Dennis & Julie December 08, 2024 – 143 Don’t Be Offended

Your dog and a stranger are drowning. You can only save one. Who do you choose? Dennis Prager says your answer reveals everything about how you define right and wrong. In his new book, If There Is No God, Prager exposes the danger of emotion-based morality and why without objective truth, society descends into chaos. This isn't a religious book. It's a rational case for moral clarity in a confused age. If There Is No God from Dennis Prager. Order now at PragerStore.com.

Hello everyone, and welcome to Dennis and Julie, sans Dennis still, of course, this week. But it's great to be with you, and I thank you so much for tuning in. We hope that Dennis will be back as soon as possible. And in the meantime, I know I've said it once. I know I've probably said it more than once, and I'll say it again. Thank you so much for those of you who have written in with your messages of well wishes and your prayers. They mean so much to me, and I know they mean most importantly so much to Dennis Prager. I read them aloud to him in the hospital. I was just with him last night reading those messages aloud, and he is deeply, deeply touched by them. So please do continue to email them to me at julie@julie-hartman.com. Now, I know a lot of you want information. I can share that desire. All of us want information, and I am sorry that I can't give more information to you than this. His condition remains very serious. He is slowly and steadily improving, but as I have indicated a few times, this is going to be a long, long haul. Many weeks and many months. Until Dennis is back. And so it's going to be some time before you see him on the air again. But he is there. As I've said, he is 100% mentally there. He is itching to get back on the radio. And I know that when he does come back, he will have so much to say. However wise we thought Dennis was, however wise he is, oh my gosh, what he has learned and gleaned from this experience will provide him with more material and insights than he probably has ever had before. We all look forward to that day when our dear Dennis joins us back here in studio. But in the meantime, this week on Dennis and Julie, I want to play again some of my favorite moments from our 2 and a half years doing this show. We only missed one episode up until Dennis's accident, and that was something that we both were upset about. We were like, oh, we were on such a good track there for 2 years, but I was in Hungary, he was in probably Bulgaria. God knows where, somewhere around the world. We couldn't do that that week. But we've done so many episodes. We're so proud of them. And I wanted to share these highlights with you. So please do enjoy. And by the way, if you like these formats, if you liked the format where I was on with Sean, I know many of you did, let us know because we have an open Dennis and Julie every week. And we want to know in lieu of Dennis's absence here, what would be best for you in this time? But in the meantime, as I said, please do enjoy these videos. And thank you, thank you, thank you again for your prayers.

I have a joke about it. It's not a joke, you know, ha ha ha, but it's a joke that I tell that's true. That when I go around, I mean, you know this, people stop me for selfies, restaurants, airports, wherever it is. And I'm very, very touched by it, by the way. I never got jaded for a second. Anyway, as I often note, I never know if it's a Jew or a non-Jew. How would I know? But I know it's a Jew immediately if the person tells me what college his or her child goes to. Oh, that it's no Gentile in the history of Gentiles.

You're so wrong. I know so many Gentiles who do that.

Okay, then. Okay, that's very important that you said that. That, and I accept that you're right, and I won't— I'll still tell the joke because it's funny, but at least I'll know it isn't necessarily true. It's a very bad development. My worth comes from the college my kid got into. I can't think of— I mean, I'm sorry because I'm going to hurt some people's feelings, but I don't mean to. It's just such a bad idea, and it doesn't reflect well on you And anyway, what do you do after they graduate? Do you say, oh, you know, my son went to Cornell? What do you, do you drop that when he's 40? You know, 20 years ago, Charlie went to Cornell. I mean, I don't get it. I told, forgive me, I know you're dying to say something.

No, I'm not, I'm not.

I don't know, but I raised my kids, I was just interviewed by the Independent Women's Forum. Dennis Prager did a podcast right, right before a recent show, and she asked me what is my advice on raising kids. And I gave 3 answers, which I won't get into, but one of them was that all I told my boys— and I'm saying this publicly because I know they would not refute this—

Okay.

All I care is about your character. I don't care what college you go to. I don't care what your grades are, which is really rare for a parent. And I don't even care if you go to college because I know if you have— first of all, character is infinitely more important than grades or college. But secondly, you will succeed in life if you have good character.

Why? Some— many would argue you wouldn't.

Oh, well, Or you won't. They're thinking in the short term.

Yes, well, that I agree with.

Okay, that's the answer. In the short term, the thief does better than the honest guy. In the long term, the thief is probably going to end up on Skid Row or in jail or dead. So character is— character uber alles, since you're, uh, well, I was just saying you're into Nietzsche, but Nietzsche wouldn't wouldn't— didn't use Uberalas.

He used Ubermensch.

He used Ubermensch. By the way, I came up with a new idea on my most recent show on radio.

Oh, you knew it. I feel like— I feel like that's not a revelation. I feel like you come up with new ideas all the time.

Well, you're right. So this is one I really like because I remember I memorized it. So when Gavin Newsom— this is completely unrelated to grandparents or anything we just spoke about, so we should call this the tangent hour.

We— every, every DNJ is tangent now.

