGER, 776-877-243-7776. Given that it is almost inevitable that people will compare themselves, and it's not not necessarily even bad thing. It's almost— it almost makes sense. How do you know what you have if you don't know what others have? I understand that. So therefore, I recommend that you compare yourself to the vast majority of humans living who have, in so many instances, less than you do. So the question is not, do you compare yourself to others? It's, to whom do you compare yourself? Argument number 2 about comparing: how do you know that the person you're comparing yourself to, whom you think has more, how do you know that person is happier than you? Hmm? You don't know the great Helen Telushkin line I've cited all of my life, including in my happiness book. The mother of my dear friend Joseph Telushkin from high school— when we were in high school, in her kitchen, she heard Joseph and me talking about happy kids in the class whom we thought was, of whatever reason, I always thought about these subjects. She closed the refrigerator door and said, "Boys, let me tell you something. The only happy people I know are people I don't know well." Do you know well the people you think have more than you? I'll amplify when we come back. And it's reflected in the fact that there were more depressed and suicidal young people than recorded ever in American history. Really, really sick stuff that has taken over. 1-800-PRAGER-776. The Happiness Hour. Comparing yourself to others. Since it's just— it's certain inevitability about it, you should compare yourself to those who have less. But I was mentioning the Helen Talushkin line, the only happy people I know are people I don't know well, that there is this tendency to compare oneself to people we think have more than us and have a better life than us. But you don't know much about their life, you, and you certainly don't know about any of their inner demons. So You, you're probably wrong with regard to most people that you compare yourself to and think have it better. You don't know that. You only know some external things that are therefore obvious. All right, St. Paul, Minnesota. Darren, hello.
Good.
How you doing, Dennis?
I'm well, thank you.
I feel like I'm talking to a friend. I told your screener that I am self-entitled to Gay Dennis Prager because other than gay marriage, there's not a word that's ever came out of your mouth that I don't agree 100% with. And today is no different. When you mentioned that comparing yourself to others who have more, I've never done that. I mean, I certainly set goals for myself, but I have always looked inside. If I complain about something, there are people that are going through you know, either an earthquake or— 90% of the world probably has it way much worse than I do. And I thought, that's exactly it. And I watch the ID channel a lot, not because I want to learn how to be a murderer, but because I cannot fathom— and I feel so fortunate that I do have a spouse and a family— but I can't imagine what somebody goes through that comes home and finds a member or multiple members of their family that have been obliterated. And I think I've— I watch it and I just think, there are times I'm sure my husband's like, what is wrong with you? I'll come up and just give him a hug because I see what people go through with real, real torture. And what we go through, I'm like, is nothing. But I, I realized I don't compare myself to wealthy people or people— and I do, I mean, fortunately we don't worry about money and we do have a beautiful home. But I, I look at that as thank God that I have it, and it could be taken away in a heartbeat. And I'm— I wish I could help more.
So I have a question. Did you— do you remember having this nature all of your life, or did you work on it?
I think I probably started it more in my— after I— because I grew up pretty poor, and I think I was very money motivated through my 20s, and I think I started realizing it in my 30s. Is realizing is like, you know, money does not make you happy. Money makes life easier, possibly, but it doesn't make you happy. And I thought, man, I better start focusing more on relationships and getting a spouse, hopefully, and even with my own family. But I think in my 30s— my entire life, probably not. I know in my 20s I was very, very, very competitive. I wanted to be the best at everything.
How old are you now?
42.
One final question: what party do you vote for?
Are you kidding me? I would walk through glass, I would crawl on— I don't know what you'd say— anything on nuclear waste to vote for Trump.
Okay, thank you. Of course, folks, you know I knew that. How did I know that since we didn't utter a word about politics? Very few happy people are on the left. Every poll shows that, that conservatives are happier than liberals, and that's just liberals, not leftists. I don't know if there's a happy leftist. I know that there are happy liberals and happy conservatives. That's when I say the happy make the world better. I mean it literally. You're taught to be miserable if you send your child to most schools in this country. The child is taught to loathe his society, if white and heterosexual, to loathe him or herself. And parents keep sending their kids there and then wondering why they come home morose or jaded. Okay, we continue. I knew, I knew, I would have bet my house on what party he was affiliated with. Chris in Nokomis— that's a new city for me— Nokomis, Florida. Hello, hello, hello, can you hear me? I can.
