Don’t Take This Personally... | Happiness Hour
Dennis Prager argues that taking offense is a choice that blocks happiness. He shares stories about people who feel insulted over small slights—a woman upset about bill inspection, a mother withholding affection over late birthday cards—and traces the pattern to insecurity and anger. The solution: get a third-party view, leave toxic relationships, or confront the slight directly.
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On today's episode of Timeless Wisdom.
How do you pronounce your name, uh, C-Y-L-E? How do you pronounce it?
It's Kyle.
So that's K-Y-L-E?
Kyle with a C.
Kyle with a C?
Yep.
Did your parents misspell, or it's just the way it came out?
I have, uh, 4 siblings. We're all Cs.
No kidding. Yeah, that cracks me up. What are the other siblings' names? Wait, let me, let me try to guess. There would be, uh, Catherine? No. What are the other siblings?
Uh, Carrie, Chad, Clint, and Callie.
Oh, so you— there are 5 of you?
Yeah. Yep.
And they— that is so funny. Why did your parents— they just like the idea, I guess? Yeah, that cracks me up. So Kyle—
only Kyle will see. I know.
Yeah, I thought, I thought that, uh, Eva had misspelled it, but I realized she couldn't have misspelled it. It must be deliberate. All right, go ahead, Kyle with a C.
Well, first, Dennis, I just wanted to say that you mentioned earlier how you have such great listeners, and I just want to say that you really appeal to the good side of me. And since I've started listening to you, I just— I noticed, you know, the voices get louder and they're harder to ignore, you know, on my conscience.
Really? Wow, wow, wow. Hold on, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take you more. That is an unbelievable compliment. Thank you so, so much.
That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Only on Salem Now, featuring one of Charlie Kirk's final interviews. The new documentary Can You Hear Me Now? investigates modern prophets and divine messages influencing us today.
Some people absolutely have the gift of prophecy.
If God exists, how would he inject his information into our world? More than likely, he would use humans.
Satan would love Christians to just be a spectator. Not engage, not participate.
Is there something he's trying to say?
Can you hear me now? Watch it today at SalemNow.com. SalemNow.com. Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to DennisPrager.com.
Hey, hey!
It's the happy, happy, happy, happy hour.
Yes, it is. It's a happy, happy, happy, happy.
Yes, it is. Hey, everybody. It's the happiness hour of the Dennis Prager Show. Come hell or high water. Locusts, frogs.
Hail! Hail!
Pestilence, boils, doesn't matter. We have the Happiness Hour on the Dennis Prager Show every Friday at this time. Because it is a moral obligation to be as happy as you can be. It is. It's a religious obligation if you're religious. It's a human obligation if you're human. It is. You owe it to everybody in your life to be as happy as you can be. And the world is better when people are happy. That's just the way it is. It's better. There's less evil on earth, less, less suffering. And we're here not so long, so we should be as happy as we can be. And it is an art to be happy. It just doesn't happen. That's why I titled my book Happiness Is a Serious Problem. Yes, it is a plug for the book. Of course it is. You think I spent 10 years writing and I'm not going to mention it on the Happiness Hour? Huh, huh. In fact, in fact, my friends, today's subject is a big one, based on actually a call this week. In fact, let me read to you what I'm about to talk to you about from the Turkish edition of the book. Mutluluk sidi bir sorundur. Kendi kendini olarım el kitabı. Bir yemek davetinde bab adında yasında bir adamla terenzmithlim. Adamın bir ikiz kardeşi vardı. That is from Mutluluk Sidi Bir Sorundur by Dennis Prager. In fact, every week I'm going to feature another language for because we have a we celebrate multiculturalism here. So I will give you a little in in different languages that the book has come out. I'm talking to you about the choice to be insulted. Let me read to you. I've never done this in, in, in all the years of the show. I don't think I've ever read from the book, but I will now. This is, uh, people who perceive themselves as insulted can never be happy. This is from chapter Chapter, chapter, chapter, chapter, chapter. Come on, man. 17. Here we go. Once at a dinner party, I learned that one of the guests, a 50-year-old man I'll call Bob, had a twin brother. I asked him how they got along. We were very close until last year, he responded. What happened? I asked, quite amazed that 2 brothers could be close for 49 years and then suddenly drift apart. His wife responded, I threw Bob a 50th birthday party last year, and I didn't make the party for both brothers, though of course I invited Bob's brother, and I even put his name on the cake. As the story continued, I learned that Bob's brother could not get over the perceived insult of Bob's wife throwing a 50th birthday party for Bob and not for both of them. He felt this way despite the fact Bob and his wife assured me that the 2 brothers lived, worked, and socialized in different worlds and had no friends in common. I listened in amazement. The insult seemed so trivial compared to the reaction. But of course, this brother was not insulted by his brother and sister-in-law. It is, after all, quite understandable that grown men should have their own birthday parties. Rather, he had decided to be insulted. And that's in italics, which I don't use often. He had decided to be insulted. He chose to consider himself a victim of a perceived slight.