Yes, yes. But so long as the tangents are important and interesting, that's all that matters, is my opinion anyway. So Gavin Newsom infamously ate at an expensive restaurant, a laundromat, the French Laundry. French Laundry, not laundromat. That is hilarious. The laundromat. You must keep that error. That is the most embarrassing error Julie has come up with in 35 or whatever the hell it was called.

The Laundromat.

I'm sure you did.

You can see I haven't dined there.

This is episode 65.

No, what was the one I said? I said, um, Annoyment.

No, that's nothing.

That was bad.

Nothing. It's a slip of the tongue. This is precious. The Laundromat.

I have to say, I always thought it was called that, and for years I've been thinking that's a really bad name.

Yes, it is. So it's French Laundry, doesn't matter. So he, this is critical, this point, I think. So the man ruined the lives of tens of thousands or maybe 100,000 restaurant owners in California with his lockdowns. While they were all open, by the way, in Florida. It was a farce. It was much worse than a farce, it was criminal. And of course, mask mandates. Well, again, in Florida they didn't exist at the same time. And yet he's then videoed eating at a restaurant and no mask. Okay, so everybody said, what a hypocrite. And the whole time I kept saying that hypocrisy is the least of the issues. But I couldn't figure out what the real issue was literally until this week. Oh, I was talking about it and I said, what is the reason Nancy Pelosi can shut down the country and then go herself to a hair salon and wear no mask? Remember that one?

Of course.

Okay. Again, it's not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is minuscule, right? And then I figured it out. The left know— they don't think, they don't believe, they know they are Übermensch. They are the superior being.

Yep.

And the normal laws that apply to us nothings do not apply to the Übermensch, the upper human, the better human, the overhuman, however you want to translate it. When you said Uber mentioned Nietzsche, that's what that— that explains the left. They are— that is why they can destroy lives with lies, because they know they are morally superior. So all the normal moral rules don't apply to them. They apply to us, the rabble.

You're absolutely right. Viktor Frankl said, as we noted last week, that the human race is divided into two categories, the decent and indecent. Nietzsche thought that the human race was also divided into two categories. Categories, the strong and the weak. The left thinks it's divided into two categories, them and then the peons.

The enlightened. They use the term enlightened all the time.

Yes, absolutely.

We are endarkened.

So I had a friend in college who is sadly no longer my friend, and it really is sad because of my political beliefs. And this individual would talk a lot about, you know, doing the right thing and, and, um, caring for minorities and underprivileged people, you know, super lefty. So at Harvard, we had this lottery system for our upperclassmen house. Freshmen live in the yard, and then for your remaining 3 years, you're sorted into a house. And it's a big deal which house you get into. There are 12 upperclassmen houses. It's a big deal because 99.9% of students live on campus, and you want to live in a good dorm. And the disparity in dorms is massive. Some of them are newly renovated, Some of them haven't been renovated since John Quincy Adams graced the door. I mean, seriously, like cockroaches. I mean, it's disgusting. So Harvard says it's random, the lottery. I actually believe them because some of the students you would think would get a cushy house don't. So I think, i.e., like, you know, presidents or something. So anyway, I think it's random, but there are ways that people try to game it. One of the ways people try to game it is by claiming that they have a medical ailment so that they can live in a dorm that is in closer proximity to the medical center, Harvard University Health Services, which is in the center of campus. So all of the houses you want are near there. They're geographically desirable. This same person who would always talk to me about fairness and equity and giving people chances and all this crap, guess what he did?

What? Said he was sick?

He got a doctor's note because he was in a skiing accident months before, and he had some kind of ski— and he had to walk with a brace, which is okay, probably bad, but lasted for a few months. We were freshmen at that point. The first time we'd be living in the house was in the coming year. He got a doctor to write a note that he had to be in closer proximity to the health services. And you know what? I don't think it even occurred to this individual. That it was against his principles. Because it's just, I'm the elite, I know better, I can just do this. And it's just, Dennis, I don't think they even realize it. And I'm not trying to give a pass.

No, that's a very interesting question.

Because they're so surrounded with people who think, oh, I can just get extra time on my test in high school, you know, even if I don't have a learning disability. I can just get, you know, just all of these privileges. It's just, they don't even think about it.

2 comments. One, what is somewhat trivial, but still I want to make it. I don't— I think that anyone in America could find some doctor to write anything.

Yes, yes.

Anything.

Anything. Literally anything.

Yes.

You have gender dysphoria. You can get it.

Yes. Anything. You can get them to write. I think you could find some doctor to write My patient, Mr. Prager, seems to have two legs, but he is convinced he has one leg, so he should be allowed on the airplane earlier during pre-boarding. Okay, the more important point that I do— by the way, it was a silly but important point. Doctors will write anything. You can find a doctor to write anything. But more important, so I have a question for you, which just occurred to me based on what I said and based on your anecdote about the houses at Harvard. I now realize this, this Übermensch thing has really hit me hard. You think the average kid at Harvard sort of had an Übermensch self-image?

