WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.839 The Thinking Atheist. It's not a person, it's a symbol, 2 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:10.000 an idea. 3 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.519 The population of atheists this country is going through the. 4 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:19.039 Rule, rejecting faith, pursuing knowledge, challenging the sacred. If I 5 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:22.559 tell the truth, it's because I tell the truth, not 6 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:24.600 because I put my hand on a book and made 7 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:28.839 a wish and working together for a more rational world. 8 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:32.359 Take the risk of thinking. Feel so much more happiness. Truth, 9 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:34.719 Fusian wisdom will come to you that way. 10 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:43.520 Assume nothing, question everything, and start thinking. This is the 11 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:50.079 Thinking Atheist podcast hosted by Seth Andrews. 12 00:00:56.679 --> 00:00:58.759 Back when I was a video producer, I used to 13 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:02.159 have this co worker this twenty something years ago. Her 14 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:07.040 name is Tracy, and Tracy was a blast. Just a 15 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:11.879 terrific person, huge heart, this sort of childlike, wide eyed 16 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:14.640 wonder on her face all the time she's about it 17 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:18.319 must have been upper twenties, around thirty years old. She 18 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.519 was a Christian, just a casual Christian. I doubt she 19 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:24.719 really knew anything about the Bible, but it was her 20 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:28.120 thing right, which is typical I think of many people 21 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:32.280 in the faith. And she was a talented producer. And 22 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.439 I remember every time Tracy would open her mouth every 23 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:37.760 time she would tell a story or ask a question, 24 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:42.719 anybody who knew her would get nervous because Tracy had 25 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:44.920 a gift, and I know that you know somebody in 26 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:48.280 your own life who is like this. She could say 27 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:53.319 the right thing in a tremendously awkward way, or she 28 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:57.400 would say a not great thing, like an uncomfortable or 29 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:01.400 even inappropriate thing, without any guy, without any malice, just 30 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:04.040 so innocently, but she would say it and make you 31 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.799 even more uncomfortable. And so you just never knew what 32 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:09.639 was going to come out of her mouth. So whatever, 33 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:12.319 we'd be with a client or in a meeting or something, 34 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.240 and she'd be like, now I have a question, and 35 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:18.919 we'd be like, oh God, no, what's she going to 36 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:23.919 say next? What's what's she going to say? So, and 37 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:26.879 I have a point to this story. We were on 38 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.680 a video shoot. We were going. We were traveling. We 39 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:33.039 used to travel back when I was a producer. We 40 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:38.159 did fundraising and promotional videos for churches. Ironically, I produced 41 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:41.919 hundreds of church videos for churches all around the country, 42 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:45.000 and so we'd fly all around every weekend. And so 43 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:47.879 me and a crew of two other people, including Tracy, 44 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:51.520 we were going I forget to what church it was. 45 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:53.759 I don't remember any of the details. I just remember 46 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:57.719 the encounter. We're on a plane and Tracy ends up 47 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:01.800 sitting next to a guy who was obviously practicing Muslim. 48 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:04.439 And I don't think I'm profiling. I mean, you could 49 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:06.479 tell by the dress he was middle Easter, and you 50 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.560 just assumed this guy's almost certainly a Muslim. And so 51 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:13.319 Tracy was sitting next to this guy and I'm like 52 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.319 a row over or something. I can see and barely 53 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:21.759 hear what's going on. And Tracy, Tracy, she has no fear, 54 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:26.199 She had no fear. She's just gonna ask whatever question 55 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:29.560 pops into her head. And so she strikes up a conversation, 56 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:34.680 so where are you headed today? And the gentleman smiled 57 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:38.039 and he said, I am going here. Where are you 58 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:41.919 going today? He responded, and she said, I am going here. 59 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:46.759 We're going on a video. Shoot, oh you shoot video? Yes, yes, 60 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:50.400 we're going to a church, first Baptist Church of whatever, 61 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:54.919 first Methodist church or First Assembly of whatever church. We're 62 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.280 going and we're doing a video for their staff so 63 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:02.800 that they can raise money. Oh, oh that's nice, that's nice. 64 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.199 In a moment passed and I'm sitting more and more 65 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:09.719 on the edge of my seat, waiting for something uncomfortable 66 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:11.879 to come out of Tracy's mouth. And she says, you 67 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:17.839 have a very thick accent. Where are you from? And 68 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:22.160 I don't remember his country of origin? Obviously a Muslim 69 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:24.839 majority nation, and it wasn't one of the ones that 70 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:27.839 we hear about in the headlines all the time, like Iran, Iraq, 71 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:31.360 Saudi Arabia. I mean, you know what, are there fifty 72 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:35.240 some Muslim majority countries in the world. So it could 73 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:37.839 have been Libya, could have been Jordan, could have been Nigeria, 74 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:41.160 could have been Tunisia, whatever. But he was obviously from 75 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:45.160 another part of the world where Islam is the dominant religion. 