That's right.
Another example was given to me by a woman at a card shop. She told me that when she checks bills of large denominations to determine if they are genuine or counterfeit, some customers get highly insulted As if the— as if the test of their $50 bill somehow impugned their honesty. Telling the difference between a real and perceived insult may not always be easy, but it can and must be done. The reason we often err in perceiving a slight when none was meant is that we often choose to be hypersensitive, though only on our own behalf, just as when we err in money matters, we almost always err on our own behalf. We make this choice because of our insecurity, because of our anger at the other person, or because we want to play the role of victim. Whatever the reason, little is more destructive to happiness than perceiving yourself insulted when in fact you weren't. If you find yourself regularly insulted by people, try to seek out a fair outsider to help you determine whether your perceptions are accurate. If they are accurate, replace these people with people who will not insult you. Or if you must keep some of these people in your life, fight back. You have no obligation to be demeaned. On the other hand, if your perceptions are not accurate, get rid of these perceptions and find out why you have a predilection for perceiving slights when there are none. And now we close. Happiness is a serious problem. Chapter 17, verses 32 to 49. 1-800-PRAGER-776 is the number. 1-800-PRAGER-776. Are you, uh, one who, uh, easily perceives insults? Do you know somebody in your life who does walk around feeling that they are pretty regularly Offended. We have truly become a society that it was once the home of the free and the land of the brave, or is it the land of the free and the home of the brave? Excuse me. And it is now the land of the offended. People are offended a great deal. Are you offended a great deal? It's amazing how little I'm offended. People send me hate mail. I'm not even offended. You should drop dead. I'm not offended. Loved ones can offend me. I mean, I can get hurt there. I mean, I choose. It's not like I can never be hurt. Of course I could be hurt. But by and large, we choose to be insulted. We choose how to react. Victor Frankl, in one of the, uh, the 5 books that most affected me, Man's Search for Meaning, Said there was one thing, to get very serious for a moment— the whole thing is serious, but to get somber for a moment. He went through a Nazi death camp. So there was only one thing the Nazis could not take from you. They took everything, obviously, including your life, your dignity, everything. But they could not take how you reacted. That is the ultimate freedom that the human being has, how we react To what happens. So you choose, that is the choice. You choose whether or not to be offended. And people regularly are. They take personally what isn't meant personally. And you can't be happy, it just builds your anger. Your anger.
1-800-PRAGER-7766.
I have a feeling that you must know somebody or you are like that, and it is not a good thing. And my point here is even larger than this issue, as often that happens in these matters, and that is the freedom of choice that we have. See, I believe we choose not— in most instances, Not all by any means, and not at any given moment in life, but over the course of a lifetime, happiness is largely a choice. Because why do you think I titled my book Happiness Is a Serious Problem? You know that I've told you the publisher did not like it. HarperCollins was not pleased with the title. They said it's too much of a downer. But I said, is it true or isn't it true? People resonate to truth. It's real. Whenever that is mentioned, when I give a speech, and Mr. Prager is the author of the bestselling book, Happiness Is a Serious Problem, there's always a little rumble of laughter in the audience. It's the laughter of recognition.
Okay?
So here is— this is the great question. I want to see if I can find here. There we go. En una ocasión, durante una cena, me enteré de que uno de los invitados, un hombre de 50 años al que llamaré Bob, tenía un hermano gemelo. Le pregunté, le pregunté. Sí se entendían bien. Fuimos muy cercanos hasta el año pasado, respondió. Next, the Chinese edition. Just kidding, just kidding. There is one, but I can't read it. We'll be back. Take your calls. Are you easily insulted or offended? And or do you know anybody who is? It's a big deal. This could change your life this hour. It's meant to. This is Dennis Prager and the Happiness Hour. One eight Prager seven seven six.
