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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 everybody, Dennis Prager and Julie Hartman, the Dennis and Julie Podcast Christmas special, but worthy of being heard at any time of the year, even if you're listening in July. The points to be made will be worthy of hearing in the summer. But I do have a number of thoughts, and I'll begin with one biggie. So I've made— oh, I can't remember when I didn't do this. I would say to strangers, Merry Christmas.

As a Jew.

As a Jew. Oh, yes. That's right. It's important to note I say that Christmas is not my religious holiday. Hanukkah is my religious holiday. But I say in America, Christmas is a national holiday. People don't realize that. And I'm a member of the American nation. So I honor, not only do I honor my fellow citizens, most of whom are celebrating Christmas, I am honoring, well, I am honoring my fellow citizen. That's my point. Most of them are celebrating Christmas. Why would I not say Merry Christmas? I have passion on this, as you could probably tell. But so I'm going to tell you why I have passion later. I want— the point I want to make is a sad one. Increasingly over the years, let's say 10 years ago, if I'd say Merry Christmas, let's say to a flight attendant as I leave, because they're trained, just say Happy Holidays. But if you would have said to a flight attendant 10 years ago, Merry Christmas, as you walk off the plane, they would say Merry Christmas to you. Or to a bank teller, or to even a stranger, or to your waiter or waitress. Now, increasingly, I get no— I do not get even as a response to Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.

Do you get you too?

No.

What do you get?

I will get either nothing or thank you or happy holidays to you. I mentioned this to Sean earlier, and I think it was Sean, and it was either Sean. It's a very funny thing to say, either Sean or Alan. Because they don't look similar in their disposition, right? They're both humans. That's basically it.

Fantastic.

Yes, but you're right. Correct. Anyway, uh, so he, he was lamenting the fact— what did he say? Something to the effect, people have been paralyzed. I don't know if that's the word he used. That was the word he used. Yeah, there's a paralysis The indoctrination is so deep that if you say Merry Christmas, you're not inclusive. This is the terminology of the very pathological world of the left, and it is pathological. Something so beautiful as Merry Christmas— did I ever tell you the story of the, of the woman at a law school in Indiana who wrote against— worked against having a Christmas tree in the main building lobby because it wasn't inclusive. I— did I tell you about this?

No, but there was an incident last year, and I bet there'll be another one this year, where at a public library in Dedham, Massachusetts, the library board said not only that Christmas, having a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations up is not inclusive, but it's indicative of white supremacy or God knows what. And they took the Christmas tree down at the public library. But then I think there was such a backlash that they put it back up. But still—

White supremacy?

Yes. I have a lot to say on that.

For the record, Jesus wasn't white. Just for the record.

Even if he was white. I agree. Even if he was white.

Yes, 100%.

The values of Christianity Christianity are not white supremacist.

Christianity is most vibrant in Africa.

Also, Friedrich Nietzsche, the German 19th century philosopher who I talk a lot about on my show, including with Spencer Klavan on our Thinker of the Month series, everyone should watch it. He was this guy who thought that basically you divide the world between good and evil. Friedrich Nietzsche divided the world between the strong and the weak. And he thought basically if you're a good human being, you'll be strong and you'll kick everyone else's derriere, and if you're weak, well, you're just weak. And so he mockingly called Christianity a slave religion because he said Christianity is what slaves used to argue their way out of slavery, and Christianity was the main vehicle of thought that ended the practice of slavery. Now, Nietzsche was saying it mockingly and disparagingly because in Nietzsche's mind, if you're a slave, then you deserve to be a slave because you're weak. And if you're a slave owner, you deserve to be a slave owner because you're strong. So he was saying it disparagingly of Christianity, that it's a slave religion, but people miss the whole point that Christianity is the vehicle of thought that got rid of the horrors of slavery. Isn't that amazing for all that we obsess about it in our country, that people don't understand that fundamental part of history? Drives me insane when they call it a white supremacist religion.

I don't— I want to really concentrate on many issues.

No, no, go ahead with what you were saying. This is a digression.

No, but I now need my digression because Candace Owens made a video for PragerU years ago, A Short History of Slavery, one of our 5-minute videos. NBC News, which is another subject we should talk about, but I don't want to get into it now. I do want to get into it, but not now. Did a 33-minute documentary on PragerU.

I watched it in its entirety.

Oh, you did?

I did, of course.

So I, and I have now made a nearly 2-hour rebuttal with, with Marissa Streit, the CEO of PragerU. People will have to watch it. It will teach people how distorted mainstream news is, using this as an example. Anyway, she, she points out in the video, with all the anti-white talk, people don't know it's whites who ended slavery. That's just a fact. But the left doesn't ask, is it true? Because truth is not a left-wing value. It's one of the mottos of my life in understanding the world. They don't care whether it's true. They care whether it sounds good. Whether it's consistent with their ideology. Their ideology is whites stink. So, so the fact that blacks had slavery as much as whites had slavery, the fact that Arabs had more slavery than Christians, none of this, none of this matters.

And that slavery still exists today. Okay, not, yes, not in the Western world.

That's correct. Anyway, there are a million slaves, perhaps more, but at the very least, Frederick Douglass, today, the great great, great human being and great black leader who grew up as a slave.

You just read his biography?

Yes, his autobiography. And he, in one of his speeches, he says, look, let's just be honest. I'm paraphrasing. It was whites who abolished slavery in this world, the whites of England and then America. That's Frederick Douglass.

Christianity.

That's right. These were Christians. It was a Christian movement.

Of course, you know, the Underground Railroad and obviously there there were a lot of Black slaves in their abolitionist movements who certainly contributed and were instrumental.

Yes, but without—

But they did not have the power.

And the ideology was supplied. You couldn't end slavery with Blacks alone. It was not— You couldn't end the Holocaust with Jews alone.

Right.

