← The Charlie Kirk Show
The Charlie Kirk Show
Dennis Prager | On #MeToo, BLM Inc, Lockdowns and How to Win the American Culture War
00:47:51
Loading summary
Transcript107 lines
- [00:00]
A
Thank you for listening to this Podcast 1 production now available on Apple Podcasts, Podcast 1, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts. Hey everybody, Special treat for you. Probably one of the most influential conservatives on the planet. Someone who has influenced me more than almost any other conservative thinker out there, Dennis Prager, host of the Dennis Prager show, the national radio program. Dennis Prager is a dear friend and someone who cares deeply about our country and defeating the left. This is one of my favorite conversations I've had recently. Before we get into it, I want to thank those of you that support our program that allows us to have incredible guests. For those of you that go to charliekirk.comSupport charliekirk.comSupport Please consider becoming a monthly supporter of our program@charliekirk.com support Dennis Prager is here. Everybody buckle up. Here we go. Charlie. What you've done is incredible here. Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.
- [00:55]
B
I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.
- [01:02]
A
I want to thank Charlie.
- [01:03]
B
He's an incredible guy, his spirit, his love of this country. He's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point usa.
- [01:13]
A
We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives. And we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country. That's why we are here. Legacy Box is a super simple mail in service to have all your videotapes, camcorder tapes, film reels and pictures digitally preserved on a thumb drive, DVD or cloud. I love Legacy Box. All my family's archives, my ancestors that fought in the Civil War and that fought in the Revolutionary War. Now I have all their pictures on Legacy Box. Are your family's memories trapped on an old camcorder, tape or film reels? Was your favorite childhood memory caught on film or videotape and maybe it disappeared and you're regretful for that? Will do something about it by going to Legacy box. It's legacybox.com Charlie and get 40% off your first order. You just mail it in, they catalog it, send all the originals back to you and a digital file. Do you need to rescue your recorded memories but haven't had any time to know where to start? Do you want these irreplaceable moments forever? Have them digitally preserved so they stand the test of time and can be passed down for generations to come. Get back perfectly preserved digital copies on a thumb Drive. It's legacybox.com Charlie Prime. Buy today to take advantage of this exclusive art offer. Send in when you're ready. Legacybox.com Charlie save 40% while supplies last. Hey everybody. Super thrilled to have this episode of the Charlie Kirk Show. To present to you today, a friend of mine and someone who I have learned from more than any other person in the conservative movement in a variety of different ways. I have watched every single one of his fireside chats and I catch as much of his daily radio show as I possibly can. Dennis Prager. Dennis, welcome officially to the Charlie Kirk Show.
- [02:57]
B
It's great to be with you. And if I have touched your life, then it has been a life well spent.
- [03:05]
A
That's very kind. And I've read your book on happiness and I'm trying to get through your Bible commentary. Not that it's not that it's difficult to read, it's just I'm doing it with such intentionality and I keep, you know, getting.
- [03:21]
B
Well, my view is that if I don't have at least one life changing idea per page, I failed.
- [03:30]
A
Well, there's a lot of truth to that. So I get to the eighth page and I'm questioning whether or not I'm running my life correctly. And so I'm like this far through it and then I'm taking voluminous notes. So that's great. So there's a lot happening in our country and I want to ask you about that. And I also want to ask you about some things that I've heard you say multiple times and just kind of get more context on it, especially on how to live a good life, which is a focus of your life's work, to try to create good people, which I think is a phenomenal mission statement for a country that we have been missing so greatly. Let's start with this, though, Dennis, do you in the last couple weeks, in the last six weeks, we have seen America grow into more discord and unrest, a lot of which you predicted years ago in your incredible writings and your book. It was still the last hope. Is that correct? Is that the still the best hope? Still the best hope? Where you talk about the American Trinity and you aptly said in your book, you describe the left better than I have seen anyone else describe it. Where they take their protests, they take their rituals with the same sort of intensity and the same sort of seriousness that a religious person would take a religious ritual. This is a religion to the left. It really is. So I guess, Dennis, let's start with this. Are you more or less optimistic about the future of America after what you've seen in these last couple months.