This episode of Time.
Timeless wisdom. We'll continue right after this. Only on Salem Now, featuring one of Charlie Kirk's final interviews, the new documentary Can You Hear Me Now? investigates modern prophets and divine messages shaping our political and cultural destiny.
I would have dreams and then they would come to pass.
Some people absolutely have the gift of prophecy.
If God exists, how would he inject his information into our world? More than likely, he would use humans. Jesus appeared in the dream. I heard a voice and it began to speak to me.
Follow director Matthew Thayer's investigation examining the evidence, weighing today's most prominent prophetic voices against scripture, history, political, and scientific scrutiny.
It is the word of God that needs to be the bedrock of any functioning and flourishing civilization.
Why would God have me be one of the last people to interview Charlie before he died?
Satan would love Christians to just be a spectator. Not engage. Not participate.
Is there something he's trying to say?
Don't miss Can You Hear Me Now? Watch it today at SalemNow.com. SalemNow.com. Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.
Alrighty, y'all, you're listening to The Dennis Prager Show, the Happiness Hour, an hour every week, this time devoted subject of happiness. This is meant to be life-changing, and I should mention to you what I rarely do, But we do have CDs of the best Happiness Hours. And just call the office, 800-225-8584, 800-225-8584, or go to the website, DennisPrager.com. Today is based on a call, actually, that had a big impact on you and me. And I have carried it over to the personal realm. It was more of a macro issue. And I'm not going to repeat what that was about because it would put us on another tangent. But the key is we choose whether or not to be insulted. It is a choice. And if you find yourself regularly offended, it is overwhelmingly likely that it is an issue that you have to deal with and it is not your environment. It means that you're not secure. Or, or you— whatever it might mean. It might mean a whole host of things. Let's take your calls because they, they're very helpful to, to others to hear. 1-800-PRAGER-776. And let's get somebody who acknowledges this in LA, uh, on KRLA. Hello, Alan. Heard you clear your throat. You sound good.
Shalom.
Shalom.
How are you, Dennis?
I'm well, thank you.
Do I get a free knish? No.
Well, What, you like— because I'm Jewish, you think I eat knishes? You see, I'm offended. See, there you are. See, there's a good example, folks.
I'm just kidding.
I know, I know, I'm not offended. That's my point, though. Somebody could be. Go ahead.
Oh yeah, Dennis, I get easily, uh, offended. And it's nice to talk to you. I listen to you all the time.
Uh, I, I get— I take it as an insult when people give me constructive criticism. Uh, maybe it's my stubbornness, or maybe it's, you know— No, no, the truth is most people find it hard to take criticism. But I'll tell you what the good The test is, and some people, by the way, may be offensive. I don't deny that there is offensiveness in the world.
Right. I always feel put down, you know.
Okay, well, that's the thing. You have to know, is the person doing it doing it in order to help you and make you better? For example, I mean, the most obvious is I would imagine any man would be grateful if somebody quietly told him at a social occasion, your fly is open, right? I should say so, yeah. Yes. So, but, but on the other hand, someone could, could feel embarrassed by that person, or, you know, who, you know, what are you, what are you trying to insult me? But, but I mean, that's a great example of, of, of pointing out a flaw that we thank somebody for. Oh yeah, right, right. So you have to decide. I mean, you know, uh, they're like almost every issue in happiness. There, it's, it can be subtle. There are people— if you have someone in your life who is regularly criticizing you, that is not good. That isn't— even if it's loving, it is not good. Can't I hear something good for a change, right? Yes, that is right. So, so, you know, the— I— you may in fact be too easily insulted, but if you do have a person in your life who is constantly criticizing you, That is not good either. I have someone in my life who really, really, uh, who really helps me and, uh, and gives me support and, you know, loves me. So that— That's right. Well, that's good. I'm sorry?
My honey.