Okay, and I'm not— Even though they were the victims. Yes, exactly. So it's that, that this NBC featured that as an example of the untruths that PragerU tells, that whites abolished slavery. To NBC News, that's a lie.

Well, I watched that, by the way. There were several. Lester Holt did one on NBC and then Meet the Press did another. And so I think they were taking similar footage, but kind of repurposing it. So, so the one I saw was the Meet the Press one where they did— I actually thought it was longer than 30 minutes. They did. I thought about—

it wasn't so interesting. It seemed longer.

Yes. Well, they did half the time on PragerU, going to PragerU, interviewing you, interviewing Marissa, walking around the amazing compound that is PragerU. And then they went back to their studio and they had on the superintendent of education of the Department of Education of Oklahoma on.

Ryan Walters.

Yes. And then a— I thought she was a psychologist who was like the anti-PragerU person. Anyway, putting that aside, that's the one that I, I just want to make people clear. That's one that I watched. And my impression wasn't that they were saying that what was said in the video was not true. Perhaps I missed something. Maybe they were. But What I understood to be their main objection was that it doesn't tell the whole story, that Candace Owens saying white people ended slavery. The woman said something like, erases the horrors of slavery. Like, why don't you acknowledge the horrors?

You're right. That was a big factor. But even when they interviewed me for NBC, they said, isn't that defensive? So I recall them saying it under the rubric of also not true, but it doesn't matter even if they just say it's not the whole story. Of course it's not the whole story, but it's the whole story of the abolition of slavery.

Yes, that's the purpose of the 5-minute video. You can't capture everything.

Right.

So also, like, I mean, what are we, 5-year-olds? Obviously everybody knows and understands how horrible slavery was.

Right.

I mean, I just, I don't understand that argument.

Listen, if there were, as a Jew, let me say, if there were an ideology that had stopped the Holocaust, I would be very interested in just publicizing that ideology. There wasn't, unfortunately.

Right, right. And also the purpose of PragerU, and you cut in if you think I'm not synopsizing it correctly, 'cause you would know better than anyone. The purpose of PragerU is to supplement what you're learning in school and kind of give you the perspective that they are not teaching you. And we know in schools, as they should, they are teaching about the horrors of slavery. But the whole point is what they're not teaching in schools is that— is that the ideology Christianity, which—

or put it in context, it was universal. That is very relevant.

Exactly. And so what you're doing is you're telling the story that they're not telling. And that doesn't mean that you're ignoring or whitewashing or God knows what the horrors of slavery, but in your 5 minutes you're saying this is what they're not telling you.

Is left. And the left does not want you to think well of the West, to think well of whites, to think well of West. And by the way, I don't think well of whites. I don't think poorly of whites. I don't think well of whites. Stalin was white and Hitler was white and the abolitionists of slavery were white. So The founders of America were white. It doesn't mean anything. White is not the issue. It's the issue to them.

Right.

Do you realize NBC had 33 minutes on us? Almost the whole thing was about race. 1% of PragerU was about race.

That's what I said to you. I called you the other day after I watched that and I said it's absurd because they make it out to be like this is the— but it's— but to your point, it's, it's the lens through which they view the entire world. It's all about race, right? And I mean, I talk about this with Prager or with people all the time about PragerU. They have videos on, I mean, Robert Florczak. That's how I got introduced to Robert Florczak, who's one of my best friends, about why modern art is so bad, why classical art is so good. Dr. Stephen Marmor, a prominent UCLA psychologist, has a video, psychiatrist, excuse me, how to grow up or time to grow up or something. You have, you do the president series. We have, it's crazy.

We have more on character and happiness and gratitude and forgiveness than on race.

You have one recently, why you should honor your parents.

Yes.

I mean, it's like, right. And so they zero in on that, which I—

which I think is interesting. Because they're obsessed with it.

Right.

Anyway, back to Christmas. Yeah.

Yeah.

So Merry Christmas, everybody. No, no, no. The tangents are great as long as we come back. And tangents are great because they're important and life consists of tangents.

Right.

Okay, okay. Do you know what I just heard in my earphones?

Uh, do I want to know what you just heard?

No, you don't, but I will repeat it and people will then understand the tribulations that I undergo on a daily basis at work.

How about me?

Tangerines are also— what did you say? Tangerines, like tangents, are great. So are tangerines. That is what Sean McConnell interrupted the show to put into my earphone.

Well, he, he's so quick. I just got—

Well, no, no, no, that, that was not an example of quick. Yeah, that was an example of pathetic. I'll tell you, but he is very quick.

I'll tell you an example of when he was particularly quick. I was guest hosting for you recently and I did this segment which was totally in the spirit of laughing and having fun, where I went through names of the theses at Harvard University.

I think that was brilliant.

Which get awarded Hoopes Prizes, which, which is the highest honor you can get at Harvard for your thesis. And not only do you carry bragging rights of winning the Hoopes Prize, you get $5,000. Okay, so this is— and they give like, I don't know, 60 a year or something. By the way, I've had friends who've won the Hoopes Prizes and they've written great theses. It's not that all of them are bad, but I would say about half of them seem to be totally absurd. And I read the titles. One of them was called Transgender Rome. The other one was called Shank 3 Defects in Autistic-like Cognitively Deficient Male Mice. Another one was like—

How do you memorize that?

I just, I remember. Well, those are not the exact words, but I don't know. It makes an impression, those theses. Another one was like, what's Samaritan Sumerian or Samaritan astrology tells you about Palestinian misfortune. It's like these theses are ridiculous. And I talked about at Harvard how actually one of the main reasons why I didn't write a thesis is that I went into the room, the inaugural thesis meeting of the semester for history majors, and we all just to check it out and we all went around in a circle in the the professor said, why doesn't everyone go around and give a 1 to 2 minute synopsis of what you think you're going to write your thesis about? And people would give these answers, like the titles of what I just— right, they would say like, I want to study the intersection of race and gender in medieval basket weaving practices in central Guam. And it's like, what? Like, this is what you're writing your thesis on?