Oh well, it's a pleasure to be on the radio with you.
Thank you.
Um, I only watched half of the fireside chat last night. I'll finish it today. Um, and I just wanted to say what you were saying, that I don't really think of myself as being worrying about what somebody else has. I've always been just happy with what I do have, and life throws you a lot of curves, but I had a very smart Italian grandmother whose famous saying was, I complained I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet. And that kept it all in perspective for all of us growing up.
You know, thank you. That's a very good saying. I, I, I remember having heard it, but I don't— I didn't recall it at all. I— even when you started it, I couldn't finish the rest of the aphorism. I complained— was something to do— I complained about my shoes till I met someone who had no feet. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's exactly what I'm saying. 1-8-Prager-776. I, I want you to remember though, there were two aspects to my recommendation here. One is comparing yourself to those who have less, not to those who you think have more. And secondly, to understand that the ones who you think have more may have a much worse life than you do. I'm convinced of that because I have, I have no doubt that one of the reasons people are transfixed by the miserable lives that so many in Hollywood actors and actresses have is that people to a certain extent are relieved to know, wow, with all their beauty and fame and money, they're not all that happy. It's sort of a relief for a lot of people. It's, it's not a charming trait. But I do believe that that is being realistic.
I—
since there was never anything in me that envied anybody in Hollywood, I have tremendous disinterest in that world. I didn't have that even as a kid. Hello everybody, Dennis Prager. Dennis Prager, The Happiness Hour. Subject is people compare themselves to others and it makes them unhappier because they compare themselves to people they think have it better. Of course, you don't know that they have it better. You think they do. And the other is that we should be comparing ourselves, if we do compare at all, to people who have it worse, which in most cases is the case. Certainly for those of us in America, certainly on a material level and on an opportunity level. And yet I will tell you, there are probably more depressed kids in the United States than there are in the Philippines, where poverty is rife. Yeah, well, there are reasons for that, but that's a separate subject. All right, well, look at that. The woman whose call I was about to take hung up. That happens. The woman who was adopted. Well, I'm sure she had a good reason for, for doing that. All right, let's see, where is this? Right here we go. Uh, Chicago and Lauren, hello.
Hi, can you hear me?
Yeah, uh, ask me if I can hear you again. I don't know. No, I'm not kidding, uh, because it's a little faint. Your voice is a little fainter. I'm sure you're not talking into the phone.
I'm in the car.
I know, I know. Some cars pick up better than others. Can we increase her volume, Sean, or should she pick up the phone, pull over to the side of the road?
Okay, um, so for the last 4 years, uh, I have kind of had the motto in life of, um, it could always be worse, which kind of goes along with what you've been saying. And that, uh, that came from, uh, being on vacation while pregnant and my water broke, so I had to stay bedridden, um, at a hospital in that location for 2 weeks while my family went home. Um, and it, uh, for those 2 weeks all I could think about was all the things I was missing, crying on the phone because I was missing birthday parties. And then I had my baby and the baby was healthy, and but it still had to stay in the NICU because it was still too young to come home even though it was healthy. She So I had to sit in the NICU and watch all the other babies who were actually, you know, in bad shape, babies that were there for months. So I, I, it really changed my thinking on it. And it, I started saying, you know, it could be worse. We could be here because, because our baby's not healthy. I could have been, I was stuck in Florida. So it even came to the fact where I said I could have been stuck. I was supposed to travel for work the next week to Boise, Idaho, so I could have been stuck in— I could have been stuck in Boise, Idaho for 2 weeks rather than Naples, Florida.
Um, so, well, boy, Boise, Boise is not a bad place to be stuck.
Well, let's just say so.
I can think of worse places to be stuck. But no, no, your point, your point is extremely well taken. Thank you. Maybe parents should take their children every month to a hospital to visit people. Arrange with some chaplain, maybe, if they would. Or a children's hospital. I don't say you, uh, you think, think things are bad. Let's go to, let's go to the, the local children's hospital. See what you think after that visit. That's why I have a motto: if nothing's horrific, life is terrific. I live by it. I don't depend on terrific things happening to be happy. If non-horrific things are the norm, I'm fine. The horrific is a problem. The terrific is a bonus. Last week I was at the bar mitzvah of my grandson, my first, my oldest grandchild, in Florida as it happens, and I asked my son, his dad, The next day I had to get back to California, and I did. The next day I called him and said, so how is Daniel, my, my oldest? And he said, well, he's a little down after the high of the weekend. That's another great subject which I'll address.