- [05:01]
B
I have a policy of answering questions honestly as opposed to what is most effective. So it's more effective to say I'm optimistic, but I'm not. I'm less optimistic, but I need to add something unbelievably important. It doesn't matter. I don't fight one whit less because I'm less optimistic. Did the guys who stormed Normandy beach, were they optimistic? Why would they be peeing in their pants on the landing strip if they were optimistic? You don't fight only when you're optimistic. It's when things look bad that the fighting is most necessary. Did Washington fight only when it looked good? I mean, people ask me this and your question is entirely appropriate. But when people ask me this, I know that part of their thinking is do I give up? Do I give up? Is not the same as am I optimistic? That I'm not optimistic doesn't allow me to give up. All good people in history would have given up if the issue were determined solely by the question of optimism. The American dream is losing. I mean, to deny that is to be an idiot. And I'm not an idiot, so I can't deny it. I mean, we are bathing in lies because truth is not a left wing value. I, by the way, I am glad you said it because I feel self conscious. But I have to say it. If your viewers want to understand the left, they should read my book, still the Best Hope and to understand America.
- [06:57]
A
Yes.
- [06:59]
B
I think there are a lot of great books, but it's the best. Describing them both in one book. And I said exactly. America stands for three things. The American Trinity in God we trust, Liberty. E pluribus unum. The left hates all three. It has gotten rid of God totally. The whole point is to get rid of E pluribus unum. Out of many 1. The point is Thomas Friedman of the New York Times.
- [07:28]
A
Out of many, many, yes.
- [07:31]
B
Did I predict this or not? That's exactly out of many one. The. The. To them. They don't. Even this generation. I don't even know if your generation ever heard of it. The melting pot. This is. I was raised that America is a melting pot. That is a dirty word. You can say the F word on the left, but you can't say the M word. Melting pot. But that's. What if we're not a melting pot? It's over if we don't all become American. That doesn't mean you lose whatever cultural identity you have. I speak Hebrew fluently. My kids went to Jewish day schools, but we're through and through American. I'm in an area where I broadcast from an area in California where more Armenians live than anywhere except Armenia. They send their kids to Armenian schools, but they're crazy about America. Yes, that's fine. That doesn't matter. You can have your cultural issues or expressions, but they don't want us to all be American. You're black, capital B.
- [08:36]
A
That's right. And I think, Dennis, your answer by saying it's not an excuse to give up. That's correct. A lot of people ask that. They say, hey, Dennis, can I check out now? Is it okay since things are going so horribly?
- [08:48]
B
That's what the question really means. Are you up? If you only fight when you're optimistic, we don't need you.
- [08:54]
A
That's right. Well, and I think there is a second part of the question, though, why I ask it, which I think we have to be honest, because there's an equal as many people, though, that are complacent, that think that things just work in cycles that will go back.
- [09:07]
B
That's a great point.
- [09:07]
A
And so I.
- [09:08]
B
That's a great point. Yeah. No, you're entirely right. That's. You've given me a good reason to honestly say why I'm not optimistic. You can't be complacent. Don't take America for granted. We can lose it.
- [09:24]
A
And a lot of people do, and they believe because things have gone rather well for our country in the last couple decades, that we have this inevitability to self. Correct.
- [09:33]
B
Or it's gone good for this country for the last 200 years.
- [09:39]
A
Yes.
- [09:40]
B
Except for the Civil War. Well, this country's been blessed.
- [09:44]
A
And a lot of. Some of these people that I talk to and communicate with, they say, charlie, you're so alarmist. You're so intense. The downfall. No, there's a lot of it. There's a huge portion of America that believes this.
- [09:57]
B
That believes what? This will pass.
- [09:59]
A
Oh, sure. Yeah, that's right. Yes. I communicate with a lot of those people, and predominantly in suburban America, that they don't want to necessarily get involved in the culture war.
- [10:12]
B
Well, they won't be very suburban if Biden wins because he's going to put poor people, people's housing in the suburbs.
- [10:19]
A
That's exactly right. Well, and there won't be any police, so let's see how that one will work out.
- [10:24]
B
Yes, that's right. Yes, exactly.
- [10:26]
A
So it's. So, Dennis, you talk about a lot, your time in Russia growing up as a young man and you smuggled Bibles, I believe, into Russia, if I'm not mistaken. Right.
