WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:05.200 In a recent appearance on a Christian's Engaged live stream, Texas State Representative Matt 2 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:12.599 Schaeffer unabashedly espoused his radical Christian nationalist ideology. Schaeffer argued that every elected official 3 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:18.920 must prioritize worshiping God and translating Biblical commands in the public policy. He asserted 4 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:24.719 that any government failing to uphold biblical mandates is defying God. Schaeffer's rhetoric underscores 5 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:31.039 a concerning trend towards intertwining religious beliefs and political power, potentially undermining the principles 6 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:36.240 of secular governance and individual freedoms. His views extend to using state power to 7 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:40.840 outlaw abortion, framing it as a religious duty to protect the unborn. This 8 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.920 intersection of religion and politics raises questions about the separation of church and state and 9 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:51.119 the political consequences for civil liberties. Destroy some right wing watch by Kyle Madley 10 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:56.399 on March eight, twenty twenty four. Now, when I first read this, 11 00:00:56.679 --> 00:01:02.039 I couldn't help but think this is he's almost preaching to his base here. 12 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:07.319 Is this is not just something that we hear from isolated incidents. It 13 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:11.120 used to be more isolated, but this is getting more and more popular in 14 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.719 evangelical circles. This type of rhetoric. You know, they whether you call 15 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:19.159 them Christian nationalists, just good old, plain old fashion fascist fascism in the 16 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:26.400 name of God or dominionism. What they're looking for is to control every aspect 17 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:30.200 of not their lives, but of everyone's lives. And you know, we've 18 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:34.480 we talked about different things before, and whatever bad beliefs they want to have, 19 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:38.200 I'll push back against them, but they have a right to believe that. 20 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:44.799 But once they start stepping even a peaky over on the other side of 21 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:48.920 infringing on someone else's rights, Look, I don't care what you think God 22 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.359 told you that. Don't tell me to do what your God told you to 23 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:57.040 do, go ahead and do it. But once again, I do find 24 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.560 it interesting that they're back to controlling women. We're going to make sure that, 25 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:05.359 you know, we tell make sure abortion because he really focus on abortion 26 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:09.560 as one of those major issues, which I'm actually glad they're doing, because 27 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:15.039 I think that the more we focus on abortion, the more fired up some 28 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:19.240 people will be about this rhetoric and push back against it. But for me, 29 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:21.360 at the ultimate the end of the day, it comes back to something 30 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:24.360 I've heard Jason talk about before, and that is that to me, they're 31 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:29.680 breaking their oath of office. They're unfitt And you know, this is unbelievable 32 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:32.879 because to say that God's rules are premiere. You know, I went and 33 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:38.319 looked in the oath of offices and the name and by the authority of the 34 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:43.240 State of Texas, I do solemnly swear affirm that I will faithfully execute the 35 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:46.520 duties of office in the State of Texas, and we'll do the best of 36 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:50.960 my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and the laws of 37 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:53.599 the United States. So help me God. Well, fuck the God part. 38 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:58.439 But when it comes down to defending the Constitution, I don't think anyone 39 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:00.840 can claim that's what's going on here. Richard, Well, you know, 40 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:05.360 every time one of these people pops up, it makes me think about their 41 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:10.560 narrow, dogmatic positions. They always raise several simple questions which they generally can't 42 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:16.479 realistically answer without showing their sectarian dogmatism. For example, which god or gods 43 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:21.240 are you talking about? Two? What religion? Under which god or gods 44 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:25.280 you're talking about? I mean, Christianity has two or three thousand subsets Islam 45 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:30.439 has two major claimants. The Jews have five or six different levels of from 46 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:35.439 reform to you know, ultra acidic. I mean, so we get we 47 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.639 get to a place where what are we going to need a new supreme religious 48 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:43.319 court to decide whose holy book is the right one and what each page means. 49 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.400 I mean, you know, it's just because differences are going to arise. 