Let Dennis be Dennis.
Yes, indeed, I agree with that. This is the hour you set the agenda, whatever's on your mind about you, about me, about life, about death, about cigars, audio equipment, photography equipment, fountain pens, and classical music. I think I've gotten that down more or less. But not about gardening. Not that it is not a great I have nothing to say. Enjoy the music. Okay everybody, what's on your mind? Here we go. Alvin in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hello.
Thanks for taking my call. I've listened to you for years, and you've always teased on the subject of studying a boring person.
Yes.
And then a few weeks ago, you finally exposed an answer. You gave two of them. One, you won't be a boring person if you're— if you have a passion for something.
Mm-hmm.
And the other thing was to show interest in the person that you're with.
That's right. I know I've said that for years, but you did— you did correctly summarize my conclusions.
You can do a book on that. That's always fascinated me as well. I never thought anyone else even considered it. And I also wanted to see if you had any more, uh, answers in terms of not being a boring person to being a boring person.
Well, I love your question. It's a good way to start the hour. So let me give the background. When I dated women looking for either just a date or looking for hopefully a wife, and I always had that in mind from a very early age, I always knew I was going to get married and always knew, I always knew I wanted to get married and I always knew I wanted to have children. So like everybody who has dated, there were some dates that were boring. So I decided, and I'm proud of myself because it was a great decision, I decided that the only way I could make a boring date interesting is if I became interested in boring people. In other words, why is somebody boring? Or at least I found boring, maybe others would not have. I fully acknowledge it now and then. And I concluded two things, just as Alvin in Pittsburgh summarized, that they had few or if any passions, and the other was that they were completely disinterested in me, the person they were on a date with. I was in public life, but I was nothing comparable to today. So usually I was on a date with someone who didn't know of any of my public work. And even if they did and they didn't ask any questions, then it was even more revealing. I always asked questions. In fact, the truth is, I, to this day, I am more interested in asking people questions than in talking about me. I have more than enough opportunities to talk about what I think about and about my opinions and about me. So the last thing I need to do at a dinner party is talk about me again. So those two things—disinterest in the other individual or other individuals and no passions. The, uh, the The other day, I was with, I was with one of the great broadcasters of my lifetime, and he did a show on automobiles. Leon Kaplan. It's ironic that I just bumped into him. He looked— he looked great. And Leon Kaplan taught me something very interesting, that a person could hold your interest for an hour on a subject you had no interest in if he was passionate and interesting. That taught me a great deal. It is a big lesson, and I have certainly applied it in my life. I don't assume that every subject that I raise everybody is interested in, but I am, and I convey my passion, and I convey my interest, and that keeps people listening. And you can do the same. That is, so those were two big factors, uh, in not being boring. Another one, which I didn't raise it because it had nothing to do with what I learned on a date, is one of the reasons I'm interesting, and it's, it's foolish for me to deny that. I wouldn't have this job if I were boring. I mean, There's one thing you could say about every talk show host, they're not boring. You lose your audience and therefore you go to another profession. That's obvious. So I have had an advantage based on a limitation, which is very common in life, and that is I am bored very, very easily. And therefore I can bore me. So since my threshold of interest is so low or high, depending on how you look at it, I have to keep me interested. And that has been a major factor in my being interesting. It's very hard to keep my interest. And I have to measure up to that standard too. That's a good example. See, one of my friends is a psychiatrist, one of my closest friends. And I am always fascinated when we're together, and I know I will tune out while listening to somebody talk, and he won't. He follows every word they say. He hears even boring people. He hears every word they say, which is a good thing given his profession. But I am much more easily— I much more readily tune out. But that has kept me, I think, interesting. I remember in one of my earliest speeches in my early 20s, I actually said to myself while giving a speech, Dennis, you're boring me. And I never did that since. Okay, San Diego, California. Jeff, hello.