- [10:42]
B
I was 21 years old. I was sent into the Soviet Union by Israel. The Israeli government, until 1967, it sent Israeli young people to smuggle in religious items and to smuggle out names of Jews who wanted to leave. So somewhat dangerous, but I'm not saying that I'm not a hero, but I just. I don't want to understate that it was, you know, it was somewhat risky behavior. But once, after the Six Day War in 1967, the Soviets ended relations with Israel. So Israel sent Jews who were not Israeli. So I was an American Jew. Somehow they got my name. At 21, I knew Russian and Hebrew, so I was like perfect. The perfect candidate to send in. I went for four weeks and that was obviously life shaping. And that's why I have been in public life, I guess, sort of like you. I have been in public life since the age of 21.
- [11:46]
A
Wow. So you saw a country under totalitarian communism, right. With no God and a completely different value system. The same. They were all human beings, but they operated with almost a lower level of existence than they would in the West. Dennis, why is it that the Soviet Union and. And the. And how Lenin took power post Romanovs, Why. Why do you think specifically that is not taught in our school system. That is the number one piece of history that our young people have the least understanding about. That has the most significance, I think, to what we're living through. And also a lot. So much applicability at Prageru.
- [12:27]
B
There's a video. It's one I've given. I only give one out of 10. You've given, of course, for Prageru, but about no more than one out of 10 I have given. And one of them is why isn't communism as hated as Nazism? And there's a reason. Because the left is the teaches our history. They're not interested in our knowing how evil left can be. They only want to teach how evil right can be. Whether you call Nazism right or left is not a debate I want to get into now. They call it right. So fine. Not fine, but it is what it is. But they don't teach left wing evil. That's the issue. So I would be shocked if one out of a thousand people your age can identify the Gulag archipelago.
- [13:27]
A
Yes, yes.
- [13:28]
B
By the way, I mean, even talking about Nazism, I wonder if one out of 100 could identify Auschwitz.
- [13:37]
A
That's correct. And the idea, the lessons of the 20th century, we are eerily repeating of grouping people by their skin color, allowing the loudest, most charismatic demagogue to get the most attention. And I believe it was Alexander Solzhenitsyn that wrote the Gulag Archipelago. Or was it Dostoevsky? It was Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Yeah. And that book, more so than any other captures, it actually probably contributed more to the downfall of the Soviet Union. That's right. Than almost any other missile defense system did or any sort of military formations, because it was an honest assessment from within the Soviet Union as to how it fell and how it operated and eventually led to its fall. Dennis, outside of the Soviet Union, there's a lot of young people that watch this show and listen to this show. What is the one piece of history that you are saddened that they are not learning that? What is the one chapter in world or human history that you believe is not being taught? And because of that, we live in a less free America.
- [14:38]
B
So you're including all Communist history?
- [14:41]
A
Not necessarily.
- [14:43]
B
No. No, no. It's your call. Are you asking me outside of Communist history?
- [14:47]
A
Yes. Let's say that outside of the Communist history, what else do you think is not being done?
- [14:52]
B
That is number one. So what is number two? I mean, number two, although, I mean, in some ways that would be number one, is the Bible. That that is not taught means that you are going to have a generation with no wisdom. And wisdom is more important than good intentions. Good intentions. Not only do you know is the road to hell paid with good intentions, but good intentions without wisdom necessarily leads to evil. Not every person who is. Every person who is violent is vile, but not every protester is a bad person. A lot of these people mean well. They hate racism, which is. I agree with them. I hate racism. So they think they're doing good. They don't understand that Black Lives Matter is as dangerous as the Communist Party was in Russia in 1917. It hates America. It hates liberty. It hates Jews, by the way, antisemitism. Victor Davis Hanson wrote this week, and he's one of the giants of our time.
- [16:01]
A
Yes.
- [16:03]
B
And he wrote that what you were gonna see if Biden wins when the left takes over is a serious increase in antisemitism. And the thing to know about antisemitism, this always. There was no. I wrote a book on this called why the Jews Always. Antisemitism brings down the antisemites. Jews suffer the first. Obviously, they're the target of the hatred. But there is no exception to antisemitism wrecking the Antisemitic country. It is always a symptom of the decline of a society when antisemitism rises. Always. It is the clearest symptom you have?
- [16:48]
A
Yes, and it repeats itself and a lot. And the book that you reference, and I remember flipping through it years ago, someone gave me a copy of it, you talk about how the Jews are typically always obviously God centered and they believe in the law. They. They work very hard. And because of that, a lot of people will gin up a lot of unnecessary and unwarranted resentment and then try to organize forces.