Anyway, I gotta read that.

Oh, it's Yeah, well, I can't believe you haven't already, but I just thought that was the whole thing was comical and ridiculous, so I didn't write a thesis. But anyway, to bring it to Sean, he in my ear as I'm guest hosting for you, I said, we should make this a segment. And he said, we should call it Thesis or Feces.

That was good.

It was good. Okay, back to Christmas.

So this is very— it's a very important subject. So many issues. Number one, not in importance, but number one, just as it comes to mind based on what I had told you, fewer and fewer people— it's already decades that people don't volunteer Merry Christmas to a stranger. That, that's, that's gone, baby. But now it's become they don't even respond to Merry Christmas with you'd think, to mix metaphors, it's now kosher. Once somebody says to you, Merry Christmas, okay, I'm now free to say to that individual, Merry Christmas. But the power— this is one of the— this is point number one that I'm making. The power of society is virtually infinite to influence the human being in the wrong directions. Now, it can influence people in right directions, obviously, right? But the, the power of society to have you believe drivel— it is drivel that Merry Christmas is not inclusive. And I, I, I It is the most inclusive religion to ever exist. But even if it weren't, it doesn't matter. It's my society says Merry Christmas. And I give a Jewish example because a lot of Jews think it's not inclusive. I'm embarrassed to say, as a Jew. And so in Israel, okay, the radio, the TV in Israel On Friday night says Shabbat Shalom. That's just what they say. Is that not inclusive? 20% of Israel is not Jewish. So Shabbat Shalom, Sabbath peace, is not inclusive. Yet on the street, does anybody think not to say Shabbat Shalom to a stranger lest the stranger not observe Shabbat? Right? Or The Jewish New Year, Shana Tova, good year. So everybody says to everybody, Shana Tova, but it's not the new year for a Muslim. It's not the new year for a Christian. It's not the new year for an atheist. But so only in America. It's a very important example. And especially an American Jew who thinks, oh, Merry Christmas is not inclusive. Okay, so why is Shana Tova not okay in Israel? But all— by the way, it's a great rule of life. I followed this all of my life. When I make an argument, I instinctively say, now put the shoe on your foot, right? And let's see how it fits. So number one, the power of society. It's the anti— and it is— it's the anti-Christian sentiment in the West. Of the highly educated. That's where it's coming from, from the cesspools known as universities. That's where it started, by people who are shallow. People see, not only are universities the incubators of poisonous ideas, they're also— people don't realize because it's— they don't want to think about this. Most professors are deeply shallow, superficial thinkers. That's, that's what it's painful to think about, because if professors at universities are shallow and superficial, we're screwed by— and we are, by the way. That's correct. But they are, they are shallow and superficial and very unimpressive, I might add.

And we saw that on display at the congressional hearings with the Harvard, MIT, and Penn professors.

Putting aside what they said.

That's right. —whole show on what they said, right? How they were trying to make these First Amendment arguments to essentially say that calling for the genocide of Jews depends on the context. Now, if their university policy was, we will protect speech that the First Amendment protects and we will punish speech that the First Amendment punishes, then that actually would have been the accurate answer, that it does require context. But the question that they were being asked was, what do your university policies say about calling for the genocide of Jews? And they don't have a First Amendment policy. They have speech codes. And it's obscene that they said that it depends on the context when at the same time under their speech codes, they say that you are being abusive if you misgender someone. But putting that aside, I just wanna make that clear that I did a whole analysis on all this on my show, which everyone should watch. But they were just like, even if you just had no idea what they were talking about, they were so unimpressive. They were, first of all, that former Penn president, I should say, was so smug. Did you see her like smile when she was being asked? She just had this look. Look of like, I'm so smart and these people are so stupid. Congresswoman, it depends on the context. She was so smug and they were not eloquent. They were shaky. They were mealy-mouthed. And I was just watching that and I was going, do you look at these people and you think those are leaders? Those are really principled, intelligent, articulate, deep thinkers. Do you look at them and think that? No. No, you don't.

There was a meme that I saw. I think I got it right. You know, Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf?

Yes. If I didn't know that, I think— Yeah, you're right. You would have grounds to fire me.

That's true. So— And I've read it.

What? Yeah, I've read it.

Not many people recently, actually.

Recently.

All right. We'll come back to that too. Well, I just want to— we can let it go. The meme that showed the book, mine context.

I know, I know. You saw that? Of course. The memes, the memes have been like the only good thing, the reprieve in this whole situation. But, you know, you were just talking about how universities, you said it so well, are incubators, I think, was the word you used, of bad ideas. That's one of my qualms with them. But another qualm is that they just don't teach basic things. It's not only that they put bad ideas in your head, but they're more focused on teaching you, for instance, in history classes, how many satraps, which are like communities, there were in the Achaemenid, i.e., Persian Empire 500 years ago than like, basic fundamental truths about history. Like, more than 500, because—

or that's true, that probably about 1,000 more, because if they remember, they became Muslim.

That's right, you're right, you're right. Okay, um, but they, they teach it sort of—

and it was a great empire, the Persian Empire. It was. Darius was one of the greatest moral leaders in, in the ancient world.

They— and I'm not saying that learning about the Persian Empire isn't, isn't worthy of of learning about. Of course it is. But they, they focus— I mean, it's kind of apropos what I was just talking about with the Thesis or Feces segment. They focus on such minutia, and then you don't— like, you walk away kind of having a very disjointed, uh, you know, a lot about a little when you graduate a university. Yes, but you don't know the— like, you don't know the basic things, right? Exactly. You know, like, if my child went to high school and took a year-long US history class and only could really walk away with understanding that the United States of America is unique compared to other countries, I would be happy. I would hope that they would learn more. But if that would be like the one thing that my child would take away, that the American experiment has been extraordinary and above and beyond anything that any other culture has ever accomplished, I go, you know what? It was worth my tuition if I'm sending them to a private school. But you like, you don't, you don't even learn that. I didn't, I didn't even realize that when I graduated from high school. That's right. And that, that is so fundamental.