Good morning, Dennis. Hi. Um, hi, how are you? I, I'm, uh, I'm probably— I'm, I'm theist, you know, I believe in Creator, I believe, believe in God. I have a Christian background, probably somewhere between Protestant liberal theologically, not socially, and, uh, a deist, you know, uh, like a Thomas Jefferson deist. There's been this question that's come up with Christian discussions about God, and some people assert that in the old Catholic times everybody believed that God kind of permeate— permeates the entire world, permeates everything. And I look at, uh, my belief is that God is separate from the creation. I think that's the Genesis belief, uh, and I don't think that God is always like right there It just— I can't believe that, you know, like when maybe when a tick is biting a mammal or somebody's doing a crime, is God right there? I don't believe that God kind of hovers over us like a helicopter parent, but I wanted your take from, you know, the Jewish point of view, because the Jewish point of view sometimes differs from the Christian point of view, and I'm just— I'm right.
So I very, very rarely do I say the Jewish. A point of view. No, no, no, no, you don't have to be sorry at all. It's a perfectly legitimate question. I'm answering it though in the most honest way I can. First of all, I don't want to wear the mantle of I am speaking on behalf of all of Judaism. Certainly nobody speaks on behalf of all Jews. But even within Christianity, the Christian view It is a tough one. Is it the Catholic, the Protestant, or even within there? I mean, clearly Protestants differ tremendously among themselves and Catholics among themselves. All right, having said that, however, yes, God is separate from his creation, but God permeating creation and being separate from creation are not mutually exclusive. I'll explain when we return. Okay, all, Dennis Prager here. So the last caller, one of my favorite subjects, theology. He believes in God, God— he doesn't believe the rhetoric that God permeates creation because he believes God is separate from his creation. God is separate from his creation and permeates creation. They're not mutually exclusive. Some— God is not part of nature, but he permeates nature, because if it weren't for God's will, it would all— it would— it would cease to exist. Why, why do Why do electrons continue to revolve around a nucleus? I, I believe it's this supernatural force put it in, in place. It is so fascinating to me the arrogance of not all by any means, but many atheists, that the idea that the physical world did not create itself is stupid. Yes, they think we're stupid. We're just superstitious fools for thinking that there might be a, a beyond natural cause of nature. Because after all, every intelligent person just knows that nature made itself. It all came about by fluke. Fluke for these atheists. That's really logical. Charles Krauthammer was agnostic, but he thought atheism was the stupidest idea he had ever heard. It's something I've played often. He was a Harvard-trained doctor, for those curious about where scientists lie. Anyway, back to you, my friend, uh, Jeff in San Diego. I want— I'm very curious. You say you believe in God, so I'm very curious what that means to you. Do you believe that God ever revealed his will?
I, I think so, in the Bible, but I don't think it's, uh, we call it inerrant. It's not like he talked to people. Maybe to Moses. Maybe he revealed himself very powerfully to Jesus. Uh, yeah. All right, so, so these days he's kind of silent to me.
Yeah, no, I, I hear you on that. I think that's true, by the way. I think that, that— I think that is largely true. He's— I think he spoke much more then. This is one of the reasons I read the Bible, because I do think he spoke there. And do you, do you believe that God judges good and evil?
I— that's a hard one, because yes, if God is moral and he's put the moral inclination in man—
okay, so where do you, where do you and I differ? I'm not saying we do. I'm just curious. Do you think we differ theologically? I believe— see, to me, that is one of the two, three bottom lines. Do you believe that God judges human beings? If you don't, then there's no difference between belief in God and atheism. But you don't believe that. You do believe God judges humans.
I think so, but I don't know. I don't have the traditional, uh, heaven, hell, purgatory thing worked out.
Well, if they're okay— well, I don't know what worked out means. Nobody has it worked Yeah, if you believe, if you believe that Hitler and Mother Teresa have different fates after death, that's all that matters.
I think so. I have a, I have a faith there, but once again, it's, it's speculation, you know.
Yeah, no, no, but you, you said it correctly. You said if God is good, then there is different fates for different people, and I— that's, that's my bottom line. By the way, Jefferson was not a deist. None of them were. Maybe Thomas Paine, Tom Paine. Jefferson believed that God worked in history. Okay, let's see here. I got a few of those and that and Forgive me, folks. All right, let's go to Mountain View, Arkansas, and Dave. Hello, Dave. Hello. Hi.
Hi. You say that you hate Nazis, and I just wanted to know if you— do you know that they wanted Europe to be European?
No, they wanted Europe to be Aryan. European was not a value system to them, it was a racial system, right?
They wanted European to be all the— all Europeans, Frenchmen, British, uh, Spanish, and that's it. They wanted everyone else out.