Well, good. Well, God bless your honey, and thank you for calling. It's very important. I do want you to understand, folks, it's like the paranoid may in fact have somebody chasing them. So too, the, the insulted may have someone insulting them. Uh, there are spouses who think that their task in life is to constantly criticize their spouse. They say it's loving and so on. Uh, but at a given, at a given point, it's not, it's not good. It just isn't. The ratio of criticism to compliment must be a, a, a small one. You know, uh, or, or the ratio of compliments to, to criticisms. I mean, you have to know that in delivering things. But that's the spousal issue, which is unique in the world. So I'm not going to talk about— you can raise that when you call, but I'm not referring to that largely. I'm referring to it in general. That, you know, well before I ever became a talk show host and, you know, so you could say, well, you know, to the extent that you want to use the term, he's a celebrity, so, you know, Well, of course he's not going to be easily insulted. But you know that's not true. Public figures are often easily insulted. I do get angry if people distort what I say, but that's not because I'm insulted. People write things about me, you know, all the time that are negative. They have no effect on me. What bothers me is if people distort my ideas, because that means that they are hurting people from actually encountering what I really believe. That bothers me, but it's not a personal insult. So that is the issue. Too bad Kelly was— there's a caller named Kelly who has changed, but she had to— but she, you know, got off. And I would have liked to have taken your call, Kelly, because you said you met somebody who was not easily offended and that affected you. By the way, I do wonder, because I do believe that there are male and female traits, and I do wonder if women or men tend to be the more easily insulted. I tend to think that it's women, and the reason is that women more naturally think in the micro realm. Also, men routinely will You know, say tough things to other men and it bounces off. What are you, an idiot? But you, you know, you can never— you can't imagine saying that to a woman. What are you, an idiot? Right? Think about it. How many guys have you said, what are you, a jerk? What are you, some sort of moron? But can you imagine saying that to a woman? I can't imagine it. Isn't that interesting?
All right.
May not be. All right. So you don't find it interesting.
No.
Okay, don't bug me. Uh, and I'm still, I'm still reeling from the pain of the knish line. Kidding, just kidding. But there's an— there would have been an example. What do you mean, all Jews like knishes? See, I'll bet you there are people who could have reacted that way. It makes me laugh, but it is, it is, it is true. How do you pronounce your name? Uh, C-Y-L-E. How do you pronounce it?
It's Kyle.
So that's K-Y-L-E.
Kyle with a C.
Kyle with a C?
Yep.
Did your parents misspell, or it's just the way it came out?
I have, uh, 4 siblings. We're all Cs.
No kidding?
Yeah.
That cracks me up. What are the other siblings' names? Wait, let me, let me try to guess. There would be, uh, Catherine?
Nope.
What are the other siblings?
Uh, Carrie, Chad, Clint, and Callie.
Oh, so you— there are 5 of you?
Yeah. Yep.
And they— that is so funny. Why did your parents— they just like the idea, I guess? Yeah, that cracks me up.
So Kyle, only Kyle with a C, I know.
Yeah, I, I thought, I thought that, uh, Eva had misspelled it, but, uh, I realized she couldn't have misspelled it. It must be deliberate. All right, go ahead, Kyle with a C.
Um, well, first, Dennis, I just wanted to say that, um, you mentioned earlier how you have such great listeners and I just want to say that you really appeal to the good side of me, and since I've started listening to you, I just, I noticed, you know, the voices get louder and they're, they're, um, harder to ignore, you know, on my conscience.
Really? Wow, wow, wow. Hold on, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take you more. That is an unbelievable compliment. Thank you so, so much.
This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.
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Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.
All right.
Good Friday, everybody. You're listening to The Dennis Prager Show. And this is the Happiness Hour. The larger theme of— even the large theme that I'm talking about this Happiness Hour— and Carl with a C, I'll be right back to you. And I am very deeply moved by what you said to me, by the way. And I thank you. Although I ought to talk about the issue of compliments and insults. Folks, remind me if I don't remember to do that, to do that just in a bit. But the larger theme is the power that we should have in our life, over our life, and over our reactions to it. We have no power to avoid a drunk driver. We have no power to avoid You know, a flu that may, that just may, may hit us. I mean, there are things— I don't believe we have unlimited power. It's absurd. It's absolutely absurd. Unfair, unpredictable things happen to people. That is the nature of life. What is that? Was that great John Lennon line? You know, life is what happens when you're making other plans or something like that. So that, that's, that's the— that I understand. But we have tremendous power in the way we choose to react to life. That is where we do have great power. And this is one of many, many examples. If you walk around feeling regularly insulted, put down, then it is, it is your problem. It is your problem. You should have a stronger nature. You should realize that it may not even be objectively true. You know how many times after a speech somebody has gotten up, and I will admit usually a woman, and said, I am offended By what you said. How could you be offended? I didn't even address anything to her. Why is she offended? She's offended because we don't agree. That's why she's offended. All right, back to Kyle. And again, thank you for the kind comment. You're on, my friend Kyle.