And so to bring up— somebody said that in your high school, or at least today they would be considered a white supremacist.

And but they don't teach like they should have at high school and college, especially in the United States, mandatory classes on Christian theology, putting aside whether or not students believe. It's kind of this whole Merry Christmas conversation. It's like, even if you're not a Christian, this is our nation. This is a national holiday. We say Merry Christmas. They in American schools should teach people about Christianity because it has been the basis of our value system. And also, 2 billion people celebrate this religion. It's something that you ought to know in order to be an informed citizen. You know, you told me recently, and this was astonishing, that only like 45% of American young people know what Auschwitz is. I'll make a bet for you. If you went up to— if you took a poll of young Americans and you said, what does Christmas celebrate? I don't know if they would be able to answer you. Really? I don't think they would be. I don't think— Maybe, maybe the majority would, but I think there would be a significant double-digit contingent who would say, well, it's Christianity, but what exactly is it? What is— oh gosh, what is it? I think they would struggle to identify that it's Jesus Christ.

What percentage of your fellow students at Harvard, and you only graduated 2 years ago. Less. Less?

Less than 2 years ago, yeah. Year and a half ago.

Amazing.

I know. Okay, I'm getting older.

Yeah, I know, it's clear. So, uh, what percentage you think could name the four gospels?

I could not name the four gospels when I graduated a year and a half ago. Wow. I could not. No, no, I mean, I, I'm, I'm not wagging my finger.

I— 50 years ago, 90% of the students—

oh, I bet I could not name them. Prior to encountering your Bible commentary, I didn't know who Abraham was. I, I— that's a great point. I didn't know. That's right, they don't know who Abraham is. I, I would understand the Adam and Eve. I think like most people know the Adam and Eve story. They don't, but vaguely, but super vaguely. I mean, I never heard of Cain and Abel, never heard of Isaac or Jacob. I've had to do— I call it my second education. I, over the past year and a half, have been a fiend, as you know, as far as reading. Like I inhale books now. I read like 2 a week and it's fun. I also do it for my job, but I do it for fun. But it's amazing how I've had to get up to speed on these things that I didn't learn. Like, that's my point. In college, you should have a mandatory class where you don't need to get into the depths of theology, but just basic things. What are the gospels? You know what? Who is Abraham? Who's Abraham? What are the Ten Commandments? You know what? Where? How? How? How was Jesus conceived? You know, like, just, just basic stuff. Again, just to be an informed citizen. That's my whole reason why I got your Bible commentary when I was a, when I was a sophomore in college. I got it because I knew that I didn't know this stuff and I just wanted to be informed. And then you not only made me informed, you also made me religious.

That's an achievement. It's good for the world that I did. So I want to go back. I'm in charge of going back to the main road. Oh, no, no, no. I'm in charge of exiting. That's fine. It's sometimes it's the opposite.

It's tangent hour.

So the non-inclusive charge fascinates me. So if I say to you Merry Christmas and you're not a Christian, okay, aren't I actually including you?

Wait, I'm sorry, say that one. Start from the beginning.

Is my wishing you a Merry Christmas including you under Christmas? Isn't not saying to you non-inclusive? We have accepted leftist lies as if they're truths because anything repeated enough is accepted. So I'll give you an example. So, you know, the one thing I brag about is I've been to 130 countries, which is an achievement. So I get a kick out of mentioning it. So one of the things that I have dealt with is who do I think are the friendliest groups of them?

I'd be very curious to hear that. Oh, you never heard me?

No. No. Okay. So I have theories on that. One of them is Puerto Ricans. Yeah. I found Puerto Ricans extremely friendly. One of the reasons was basically anywhere you'd go on the island, if they are having a birthday party, they'd invite you. So really?

Yes. I gotta go to Puerto Rico.

You do, actually. There's no question they would invite you. I mean, if they invited me, they'll certainly invite you.

So, well, let me just— why? They're friendly. No, but why did you say they'd certainly invite me?

Because you're a cute young woman. The fact that you had to ask that question is worthy of an entire Dennis and Julie Anyway, anyway, I truly didn't understand why you said that. And you know what the joke is? There is not a single viewer or listener who didn't understand it. Okay, I know you didn't. I know, I agree with you. I know you didn't. It's charming. It's totally charming. Okay, so A, come to our birthday party is inclusive. It's not your birthday is exclusive. When I include you in my celebration, aren't I being inclusive?

Well, it's the same thing where we're told now that it's bigoted to ask people if they have an accent, where they're from, or if they look mixed racially. It's not human. Not human. Yes. You like to, to ask them. But that's being included.

I thought, I thought that we're supposed to be aware of if the left says it, it's either a lie or makes no sense. That's an example. If you're insulting somebody, if you ask where they're from, you're insulting them if you don't ask where they're from. I've been to 130 countries. I don't speak 130 languages. I speak 4. That's it. So I've been to, I've been to a lot of places where I didn't know anything about their language, right? And, and so they'd say, where are you from? In English, because they, they knew I didn't speak their language, or if I did speak their language, I would have some accent. And I was thrilled they asked that. That means they're interested in me. To not ask a person with an accent where they're from is an insult, just like the inclusive. It's the opposite.

It's all opposite. It is all opposite.

It's all opposite.