76 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.560 And this is about five minutes after nine to eleven. 77 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:53.519 Just been a few years. And you know that in 78 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:58.639 this country, the American perception of the Muslim usually involves 79 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:03.920 a vest made of dynamite. Now I'm really on the 80 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:08.720 edge of my seat. Tracy is nodding and smiling in 81 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:13.519 that naive way, not an ounce of bad intention in 82 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:18.360 her heart. She says, she says, can you help me 83 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:26.279 understand something about Muslims? Oh? Shit, here we go. Can 84 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:37.519 you help me understand why so many Muslims are terrorists. 85 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.839 This guy could have gone post a lot, he could 86 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:49.839 have lost his mind and he could have just dressed 87 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:53.360 her down and berated her and you know, but he didn't. 88 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:58.079 He was so freaking kind. And I don't remember the 89 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:01.360 specifics of the answer, but the gist was is that 90 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:05.120 Islam is a religion of peace and that we are 91 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:08.920 not terrorists. Those people are very broken people. They are 92 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.879 filled with hate. But Allah is a god of love, 93 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:15.680 and we are a religion of love and peace. And 94 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:19.560 so he was doing I think what a lot of Muslims, 95 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:23.079 especially in this country, we're trying to do, which was 96 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:27.040 to de escalate and to try to counter this American 97 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:31.560 notion that Islam equals terrorism because we didn't know any Look, 98 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:34.839 the truth is in this nation, when you ask somebody, 99 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.720 a Protestant Christian American, you ask them to tell you 100 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:44.839 what is Islam? Which nations practice the Muslim faith, How 101 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:48.279 many of them are peaceful, how many of them are radicals? 102 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:52.319 What is the overall vibe of Islam? If you ask 103 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:56.199 an American Christian, they have no idea. All they know 104 00:06:56.439 --> 00:07:01.279 is Muslim equals terrorism. That's all they know, Alahu wakbar, 105 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:04.920 you hit the red button, you blow yourself up, and 106 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.720 you take dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people with you 107 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:12.319 as you go off to get your virgins in heaven. 108 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.839 All right, that's what we think about Islam. And I 109 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.680 was just thinking about this exchange and the response of 110 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:22.439 a guy who could have gone on the defensive, and 111 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:26.160 who could have been really caustic and nasty and all 112 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:30.279 those things, but instead he understood that Tracy was not 113 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.839 an agent of hate. She was not an agent of cruelty. 114 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:36.639 She was not an agent of bigotry, or at least 115 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:40.240 conscious bigotry. She was just naive. She was ignorant. She 116 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:45.720 was exhibiting a child like naivety about the world that 117 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:49.560 she lived in. Now, I'm not excusing the religion itself. 118 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:53.279 We know that Islam is just another superstition, and we 119 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:56.000 know that it fuels some very bad ideas, and we 120 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:59.920 know that fundamentalist Islam is responsible for a lot of 121 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:03.759 suffering in the world. We know that. But those of 122 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:08.360 us who see Muslims in three dimensions do understand that 123 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:12.199 Islam doesn't mean terrorism, and that the vast majority of 124 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.480 people who are persecuted by the hardliners and by the 125 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:18.879 radicals and the Islamic regimes. Those people who are suffering 126 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:20.959 and just want to be free and live in peace, 127 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:26.759 those people themselves are Muslims. They are human beings. Islam 128 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:30.360 for them is a framework for their lives. They don't 129 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.559 hate anybody. They don't want to blow anybody up. They 130 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:37.279 don't want to see anybody tortured in whatever hell there 131 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:39.519 might be. They don't want Alla to come over and 132 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:45.679 strike everybody. Muslims, casual cultural Muslims, are so similar to 133 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:51.600 casual cultural Christians, Christians who ignore whole sections of their 134 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:57.120 genocidal Bible and they just sort of have Christianity as 135 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:00.480 an esthetic. They got a Bible on the no nightstand. 