- [17:17]
B
Exactly why America is resented in my book. It's interesting. I published the book a long time ago in my 30s. It's gone through. It's been in print for all of these years, why the Jews? But interestingly, the Last edition, about 10, 15 years ago, the third edition, I wrote a chapter on how anti Americanism is almost identical to antisemitism. And now it turns out to be prophetic. America is hated for the same reasons, generally speaking, except for the theological ones, that Jews were hated. Jews did well, and I don't mean just financially. Most Jews were never rich, but Jews had a stable family life. They were not involved in violent crime. It was a stable, decent society, very little alcoholism. And they were resented also because they said they were the chosen people. America is resented for saying, oh, we're the last best hope.
- [18:27]
A
Yes, that's exactly right. And a lot of ways it's an attack on any form of hierarchy or the pursuit of success is really where the left finds itself in. So, Dennis, I want to ask you about something that you said a lot on your fireside chats and on your radio program, and I was hoping you could clear it up for me and for the audience. But first, I want to make sure that I get your position clear. You've said many times that what people say privately really does not matter. It's how they act public. Can you say it? You say it better in your own words than I could.
- [19:01]
B
Yes, this is an example of the lack of wisdom in our society. Well, so and so said an anti black, anti Jewish, anti whatever, sexist, misogynist comment privately. Like the President thinking he was talking privately when he, of course, he wasn't president with regard to women. It means nothing. It means nothing. I can't emphasize this strongly enough. Two things matter. What you say publicly and what you do, whether it's private or public, but what you say. In other words, there are four categories. What I say privately, what I say publicly, what I do Privately, What I do publicly. What you do privately and publicly matters. What you say publicly matters. What you say privately doesn't matter. Harry Truman referred to Jews as kikes regularly. And he was the man who recognized Israel first in the world, against the whole State Department. They hated him for recognizing the Jewish state. He was the greatest friend the Jews ever had. And privately used kaik. What the hell do I care? I even wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal. You could Google it. And I wrote it in the 1990s defending Hillary Clinton against charges of anti Semitism because they said, oh, she said this privately. What do I care? Nixon said things against the Jews privately. He saved Israel's life in the 1973 war. You have to allow people a vent. Everything that I say or you say or any human being says privately. So what if we put in a microphone for pillow talk? What a man said to his wife at midnight in bed, are we gonna use that against them? The left would. The left would definitely. Oh, you know what Senator so and so said to his wife, we got a recording of it. That's how foolish we are.
- [21:03]
A
It's a mark of an immature society is what it is. Yeah. So I guess my question is then, Dennis, would you support. Because conservatives, a lot of times now in the last couple years, we have done a lot of undercover journalism. There's been a lot of people that have found private remarks, even Hillary Clinton's deplorable comments. It was not supposed to be leaked publicly. It was to a private fundraiser that a lot of people, you know, made popular. Do you see any. Do you see any issue with that of conservatives leaning in on it too much?
- [21:35]
B
When you talk to an audience that's not private?
- [21:37]
A
Okay, she thought. I guess she thought she was in private, but yeah, I suppose.
- [21:42]
B
Well, I mean, you know what? If you think you're in private, we're 1,000 people. At what point does privacy kick in? Normally we think of privacy as with one or two friends or one or two people in a room. But if you tell an audience, look, I speak before audiences, I always assume it's going to get out.
- [22:00]
A
A better example would be the ACORN example. Right? Remember?
- [22:03]
B
Yes, yes. And look, I am torn on this issue. It is a very fair question you ask. The only thing that matters is are they revealing policies, not emotions? It's none of my business. If somebody at Google hopes all conservatives die, that is not my business. But if they say, well, you know what the truth is, we at Google are trying to do everything possible to suppress conservative Thoughts that strikes me as newsworthy.