Well, that's, that's one of the things that fascinates me. And I actually have a running list of things that are inversions to your point, or opposites, and also just these examples of what I call doublethink, how you're supposed to be aware of people's— very aware of people's race and their ethnic backgrounds, but then you can't, you shouldn't ask them. Which is demonstrating that you're aware you're supposed to be inclusive of people. But then to your point, you can't say Merry Christmas, even though that is a very inclusive thing to say. You're supposed to amplify the voices of and protect women, but there's no such thing as a woman. The U.S. is systemically racist and it's treated minorities so horribly. But we should let everyone in. Yes, I'm literally going through my head.

I will add to your list. That's a very important list. How about this? Our greatest strength is diversity, and the happiest countries are Finland and Denmark, two of the least diverse countries on earth. That's a good one.

I'll give you another one that has to do with diversity. Of course, there's the one that's, you know, diversity's so great until it's diversity of thought. But this one always fascinated me in college, even before I was conservative. They tell you that, that, these campuses are so diverse and you should take advantage of the diversity and meet all these different people who are different. But then they also encourage you to flock to these affinity groups and colleges and universities and not just, not just higher education, but jobs. I have friends that work in investment banking and these, in these corporations, they have AAPI groups, Black groups, Asian. You don't know? No, I don't know. AAPI, Dennis Prager. I don't know. Get woke. Asian American Pacific Islander, which, by the way, even Richard Hanania, who you had on your show, wrote this book, The Origins of Woke, and then I had him on my show. And he talks about how the— I don't need to give the whole history, but basically he talks about how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 impelled the government to make these categories of race. And so like AAPI, Asian American Pacific Islander, That encompasses a lot of different people. It means nothing. It means nothing. And he explains that so well in his book. Like these, there are these, these terms are actually kind of offensive because it basically, it takes like a Sharpie and it draws a circle around a map and goes, all these people are similar and they should all affinity. And so again, I know I'm kind of going on and on here with this, but like, it's so amazing. There are so many of these examples of like, This doublethink, even that is another one that like it's bigoted to think of people as all the same from the same continent, but then that's what they do. They group everyone, like even the idea of a Black affinity group. There are 54 countries in Africa and there's Haiti and there's Jamaica. I mean, being Black is not a monolith. Like it's crazy. It's crazy. Anyway, I should make a list of all of those things. A, the inversions, you know, they call things racist when they often practice things that are racist. Advocate.

Practice makes them hypocritical. Advocate means that they're not telling the truth.

So there are these inversions, but then there are also these double-think examples. So back to the—

I'm sorry. No, I have no issue. I think they're all apt. Okay, good.

I'm glad. You know, I'll ask you after.

Could we give you what? He has just asked for a Christmas gift that I not hit the mic and you not hit the table.

When I guest hosted for you, I hit the mic and I made a joke. I said, well, when you guest host for Dennis, you have to take on some of his mannerisms. That's well done.

Thank you. I like that. Thank you. So take that, Sean. Do I really hit the table? See, he's not— he doesn't say Merry Christmas anymore. He's just laughing.

It's so amazing we don't notice the things we— do I really hit the table?

That's what he claims. I have no— I have no— I think he's lying— awareness of it.

But yes, bring us back. The—

that inclusive thing. So I was telling you about the law school in Indiana, right? Yep. So this woman writes this article, it's not inclusive to have a Christmas tree. I mean, we're not even talking about a cross, we're not even talking about the word Christmas, just a Christmas tree. Holy secular societies even have Christmas trees. So it's not inclusive. So I invited her on, and this was in a time where she obviously either couldn't or didn't do homework on who I was and decided to come on a national radio show. Uh-oh. And she— I felt actually a little bad for her because I had no sympathy for her article at all. I was very respectful, but I said to her, you know, I just want you to know I'm a Jew and I want you to have— I want my college to have a Christmas tree. It's Christmas. Why do you think— and this woman was not Jewish, she's just a leftist— why do you think that I would be offended by a Christmas tree? Explain it to me. I don't get it. The country celebrates Christmas. I am a member of that country. What'd she say? If I— and I didn't say this, but I could have said— if I am that offended as a Jew by a Christmas tree, I don't belong here. I should be in a Jewish society and I need to get my head checked. I mean, I mean, it's beyond belief. The vast majority of my fellow citizens have celebrate Christmas and I am going to object to a Christmas tree. If that is not narcissism, but leftism and narcissism are twins. When a guy says I'm a girl and he can and competes in women's sports, that's That's not trans, that's narcissism. I matter. All of female sports doesn't matter. I matter. It's pure— it's narcissism is regarded generally as a psychological problem. Yep. On the left, it is an ideological conviction narcissism. I matter, you don't. My society could go to hell. If I don't like a Christmas tree, no Christmas tree. I am all that matters. That's what kids are taught, and a whole generation has been taught, and that's why people give me crickets when I say Merry Christmas. So we've come full circle to the phenomenon of people afraid to say it, even to people who say it to them. When I now say Merry Christmas, I feel like I have made some radically profound— forget profound— radically disturbing ideological commitment. That's how bad it is.

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Well, a lot of disagreements with the left are called existential. So if you say there are only two genders, you will cause trans to commit suicide. So it's an existential threat. If you say that there is hysteria over global warming without even denying that there is global warming, that is an existential threat. The existence of humanity is at stake. Over— that everything is exaggerated exponentially. It is the world of panic. You disagree with us, it's death. That's it. And it works. That was my point about crickets when I say Merry Christmas. It works. Let me add another thing about Christmas. And again, Remember, folks, I am not only a Jew, I am a committed religious Jew. I love Christmas. I love it. It's the greatest part of the year in my country. My country is the United States of America. It is the greatest part of the year. I love the music. I love the ambience. I love the decorations. I love the whole ethos of the time. I like that people are buying each other gifts. I love that people have Christmas trees. I, I, it's, it's all— why wouldn't I like it? You're not— I will, I will go on a limb— you are not healthy if you dislike it. There is, there is a— there, yes, there is a, a dark place that motivates your reaction, even if it's just aesthetic for you.