136 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:02.960 They don't really care much what's in it. They pray 137 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:07.480 and thank God before meals that somebody else prepared and served. 138 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.679 They ask for God's protection and healing as they pay 139 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:15.720 their insurance premiums and buckle their seatbelts and lock their 140 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:19.159 doors and turn on their security systems and load their handguns. 141 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:25.200 They live mostly secular lives, but Christianity for them is 142 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:28.759 like the window dressing. It is structure. It is part 143 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.399 of their identity, and I am convinced that a great 144 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.080 many Muslims are very much this way, and they are 145 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:39.600 good people who want peace. This guy responded to Tracy 146 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.000 by explaining much of this stuff in his own way, 147 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:46.799 defending his faith. But he did so with tremendous empathy 148 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:50.240 and humanity. I really, at the time got the sense 149 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:54.159 that he was kind of seeing the question through her eyes. 150 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.879 He was thinking, Okay, this is what our mindset is, 151 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:02.000 this is probably how she was raised, and I'm just 152 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:05.720 going to try to go with it. Given that understanding, right, 153 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:08.960 he really approached her with goodwill. I mean, there was 154 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:12.240 a lot of humanity there, which is so ironic because 155 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:16.720 in this country our perception of the Sharia law crowd 156 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.159 is that they just want to come in and dominate 157 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:23.480 and crush and hates everybody else, all the infidels. He 158 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.159 was a human being first, and I was struck by that. 159 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:30.039 We had a conversation afterward. I think I said something like, 160 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:34.559 you know, Tracy, Tracy, I as a representative of the company, 161 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.720 I'm not sure that asking a total stranger why his 162 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:44.600 religion is so loaded with terrorists, and doing so on 163 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.919 an airplane is the best idea. It's not that you 164 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:52.159 shouldn't ever have the conversation, but context and timing are 165 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:55.879 very important. Just keep that in mind next time. I 166 00:10:56.039 --> 00:10:59.399 really wanted to try to to not discourage her from 167 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:02.960 learning about the world. But why are so many of 168 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:07.960 you bomb carrying murderers? Might not be the question to 169 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:11.399 ask right off the bat. Okay, that might not be 170 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:14.440 the question to ask, But this guy was so kind 171 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:18.600 and it made me think again about humanity and empathy 172 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:22.519 in a time when there is a war on empathy. 173 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:26.399 It's been called toxic empathy. And that's the conversation I 174 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.480 want to have today. Of course, I guess we finally 175 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:33.960 have to define empathy the abilities to see something from 176 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:37.759 another's point of view and to share their thoughts or 177 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:41.480 their feelings. We can kind of get what they're going through. 178 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:45.480 And yet, for some reason, for many people in this country, 179 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:49.120 empathy has been painted as our tent is so wide 180 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:52.000 open that we're going to allow in every bad idea, 181 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:58.480 every bad ideology, every dangerous person or culture. Our empathy 182 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:02.639 will be literally the death of us. Let me get 183 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:08.320 into Elon Musk. Elon Musk goes on Joe Rogan last year, 184 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:11.840 and he's waging war on empathy. He says, we've got 185 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:16.720 civilizational suicidal empathy going on. I think you should care 186 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:19.720 about other people, but you need to have empathy for 187 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:25.320 civilization as a whole and not commit to a civilizational suicide. 188 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:28.559 And he draws a lot of this thinking from a 189 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:32.919 guy named doctor Gad Sod. He is a Canadian marketing professor, 190 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:38.600 and he has casually applied evolutionary psychology to the American 191 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:42.320 culture war. In fact, Gadsod has a book out. It's 192 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:48.480 called Suicidal Empathy Dying to be Kind. On the cover 193 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:52.679 is a quote by none other than Elon Musk. Western 194 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:57.879 civilization is doomed unless the core weakness of suicidal empathy 195 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:01.840 is recognized and actions are that are hard but necessary 196 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:06.120 for survival. Now many of us are thinking an endorsement 197 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:09.679 by Elon Musk is not the flex that you think 198 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:17.080 it is. But Gadsod's take is essentially this irrational altruism, gripping, 199 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:23.559 suffocating our culture. Suicidal empathy the mind parasite which hijacks 200 00:13:23.639 --> 00:13:28.759 the good empathy module in our brains, and it makes 201 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:33.799 us do bad things. We coddle violent criminals, we protect rapists, 202 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:38.360 and we brand those who are practicing self defense as 203 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:44.159 toxic and violent people. We prioritize the feelings of marginalized 204 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:48.320 groups over what is true. We advocate for criminals and 205 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:53.480 ignore the victims. We demonize the strong and the successful. 