Yeah, but it wasn't— yeah, of course I— of course I am. But okay, so, well, I don't know. Before I ask you why you raise the issue—
because you say you hate Nazis.
You say, yeah, well, because of what they did. I don't, I don't hate people because of their theories. I hate people because of their actions.
What action do you hate? Is that a serious question?
Are you talking about the Jews? Among other things.
But, uh, they aren't from Europe.
Oh, so then it's okay to, to murder 6 million of them? What choice did they have? Oh my God. Okay, so this is a debate I have. I don't know the answer. I don't know the right answer.
I don't think it's—
it would be— I don't think it's helpful to continue. If you believe Europe is for Europeans Well, Jews were Europeans. The greatest German poet, Heinrich Heine, was a Jew. Every German thought he was German. But it doesn't matter. So you can gas children? That's it. All right, well, I guess I'll put you back on. It's, it's a phenomenon. If you're still there, you are. So wait a minute, let me understand something. Let us say Jews were not Europeans, then it is okay to gas children and families?
They were a future threat.
Okay, so you think it was okay?
Yes, they had no choice.
Well, there's a— there is level of moral decay that I can't fully address. Doesn't happen often. It hasn't happened often in my 40 years of radio. What am I going to say? It's okay to massacre everyone who is different than you. Okay, Dennis Prager here. And this is the, uh, this is the hour you raise whatever is on your, on your mind. Fullerton, California. Mark, hello.
Oh Dennis, I gotta tell you, first of all, thank you. I am so grateful. I remember years and years ago when you were thinking of becoming a senator and sincerely, for all the sincere, noble, courageous reasons. And we would not— the chances— and I don't speak for myself, I know there are millions out there who, like me, say it's like, wow, we wouldn't be having this. I couldn't have this conversation with you right now. And the video system that you have made throughout the world that is gaining ground, I don't know if it would have ever taken place, uh, to the extent it has if you had made the other choice.
And either choice you would have made would have been your choice.
But I gotta tell you, you— the amount of people who I am able to interact with that I wouldn't be— that I'd be fearful of— it's terrible. What am I going to say? I don't know what to do. I have learned so many, uh, conscionable choices just listening to— listen to the breadcrumbs of what you share. That other people are blessed by you and they don't even— they've never even heard of you, thanks to you. And I just like— and while I'm listening to all these calls coming in, it's so tempting to want to pick up on them. And it's like, I'm just so grateful.
I am just so— bless you. I'm very touched by your call. It was, it was a tear in my life whether to run for public office or continue doing what I'm doing— lecturing, writing. Radio, PragerU. I, I mean, I think I made the right decision. As I said, if somebody would have appointed me president and I didn't have to run, I might have done it. But I'm not even sure then that it would have— I would have done a great job. There are different skills needed for different types of work. I don't have a politician's temperament. This is not at all a knock on politicians. I don't have an architect's temperament. I have no issue with architects. I came to realize that there are two sorts of roles if you want to improve the world, and that is the prophet and the king, if you will, or the politician and the influencer, to use the modern term. And I fall in the latter category. This is what I'm cut out to do. So anyway, I thank you for that. Okay, Longmont, Colorado. Lynn, hello.
Well, Dennis, this is precious. Thank you so much for accepting my call, but this is a rather bizarre thing, I would guess. I'm just putting it out there, but believe me, it's, uh, swathed in a lot of care and love when I ask. Um, I have— it will be almost 5 years that my husband passed away. He was the love of my life, and I was like— I had a— we came together under serendipitous situation, and he— and so, um, I honor him always and miss him terribly. But I'm very curious. I continue to wear my wedding band But, and I'm interested in creating conversation things with a lot of people, and I do enjoy other— I do enjoy men and women, but there is that element that's missing now. And I'm telling myself, the majority of men that lose their spouse, they don't continue to wear their wedding band. Is that— am I accurate about that, or why am I—
I have no idea if you're accurate. It's— it would seem to me that that's probably the case, but I, I have no, you know, data, so to speak, about it, right? I presume it is because they, they may well be dating, and if you're dating and you have a wedding band on, you're sure you're sending a mixed message, obviously, to the person. You're— I assume you're not particularly interested in finding a boyfriend/husband?