That's right. Even if it's just the, the beautiful lights and the Christmas tree in the, in the, in the fanciful idea of Santa and the presents. Like, even if it's just— even if you're celebrating Christmas in a totally secular way, like, there's, there's just— it's a joyful time of year. You're absolutely right. If there's something to you that is— that, that you, you hate Christmas, or you think, or like you want to cancel Christmas, right?

Society would be better off if we didn't. Yeah, it's—

it is very unhealthy. Well, it Look, this is a project for people. This, this, this whole stuff gives people a sick, deranged kind of meaning. Let me take something that is so positive and inclusive and lovely and joyful for the secular and religious alike, the, the white and Black and Hispanic and everyone, male, female. Let me take this and just ruin it. Let me, let me just try to cancel it. It's like this weird It's like being a prison guard, honestly. It's like people want this perverted kind of power to prove that they can do something.

Well, it does emanate, in my opinion, from a deep ennui. It's a French word. We translate it as boredom, but boredom is less deep than ennui means. A boredom of the soul. And that's what we have is a boredom of the soul. And people fill it with, with things that give them meaning that are meaningless.

What do you do to celebrate Christmas? Well, look again.

So what do I— well, what do I do is, well, Christmas Day, I, I don't listen to classical music. I listen to Christmas music. And I just, I love it whether it's in my car or even in my house. And I just, I revel in the ambience of the day. Now, do I have eggnog with my cigar was the question that came in my earphones, which teaches me the lesson not to wear earphones during our broadcast. But no, I don't. My wife, my wife is converted to Judaism, so she is as Jewish as I am. From the perspective of Judaism, a convert is the same as a born Jew. But she was— she comes from a Christian home. So I have all of her family over and we have a very big Christmas dinner, which I love. I even wear my kippah at the dinner because it's my, my way of of both reminding everyone that this is the Jew in your family who is enjoying this with you. And hosting it. Because it's a holy day. It's not my holy day, but it is a holy day and it is their holy day. And so I open up with a prayer and it's a very beautiful time. For, for my wife and her family and especially for her family, but especially for my wife, too, because she has all the people over. We have a lot of people over. But now, before— I love that the Jews are hosting the Christmas celebration. I love it, too. Yes.

It says so much about who you guys are.

Well, it also says about America. Yes. This is— this is— oh, this is quintessentially American.

So I, as you know, have A close friend doesn't even describe it. This, this person is the, my best friend in the world from college, and he is Muslim and he grew up in a very, very, very religiously Muslim household. And his parents were immigrants from Bangladesh. And he grew up in the Bronx. And he was on the phone with me the other day. And he, we talk all the time about America and our shared values. It's like a just always a constant coming back in these conversations. And he said this thing and he said, it really is so amazing that my parents could come to this country, first of all, and then in one generation have a son that went to Harvard and is going to another Ivy League business school and has an amazing job. I mean, that whole, that whole thing is just incredible. But he said, it's so amazing that my parents could come to this country and retain their Bengali Muslim culture. And he talked about growing up, like he would have Quran studies and they would all go to, you know, go to mosque at the same time. And they would, you know, there was this strong Bengali immigrant community. And he said, it was just so great that we didn't, we didn't have to give any of that up. We could retain that while being in a different country. I know it's a bit unrelated to your point, but you were saying that having two Jews host a Christmas celebration is quintessentially American. Having holidays, all different kinds of holidays are quintessentially American. Like, they're— and I don't know if it's It's quite related, but it just reminded me of what he said and I wanted to share it with you because it made me so proud, so proud of this country.

The left in America proves the power of ingratitude.

I mean, that isn't that an amazing— I mean, it's something that's like obvious to us, but we need to be reminded of it. Isn't that really amazing that this devoutly Muslim immigrant family could come here and not have to give up? Right. Or my devoutly Jewish family. Do you think being able— let's say you move to Iran. You think you could celebrate Christmas, keep your Western Christian heritage moving to Iran or to China or to Russia or to Saudi Arabia or to literally insert hundreds of— or not hundreds, Tens of names of other countries? No, you couldn't. But how many college students know that? How many people actually appreciate that fact?

Well, that's why I said if you're grateful, you're not a leftist. And I mean that literally. I try never to exaggerate. It is not possible to be a grateful leftist. You could be a grateful liberal. You could be a grateful conservative. Leftism is rooted in ingratitude. And my old line, I don't know if I've said it on Dennis and Julie, in America at a university, you got a BA in ingratitude, you got a master's in ingratitude, and you got a PhD in ingratitude.

Yep. Well, you know, so I was recently analyzing apropos of this whole, you know, Harvard, MIT, and Penn President's embarrassing congressional testimonies, I was analyzing how we got to this place where colleges and universities are so decrepit. And obviously there are a million examples that you could give, but one of the things that I learned from Jim Hankins, who is a great Western civilization scholar, and he's still at Harvard and he's been at Harvard for decades. And one of the things that he told me, shared on my show, is that as these college and university's student populations became more international, these universities started to have this idea that teaching Western sense was intellectually imperialist because you have these people coming from all over the world. And it struck me as like, Let's say you went to go study abroad in France or in— or literally insert name of any other country and you had a required French civilization course or Persian civilization course or China. You wouldn't think twice about it, right? You would go, yeah, that's the deal. I'm going to their country just as I'm under different law. But like, right, I'm going to their university. This is their culture. Of course I'm obligated to take this class. It's only in America We have to somehow shirk our values. No, goddamn it. We are American. We are the inheritors of Western civilization. It's not intellectually imperialist. You are coming here to learn from us here. And we, like, and it made me think of what my friend said about his parents. Like, his parents retained their Muslim Bengali immigrant culture, but do you think they would think twice seeing a Christmas tree? No, they understand we came to America This is their— these are their holidays. These are their customs. That's the deal I got into. We hold ourselves to perverse other standards.

