In this spoken commentary, the speaker begins by citing a Substack post by Roger Simon that highlights Larry Elder’s proposal to award Dennis Prager the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The speaker recounts Prager’s near‑fatal fall in November, which left him on a respirator with a C3‑C4 spinal cord injury, and describes his ongoing, inspirational recovery. Personal anecdotes illustrate how the speaker, once a liberal Jewish listener, was drawn to Prager’s “Happiness Hour,” eventually shifting to conservative views and appearing on Prager’s shows to discuss his own books. The speaker praises PragerU as a major force against ideological indoctrination among youth, noting its broad coverage of conservative, Judeo‑Christian, historical, and economic thought. He also shares memories of Prager serving as an informal rabbi for his family, hosting High Holy Day services, and dining with him and his wife Susan in Nashville. Throughout, the speaker urges listeners to pray for Prager’s complete healing, his family, and the medical staff caring for him, while strongly supporting Elder’s Medal of Freedom suggestion.
Chapters
And I want to start right with a Substack from Roger Simon. Larry Elder, that evil blackface of white supremacy, quote unquote, according to the late Los Angeles Times, and a man who himself owes his own brilliant radio career to Dennis Prager, has proposed a Presidential Medal of Freedom for Dennis Prager. In the words of that songwriting genius Smokey Robinson, I second that emotion. Roger Simon writes, an emotion it is because the extraordinary ongoing recovery of Mr. Prager from a near-fatal fall last November that left him on a respirator with a spinal cord injury at the C3 and C4 level has been nothing short of inspirational. A fair portion of conservative America and many overseas were praying for him, and, uh, and he, with their prayers accompanied by his own considerable will and amazing good humor in the face of adversity— he is, after all, the originator of the Happiness Hour— uh, will be back on the air shortly. What a relief! He is our wise man, maybe even what is called a— and I don't know this word— tzaddik, T-Z-A-D-D-I-K, in the most pious Jewish traditions. Although I imagine Dennis would reject that and has been sorely missed. Many people have their Dennis Prager stories, I among them. He doesn't know. I never told him, but I guess I am now. But his influence on me was as strong as anybody's. Back in the 1990s, when I was still a Jewish liberal, but shall we say questioning, I would listen to Dennis on the car radio on my way back from tennis, then and now my primary way of getting exercise. Roger Simon writes, at first I thought he was a bit too right-wing, too rigid, but he was clearly quite intelligent. Gradually, however, he won me over. Maybe it was that happiness hour, because in those days, like so many liberals, I had bouts with depression. His highly moral, Torah-based way of thinking also had an impact. He was a man of principle, and I admired that, even envied it. Many years later, after having my journey from left to right, I wound up on his radio show to discuss my 2016 book, I Know Best: Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, if it hasn't already. I was thrilled when he said he loved the term moral narcissism, said that I had invented it. Maybe I had, but maybe I hadn't, parentheses. A phrase that would become a common description of our era. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Only weeks later, virtue signaling— that was not quite moral narcissism, but close enough— came on the scene. He says, I have appeared other times on Dennis's shows, most recently to promote my book American Refugees, by which time it was radio plus a televised podcast. Also, by then, PragerU had become the national flagship that it is. It's hard to overestimate, uh, estimate its importance to America's youth. PragerU is arguably the greatest force against indoctrination of our young people— actually, anybody's indoctrination in the country. On top of this, for a while, Dennis was more or less my actual rabbi. Like many Jews, Cheryl and I were at Sixes and Sevens for a synagogue with which to affiliate. It happens. But Dennis himself, a non-ordained rabbi, would give High Holy Day services that we attended. He was unfailingly more interesting and more knowledgeable than most who were ordained. Most recently, Cheryl and I had dinner with Dennis and his fabulous wife Susan. As Dennis puts it, quote, they come for Dennis and stay for Susan, close quote, here in Nashville. So he was They had dinner in Nashville. He says, I hope to see him again soon. It should be obvious that I more than second Larry Elder's suggestion that Dennis Prager be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Man, that's powerful. That's very touching. And I'm glad Larry Elder put that out there with the platform that he has. And I think it's so true. I mean, when you just consider the legacy that Dennis already has and he's coming back to radio, but the legacy that he already has just from being on radio, his writings, uh, you know, his books, his columns, uh, PragerU, uh, it's, it's absolutely insane. And, uh, and the way that, uh, PragerU is impacting the youth, college campuses, you, you can't speak highly of it enough. And quite frankly, informing many people that happen to not be youth, people like myself, quite frankly. It is a, it is a dictionary, if you will, of conservative, uh, thought, Judeo-Christian thought, history, civics, you, uh, uh, uh, the, the, the economy, you name it. Uh, so, uh, Dennis has already built a fabulous legacy, uh, but the great news is he's not done yet. He's not done yet. So you guys continue to pray, uh, for Dennis Prager. Pray for, uh, pray for his wife Sue. Obviously pray for the medical staff that surrounds Dennis Prager. Pray for his friends, his family, everyone that comes in contact with Dennis, and continue to pray for his complete and total, uh, total healing. I just thought that was such a beautiful word by Roger Simon. I wanted to go ahead and share that with you guys.