I know I don't. I actually met a lot of really nice down-to-earth people. I don't want to smear it with one broad brush. I mean, of course, there is a contingent that— and by the way, I only am saying this because I just have read a lot of Nietzsche. I think his Übermensch mentality wasn't so much about people thinking they're superior. I mean, certainly, yes, it was that, but it was like people just recklessly, unrelentingly oppressing others in order to get ahead. Nietzsche was in favor of the slave and slave owner society. He thought, well, if you're weak, you're a slave, and if you're strong, you're— I mean, he took it to the ultimate extreme. So these, I wouldn't say like Harvard students are people who think they're better. Even the left, I wouldn't so much call them Übermensch. I would just call them in the way Nietzsche understood it. I would just call them as pompous aristocratic elite blankety-blanks who think they're better, but they wouldn't take, I would hope they wouldn't take it as far as Nietzsche's idea of a strongman would. But the answer is no. There's a contingent for sure, but not all of them.

Well, what you described as the compass superior, da da da da da, whatever else, that is my definition of Ubermensch. It may not be Nietzsche's.

Right, okay, well, if that's yours, then yes. There's a contingent.

I do believe that, and it's not just about Horowitz. I believe all of the left, that is what they believe. And that's why I said that, look, I don't know where Newsom went to college. I don't know if he did, and I don't care. But he did not believe that the rule he made others live by applied to him, not because of hypocrisy— that's my insight— but because it doesn't have to apply to me. I'm better than you.

Yes. Well, a lot of individuals, specifically my age, I think they have this idea that they're on the right side of history.

That's right. The moral arc bends in their direction.

Yes. Like, I, you know, I am against the evil Republican white supremacists. I'm against the police brutality. I'm against this. I'm a virtuous person. So if I get a note from my doctor saying that I need to be near the medical services for a 2-month ski accident, then that's fine because overall my net contribution to society is positive into history.

That's right.

That's their idea.

So they, now the question is, would they say that about us? So they might say, what? Oh, you guys on the right, you think you're better than others. This is a common argument given to religious people against religious people, against conservatives as well. But it's a dishonest argument. We do think our values are better. If we didn't, why the hell would we advocate them?

Right.

But I mean, I know virtually every single prominent conservative I mean, in most cases pretty well. And they would laugh at the idea that the rules don't apply to them, right? It would be inconceivable to these people to think that way. They may break some rules because they're weak or they're whatever there might be. Human beings— no, no side has angels. But there was no sense that the rules I advocate don't apply to me. There are individuals who will have that, obviously.

Yes.

It's like, you know, there was a prominent Christian— not podcaster in those days, what were they called— the televangelist. And he railed against visiting prostitutes. He was visiting prostitutes. So again, hypocrisy is a silly term to use. It's trivial compared to what he did. But that is a classic example of it doesn't apply to me. I mean, if you visit prostitutes, it's probably not a good idea to just talk about how people shouldn't visit.

I know, just stay silent on it. Just don't go there.

You know, shouldn't be your issue.

Well, I, I'm glad that you brought this up because look, of course there are everyday conservatives or everyday religious people who think that they're better. I, as, as you know, as I've said, subscribe to the Viktor Frankl idea, decent and indecent. Do I happen to think that more decent people happen to vote Republican, at least right now in this country? Yes. But still, there are many indecent Republicans and I'm sure there are decent Democrats. But I think the point of religion and conservatism is actually very humble. It's this idea that there are certain values that you place above yourself and that you are subservient to, that you follow regardless of your personal or professional, professional advantage. In other words, there are certain unchanging eternal standards that you can't go against. And so when people are advocating for those, it may come across as pedantic or like I'm better, but it's actually saying, no, the values are better than all of us, including me.

That's very important. I think that the left, as opposed to liberals— again, the left hates the idea of God-given morality. Oh yeah, because they're not humble. That, that's a definition of humility. I have to answer to God for how I behave.

It's the abortion thing, I think.

Okay, well, oh, of course it is. Listen, if a pro-choice person says, "Well, what about rape? What about incest?" Even though obviously those who think it's a human, it's a human no matter how conceived. We grant an understanding of their argument. Of course. Absolutely. The girl can't afford to raise a child. She has a terrible home life. We understand all of that. But my issue with the pro-choice folks is that they don't recognize that the pregnant woman might have a moral standard to which she must be judged. That's— you can't judge them.

They don't even acknowledge it. Look, we've talked about it on this show. I'm conflicted when it comes to abortion. Really conflicted. I can understand both sides. Of course, I'm not an abort at 9 months kind of person. I want to make that clear. But I go back and forth. But you're so right that what What I dislike about pro-choice people, they won't even acknowledge that that exists. They deny. And I notice that this is the case with many left-wingers. They will not acknowledge that any of their positions may have some downsides. With regard to immigration, for instance, they will not acknowledge the downside that, yes, maybe we could be welcoming great people into this country. Many great people who are immigrants have come into this country, but it opens the possibility for abuse and drugs and gangs. They will never, ever acknowledge that. And it's the same thing with abortion. They won't acknowledge that there may be some responsibility that you as the woman who is in that unfortunate situation may have to your unborn child.