- [22:42]
A
There's one thing that everyone needs to know about home security systems is that criminals are on the loose. They're looting, they're killing, they're doing awful things. And home security companies, most of them, trap you with high prices, tricky contracts, and lousy customer support. So while there are a lot of options out there, there's only one no brainer. Simplisafe. Simplisafe is a no brainer. Protect what you love. That's what I've done on all my property. There are criminals just a couple blocks from me. They're breaking into homes, they're stealing items, they're doing evil things. And guess what? We got Simplisafe. Simplisafe's got everything you need to protect your home with none of the drawbacks of traditional home security. It's got an arsenal of sensors and cameras to blanket every room window and door tailed specifically for your home. Professional monitoring keeps watch day and night, ready to send police, fire, or medical professionals. And if there's an emergency, you can set up yourself in under an hour. Just peel and stick the sensors exactly where you need them. No technician required. And there's no contract, no pushy sales guys, no hidden fees, and no fine print. All starts $15 a month. What is your dog, your home, your family worth to you? I'm sure it's worth more than 15amonth. And simplisafe.com Charlie is the place to go. And we're not the only ones who think SimpleLife is great. U.S. news World Report named it the best overall home security system. 2020. Try simplisafe.com and get free shipping and a 30 day risk free trial. There's nothing to lose. Simplisafe.com Charlie so I think we can agree that America is going through some form of a conflict. Dennis, you've called this an American civil war. In fact, you've called it for many years a civil war. Do you think that it might what we're experiencing now is still a civil war, or is it more a revolutionary war where they want to destroy the country that preexisted them and build something new? For example, when Robespierre tried to take, you know, power in the French Revolution, we called it a revolutionary war, not the French civil war. So do you think that this is now more a revolutionary aspect and less a civil conflict?
- [24:40]
B
Well, if it's a revolutionary war within a society and not against an outside force, then by definition you have both civil war and a revolution. But this is actually not a revolution. It is a revolution, but it's really a counter revolution. It's against the American revolution. So you could call it whatever you want, but it is a revolution. A counter revolution and a civil war. I've said this was the second civil war, as you pointed out, for many years, way before what's going on now. But I've always.
- [25:17]
A
Otto.
- [25:19]
B
No, that's Snoopy. Otto never barks. If Otto barks, it means that, you know, there's a grenade being thrown into the house. Otto's very calm. But the. The point that I've often made was there is a civil war in America, but only one side is fighting. That's what has always bothered me. Conservatives don't fight back. Some are. Certainly the president has been, but. And a handful, you know, I, Ted Cruz does. But generally speaking, conservatives are not fighters.
- [26:00]
A
Yes. So that goes to my next question. What do you think has been the greatest failure of conservatives of the last couple decades? It seems conservatives had a huge amount of political power post Reagan. We had a majority of the country believe that this is a generally decent country. And now we no longer have any of those sorts of successes in a lot of different ways. You know, we have a generation that has been taught to hate America. What has been the greatest failure of the conservative movement?
- [26:29]
B
It emanates from right after World War II. The traditional American call person, conservative, if you will, did not teach their children what America stands for. They assumed that just as they loved America and they loved liberty and they loved the flag, their kids would. No value, no good. Values are passed from generation to generation without effort. The effort that the baby, that's called the greatest generation, The World War II generation, the effort that they made was to provide their kids with everything they didn't have, namely peace and money, monetary security. And they gave them that, by and large. And when I began lecturing at your age, I looked at audiences and said, you know, you've given my generation everything you didn't have, but you haven't given my generation everything you did have.
- [27:40]
A
Hmm. Wow. I think that's well put. And as a. As an extension of that, you know, my parents and my generation was taught, even to a lesser extent, about what America meant because we were being taught by the people that were never taught what America meant. And so it has a.
- [27:58]
B
Well, at worse, you were taught by people who loathed what America.
- [28:03]
A
That's exactly right. It's the opposite of it. Yes. And now we're living through the consequences of that. So, Dennis, one of the most famous things that Prageru has been engaged in was your lawsuit against Google. I think that you aptly pointed out, as this is one of the most important issues of our time, when Prager sued Google. I think the issue has only gotten worse in the last 18 months since your litigation started. And all the tech elites and the tech giants, and I know that you guys are constantly fighting that battle. Should conservatives favor government Sherman antitrust action against these companies? Because I'm starting to believe that that should probably become a, let's just say, option on the table.