50 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:52.159 So it just it just drives me crazy that these people are not there 51 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:54.840 to represent the people that voted for them, because you know, in my 52 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:59.599 district, if somebody's being like that, they wouldn't be representing me because I 53 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.800 don't believe even their shit. And so you know, you said what you 54 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:08.039 said about not doing their duty absolutely correct, But it's also just their frame 55 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:14.680 of mind that somehow, their narrow, you know, evidentiary less beliefs should 56 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.480 be telling other people what to do. And that's just crazy. I fully 57 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:20.040 agree, man, I really do. I'm sure Jason has some comments, 58 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:25.319 tell us, tell us Jason, oh god, I don't let me. 59 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:28.600 Let me let me say this in a sweet kind way. You know, 60 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:30.439 it just it fucking blows my mind. It really does, and it shouldn't, 61 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:34.160 but it does. You know, this man, is openly endorsing treasonous, 62 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:39.600 anti American ideals that directly oppose life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 63 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:43.040 Look, I have no problem with somebody believing in religious bullshit, as 64 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.800 long as they protect my right to not believe in that bullshit. I'll gladly 65 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:49.519 support someone's right to uh not have an abortion as long as they defend a 66 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:53.519 pregnant person's right to choose. I'll gladly support the right to vote for some 67 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:57.360 stupid fucking idiot as long as they support my right to vote for another stupid 68 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.399 fucking idiot. To me, that's America in a nutshell. It's I may 69 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.360 hate you, sure you hate me, but we have common needs and we 70 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:05.560 need to defend the right of one another to hate each other in peace. 71 00:05:05.639 --> 00:05:09.519 You know, again, it's treasonous, it's anti American, and these people 72 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:13.319 are scumbacks, they really are, and they're striving to tear us apart. 73 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.439 Ultimately, they're pitting workers against workers. I mean, look, if you 74 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.959 read that statement that the Texas GOP released, I think it was like twenty 75 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:25.839 sixteen, maybe twenty seventeen. I mean, I guess you'll have to be 76 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:30.399 sharing my terror it's this shit that's peddled in that document is anti working class, 77 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:33.120 anti freedom, anti democracy, anti American. It demonizes the poor, 78 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:39.079 it demonizes pregnant people, it demonizes queer people. It promotes misinformation, disinformation, 79 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:43.519 and anti scientific ideology that is eroding what little progress we've made in this 80 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.040 state. Again, I'm a Texan there and Richard Hill on this. These 81 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:50.160 are capitalists that are profiting off a title and a grift. They are using 82 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:54.800 the label Christian, They're lining their pockets, and they're scamming people who think 83 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:59.279 they represent their interests. All the while these same working class people are shooting 84 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.000 themselves in the feet. All these fuckers are laughing all the way to the 85 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:05.160 bank and living atrocious lives that do not represent the way I was raised as 86 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:09.079 a Christian, to give to the poor, to look out for the needy, 87 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.279 and to take care of your community, to defend the rights of others. 88 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:15.879 Even though you may disagree, it's not the same thing. It's this 89 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:20.800 Americ christ thing has fucking morphed into this capitalistic, imperialistic, fucking money grab 90 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:26.120 machine that use a single issue voting issues like abortion. That's all this fucking 91 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.839 piece of shit is jumping on it's single issue shit because he knows that's the 92 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:32.160 thing. I don't know. Look, Scott isshootes you because I'm going to 93 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.680 keep fucking ranting it just it makes me sick because this fucking piece of shit 94 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:41.000 is from my state and he doesn't represent the majority. That's the problem with 95 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.879 Abbott and all those people. Sorry, I can't get too political. I 96 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:48.480 just his views do not represent the views of the majority of the humans here 97 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:53.319 in this state and the needs, and what he is doing is harming those 98 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:56.360 people by spreading this. Sorry, Scott's to you. No, no, 99 00:06:56.360 --> 00:06:59.079 no, I totally agree, and in fact, I'll just continue on your 100 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:02.680 rant. Right, we're talking about Christian nationalism. That's neither Christian nor nationalist, 101 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.439 right, It's it's not it's well, it is, but it's not 102 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:11.759 in support of Christianity in many ways. It's not in support of the United 103 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:15.000 States in many ways. As both of you were just saying, they're going 104 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:20.360 and they're violating their oath, they're violating the Constitution. They're trying to it's 105 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:25.959 not about governing. It's not about you know, improving the United States. 106 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:30.399 It's not about bringing us together as a people. It's about lining their pockets. 107 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:36.920 It's about getting their personal agendas pushed through by any means necessary and infidel. 108 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:41.120 You mentioned at the and the intro to this segment, you used a 109 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:44.680 word nijan. It's down here unabashedly. Okay. So that and that's the 110 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:48.160 really frightening thing here is because first of all they're doing they're they're really really 111 00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:51.639 pushing the envelope here, if even that right, if not just blowing the 112 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:55.959 envelope totally out of the water, but they're doing it right out in the 113 00:07:55.959 --> 00:08:00.160 open, and it's working. It's working in many ways. Obviously we're know 114 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:03.120 there's many people catching on it. They saw a big backfire when they you 115 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:07.199 know, in the in you know, when they were pushing the abortion issue 116 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.879 before, and so they saw, you know, they saw some pushbacks. 