Well, there's no higher responsibility. The abortion is a very clear example of you cannot hold a pregnant woman as being judgeable. No, she is God vis-à-vis that, that that fetus. She is God. The determiner of life and death is by definition God. The idea that there is a moral God above her is offensive to people who believe they're moral gods. That's why my Übermensch thing, it struck me as a very important new realization. It's that it's not hypocrisy. I determine the rules for me. They say that.

Yes, you're—

that's the whole point.

Your truth. I— whenever people say tell your truth, there's no such thing as your truth. There's your opinion and my opinion. There's your perspective and my perspective. But there is no such thing as your truth and my truth. There is the truth that exists that is unchanging and eternal, and you can't you it or me it.

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People tend to care about very stupid things and get offended and ruffled by very stupid things. And I've actually noticed this in myself in the past. I mean, I think and hope that generally I'm the type of person who doesn't get ruffled or offended by very much. I just, I've never been that way. But I can look back at times in my life. I remember one time I had a friend who spent a lot of time with her boyfriend. And that kind of bothered me because—

Yeah, because you were neglected.

I felt neglected, right? I look back on that, that was so stupid.

Why did I care so much about that? That, to be honest, I can understand. Not that you would be offended, that you would be sad.

I mean, yeah, I wasn't offended.

Lost time with your friend because she's spending it with somebody else. I— it makes sense That's— offended is wrong, sad is right.

Well, maybe— I think I was definitely sad, and I think I was a little offended.

Uh-huh.

Yeah, if I'm being fully transparent, I was a little like, but, but yeah, you're just ditching me to go hang out with your boyfriend? But, but I actually look back on that, and I think that was really stupid. I mean, it wasn't a huge deal.

The offended part is wrong. The, the sad part is right. Obviously, you like someone, you want to spend more time with them.

I'll give you, I'll give you another example because I've been thinking about this lately. The what we all choose to spend our mental energy on. I feel like on recent episodes of Dennis and Julie, in recent episodes on Timeless, this has been a through line. It's been, been a big priority in my life to reshape my mental energy. And this subject is one of the big things like don't waste your time getting upset about small things. Yesterday I was driving and I was in the left lane and there was some guy in front of me who was turning left into a Whole Foods parking lot, but it was the same left lane to up at the light, turn left. And so I went behind him.

Yeah.

And he was— he wasn't turning or he was taking a really long time. And as this is happening, all these other cars were coming and going in front of us and turning like probably 25 cars. So I'm sitting there and I'm going, Dammit, this red Honda, he's not turning. I have to get to my apartment.

Right. But that was a matter of bad luck rather than a jerk, right? Well, because I'm honest, I think he was a little bit of a jerk because he could have turned. Okay, fair enough. But, but normally that was just bad luck. You were behind the guy who wasn't turning.

And it was so frustrating because I want to go around him, but all these cars are coming and I'm literally up ahead watching 25 cars turn left as I'm behind this red Honda. And I'll tell you what I did. I paused. I was getting angry. And I literally, aloud, alone in my car, said, Julie Hartman, let this be your worst problem in life.

That's good.

I said that.

I said that aloud.

Yeah. And then, and then I shut up and I didn't get angry about it. I said, okay, guess what? The guy's gonna turn in 2 minutes. I'm gonna get home. 3 minutes later than I would have. Big whoop. But we do. Why do we, like, allow ourselves to do that? Who cares?

The, the power of instant rage is staggering, and people pay a lifelong price for it because if they didn't do anything— now, sometimes you should do something, clearly, right? But if they didn't do anything, in most cases, they would have forgotten about it by the evening. It's like it didn't happen. It's— I have a great example of what I think about this. So I'm coming into the parking lot where we work here, and if a pedestrian is crossing, I obviously stop my car.

Good.

I don't run people over.

Glad to hear it.

And I'm thinking Wow, God, is this taking a long time? And ever since I thought that, I decided to actually measure the amount of time. Oh no, that I wait. It's 5 seconds at max. Sometimes it's less than 5 seconds. And yet we're annoyed over 5 seconds.

I know. Like, so why do you think this is? Do you think that we— it's like sublimated anger?

No, it's the power of the immediate. That's why you have to—

but it's not rational.

No. Oh, well, hello, why did I write the Rational Bible? I'm a big lover of reason.

I mean, even in my position where you're with the pedestrian was 5 seconds, mine was like 2 minutes straight.

Yes, 2 minutes. But when you think about it, what the hell is 2 minutes?

Exactly.

Yes.

So why, why do we get so angry?

Because of the emotion of the moment. That, that's the point.

But again, there's no emotion to be had in the moment. It's so dumb. It's not like someone ran into your car. It's not like someone threw paint on your car.

It's that if it weren't for this guy, I would have made a turn and 25 people passed me who got to make the turn and I didn't.

Okay, I'm not trying to be annoying with this, but so what?

Again, why don't we— No, we both agree with so what, but I understand why one is annoyed at the moment. I would get annoyed at the moment and then say to myself, hello, This is— this should be your greatest problem.

Human nature is an interesting thing. I mean, that's the most colossally obvious thing.