Oh, hi. Um, yeah, I just wanted to say I have a friend who's hypersensitive and very easily offended. And it's just, it gets to the point where it's not even fun to be around him. I mean, anything you say, it's like you're walking on eggshells with him all the time. He's just very easily offended.
Well, let me tell you, here is a rule that everybody needs to hear. There is no easier way to lose a friend than to, uh, A, have them walk on eggshells, uh, B, uh, to, uh, feel, uh, to make you feel guilty when you do or don't do something. The whole point of friends, and I would include in that spouses, because they're supposed to be friends, is that you are relaxed in their midst, that they don't place guilt over you. There are friends who are hurt for hundreds of reasons, and then whether they're right or they're wrong, It's very hard to have a friendship with somebody who's constantly hurt by you. So you're probably not going to have a longtime friendship with this guy.
Exactly. And it's like you were talking the other day with high maintenance. It's just, it's a high maintenance relationship almost.
Can you— yeah. In the very arena, Kyle, where it's supposed to be most relaxed. So that's a very important call. And you just gotta find somebody who— listen, you have enough— everybody has enough tension in their life with the world that we don't need it with friends. Right?
Yep.
Okay, Kyle, bless you. Thank you again.
Thank you.
Okay, bye. Yeah, that's— the home and friends are supposed to be havens from the world. And obviously it doesn't always work out that way. A lot of homes have more tension than the world does, but it is— that's what— that's the ideal. I mean, what do you want a friend for if they're constantly making you worry about, well, you know, you didn't say this, or you didn't call then, or you didn't do this? That's very— it's a big deal. If I could write books as often as I would want, I would write a book on a small, almost almost a brochure on friendship. It's one area I have been blessed beyond words my whole life with good male friends. We'll be back in a moment. 1-800-PRAGER-776 is the number to Happiness Hour on The Dennis Prager Show.
Hi, Mr. Prager. My name is James Labati. I'm a longtime listener. I just wanted to say I'm very, very happy that you're still with us, sir. I'm glad you're doing better. And I've missed hearing you on the radio. Unfortunately, now you're on a little too late at night for me. I get up for work at 3:30 in the morning, but God bless you, sir. I hope you're doing well. May he look over you the rest of your life, and I hope to hear you back in a time slot soon where I can listen to you.
Take care.
Bye-bye. Are you enjoying Timeless Wisdom? We'd love to hear from you. Call 877-243-7776 and leave a review, share your thoughts, Or just even an encouraging word for Dennis. Your voicemail might just make it on the show. That's 877-243-7776. That's 877-243-7776. Thanks for listening and for your support.
You're listening to The Dennis Prager Show, The Happiness Hour. People who get easily offended— not only do people get— who get easily offended, not only are they unhappy, Because they walk— how could you be happy if you walk around thinking you're getting insulted all the time? It's fairly obvious. Hey, by the way, why is this interesting how almost all the calls on the board are from California? The Californians get insulted. You know what it is? I know what it is. I know what it is. Californians are more in touch with their feelings. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what it is. Anyway, 1-800-PRAGER-776. Really though, it's facts. It is interesting because we get, as you know from General, the calls come from around the country. This is imbalanced on the California part of the society. Not only do you get unhappy if you walk around constantly insulted and offended, But you make everybody else miserable. So that's the— that, by the way, that is one of the beauties of unhappiness and happiness. They're both contagious. The unhappy make others unhappy and the happy make others happy. See, either way, choose which you decide to spread. All righty, and let's go to Joe. In LA. Joe, Dennis Prager on KRLA. Hi.
Good morning, Dennis. How you doing?