- [28:46]
B
Of course, again, your viewers can watch me testify in the U.S. senate subcommittee. And I said in my remarks that people ignore largely what Prageru has suffered at the hands of YouTube owned by Google. But I said one day you will say they came after the conservatives and I did nothing. And then they came after me and there was no one left to speak up for me. It was a play on a very famous statement about the Nazis. So now the left, which always happens, it eats its own. So you know, with the me too excesses. So you have Al Franken, who, you know, who was a big gung ho fan of me too and you know, all the feminists and women always believe a woman and you know the guy was removed for very nebulous reasons. Why was there a picture of him jokingly with his hands on a model of a breast or something, something to that effect? I mean, give me a break. This is in the realm of evil, correct? I mean there is, this is. By the way, I will admit this is an argument I've had with my, my closest allies, which is evangelical Protestants who for years, not all by any means, but evangelical callers would call my show because I do shows, not just on the news and I have an ultimate issues hour talk often about religion. And I always have held there are gradations of sin. And many Christian callers would call me and say, no, no, no, in God's eyes all sin is equal. And I say, so you think that God believes molesting a child and stealing a stapler from the office are equivalent? That's right. They're both rebellions against God. So I throw up my hands and I would just think God looks foolish. If you say that God is really as disturbed by a stapler being stolen as he is by a child being a seven year old child being molested. Same thing with what happens to a woman. There's rape and then there's a joke of a guy with his hands on a woman's breast or on the model of her body. Remember, was it real or a picture? I mean, my God, you can't see the difference. This is all lumped in with sexual attack. I mean, and I can't stand Al Franken. He's a moron, in my opinion. Yes, A bona fide moron. But nevertheless, it was a good example of. Well, first they came after the conservatives, and then they started eating the liberals.
- [31:50]
A
Yes.
- [31:51]
B
And so anyway, so to answer your question, this notion of, well, private enterprise has free speech. That's like saying the utilities can do whatever they want with your electricity. What if the utilities decided to say your local gas company or electrical power company. You know what? We will not provide electricity to conservatives. Hey, it's a private company. Why would you say, wait, you can't do that. Why? It's a private company. Why is this any different? Google supplies the roadway to the Internet like your power company supplies the roadway to power.
- [32:35]
A
So I think we've reached that breaking point where you can no longer protect free expression in our country in the First Amendment. If tech companies don't want to allow that to happen, I think we're really.
- [32:45]
B
Exactly. Yeah, yeah.
- [32:46]
A
And I think the tech companies are more powerful than the government in certain sense. I really do believe that.
- [32:50]
B
Absolutely. Certainly, with regard to information, there's no comparison.
- [32:53]
A
Yes. So, Dennis, you talk about a lot, and I actually, I was listening to one of your Fireside chats where you talked about a fun kind of miniseries you did with Jason Alexander, and I actually watched it. It was terrific on YouTube.
- [33:07]
B
They are terrific. You know, for goodness Sake, did you see For Goodness Sake two?
- [33:12]
A
No, I didn't. I only saw the first one.
- [33:14]
B
Yes, there's for goodness sake 2, which is so appropriate. I did it with Larry Elder. It is so appropriate. It is about race.
- [33:22]
A
I have to check it out. The first one, it was funny. It was in your interview with Alan Estrin, I think that you guys. That's where you guys met, is actually over the idea of that. That project. So you talk a lot about creating good people and creating happy people. The book is Happiness is a Serious Problem, I believe was the title of it. I want to make sure I get that correct.
- [33:44]
B
Yes, that's correct.
- [33:45]
A
There's a lot of young people that listen to this podcast that we get emails from that struggle with living a good life and finding meaning. And we try to be more than just a political podcast to them. Can you just give a very short version? I know it doesn't do it justice of what some applicable piece of Advice, or at least just pique their curiosity so they'll pursue your book further.
- [34:07]
B
Well, the book on happiness has a chapter on meaning, but it is about happiness. If you want meaning, then obviously my Bible commentary, the rational Bible, I really, I beg people to read, which is, you know, I have a lot of dignity and I hate begging people to anything, but I, I know it will change. Look, there are over a thousand reviews. It's the best selling Bible commentary in America and atheists read it. It's called the Rational Bible. So for the question of meaning. But I could put it in a sentence. This is what has animated me. Okay. That it will or will not animate another. I fully recognize there are different ways of finding meaning in life. My basic core belief is there is a God and God wants us to be good. That has always been my single biggest belief. Goodness is very hard to achieve on a personal level and certainly on a societal level, which is why I'm so angry at the left because they are crushing the best society thus far made. And that idea that God wants me to be as good as I could be, not an angel. I'm not interested in producing saints, just decent, good people. And that doesn't mean sinless, it doesn't mean saintly, just good. That has animated me. It has animated me to get married, make a family, have a religious community, in my case a synagogue every Saturday. These are life filling things that America has allowed me to do. This is one of the reasons I'm so grateful to America. You were not allowed to do this in the Soviet Union or in communist China. It's a different world. And what we have today is obvious. People do not have meaning as I have. I have an equation. I have a lot of equations. This one is secularism plus affluence equals boredom. Bored people do a lot of damage and you're never so bored as in a quarantine. So it is. This is the worst possible circumstance. The board are rioting.