I want to get back though to the— believe it or not, that it's very important that people say to you, do you care that it's Dennis and Julie? It's a— that's a very important thing that people think that those things matter.

No offense to them. I never even think about it. It never crossed my mind.

Right. And let's say, look, it crossed my mind that Adam's name was first. But it didn't cross my mind negatively. I just found it of interest. They decided to publicize his name. So if you see anything, No Safe Spaces, it's Adam Carolla on the left, Dennis Prager on the right. So theoretically, his name is first. Theoretically, because we read left to right in English. I, I would happily take a lie detector test. I couldn't care less. In what possible way Did it detract from me? I was so, first of all, to be honest, honored to be in a film with him. He's terrific. He is. He's terrific.

He's so funny.

He's funny, he's bright, he's deep, and he chooses people he's with very carefully. I was honored. The whole thing was an honor for me. I trust he was honored too. He thinks well of me, and I'm very flattered by that because he's He's got very strong standards. But all I'm saying is, people, you know what one of the lessons is? You have to know what to get upset about.

Yes. Well, I'll give you another example. Something far greater than 25 cars making the left turn when I'm stuck behind the Honda, or you're turning and the pedestrian delays your entry. I have thought about this with regard to my lost COVID years of college. I'm coming up on 2 years. Just crazy. So weird. It just went by in a flash. 2 years of graduating from college since graduating from college. And lately I've been feeling sad about that lost time. I was sent home.

Well, you have a right to. I know I do.

I agree.

On your behalf, I feel angry.

I will admit I feel angry too. And anger is not an emotion that I tend to be afflicted with often.

No, but it's righteous anger. Righteous anger is appropriate.

That's absolutely right. And that too, I just got back from Rome, so I feel very immersed in Christianity. Jesus had righteous anger. Yes, he did. So that's indicative that that's a noble emotion for us to have.

God has righteous anger.

Yes. And God has sadness.

Yes, that's right.

And so it's, it's good and noble for us to feel these emotions.

Our task is to control, however, right, morally and rationally control our responses. Well, there's a difference between anger with the 25-car example and then my righteous anger with the COVID You were robbed by Harvard, which is a scummy place run by awful people. Which has some wonderful professors, I have no doubt about it, and wonderful students, and, and some, some wonderful students.

Some.

It's important to add some.

It is.

But, uh, Harvard was the first college in the country to shut down with COVID That is so indicative of who runs Harvard.

And, you know, I, I look back on that, and I have been through worse things in life than the COVID sent home. I just want to make that clear because I even recognize you were robbed. There are far—

you were irrationally robbed by people who revel in the belief that they're scientists and experts. They were all wrong. They were just wrong.

And that was a real— I mean, that was again, I am—

and they charged you the same fee, 2% increase. For what?

Tuition, 2% increase.

Oh, I thought for Zoom calling. Oh, the Zoom, the Zoom. Fine.

But, you know, I look, look back on that and I was sent home halfway through, a little over halfway through my sophomore year of college and lost the whole rest of that year. And then I lost the entirety, may I repeat, the entirety of my junior year, all on Zoom. So the only two full years that I ever had at Harvard University were first and last. OK, again, I am not a woman living in Iran. I am not a Chinese, right? National, you know, living, living under Xi Jinping and getting my organs harvested. I am not. Trust me, I am staggeringly aware of my privilege.

Right, right. And your luck, your good fortune, my luck, my privilege, my opportunity.

I'm aware. I'm not, you know, crying, woe is me. But I will say, I do. I look back on that and I feel sad.

I feel like portion of my life which was robbed, which can never be replaced.

Never be replaced.

Exactly. I agree with you.

I think it's hitting, and I've talked to some friends about it, I think it's hitting us now because we're 2 years out of college and there was this weird kind of feeling when we were in it that we knew, and I would talk about people with this at the time, we knew that it was wrong, but nevertheless we had this feeling like, oh, they're gonna make it up to us somehow. Oh, I, we're gonna get it. We're gonna get much more.

I, I, I wonder if most of your classmates thought it was wrong. I would bet that most thought it was right.

Absolutely. You're 100% right. As time goes on, more and more people are awakening to the idea. By the way, there was a recent New York Times Siena poll which found— New York Times— which found that people look back on the Trump administration far more favorably than they did in years past. And they, they look like saying that people prefer health to sickness. Yes.

I mean, it— but on every single issue, if you don't acknowledge that in every metric America was better when he was president, you can hate his guts.

Yes.

But if you are intellectually honest, America was better in every metric. The world was better in every metric. I don't believe Putin would have invaded Ukraine. I don't believe that Hamas would have done what it did on October 7th. The world is chaos. Because of this. Just this week, Joe Biden did two things. I mean, two horribly destructive things. Applied Title IX to trans so that all you have to do is say you're a woman and you have every right that a woman or a man has not to be discriminated against, and which presumably would include sports, even though he didn't mention sports. How could it not include sports? Of course I say I'm a woman. I have a right to be.

Well, Title IX is almost—

it was based on applied to sports. That's right.

Most of the time.