117 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:13.680 So there are people that are catching onto these kind of things. But there 118 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:16.639 are ways that that should be used. If if you if you do have 119 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:22.399 a belief if you do you know, if you do want to mold the 120 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:26.240 future of the country based on your beliefs, which is fine, you know, 121 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:30.160 that's that's part of what what being an American is all about, is 122 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:33.759 knowing that you'll be heard knowing that your voice matters, knowing that your voice 123 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:37.799 counts. There are things that you can do in in pursuit of that. 124 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.159 You can do. You can vote, you can uh, there's legal activities. 125 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:43.519 You can have discussions just like we're doing right now. You can think, 126 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:46.360 yeah, you can think, you can uh. You know, certain 127 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:52.279 types of advertising are perfectly legit ways of putting ideas out in the public sphere 128 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:58.440 and letting you know, the public digest them and you know, keep some 129 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:01.480 reject others, and and based on the merits of those arguments. There are 130 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:07.720 ways, though that that we're seeing come to four unabashedly coming to four, 131 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:13.639 that our manipulated, manipulative that are subterfuge, that are are trying to push 132 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:18.279 it in spite of what America wants, in spite of the will of the 133 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:22.399 people, for example, refusing to hold a vote on you know, for 134 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:28.279 a nominated Supreme Court candidate, right undermining confidence and elections, jerrymandering, more 135 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.159 severe forms of advertising, gas lighting. We see fake videos coming out, 136 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:35.679 we see all kinds of stuff happening, and and it's really it boils down 137 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:41.399 to, you know, if you really have confidence that your ideas are good 138 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:45.519 and are correct and our best for the country, then let's hear them, 139 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.080 let's discuss them, let's talk about them, Let's go through our normal process 140 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:52.799 of of of figuring out the way we as a group, as a nation, 141 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.279 as a as a planet, want want our future. You know, 142 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:00.519 that's kind of that's kind of what democracy is all about. Although we have 143 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.720 heard them bad mouthing democracy. We just a couple of weeks ago we had 144 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:09.039 our story about the Seapac speech that was literally talking about bringing down democracy, 145 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:16.320 democracy as a goal, saying it outright and openly, unabashedly bashing democracy, 146 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:22.639 and so you know, it's really just it's it's hard to imagine that this 147 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:24.879 isn't this How could this not just be a big dog whistle? I mean, 148 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.200 this is really they're they're using, They're pulling on these emotional strings, 149 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:33.759 they're pulling on these psychological strings. There's manipulation happening here. And you know, 150 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:39.279 as as somebody who's on the on you know that doesn't agree with this 151 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:43.960 particular stance, it's easy for me to see. It's easy for us to 152 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.960 see and to talk about what exactly is happening here. You know, I 153 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:50.879 try to put myself in the mind of people who disagree with me, and 154 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:54.840 and it's you know, this one's really hard for me to swallow. It's 155 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:58.039 it's hard for me to imagine that somebody can can sit there and not see 156 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:01.200 what's going on, but clearly that's happening. I mean, you know, 157 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:07.360 many people that we know personally, probably you know, are going along with 158 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:11.320 this particular view, and so it's really I don't know, it's really challenging. 159 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:13.320 It's really challenging. But I want to ask a question to the panel 160 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:18.440 here. Do you think that part of all of their plan is to normalize 161 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:22.919 Christian nationalism? Are they trying to just are they trying to just push it 162 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:26.440 in our faces so that we get used to it. If so, do 163 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:30.480 you think that they're going to be successful? Infidel what do you think about 164 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:35.240 that? I think that there's definitely a segment of that group that is looking 165 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:43.080 to normalize these absolutely bigoted, intolerant views. I think that it's shortsighted. 