206 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:58.000 Then we celebrate the week and the destructive. We prefer 207 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:02.080 illegal immigrants over our our own citizens and our veterans. 208 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.639 We let drug addicts threaten our kids and parks. Common 209 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:11.000 sense is dying, and it's because of suicidal empathy. Now 210 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.240 I'm going to attempt at nuance, and I know I 211 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:17.960 can get away with it with this audience. Okay, and 212 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:21.519 we'll start with this reference to the violent criminals and rapists. 213 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.720 I'm guessing this is a riff on Trump's thing about 214 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:28.559 Mexico sending murderers and rapists across the border. They're not 215 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:32.600 sending their best. They are shoving into this country the 216 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:34.799 worst of the worst, and they are coming after your 217 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:37.799 kids and your family, and your God and your nation 218 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.559 and the world and your whatever. 219 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:39.960 Right. 220 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.200 That's how we see it, And in my own mind 221 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:45.799 have had this conversation about documentation. 222 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:47.799 I get it. 223 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:51.279 I understand the border is a problem. But I'll tell 224 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:56.399 you I myself would rather live next to a hardworking 225 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:02.120 person of good character who came here legally without documentation. 226 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.440 This is true for me. I see something like I 227 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.200 don't know what it's like to have been born under 228 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:14.240 the boots of a Mexican cartel. You worry and you 229 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:16.960 fear for your life every single day. I don't know 230 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:20.440 what that's like. I don't know what it's like to 231 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.000 worry about the water that I drink because a parasite 232 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:28.279 might kill me. My world is not one where I 233 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:33.720 am targeted with racial slurs left and right. I don't 234 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.080 know what it's like to be part of a police 235 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.200 traffic stop and worry that the color of my skin 236 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:44.240 is potentially going to get me shot. I don't know 237 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:48.240 what it's like to be a Muslim trying to get 238 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:51.799 permits to build a mosque in my hometown. And this 239 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:55.240 is happening in my home state of Oklahoma. We got 240 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:59.679 seven thousand Christian churches in this state, and about twenty 241 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.240 minutes for me, there is a group of people Muslims 242 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:05.679 trying to build a mosque. They just want to build 243 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:09.000 a house of worship that represents their faith in a 244 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:13.039 nation that's supposed to be all about religious liberty, and 245 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:17.399 yet they have been denied permits and are now filing lawsuits, 246 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:22.960 discrimination lawsuits because everybody around them who's talking about religious 247 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:29.679 liberty seems to mean Christian nationalist supremacy. I don't wake 248 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:31.960 up in the morning and think, you know, I wonder 249 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.679 if my own government is going to invalidate my marriage 250 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:41.159 this month. I'm not a trans military service member who's 251 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:43.480 been told all right, fine, you got to quit the 252 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.960 military in this amount of time, or else we're going 253 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:48.440 to put you on the hook for six figures of 254 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:53.120 student loans, right to be blackmailed out of the opportunity 255 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:56.200 to serve my own country simply because I don't fit 256 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:01.240 into this extremely tiny model for what's pete Hegseth thinks 257 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:04.640 the American soldier ought to look like, which is apparently 258 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:11.640 six foot plus, straight, conservative flag waving, probably Republican male 259 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:17.680 who gets an erection at the smell of gunpowder. I've 260 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:20.720 never felt the frustration of someone who's trying to navigate 261 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:23.680 a world that seems to have been designed only for 262 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:28.440 people who don't have a disability in terms of being 263 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:32.200 able to see or hear or feel. You know, everybody 264 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.799 in that world. They can use the stairs, and they 265 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.759 can access the entrance, and they can find their way 266 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:41.720 from point A to point B, and there's a chair 267 