Plus, he has now announced that millions of acres in Alaska that no one ever sees, no one. It is as remote as land exists on Earth, will not be allowed to be mined in any way so that America will become more and more dependent on China and Russia. And Saudi Arabia for its energy.

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All he does is make it worse, and then people yell how bad Trump is. Trump may be as awful a human to it as ever occupied the White House. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.

By the way, I don't believe that's true.

I don't believe— I don't believe it is true either. I couldn't agree with you more.

I take your point, though.

Yes.

Well, I want to get back to this Trump thing. I mean, Dennis and Julie, we tend— we tend to— not that we don't discuss, you know, politics, but I like it when we do life stuff. But no, I agree with the discussion. But I do want to go back for a moment, if we can, to this COVID thing, because this is a really important point. I look back on those lost years and feel very sad and angry. For what? Why did we have to be sent home? I mean, I think about that time, and I'm not trying to cry woe is me, but it was, I was in my childhood bedroom on a computer. I didn't see anyone for weeks besides my parents. And when I would see my one friend in Los Angeles, we would be in our N95s, 20 feet away from each other in the trunks of our car. We literally would go into this parking lot, open the trunks of our car and sit 20 feet away from each other. That was back when I was brainwashed. This was before I woke up and COVID and Black Lives Matter was the big wake-up. But for months and months of my life, I, I'm sorry if this sounds dramatic, I was living in prison.

Like, that's correct.

Basically living in prison. And, and then, you know, junior year was a little better, but we were all on Zoom. And it was just a profoundly diminished experience. And I look back and I go, why the hell did that have to happen? But let me tell you the thing that gives me consolation. It's sort of like what I said with the driving thing yesterday when I audibly in my car said, Julie Hartman, let this be your worst problem in life. You know what? With COVID Sean, I'm sorry, you're gonna have to bleep it. I got fucked. I totally absolutely got fucked with, with the COVID lockdown situation. Okay, sometimes in life you get fucked. Sometimes you're treated unfairly, you know, people do things to you, make, make your life worse, and it can be very real and very hard. But everyone in life has that happen to them. And it won't be the last time it happens to me. It'll just be in a different flavor. And that's a weird— that's a strangely kind of comforting thing. Okay, Julie. Yep. You're right to have that anger. You're right to feel that loss. You can't do anything about it.

Well, and of course, the sum total of your life has been so positive.

Of course. Absolutely.

But no, you're right. All of it is true. By the way, there was one silver lining. You and I got to spend time together. Oh, well, because you weren't at college.

So funny that you call that the one silver lining. That is a catastrophic understatement to call it the one silver lining. I hesitate to acknowledge that because so many people had just awful COVID experiences. And I feel like COVID gave me the greatest gift of my life. So I don't want to be like braggadocious or boastful about that. But you're right. I mean, strangely, COVID, the lockdowns were kind of— ended up being a blessing for me because it led me to this. MyPillow is excited to announce that their Christmas extravaganza is finally here. Get this season's flannel sheets for as low as $59.98. They won't last long, so get them while you can. Get their famous My Slippers. I wear them. These haven't been on sale for over a year, and they are regularly priced at $119.98, but for a limited time— wow— now they are only $59.98. And their 6-piece towel sets are back in stock with extremely limited quantities. I also use them. You can use them for only $29.98. With hundreds of MyPillow products, there's something for everyone on your Christmas list, from bathrobes, duvets, quilts, down comforters, and so much more. Go to mypillow.com or call 1-800-566-6745 and be sure to use the promo code Hartman, H-A-R-T-M-A-N, to save on all MyPillow products. That's the promo code Hartman for flannel sheets for as low as $59.98 or the 6-piece towel sets for just $29.98. But again, that's not all. They're extending their 60-day money-back guarantee until March 1st, 2025. Plus, all orders over $75 or more ship absolutely free.

There's a voice in me that thinks, has every generation in history lamented the next generation? Am I just falling into the trap that others have? But I'm not like that. Hmm.

Yeah.

Kids these days. Yes, exactly. But that's— I was unhappy about my own generation.

Well, let me ask you a tough question. Is there anything about Gen Z that you admire, or is there anything about my generation that you think we're doing better than generations before?

I can't think of anything. But again, your generation is not defined yet. I mean, I got to give you time.

What about yours? Or what about the baby boom? Are you a baby boomer?

Yeah, I'm a baby boomer. I have always had a low opinion of my generation. There are a lot of— look, there are terrific people in your generation. There are terrific people in millennials. There are great people in every generation. There were great people in Nazi Germany. There were great people in the Soviet Union. There is always a certain number of great human beings. That's certainly true for my generation as well. But I believe that my generation ushered in the decline of the United States. We are the products of a crappy upbringing.

Intriguing.

The great generation that fought World War II did not know how to raise children.

Why?