166 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:48.799 I am afraid that I know people, my wife's family in particular, who 167 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:54.480 were completely a political who now are completely on board with all this, but 168 00:11:54.519 --> 00:12:00.759 they're overlooking the fact that they're an extreme minority religion. They are not mainstream 169 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:05.360 Christianity. And what I think that they fail to understand is that if you 170 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:11.360 normalize something like this and we really do become that Christian nation that they like 171 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:15.720 to falsely portray us as our origins, what you're going to get is the 172 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:22.559 same violence that we saw in Europe before this country. Because then once the 173 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:24.120 Christians, for the lack of a better way to put it, get in 174 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:28.120 the power, then the problem is going to be is who's really a Christian, 175 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.279 Who's Christian enough? And then you're going to see people who thought that, 176 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.399 hey, we were going to do things my way because a lot of 177 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:39.399 them I think are politically ignorant, and I don't mean that as an insult, 178 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:45.840 they just really are not well educated on politics. And they've been drafted 179 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:50.000 in in this cause because their church preaches this to them weekend and week out, 180 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.159 and they become politicalized and radicalized and they're going, yeah, yeah, 181 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:58.360 yeah, we need to make this a Christian nation again. We need to 182 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:01.320 do this, we need to do that, and they forget that as soon 183 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:03.559 as some of the people that are in power who are screaming that, they're 184 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:05.320 going to be like, oh, well, you know, you. You 185 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:09.120 don't accept the Trinity, You're you're not really a Christian. You don't do 186 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:13.600 this, You're not really a Christian. And they're going to see the same 187 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.879 problems and difficulties that we saw in Europe come, you know, centuries ago, 188 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:22.200 right back here. Our founders are smart enough to realize we don't want 189 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.759 to recycle that. And that's why the rules were the way they were. 190 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:28.240 Whether you think they were Christian or not, they knew one thing. We 191 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.840 left that behind for a reason. And I say, now, hey, 192 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.919 wake up, open your eyes and realize we left that behind for a reason. 193 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:41.799 Let's leave it there. We have enough things that we can disagree about 194 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:45.320 and work out among ourselves. We don't need to fight the fight that we 195 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:48.720 had hundreds of years ago. Again, right, Richard, what do you 196 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:54.840 think? What do you think totally that you know, the dictatorial nature of 197 00:13:54.879 --> 00:14:00.440 the Church of England is what created America to many de Greece because people had 198 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.320 to get the hell out of there. You know. The other thing that 199 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:07.399 scares me, having a science background before I got into doing legal stuff, 200 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:16.039 is that if we get into these beliefs that don't deal with evidence and rational 201 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:20.639 thought and logic, we are going to fall behind scientifically from the rest of 202 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:22.600 the world, and our economy is going to go straight to hell if there's 203 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:28.639 in hell. I mean, you know, if you bring up kids telling 204 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:33.000 them that evolution isn't true and that you have to believe this the earth is 205 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.519 six thousand years old and that's it, and all that kind of stuff, 206 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.120 they're not going to learn things properly. I mean, the one thing about 207 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:45.399 science is that language is the same in every country. You know, two 208 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:48.960 and two is four, you know, everywhere. I mean, you know, 209 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:52.639 that's the thing that that's the language we can communicate with. But when 210 00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:58.639 everybody has their own religious views that are dogmatic, sectarian and against each other's, 211 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:03.720 then it doesn't look like there's a good hope for for the world staying 212 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.919 you know, peaceful. And the history has been that it hasn't. And 213 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:13.279 so, you know, if we can get these people to try to think 214 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.639 about stuff as opposed to you know, prophesies, which is their favorite thing 215 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:22.200 to do like this guy was doing, we have some hope if people will 216 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:26.879 start thinking more and be critical and analytical and you know, check stuff out 217 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:31.960 and see what makes sense, not what you want it to be. Because 218 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:33.600 your parents told you you had to believe that, right, you know, 219 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:37.159 And that's the problem. And these these guys want to get control of everything 220 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:41.159 and tell us how to live. And I don't want anybody telling me how 221 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:46.080 to live. So do you think maybe they're doing maybe they're like because they're 222 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:48.120 bringing it up in stump speeches. Now they're bringing it up in you know, 223 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:52.279 in the news, and they're they're talking about it unabashedly, right, 224 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:54.799 And so do you think, Richard, do you think that that's part of 225 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:58.159 the plan? Though? Do you think we want to because there's things that 226 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:00.679 you say quietly, and there's things that you say all loud, and now 227 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:03.559 they're saying this out loud. Do you think they're trying to make it? 228 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.120 Put that in, make it part of the normal, you know, American 229 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:11.799 vernacular? Are