There were colleges that took down the American flag because they said it would be discomforting to foreign students. The American flag. And you know what?

It's not the international students who are demanding this. That's correct. It's bizarre. It's the people here, our leftists. Who are contriving these issues?

Only at a university could that even be regarded as an issue. Gee, we won't have an American flag up at an American university because non-Americans might be offended. Why did you come here?

Well, you know, you know, it's interesting to consider our inclusivity. Like, the thing that makes America so great is that it's inclusive. And the thing that makes America so great is that it's free. But those two things have also kind of laid the seeds of the present problem.

Yeah, because we lost our value system to direct. There's no, there's no roots.

Yes, there are no roots. Right.

So, so the flower removed from the roots is now just flying in the air. It literally is grounded in nothing.

Yes. So it's a great thing that we're inclusive and we, we have so many different kinds of people in this country. But then we, we've now taken that to the extreme.

They have distorted the term inclusive. Right. When the Puerto Ricans invited me to their birthday parties, they were being inclusive. Everybody would understand that, right? They didn't say, well, this is not your birthday party, so we can't possibly ask you to join us. When you say Merry Christmas and you celebrate Christmas, you're asking me to join it. Isn't that beautiful? Only to a leftist is it ugly.

I'm so borrowing that point. It's— it is so good. It takes it a step further because, again, it's not just that we're in America, this is a national holiday, but it turns their inclusivity argument on its head.

All of their— but that's your point, too, about the inversions. All of their arguments are upside down. The one I said and we didn't spend time on, but it is really worthy of one minute. We're constantly told that diversity is our greatest strength, which, by the way, there is— there is no basis for that statement. I'm not against diversity at all. If we have e pluribus unum, one of our three mottos in our society, from many one, and we all affirm basic American values, e pluribus unum, liberty and God we trust. I love diversity. I couldn't care less what race you are. But it is not true that diversity is our greatest strength.

Well, you say in your Still the Best Hope book, you say it's not that diversity is our greatest strength. The way that we've managed our diversity is our greatest strength.

Yes, that's right. But in and of itself, and again, the proof is that the left tells us how happy Scandinavian countries are. Why don't we be more like Scandinavian countries? Scandinavian countries are the model societies for the left. Well, they're also the least diverse. In Finland, virtually everyone is white. Virtually everyone is Finnish. Virtually everyone only speaks Finnish, or no, they all speak English. Everyone speaks Finnish. They come from the same Lutheran background as in Sweden. And, and that's— they go, oh, look at the low crime rates. Well, there's a low crime rate in North Dakota. Generally speaking, where there is no diversity, there is much less crime.

You know what? What? What? My graduation speaker, as you know, is the former prime minister.

By the way, forgive me. I'm so sorry because I'm a little bit together. Japan. I'm not even making the point about whites and diversity. Japan. Japan has no diversity, zero, and it has virtually no crime.

It's a very good example. What was I saying? Oh yes, the, um, my commencement speaker was the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, who now works at Harvard or is like a fellow at Harvard apparently. And the whole speech was her talking about all the great things that New Zealand has done. And the implication was, and you Americans, you know, haven't figured it out. We did the gun buyback program where we got rid of all these assault weapons. We decriminalized abortion. We did this, we did that. And just like, there's so much to be said, but I was sitting there listening to that going, Well, even if all those things are great policies, you know, which, which I just dispute all of the things she mentioned are great policies. Let's say they were all great policies. Well, no bleep that you were able to do it in New Zealand when you have a population of 5 million people on an island that is ethnically and mostly, you know, religiously homogenous. Like, it's, it's absurd. It's like you can't compare this, this island to the most multiethnic, multi-religious, diverse society that has ever existed, the United States of America. It drives me insane when they make those arguments. I know we're almost out of time, and this point is very much— could be a whole D&J episode. But one of the things that has recently fascinated me is that in life, you really have to balance contradictions. And in religion, you have to balance contradictions. I actually got this whole kind of idea that I've been thinking about from G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. He talks about this. Let's take Christianity, for example. You have to be graceful to people and turn the other cheek and love your enemy. While also understanding that you are going to be punished for your sins and you may go to hell. In life, we have to, to balance a lot of contradictions. You know, you have to work hard and allow yourself to have fun. You have to be content with your life enough to be happy, but discontent enough to propel yourself forward. Constantly, life is this balancing act. And so in many ways in life, it's good to have contradictions, but leftism is contradictory, as we've been talking about. Leftism tells you support women, but there's no such thing as a woman. Support diversity, but not diversity of thought. And I just find that kind of juxtaposition to be interesting, that in leftism it is fundamentally contradictory, but I guess what religion counsels you to do in many different ways is balance. Contradictions, have the right kind of middle ground between them.

I agree. First, on the middle ground, Maimonides, the greatest Jewish philosopher, spoke about the Shvil HaZahav, the golden road between two extremes. It's been a realization of mine for the last, I don't know, over— it's relatively recent in my life. Humans are not naturally moderate. They are naturally extremist. Extremism is far more natural to human being than, than is the middle road. People don't like to live with contradictions. They like to live with what, uh, Jeremy Boreing, who was a Christian and runs Daily Wire— I adore this man, he's a special human being. So he was talking to me, he says, what I see today, he says, among many Christians is— what was it? The, um, oh God, the something Oh, I wish I remembered. The destructive spiral of purity. And I am anti-purity. Just the word frightens me. The purity doesn't exist in this world. If you want to fight evil, you can't be pure. You're gonna have to kill.

Were we pure in World War II?