Oh, I know exactly why. I knew this when I was your age, and I was already lecturing, and I would look at an audience of people, all of whom were the World War II generation, and I'd say, you know, your motto is we want to give everything we didn't have to our children. Meaning affluence and peace, generally speaking, but especially material benefits. And I would look at the audience and say, that's really nice. The problem is you didn't give us anything you did have. And I told them what— religion, patriotism. They didn't hand over what made their generation great. And I even know why that, because, you know, my own The operative question is always why. Because they were not aware of the fragility of all the good values. Ronald Reagan's great line, and he was a brilliant man, but the sophisticates didn't think he was brilliant because he spoke intelligibly. He didn't speak in academies. And he's—

Academies? Yes. Is that a real word?

No, but it's used.

I love that.

Yeah.

I love that. I'm gonna adopt that or borrow it.

So he said, we are always one generation from losing freedom. One generation away.

Oh gosh. Let me get you some, I have to read this. You'll love this. I just used a Prager line. You'll love this. You realize you say that a lot.

Do you love this?

Yeah, you'll love this.

Okay.

It's okay. I was told that I use the term mealy-mouthed a lot. So we all have our things that we love to go to. Damn, where is it? Oh gosh. Oh, here. So my friend recently went to Nebraska to visit one of his friends and they went to the Museum of the Air Force there. And he sent me, there's an inscription. That was dedicated to people who, Air Force members who served in Nebraska or who are from Nebraska who served in the Cold War. And here's the inscription of this statue that he sent to me. He said, the inscription says, we must never forget that freedom is never really free. It is the most costly thing in the world. Freedom is never paid in a lump sum. Installments come due in every generation. All any of us can do is, is offer that generations that follow have a chance for freedom. But I love that. It's so true. It's— you can't pay in a lump sum. You have to pay in installments. And every generation is obligated to pay their installment to ensure their security.

And if you don't pay that installment, you lose the product.

Right. And that's And that's what we're seeing now. So I think about this too, because I, I'm very critical of my generation. I'm very critical of the baby boomers. But I also want to be fair and think, is there something that we're doing that actually is good? Is there a quality that we have? A lot of people would say that we're extraordinarily tolerant, but I actually think it's the opposite. People would say, oh, God, we're so— that's what people would say about us. And that's what—

right.

And I was watching speeches. Then-Vice President Joe Biden spoke at Class Day at Harvard during their graduation ceremony in 2017. And he said, you guys are the most tolerant generation to ever exist. The way that you love each other, the way that you accept people who are gay.

And I will say this. Yeah, it— this is why I don't blame your generation.

Really?

Yeah, I, I don't have great admiration yet. It— I may turn out wrong, but with all my criticism of my generation, we had a lot of wonderful people as well. And part of the reason is they didn't tell us all the time how terrific we were. Nobody got up that I would like to see the— were you the one? Was it Nathan Pusey? Remember?

Yeah.

Yeah. You cited a 1960.

Yes.

I remember.

Good memory.

Yeah. Our last Dennis and Julie or one of our last ones. And you cited his talk. He didn't go, oh, you're the great leaders, you're the terrific, you're the tolerant, you're the open.

He was actually criticizing the audience.

All I remember was you have to live up to the past. I, in my religious Jewish school, we were taught the opposite. And I think they went overboard, believe it or not. Nevertheless, we were taught there's a concept in Hebrew, yiridat hadarot, the diminution of the generations, that we are standing on the shoulders of giants before us. Not, oh, you're great. No, the greats have already lived. You're on their shoulders. We never got that type of talk, thank God. I mean, you got it. I mean, I can't believe what you were told at the Harvard graduation. It drives me crazy.

That we're going to change the world.

Yeah, yeah.

We may change the world.

Right. That's right.

They're not wrong about that. One of the deans said, I have no doubt that your generation will make a positive impact. On this country.

Right.

I have no doubt. I have no doubt that Dennis Prager is going to make a negative impact.

That's right. Well, because you're a dean, because you have made a negative impact. By the way, I have a theory as to why people constantly compliment young people.

Okay. Yeah.

I'm curious if you do.

Give me, give me a few minutes or give me a few seconds.

Hmm. I may be wrong, but I do have a theory.

You tell me your theory.

My theory is they want to be liked.

Oh, well, that's certainly true.

Okay, then that's it. You don't have to go further.

Yes.

Yeah, it's really about them. See, if you get up and you criticize the Harvard class of of whatever year. They may not like you for it. And the desire to be liked, which is a catastrophe. It is a catastrophe. The only— this is, I'm adamant about this. The only people you should work to be liked by are your peers, your spouse, and your friends. That's it. Go, go. You wanted to say something?

No, no, you finish.

Okay. That if you are in any position of authority— a dean, a teacher, a policeman, a parent, a parent, a parent— did I say parent? If, if you work to be liked, you will do a bad, destructive job.

I have been thinking about this so much lately because one of the subjects that you often bring up on this show and on your radio show is is it a blessing or a curse to have a happy childhood?

Right.

And we've kind of uncovered that, that having a challenging upbringing actually benefits you later in life. Of course, most people, of course, sometimes it can be debilitating. But, but yeah, but sometimes having—

we're not talking about child abuse.

Of course not.

Of course not. Right.

