Dennis Prager visits cigar lounges wherever he speaks, valuing them as rare spaces where men gather and talk freely. He sees them as replacements for fraternal organizations like Rotary and Kiwanis that have largely disappeared, offering simple camaraderie in a world with fewer places for it.
I go to cigar lounges all over the country. Whenever I arrive at a city to speak, which is almost every week of the year, I rent a car and immediately drive to a cigar lounge if one is open. And I'll go a half hour if I have to. And it's a great joy in my life. It's about as innocuous a pleasure as exists. And it is a great place for guys to hang out. I don't know where there is any other place now where men gather. Used to be, you know, a long time ago, Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs. I assume— I know Rotary Clubs. I assume Kiwanis and Lions as well were for men. My father would go to the synagogue brotherhood meetings, my mother to the sisterhood meetings. I don't even think most have brotherhoods and sisterhoods anymore. Where do guys go in, in a healthy sense to be with other guys, which is very important to men? And I don't know other than the cigar lounge. And strangers talk. It's so fascinating, the ease with which strangers talk to one another in cigar lounges.
Life, Legacy, and a Dangerous Mission in the Soviet Union | Sunday Fireside Chat