they trying to change? It's not the American minacular. There 230 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:15.440 is no question in my mind that these people that talk like that, they 231 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:21.240 want a theocracy and they want to you know, be again, you get 232 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:23.679 back to that same old thing. Who's going to interpret the word of God? 233 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:29.039 I mean, this is this is always the big fight amongst these people, 234 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:32.759 right, I mean, even with the with the Islamic religion. There's 235 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:36.679 two major secs, Sunni and Shia. You know, wherever it is, 236 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:41.039 there's going to be different interpretations when it's not being done on a rational, 237 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:45.360 evidence based basis. So you know, they want to have a theocracy because 238 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:52.240 they think that'll give them more control to deal with And I know everybody on 239 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:56.000 this panel understands this. Dealing with the other that's one of the things they 240 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:00.759 want to do is you're not the same as me. So I have the 241 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:03.960 religion, I have control. I can dominate you and push you aside and 242 00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:07.640 make you a second class citizen or a third class citizen, or dead or 243 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:11.839 in jail if you don't agree with us. So that's what happens. And 244 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:18.440 you know, just the whole thing about the sexuality stuff, it's been scientifically 245 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:23.880 established for years that a certain percentage of human beings are going to be homosexual. 246 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:27.559 That's a scientific reality. And these people keep saying, well that was 247 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:32.160 a choice. I mean, where are these you know, they just talk 248 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:36.720 out their butts. They don't even look at research and what's done. Richard, 249 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:37.680 Let's put a pin in that. Let's put a pin in that right 250 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:41.519 there, talking out their butts Okay, I want to get Jason's out of 251 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:47.880 Jason's opinion. Are they normalizing Christian nationalism? Is this a strategic move that 252 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:49.839 they're doing by the way that they're bringing it up, the way that they're 253 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:55.160 pushing it and basically pushing it into the news cameras, right, They're putting 254 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.359 it in all of our tongues, in all of our minds. Is that 255 00:17:57.480 --> 00:18:02.079 part of a plan? Is are they trying to normalize things? It's already 256 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:06.599 been normalized since Limbaugh. I don't think. I don't think they're trying. 257 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:11.359 I think it's already been done. I think the reason Trump was elected is 258 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:15.440 because Limbaugh existed. I think the current landscape is directly related to people like 259 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:19.759 am Alex Jones and other media things. I don't know. I think that 260 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:26.519 the Christian nationalist language has been getting established since Reagan and focus on the family 261 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:30.839 and all this stuff about purity and then all these things the way they established 262 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:34.079 it. And if you look at there's myriads of empirical studies that show you 263 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:40.680 that religious belief in itself is negligibly harmful, even if it's especially if it's 264 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:45.799 like a culturally relative belief that doesn't the thing that gives it fucking power and 265 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:49.440 the power to do what we're all pissed off about is an authoritarian government. 266 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:53.319 So you take authoritarianism, ritual talitarianism, you mix it with religion, and 267 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:56.880 Richard's like, who's going to interpret it? The government, that's who's going 268 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:00.480 to interpret it. So what we're seeing now somebody else. Yeah, well, 269 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:03.640 what we're seeing and where we see it get power is when a government 270 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.960 starts to interpret the religion for everybody else and on, you know. So 271 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.000 when you start thinking about it, that's what the theocracy is. That's the 272 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:18.200 government interpreting the religion on it, for everybody else and enforcing that interpretation the 273 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.240 governmental and it's and it's it's it's authoritarianism and totalitarianism. So you get a 274 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:26.720 religion that already has an authoritarian backbone, and then you get a government system 275 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:30.759 that is an authoritarian backbone, and they merge so perfectly. This is how 276 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:33.559 cults, This is how cults start. A cult generally is not a far 277 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:40.279 deviation from the already pre existing major religion in that region. That's how they're 278 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:42.880 able to do it. That's why in let's say in California, you have 279 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:48.000 little you have things like transcendental meditation and meditation and a lot of hippie shit 280 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:52.400 that's just like normal. That's called culturally, you know, acceptable beliefs out 281 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:53.920 there. But that's why you get cults that are able to kind of branch 282 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:57.319 off but still have that same ship. That's why Texas you have Christian cults, 283 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:02.119 That's why you have other cults of different because it takes what's already pre 284 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:04.440 existing and just deviates a little bit, and just deviates a little bit. 285 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:10.559 That's all you're doing. Whenever religion and government merged together. You're taking what 286 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:12.319 the religion has, you're taking what the government has, and you're all just 287 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:15.200 kind of working and you're not really deviating too much. But then you put 288 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:18.480 people in power and figureheads and you enforce it, and after a while, 289 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:23.880 everybody just kind of recognizes that they were already bowing to an authoritarian religion. 