- [36:46]
A
Yes. And so, Dennis, let's expound on this. You called the lockdown one of the greatest mistakes in American history or the greatest
- [36:57]
B
in world history.
- [36:59]
A
Can you elaborate, Sayad?
- [37:01]
B
Yes. You know, there's a. We live, we bathe in lies. America is racist, systemically, race is a lie. The Russian collusion was a lie. I mean, we just bathe in lies. So here's an example of they don't even realize they're lying. As a result of the pandemic, tens of millions of people are out of work. No, it's not a result of the pandemic. It's a result of the quarantine. It's a result of the lockdown.
- [37:32]
A
Yes.
- [37:33]
B
Sweden didn't lock down. Sweden never closed its schools. I don't know if there was one kid who died or one teacher who died. And by the way, let us say one kid will die. One kid will die. More than one kid will die in a car crash going to school. Should we not go to school? Well, actually, we shouldn't. We should have homeschooling. But if you're gonna go to school, you can drive. Yes, there are risks in life. The damage that this has done, we don't even. We're not even beginning to understand because the government is cushioning the damage to many people's lives because of the checks it sent out. Yes, but who's going to pay $20 trillion in debt? Your generation. It is an economic albatross. I don't see how you will get out of, frankly. And then, of course, your generation believes, oh, have the government even pay more? Pay for my college with what? Monopoly?
- [38:30]
A
Well, I'll tell you, Dennis, if I wanted the destruction of America, I would want to destroy the purchasing power, the currency. Get people addicted to government benefits. Get 30 million people out of work.
- [38:42]
B
That's right. Yes. Oh, this plays into their hands. There's no question. Why is it that Democratic governors keep the states shut down and Republican open them up? There are two reasons. Democrats, as you move left, you are more scared of life and more scared of death. And the other reason is political. The worse off the country is, the better the chance of defeating Trump in November.
- [39:11]
A
Yes. Well, and also, so it's interesting, here's a domestic example. South Dakota, the only state not to fully shut down, thanks to Governor Kristi Noem. Lowest unemployment rate in the country, $19 million surplus. They have the lowest death rate per capita in the country. They have almost. They have lower unemployment in certain parts of the state than ever before because cheap labor is not being brought in. And they get this, Dennis. They were sent a billion dollars by the federal government, and Governor Noem tried to return it, and they wouldn't take it. So she's decided just to spend it on economic development all across her state. And what's interesting is that many of these states could have treated their rural counties like South Dakota. So you have to understand is that, you know, so California could have had many of their states, as many South Dakotas, that could have been very sane. Instead, they tried. They locked everything down all at once. And we've seen how that that has worked and it hasn't.
- [40:07]
B
By the way, I love that woman.
- [40:11]
A
She loves Liberty. She does, she does.
- [40:14]
B
No, she's articulate. She loves Liberty. Love's Liberty is enough. But she's really terrific. I hope she runs for president one day.
- [40:24]
A
Yeah, I do too. So, a couple minutes left here, Dennis, but this kind of goes to a question that I have that I've been struggling with. And you know Russian history very well and you know, the cultural revolution. I'm afraid that we as conservatives have focused too much on the cultural reason as to why we're losing the country and not enough on the economic. Cuz you just, you just articulated that when you have people that basically are just being subsidized by the government and have very little invested future in what tomorrow will bring or the next year will bring, they're ripe for a revolution. And I think that if we as conservatives think the only reason as to why our country is declining is because all the cultural institutions have been taken over and not because of the real material economic downfall, I think it's an incomplete picture. And I think the Russian example is interesting in 1917, because as they were trying to industrialize their economy, I think that they didn't manage that correctly and they had a citizenry that was more ripe for a revolution in the urban center than not. What do you make of that, Dennis? Do you think that there is an economic component to this or do you think that that is probably not as significant of a contributing factor?