Good, thanks.
I was calling, I had a situation with— I have 2 sisters, one older, just slightly younger than me, and another one that's about 10 years younger. My younger— my older sister got felt slighted by my younger sister because she wouldn't attend a ceremony at her house even though she was going to be in the nearby area, even though my younger sister was coming from out of town. In dealing with my older sister who felt upset about it, And insulted, I ran across a sign I saw in front of a church with a saying. It said, he who angers you controls you. And I felt— when I read that— I'm an atheist, by the way— I read that and it just struck me that that's how I've lived my life. And in dealing with my older sister, I expressed this to her, that, you know, she needs to deal with it in this way, and a lot of things. And 2 weeks later, when I went up to visit her, she had written it down and put it on her refrigerator.
Oh, that's a nice thing you did for her.
So I felt when I walked in, I saw it and I mentioned it to her. I just kind of laughed. I said, well, that's great. And she said that that's what she's been doing the last couple weeks and she's felt a lot better.
And well, that, that, that's great. He who angers you controls you.
Yes, it was on the front of a church. They had like a billboard.
Like, yeah, no, I know. I used to— yeah, you see those ideas out there. Yeah, well, it had an effect. Well, I guess, and he who offends you controls you too.
Absolutely.
I guess even more so. I mean, there are, you know, it's interesting about the anger because there is a place for anger in life, but I think more on the macro level, I have tended to be much more angry. I mean, I'm angry at, you know, Saddam Hussein.
I agree.
But that's a different sort of thing, you know, because that's moral anger. It's not personal, as it were. But anyway, thank you, Joe. I appreciate the call.
You're welcome. Have a good day.
You too. Appreciate that. And let's go to Linda in— whoops, whoops, that one. Linda in Norwalk, California. Hi, Linda. Dennis Prager.
Hi. I heard the earlier caller about the friend who he feels like he has to walk on eggshells.
Yeah, could you just speak up a drop?
Is that better?
Yeah, I think that's what Sean tells me. Okay, yeah, go ahead.
Anyway, that's the case with my mother. She's easily offended about everything. An example I gave was a birthday card. If she does not get a birthday card, or if it comes a day late, she won't speak to you for months. And these are from her children.
Are you serious?
I am serious.
For months?
Yes. Because what she says to you, if you loved me, you would make sure the card got here on time, or you would send it.
You know, that's very interesting. Do you know that? That is, that is very interesting. I think we owe our parents a birthday card, but you know, or some acknowledgement. We do. Uh, uh, I, so I understand that. On the other hand, she's wrong of, if you loved me.
Well, that's how she starts.
I know. And all that does is estrange the child or, or, or a parent or a friend or whomever.
Right.
If you loved me, you would X, uh, uh, you know, with the cards and so on. I mean, there are things. If you loved me, you would treat me kindly. That's fair, you know, but, but I'm thinking, you know, that, that's a general rule. If you— but on the card issue, look, we owe people what they value. If your parent values a birthday card— but I— let me think, as a— are you a parent?
No.
Okay, you see, it's interesting. That's why it's interesting that I asked you that.
I—
one of the great things about becoming a parent is that you get more empathy for your parents. It just— it's inevitable because you're now— you have finally been put into their position. So, uh, I— let's see, I would be— if my kids did nothing for my birthday, I, I would be hurt.
Well, in, in my case, it's, it's just that like one time, maybe twice, Somebody forgot to send her a card and sent it later. That does not count with her. You have to do it so that she gets it on the day, otherwise we're dirt.
Well, yeah, no, she overreacts. There is no question. I mean, especially— so what, you know, it's a day late or something. But I do want to say, though, thank you very much for the call. This is— see, you have to understand, folks, when I give you an idea or even a rule of life, like If you get offended too easily, uh, you'll never be happy and you must work on it. That doesn't mean that nothing should ever hurt you. And that's why this was important. I would be hurt if my kids did not acknowledge my birthday. Okay, I hereby announce that fact. So I, I do understand. That there are times where you can be hurt, and a child needs to know that, that this is what the parent values. Now, at the same time, the parent can't overreact and has to understand that a kid who may feel nothing for them will be very dutiful in sending the card on time. He'll have his secretary make sure that it goes out. So, you know, that's why life is complex. Life is. And remember too that families are their own set of rules. And while general rules apply to family, there are entanglements of emotion in families that make the rules more difficult. To apply to. I'm thinking in general, if you walk around offended. We'll be back in a moment. 1-800-PRAGER-776, The Happiness Hour.