290 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:29.839 So sacrificing your empathy for authority, which we've seen in empirical studies across the 291 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:33.359 board and we know about already, is already second nature. So of course 292 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:40.119 you're going to sacrifice your empathy for authority because you've been trained since your fucking 293 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:45.440 developmental years to do that automatically without question, and to feel guilt and to 294 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:48.799 feel shame and to feel like you deserve to be punished for not doing that 295 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:52.599 and for being skeptical. So yes, I believe it has already happened. 296 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:56.599 I just believe the language changes, just like instead of charisma, and my 297 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:00.039 kid says, oh, they've got that riz like it just means charisma. 298 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:03.240 You know, that shit is seen, it's like, okay, So that 299 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:06.640 stuff's like cool and kind of edgy, you know what a scene for me 300 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:10.000 was like talking about you know, the words may change and delivery may change, 301 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.440 but it's still the same shit. And it's been going on since Reagan 302 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:15.559 era, and all we're seeing it now is just a different name to the 303 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:18.000 same fucking dog. I don't see anything different. I just see people being 304 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:23.000 bolder and more actually being a much harder line, and people deviating more from 305 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:26.680 reason and being okay with it. And we actually see this increase across the 306 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:32.119 board globally, we have seen an increase in religiosity as opposed to a decrease 307 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:36.759 due to the Internet, due to time to space compression, due to global 308 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:40.599 like true globalism. You know what I'm saying, like global connection. We 309 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:45.400 people thought that religiuriosity would plummet, but actually now it is skyrocketing, and 310 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:51.920 it's ridiculous, and I just I don't know. I feel hopeless most of 311 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:56.200 the time whenever we talk about these things, because I'm looking at a country 312 00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:00.240 to where the majority of the people believe that there's gonna be a judgment day. 313 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:04.880 I mean, I don't know. I get ran bout this. I 314 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:08.519 can talk about this for two hours, so I don't know. It's easy 315 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:12.240 to make these decisions when you know that there's that big prize at the end. 316 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:17.039 Right, you know, this is just filthy rag. You're making no 317 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:21.240 decisions. You're literally making no decisions. It's easy to give your decision making 318 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.480 ability over. It's funny because Hobbes argues for that, you know, but 319 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:30.359 not in so much this way. This is more like you're sacrificing your decisions 320 00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:33.000 on the altar of Christ. Being a slave to Christ. Of course, 321 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:38.880 people are going to be okay giving over their freedoms and rights because they're already 322 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:42.319 fucking prime to since birth, to be a slave to Christ, to be 323 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:45.000 a slave to Allah, you know, to be all these things. I 324 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:49.000 have no power. I'm just part of this flow. You know, that's 325 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:52.640 what it is. It's just priming to give over your fucking any part of 326 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:56.920 your will or freedom to the machine man. It's disgusting. What you're saying 327 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:02.559 is we have Christian national is already normalized to the point where we have this 328 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:06.759 population that are prime to receive that kind of thing. As you mentioned before 329 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:11.920 that there's there's tons and tons of research that shows that there's connections between you 330 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:18.119 know, individuals who are prone to accept an authoritarian position are prone to accept 331 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.920 an authoritarian rule. I've seen videos saying yeah, I would accept the king, 332 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:26.359 no problem, and you know it's you know these are and you know, 333 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:29.640 at the same time they're wearing the American flag. I was like, 334 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:33.359 well, I'm not sure if you're you know, maybe you should read that 335 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:36.359 history book. I think we had a problem with the last time we had 336 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:38.920 a king. That's why we got the United States here. But it's so 337 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:42.480 it's like we're baby stepping to tyranny, right, We're starting We're starting out 338 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:45.240 here at this level where we have, you know, people that are prime 339 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:48.400 to this, and then it's just an easy push. It's just an easy 340 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:52.799 push off the edge and I did have one other question. I want to 341 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.799 quick maybe we can just get a quick answer from the panel here. Everybody 342 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:00.200 kind of has mentioned you know, they have their right to believe what they 343 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:04.160 want, but it's when you start pushing it on other people that we run 344 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:08.519 into problems. So let's talk about this specific article here about Matt Schaeffer. 