Oh, definitely not a husband, but I would like, you know, somebody I met or something like that would say, would, you know, we could go to coffee or something like that. I, uh, I wouldn't— I would like that sort of an exchange in my life, but, um, well, so the only—
the question would arise simply, does the wedding band repel them. And I don't have an answer. I— you certainly can explain it. I assume you would say to somebody that you've been widowed. You sound like a very desirable woman. On to more of your calls. This is the hour you raise whatever issue is on your mind. So I guess the man who wanted to talk about that caller who thought it was okay to murder 6 million Jews because they, quote, weren't European— it's hard to know how people come to believe in evil. I regret only one thing with regard to that conversation. I wanted to ask the person if he had a— if he was considered himself a member of any religion. I should have asked that. It shows the power of ideology. Ideology, of course, is Good ideology is so good, and bad ideology is so bad. Ideology is what justifies a great deal of evil and is what promotes a great deal of good. So the issue is what ideology? That's what I asked in my speech when I spoke to Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia a couple of months ago. If indoctrinate means bring a doctrine, the only question is what doctrine are you bringing? PragerU brings the doctrine of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Is that a bad thing? The left believes in bringing doctrines, right? Diversity, equity, inclusion. The difference is I'm intellectually honest. We do believe in doctrines. They deny that they do. They believe they're just giving truth, which is the beginning of the lie of the left. But anyway, what, what you had here with that caller is a doctrine justified. If you asked him, is it right to take a family that has done no evil and murder all of them, he would undoubtedly say no. But here, if you have a doctrine of racial purity, then all of a sudden evil becomes good. If you have a doctrine that you can become the other sex and that you know you are the other sex when you're 8 years old, then you can justify giving hormone blockers. You can justify removing a girl's breasts, healthy breasts, when she's 18 or even 16. The issue is not do you hold a doctrine. The issue is what is the doctrine that you hold. The The vast majority of evil, nearly all of the evil, the horrors of the 20th century were committed thanks to bad doctrines. Bad doctrines are combated by good doctrines. Okay, let's see what else you folks have to say. Uh, Sean in Greer, South Carolina, hello.
Dennis, how you doing today? Well, thank you. Well, I was so shocked that that gentleman that believed in the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews called the good Rabbi Dennis Prager to express his views. But one of the, one of the great analogies for that is I believe that, that just like you said, those Jews were, uh, German. Just as German. That generation had been there for a bit. They all spoke the language. They all assimilated, uh, to the German culture and to the German economy. Ironically enough, the United States has— this is the question to pose to him— the United States has roughly 7 million illegal immigrants here. Are we justified in terminating those immigrants and their families?
It would seem to me that he would say yes.
That's crazy because those people died not because they were trying to create a master race, but because fascism failed to produce an economy that could feed everybody. And that's what divided the people and got the German people, for the most part, to stand still while the Nazis murdered these people. And that's exactly, ironically enough, Dennis, what the leftists are doing in our country. They're dividing us. They're going to reduce the economy. They're gonna, they're gonna side us against each other, and then they'll step in as the police state and pick the winners and the losers.
Yeah, well, you know, thank you for your call. So I had, um, my fireside chat. Most of you know about it, not all of you do. I've done 308 of them in a row, missed one. Every week PragerU puts out my fireside chat. And I almost never have guests. It's always just myself talking and taking questions, mostly from young people around the world. It's a very powerful half hour. But I had Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It's done from my home. He came to my home this week and we, we recorded the conversation. And the— these issues arose. And I said to him, because he, he's a big believer in the existential threat— I, I was surprised. He knows how much lying has taken place on the part of scientists on behalf of vaccines, specifically the COVID vaccine, and lockdowns and masks, but he trusts them with regard to climate change. Okay, but I said to him, I much more fear the collapse of the economy that the Greens are bringing about, are causing, than I do climate change. And I pointed out Hitler was not elected primarily on the basis of his anti-Semitism. He was elected primarily because of the German economy. And if you destroy the economy, that's guaranteed mass evil, as opposed to what will happen 100 years from now as a result of carbon dioxide. All right, 1-800-PRAGER-776, 877-243-7776. Dennis Prager here. And thanks for listening to the Daily Dennis Prager Podcast. To hear the entire 3 hours of my radio show commercial-free every single day, become a member of Prager Utopia. You'll also get access to 15 years' worth of archives, as well as the daily show prep. Subscribe at pragertopia.com.
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