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:43.960 for them at the table, but not for me. I 268 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:48.720 don't know what that's like. I've never been accused of 269 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:53.279 abducting and eating dogs and cats because of the country 270 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:59.880 that I immigrated from. I've never had my reproductive choices mandate 271 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:03.359 to me. And I've never been punished, penalized, or even 272 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:06.920 fired from a job because I took too much maternity 273 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:09.559 leave after the birth of a baby. Don't know what 274 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:14.200 that's like. How many people right now were born into 275 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:19.559 or found themselves drowning in a situation of financial disadvantage, 276 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:23.000 Working one two three jobs at poverty wages in a 277 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:25.319 world or at least in a nation where the cost 278 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:29.680 of everything is going through the roof, they make less 279 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:33.920 the world costs more. And then people in this government 280 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:37.599 than elsewhere, certainly in the corporate world, look at them 281 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:42.119 and blame them for their own financial disadvantage. And then 282 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:47.680 they point around to someone who overcame near insurmountable circumstances 283 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:52.119 to become successful, a millionaire, even a billionaire, And then 284 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:55.039 they say, well, if you're poor, if you can't pay 285 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:58.240 the bills, if you can't make something of yourself. It's 286 00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:03.039 your own fault. Talented enough, you're not motivated enough, you're 287 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:07.440 not working hard enough. Your poverty is your fault. I 288 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:09.359 don't know what that's like. I mean, I think we've 289 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:13.680 all or most of us, have experienced financial struggles living 290 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:16.359 on a shoe string, but I mean the extreme or 291 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:20.039 more extreme versions of that. I've been very fortunate in 292 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:24.079 my life, and you may feel the same in a 293 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:28.359 world where empathy is the enemy. If you're poor, if 294 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:32.160 you're homeless, if you're under the boot of someone else, 295 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.799 if you are disadvantaged and struggling, I can just write 296 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:40.920 you off and I can call that moral. Elon Musk 297 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:44.119 talks a lot about empathy, usually attaches it to whatever 298 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:48.160 pet project he is a part of. Evs are going 299 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:52.119 to help us with our energy situation, which may be true, 300 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:55.480 but he frames it in terms of empathy. We have 301 00:19:55.599 --> 00:20:00.240 to help humanity through electric cars. Oh, space X, and 302 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:03.599 the billions of dollars were blowing up on the launch pad. 303 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:08.680 That is going to make humanity interplanetary, and that's good 304 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:14.599 for humanity. That's empathy. The whole thing about going to Mars, 305 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:18.640 our planet is becoming uninhabitable. I think he may have 306 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.680 at one time said that we are not reproducing enough. 307 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:27.000 So he's like, well, I have to spend obscene amounts 308 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:30.000 of money to get us to Mars in a plan 309 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:37.640 that will never work because I care so much. He 310 00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:40.839 goes into doge and he just wipes out He and 311 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:44.720 the hacker bros go in and wipe out critical, critical 312 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:48.079 programs that help I don't know how many millions of people. 313 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:51.880 Strikes usaid causes the death of I don't know how 314 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:54.920 many people. And he says, you know, smaller government means 315 00:20:54.960 --> 00:21:02.039 more individual freedom. I'm doing this because of empathy. He 316 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:06.960 buys into white replacement theory. He says, I'm protecting the 317 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:10.599 integrity of the United States and our core values when 318 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:16.480 I say that there's a focused, concentrated conspiracy by those lefties, 319 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:20.240 the radical left, the progressives, the Democrats. They want open 320 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:24.279 borders so they can cart in the immigrants, the illegals. 321 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:28.599 Then votes and they vote out all of the white people. 322 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:35.279 It's white replacement. By the way, undocumented immigrants cannot vote. 323 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:40.799 Mister genius, how do we listen to this guy, a 324 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:44.279 man of tremendous privilege, who was preaching to the rest 325 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:48.759 of us about what he calls civilizational suicidal empathy. How 326 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:53.079 do we take him seriously on the subject, And how 327 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:56.480 in the world is Elon Musk lecturing anybody about the 328 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:03.720 American dream. He comes here overstays a student visa. He 329 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:09.279 is an illegal immigrant. It's the ultimate irony. And then 330 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:13.759 he uses the system. He abuses the system to become 331 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:20.599 a wealth hoarder. And that is called the American dream. 