345 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:17.839 Does his sincerity? Does that matter if he's sincere? Shouldn't we support his 346 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:22.119 right to say these kind of things or does that matter? Should he should? 347 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:25.799 Should he have the right to express his views even when we rage against 348 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:32.480 those views themselves. Does sincerity matter? Infidel, I think that sincerity matters 349 00:24:32.519 --> 00:24:36.119 in one sense, but not at all when it comes down to the acceptance 350 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:40.160 of his message, because at the end of the day, like many other 351 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:45.759 people, they want to bring about the end of the world. They're looking 352 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:49.960 to bring about in apocalypse. So when you sincerely believe in a belief that 353 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:56.039 the end goal is to bring about the end of the world literally, I 354 00:24:56.039 --> 00:25:00.559 think we should all not only be hesitant and as Jason mentioned, frightened and 355 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:06.759 concerned about it, but adamantly oppose that in every possible way. Richard and 356 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:11.079 I would say, at all this is one of the reasons why these folks 357 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:15.160 don't pay any attention to what's happening to our climate. You know, I 358 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:18.759 have two grandkids, and you know they're like six and eight years old, 359 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:22.640 and thirty years from now when I'm dead, I would like them to be 360 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:25.720 able to breathe the air. You know, it would be real nice that 361 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:30.000 they would have an environment, a planet that was healthy and safe to be 362 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:33.599 on. But the way things are going, especially with these people who think, 363 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:36.799 well, Jesus, you know, Jesus is going to come in the 364 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:38.880 next twenty or thirty years anyway. You know how many times people have predicted 365 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:41.720 that when it didn't happen, they keep predicting. If you look at the 366 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:45.519 Bible, he said it was going to happen within a generation of him, 367 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:51.640 and it never happened. I mean, it's a joke, but it really 368 00:25:51.880 --> 00:25:56.400 as a destructive thing in our society because it keeps us you know, sincerity. 369 00:25:56.599 --> 00:26:00.839 I don't care about his sincerity. What I can care about is if 370 00:26:00.839 --> 00:26:03.400 he tries to implement that stuff. I mean, he can say whatever he 371 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:07.279 wants. We have sincere or not. There's a line across this line. 372 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:11.160 Chris sincerity has nothing to do with whether I'm going to accept it or not. 373 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:15.599 It's it's based on the actual politics of what he's laying down and with 374 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:19.079 what he said. I'm against him as long as I'm breathing. Okay, 375 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:23.480 so, Jason, Then if so, if sincerity, regardless of sincerity, 376 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:27.240 Richard is saying, regardless of sincerity, you can't cross this line, should 377 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:33.240 we support his right to rile up his troops to try to push across that 378 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:37.319 line. Is that within the bounds of a sincere belief? Or should we 379 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:38.559 push back against that as well? Well? I mean, you know, 380 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:45.880 I mean, the guy's representative and he's supposed to represent Look, I just 381 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:51.200 I can't view that guy other than a fucking traitor and treason is what he's 382 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:53.279 doing right now is anti American. And I don't I don't give a fuck 383 00:26:53.279 --> 00:27:00.200 about this sincerity. So maybe you think he's already across the line. He's 384 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.279 not trying to push across the line, he's trying to drag you serious, 385 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:07.279 we've all been so primed to like accept this type of red, all of 386 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:08.680 us, even all of us on this panel, We've all been so primed 387 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:12.279 to like we've heard this shit so much that look, Here's the fucking problem 388 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:17.519 is that if this dude was Islamic, people would be fucking burning down his 389 00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:22.119 house. If this dude was of some obscure like smaller religion, people would 390 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:25.880 be calling him insane and crazy. If the god name that he was using 391 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:29.119 was a different god name and he was saying this shit, they'd be saying 392 00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:32.039 he'd be out of awe. He'd already be outsted out of office, saying 393 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:34.680 that he's anti American, that he's trying to impose insane religious shit on people. 394 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:37.920 I mean, this is the only reason nobody is freaking out over this 395 00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:42.680 is because we are already accepting Christian nationalism as a norm in our fucking life. 396 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:47.039 Everybody is just about to privilege. Then it comes back to privilege. 397 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:51.720 Yeah right, yeah, okay, all right, well thanks everyone. If 398 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:56.000 you want to listen to more audio only podcasts, you can find the nonprofits 399 00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:00.400 and all of the ACA shows in audio only format at tiny c, C, 400 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:02.799 slash A e N Podcasts or