Yes. And so I have thought about that same question with regard to being well-liked because you have hit the nail on the head that many deans, and not just, you know, you just went through the list of parents and, you know, people everywhere, they have a desire to be clergy, to be liked. And I am someone who over the past 3, 4 years of my life have witnessed a lot of people start to not like me. And that— I'm, I am not complaining. I have wonderful friends. I have wonderful professional life. I have wonderful family. I mean, it's not like everybody's turned on me, but, but But I have seen it and not to— I don't mean this as a bragging way, but there was no one at my high school who had a more sterling reputation than I. I was beloved at my high school and I was— I'm sure there are some people who didn't like me, but I had a really, really good reputation.

Right.

And not just in my high school, but just in every community that I was in. And I knew this, that I had a very— people really admired me, respected me, and liked me. And since I started doing this job, I have seen people come out of the woodwork either through the grapevine or, you know, to my face to tell me that they are disappointed in me, that they think what I'm doing is terrible, that, you know, I've had that. And there were times when it was really hard. Certainly the first two weeks— I talk about this, this time in my life a lot— the first two weeks after I went public on your radio show, that was really, really hard because it was just a bombardment of people. But now I am, I view it as such a blessing. And it's weird because believe it or not, I don't go out every day endeavoring to not be liked. If I could wave a magic wand, of course I would have everybody like me. Who wouldn't? But it is, it's strangely liberating to have people not like you because you're no longer, you're no longer thinking about how to please them because you know they already don't like you. You know that the effort would be wasteful. Because the ship has sailed. They're not a fan of you. And so that actually enables you to keep doing what you're doing because you're no longer, you know, looking to the side to appease someone. And so I sort of wish for— I mean, listen, if you— if someone at your funeral gives a speech and says this person had no enemies, they were liked by everyone, they never disappointed anybody, then the odds are that that person lived a very safe life, a not principled life. When you live a principled life, you're going to tick some people off.

That's right. That's right.

Do you agree?

Agree. Who wouldn't agree? It's, if one knows anything of history or were great figures.

Oh, of course. They're the— we've talked about it— they're the most persecuted. Yes, they're the most disliked.

That's the Christian— that's the whole Christian message, right? The one perfect person was crucified.

But I sort of wish that for people. I— it sounds like a strange wish, but I wish that more people would become accustomed with people being disappointed in them or disapproving of them. Because when people disapprove of you, you're kind of, you're kind of set free.

You should not aim to be disliked. And you're not saying that. I'm making that clear. And we all rather be liked than disliked. When I spoke at this convention of this conservative women's group in Philadelphia about a year ago, Moms for Liberty. So I spoke. I was Dennis Prager was the keynote speaker for their Sunday event, and there was a big demonstration outside, big one of people who, you know, woke folks, especially on behalf of LGBTQIA+, which, by the way, I'm curious if this is— if our stuff is watched 20 years from now, let alone 50. And I hope it is.

By the way, I hope it is too.

Will they even know what LGBTQIA+ is? But in any event, so I passed them, and as I walked into the hotel, there was a lot of F-U's at me.

Really?

I didn't even know that they knew who I was.

It was like an organized protest.

Yeah, there was an organized protest, basically. Yeah. And they were behind a little barricade, and I was in the inside going into the hotel. So I actually walked over to them, and with a big smile I go, you know, I'm very curious to know why you hate me. And first of all, it was obvious they were taken aback that I would even show up and dialogue with them. No animosity. I didn't go F you back to them. I just, I was very curious, what have I said And by the way, I was very curious.

Of course.

Why do you hate me? Right. I, I don't know what I say that should elicit such hatred.

Well, you, you, I remember you're telling me this story and what you told me is that you said, I've dedicated my whole life to trying to bring people to God, trying to make marriages better, to try to make people more principled.

Yeah.

Good. You know, Yes. Why do you hate me? I've dedicated my whole life to trying to improve people's lives. What did they say? Oh, didn't one call you a Nazi or something?

Basically, yes. You're speaking at a Nazi conference.

You know what? It is so sick.

It is.

And you know what? I'm realizing what we as conservatives and as rational thinkers have to do now is that we, we are so always on the defensive. We need to start playing offense. When people levy an accusation at us, you know, like, oh, well, you're at a Nazi conference. The, the, the modus operandi that we have pursued up until now has been, no, no, I'm not. Or what makes you say that? You know, trying to disprove their point. What I am now doing, and it's a conscious effort, is I'm trying to flip it. I'm trying to be on the offensive and go, how dare you? How dare you say that this is a Nazi conference? Do you know that you are cheapening the charge? Do you know what an egregious atrocity Nazism was in Germany? And you are going to stand here and you are going to so recklessly throw out that term and say that this convention of Moms for Liberty is a Nazi conference? Shame on you. I'm done. No, no, that is entirely the accurate way to respond because we need to start stigmatizing these beliefs. Thanks everyone for joining us. And at this time I would turn to Dennis and go, how do they reach us? And that he would say, by listening to you. So I guess a few things have changed. You can still listen to me for that. Julie at julie-hartman.com is my email. Julie R. Hartman is my Instagram. And you can follow Dennis at Dennis Prager on Twitter and the Dennis Prager on Instagram. And we will see you here next week on Dennis and Julie. Take care.

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