Well, no, no, any war, anything you do that achieves good— that is why I respect people's choices totally, but I am against the monastery because these people sought purity, but while they may think theologically they're making the world better by praying all day. I don't agree with the religious Jews who study Torah all day. Right. And I'm writing a Torah commentary. I love the Torah. This notion that I can— I won't dirty my hands in the world is purity, but good is not achieved. Purity is a bad aim, and people dream about it. So the extremes, they hate those on their side who will ever compromise. So if you compromise, it doesn't matter what the subject, you are, you have, oh, the death spiral, the purity death spiral, that was his term. Oh yeah, that's it, the purity death spiral. And he says my fellow Christians have to be aware that that is a movement in that direction. You're right that people live in extremes. Yes, politically, religiously.

Well, again, and yes, I love that you're adding in religiously because there are a lot of religious individuals who live in extremes. But again, one of the things I like about religion is this kind of balancing. I gave the example of being appropriately graceful and thinking about salvation and all of that good stuff while also balancing that with appropriately punishing people and essentially balancing being kind to people with exacting consequences. Such example in religion where you have to have this balancing act is like, you can't think too much about the afterlife, you have to be in this life. But if you think too much about this life and not the afterlife, then you're too much in this life. And so a good religious person really balances those contradictions. And a lot of people from the outside would go, well, religion is inherently contradictory because they're telling you that, you know, to, to focus on heaven but then also to do good worldly deeds. And it's like, no, you don't have it right. It's not that it's fundamentally contradictory, it's understanding that life is balancing contradictions. And so I find that, that way of looking at things, balancing contradictions, to be in such stark contrast to what we've been saying about leftism, which is truly inherently contradictory.

By the way, to return to one of the most frequent themes that is controversial that I hold, that is why I am not a fan of the idea of sinful thoughts. That level of purity I don't demand from people. I want good actions much more than I want pure thoughts.

You've really convinced me on that issue. You have. Wow. Not that I was never a— no, pure thought. Absolutely. No, I understand.

But it was still an ideal.

And one of the most convincing arguments I think that you give on that is that we're pressure cookers. Like, we need to release some steam. And I would so much rather people release that steam in their head, right, than acting on it. Yes, you know, exactly. Like, yell, yell at your parent in your head, right, if it means you're not yelling at your parent in real life. Yes, you know, like, I find this sometimes with my sister who has autism. Sometimes I feel, you know, resentful that, you know, I don't always want to spend my weekends going and seeing her. That's right. If I allow myself to have those thoughts— not that I've ever been unkind to her a minute in my life, but that's the whole point. Then I, you know, I don't care what you're thoughts are, right, about your sister, right?

If you only— if you told me I only have pure thoughts about visiting my severely autistic sister, you probably think I would know you're lying to yourself, of course. And you wouldn't be Julie, and we wouldn't have Dennis and Julie.

Well, I also just wouldn't be a normal human being. No one would have pure thoughts about going to see their autistic sister, right?

But there are people who will be guilty about not having pure thoughts, right? And when we get to the sexual arena, that's the most dramatic arena of where many religious people demand purity of thought. As we know. As we know. Merry Christmas! Well, it is Merry Christmas.

That is exactly right. But again, these conversations—

Say it to everyone. What is it? We wish you a Merry Christmas— wait, wait, wait. What is my favorite one, Sean?

Have a holly jolly Christmas and a happy New Year and a happy—

but, and, and say it. What is it? And say it to all you know. Say hello to friends you know and to everyone you meet. So say Merry Christmas to everyone you meet.

Can I say something that maybe is not the best thing to say, but it's true? I say Merry Christmas to everyone. I really do. And I'm very jovial about it because I want to set a good example. I think in life it's very important to be a good example to everyone, not just people you like, but people you don't like, and people you— not just people you know, people who you don't know. So I say it to everyone. But when I, when I see someone who has like purple hair and is wearing like— yeah, so do you? Yeah, I, I will admit I say it a little extra loud. Like, I find the people who I think would hate it.

Oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas! I mean, no, you'll get mail or you'll get the mail. Yeah. If you— I don't say Merry Christmas to a guy I know is a rabbi, not because it'll be offended, but it's— I get it.

Oh, interesting.

Yeah, I— because I understand he'll think it bizarre and I don't— I don't— again, I'm not pure. I have this value to take to everybody. But there are people where I understand where it would, it would be jolting to them. If I said it to an imam, it would be okay. All right. You're right. So, so there are people, but if it's a stranger, there's no question you should say it.

Well, yes, there are some people in my life who I know are very lefty. And maybe don't like when others say Merry Christmas. And I make sure to make a beeline to them. Oh no. Yeah, that's the jazz hands. Put on a Santa hat and really piss them off. All right. Merry Christmas, everybody, especially the ones with purple hair. You can write in to me, julie@julie-hartman.com. Love hearing from you. And I forward them to Dennis Prager. It really pains me that I can't respond to each and every one of you, but I do read all of your notes and I'm very grateful for them. And you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter @JulieRHeartman. You can follow Dennis on Twitter @DennisPrager and on Instagram.

Follow me at DennisPrager.com. That's the best. Yeah.

No, but socials are good.

So one, one word which I should add every time. Okay. I know that this podcast can really touch people's lives. Oh, yes. And you should forward this to friends, and especially young people. Please do. Yes, it's, it's as interesting as it is important, if I'm allowed to say that. Thanks everybody.

Shalom and Merry Christmas for the 50th time.

Your beloved dog and a stranger are both drowning. You can only save one. Who do you save? Every time Dennis Prager asks that question, his audience splits three ways. One-third chooses the dog, one-third chooses the stranger, and one-third aren't sure. Why? Because we live in an age where increasingly feelings define right and wrong. But if morality is based on emotion, then Murder, rape, and theft are just opinions. And if people feel justified, why is rioting or destruction wrong at all? In his new book, If There Is No God, Dennis Prager explains why civilizations cannot survive without objective morality and why Judeo-Christian values shape the moral foundations of the free world.

If you claim that certain things are good, certain things are evil, independent of of how you feel about it, you are in effect affirming God.

If There Is No God by Dennis Prager, available now at pragerstore.com. That's pragerstore.com.