332 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:24.319 And it's especially true in conservative circles, this idea of 333 00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:27.559 the American dream. And I used to buy into it, 334 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:29.920 but I looked at it sort of through the looking 335 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:32.079 glass the other way. Have you noticed that when people 336 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:37.000 talk about the American dream, it's almost always about money. 337 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.119 The American dream? What is that? Well, if somebody ends 338 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.039 up getting rich, they make a lot of money in 339 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:44.920 the stock market, or they have a successful business, or 340 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:47.759 they inherit money and they get a mansion and bank 341 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:51.039 and boats and cars and planes and shit like that, 342 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:56.480 they become world famous. Well that's the American dream. You 343 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:01.440 hardly ever hear someone say are they just happy? Are 344 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:06.400 they safe? Are they surrounded with loved ones? Are they 345 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:09.960 filled with purpose and doing what they feel like they 346 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:13.440 should be doing? And living the kind of positive life 347 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:18.519 that ripples outward to benefit everybody in their orbit. Does 348 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:19.599 anybody ever. 349 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:20.000 Talk like that? 350 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:23.680 No, it's always about bank. Well, if you look in 351 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:27.359 that context, if you frame it that way, Elon Musk 352 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:33.799 should be the happiest guy in the universe. The things 353 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:36.519 he says and the things he does, I mean, these 354 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:42.119 should be joyous, positive, wonderful things every day, a party 355 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:46.440 every day, a celebration every day, an expression of gratitude 356 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:51.400 for the vast resources that he has quote unquote achieved. 357 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:54.960 And yet when's the last time Elon Musk was kind 358 00:23:55.240 --> 00:24:00.960 to anybody who couldn't benefit him? Right back, more on 359 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:06.000 the subject, including the perspective of a Stanford psychologist on 360 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:17.359 the subject of empathy. We'll do it next. There's been 361 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:20.599 a kind of ideological civil war that's been going on 362 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:23.880 in Christian circles. So you've got the hard liners and 363 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:27.680 they're talking about toxic empathy, and then you've got the 364 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:30.720 progressives who are looking at the others, going, what the 365 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:34.440 hell's wrong with you? My Jesus or the Jesus that 366 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:36.400 I have in my mind or in my heart or 367 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:39.640 that I feel as the true version of Jesus is 368 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:42.759 all empathy and love and light and kindness, and feed 369 00:24:42.839 --> 00:24:45.079 the poor, and be meek and blessed are the least 370 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:47.880 of these, and come to me, you little children kind 371 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:48.440 of Jesus. 372 00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:48.799 Right. 373 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:53.440 So you got one side going, hey, quit being so empathetic, 374 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:56.400 and the other side is saying, please be more empathetic. 375 00:24:56.440 --> 00:24:58.759 And there's a tug of war as we watch this 376 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:04.440 faction fight between fellow Christians. Well have you heard of 377 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:09.680 Ali Beth Stucky. She is a Christian influencer. She's all 378 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:12.680 over TikTok. If you've never seen her face, that's okay, 379 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.359 because you've seen it, because she looks exactly like almost 380 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:21.680 every other female Christian influencer of her ilk. She's in 381 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:26.200 I guess her low thirties. She's got the long blondish hair, 382 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:30.279 she's airbrushed to the hilt. She's got that voice that's 383 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:36.400 not quite Michelle Dugger, but it's got that sort of high, compassionate. 384 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:40.319 We just need to channel the Holy Spirit and experience 385 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:43.200 the love of Jesus. Thing as I give you the 386 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:45.880 wisdom that has been imbued into me. 387 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:46.920 By the Lord. 388 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:51.079 Ali Beth Stucky she makes me crazy. She wrote a 389 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:55.119 book a few years ago called You're Not Enough and 390 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:59.559 that's okay. And I played the clip a while back 391 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.319 or heard it online. I'm gonna play it for you. 392 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:06.079 Here runs thirty forty five seconds. It was on TikTok, 393 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.440 so I grabbed it. She is telling her audience, Hey, 394 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:13.799 wait a minute, fellow Christians, don't you start thinking too 395 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:15.279 much job yourself. 396 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:15.960 Okay. 397 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:18.240 I know I probably sound like a broken record to 398 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:20.759 a lot of you, But because this is a message 399 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:24.000 that keeps on showing up in Christian women's circles, I 400 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:25.359 feel like I need to say it again. 401 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:28.240