This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this. Only on Salem Now, featuring one of Charlie Kirk's final interviews, the new documentary Can You Hear Me Now? investigates modern prophets and divine messages shaping our political and Cultural destiny. I would have dreams and then they would come to pass.
Some people absolutely have the gift of prophecy.
If God exists, how would he inject his information into our world? More than likely, he would use humans. Jesus appeared in the dream. And I heard a voice and it began to speak to me.
Follow director Matthew Thayer's investigation examining the evidence, weighing today's most prominent prophetic voices against scripture, history, political, and scientific scrutiny.
It is the word of God that needs to be the bedrock of any functioning and flourishing civilization.
Why would God have me be one of the last people to interview Charlie before he died?
Satan would love Christians to just be a spectator, not engage, not participate.
Is there something he's trying to say?
Don't miss Can You Hear Me Now? Watch it today at SalemNow.com. SalemNow.com. Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.
Okay, my friends, last We're going to take a segment of the Happiness Hour here. Okay, let's try to get a call in before I give some summary. And I'm going to give you an example of how Alan continually offends me. Continually. It's constant. And yet I don't feel offended. But that's coming up in a moment. Tricia, Fountain Valley, California. Hello, Tricia. Dennis Prager.
Hi, Dennis.
Hi.
Hi.
Thank you for taking my call.
I thank you for calling.
Well, this is great. I was listening and heard the caller who spoke about his friend that he has to walk on eggshells around, and I have been experiencing this with my son, seeing that it's affecting him and his friendships, and have been trying to help him and realized as this guy was talking that that is largely myself, and this is probably where my son has learned it. It's hard to admit that, but I think that is the case, and I guess You know, knowing that, you know, I kind of dealt with that with my dad a little bit and having to walk on eggshells. And I'm thinking, if this is a generational thing, I want it to stop with me and certainly with him, because I know it does cause a great deal of unhappiness.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I guess my question might be, you know, what, as you've, you know, talked about this or spoken with people about it, what tends to be the underlying cause for being easily offended? I would say, yeah, we're highly sensitive, you know, we get our feelings Hurt easily or, you know, take things personally.
You know what? You know what? That is so complex, that question, or the answer is so complex. Yeah, I am going to have that. Alan, mark this down. When the next time I have Dr. Marmer, the psychiatrist I interview on the show, that'll be the topic.
Great.
That is, that is a great topic, and he'll have better answer than I do. But, but I, I, I do have a lot of answers. I just have more answers than time on that. I do believe that, first of all, it is very important, remember, to use one's mind and not just one's heart in these matters. To ask, should I— was it meant to offend me?
That's a great question.
Uh, a second one, in general, does this person treat me Well, people must earn our trust, and, and, and if they do, they, they're allowed to have it. The, the— otherwise we will end up with no one in our life because there's no question I offend, uh, my friends if they want to be offended. I'm sure that they could figure out ways I have offended them. There's no doubt about it. But they know that it's the last thing I ever want to do.
That's a great point because I have often had people close to me say, will you please give me the benefit of the doubt that—
That's right.
My intentions were not to offend you.
And some people deserve the benefit of the doubt and some people don't. There you go. That was good, Trishanna, and you gave me a topic with Dr. Marmer. Alan never says goodbye before hanging up the phone with me. Never. You know how offended I feel? I'm continuing to talk and I'm talking into air. And the answer is, I'm not offended because I know he loves me and I love him. Stay tuned.
On tomorrow's episode of Dennis Teaches the Torah.
I don't hesitate to be critical of aspects of, of Jewish life. One thing Jews can say, and with general pride, is that Physical aggression, as opposed to verbal aggression, is not a general Jewish characteristic. Judaism has done a stupendous job in domesticating its males. In fact, one may argue it did too good a job. A little more macho among Jewish men couldn't hurt, okay? In some cases.
Join us tomorrow to hear more on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. We want to take just a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. Go to LifeAudio.com to find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network, including shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, And more.
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