- [41:33]
B
Well, there's a huge economic component and the issue is. But the issue is a cultural value called liberty. When they're indivisible, If you honor good values, you do not allow people to receive money for not working. Yes, that is a bad value. It harms the recipient and it harms the society. So they're indivisible. The American dream was I take care of me first, I take care of my family second, I take care of my community. Third, America was remarkably successful in doing that. So successful that what the left does is it takes the success of the right and then it creates socialism from it. Socialism has never produced a penny of wealth. All wealth has been produced by the free market. All. There is no exception. All socialism does is take the money from the free market and take control of it and use it to embellish its own power in the name, of course, of helping people. Who doesn't want to help people? But the question is, how do you help people? And in Judaism there are, I forgot, I think six levels of charity. And the highest level is enabling, giving a person a loan or charity to start his own business. That is the highest level of charity. This was developed a thousand years ago, before capitalism by Maimonides, the greatest Jewish philosopher.
- [43:28]
A
Incredible. Last question, Dennis. Can you paint what a picture looks like if the left takes power? You've lived in these countries, you've traveled the world. I think you've been to 100 plus countries. What happens if they win 130? Oh, I'm sorry,
- [43:45]
B
Sorry. Look, we're. Excuse me. We're getting a picture of what it will look like right now. If you say on your Twitter account, Twitter feed, or your Facebook page that you believe is only one race, the human race, you are depersoned, you're gone. Your kids may hate you. If you say America is the best country that was ever made with all its flaws, you're doomed. I mean, do you realize all it takes now? In one day, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints went from. Listen, I don't think we should kneel. The flag is the flag. This is our uniting treasure. We revere the flag the next day. Oh, now that I've talked to people, I fully understand that of course you'd want to take the knee and not stand for the national anthem. So now whole teams aren't standing for the national anthem. I don't know how anybody could watch a football, basketball or baseball game. Now. The entire San Francisco Giants at an exhibition game just now, to the best of my including the manager took a knee. Let's all rise for the national anthem. Except for the players. That's beautiful.
- [45:08]
A
It's not sustainable. I'm afraid that if this continues, a national divorce is imminent. And I don't want that to happen. I don't.
- [45:16]
B
Well, that's right. By the way, I have entertained in my mind, as it were, the idea of a conservative states of America and a leftist states of America. And in 50 years, let's see who thrives.
- [45:32]
A
Yeah. And what you would have in that, let's just say, somewhat theoretical exercise, you'd have a brain drain from the liberal states. Go to the conservative states.
- [45:43]
B
Yeah. And then they would vote liberal again.
- [45:45]
A
That's right. Exactly right.
- [45:48]
B
Because everything the left touches, it destroys.
- [45:51]
A
That's right.
- [45:51]
B
This is one of the mottos of life.
- [45:53]
A
Yes, it's awfully depressing one, but it's very true. Dennis, anything you want to plug that our audience can support you. Your bible commentary in particular.
- [46:02]
B
Yeah, that's really big. Because even if you don't give a damn about the Bible. If you give a damn about life, it's in there. It's called the rational Bible. Two of the first five volumes are out, third volumes next year. And if you want to understand the left, still the best hope, you want to be happy. Happiness is a serious problem. And of course, there's always Prageru where we're doing a lot of good work and touching a lot of people like you are. I mean, you know, tpusa and us were we're not the last best hopes of the last best hope, but we're among the last best hopes.
- [46:45]
A
We're pretty close to it. Pretty close to it. The few fighters, there's few organizations that fight and it's great for you and Turning Point usa. And Dennis, you've been a hero of mine and I learn from you all the time. So thank you for that and thank you for being so generous with your time. Appreciate it.
- [47:00]
B
My joy,
- [47:03]
A
what a great conversation that was with Dennis Prager. Please consider joining TurningPoint USA@tpusa.com that is tpusa.com Turning Point USA is the nation's largest conservative student organization on over 2000 high school and college campuses across the country fighting for freedom, liberty and American Exceptionalism. @tpusa.comtpusa.com Please consider supporting our program at charliekirk.com support it is charliekirk.com support and email us your thoughts. Subscribe to the Charlie Kirk Show. Take out your phone, type in Charlie Kirk show hit subscribe and give us a five star review. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. God bless.