This Past Weekend with Theo Von - Follow Up： What is an American？

00:00:00.000 I've got a bottle of good stuff.

00:00:30.000 Don't matter what you have, it'll cure what ails you.

00:00:38.120 And that right there is Jason Rivera, and that song is titled People on the Bus.

00:00:45.400 I want to thank you for sending that in, brother.

00:00:48.020 It is Thursday edition.

00:00:50.220 This past follow-up, we are talking about America, what it means to be an American.

00:00:56.980 And that's Jason Rivera sent that in, and that song is from America.

00:01:03.320 That song is made here in America.

00:01:05.320 That's an American-made song.

00:01:08.760 Thank you guys for joining me.

00:01:10.500 We're going to crack right into it.

00:01:11.620 We had a lot of great calls talking about America, what it means to be an American today to you and to me.

00:01:21.880 You know what, I'm going to start off, you know, I'll just reiterate a little bit.

00:01:26.120 You know, I told you guys that I spent my weekend in small-town America, 1,400 people.

00:01:32.780 To me, that's about as small as you could get and still be what felt like a town to me.

00:01:39.180 There wasn't a lot going on.

00:01:42.100 You know, it was a family-first type of environment.

00:01:46.140 You know, family was everything.

00:01:49.660 Just having children was important.

00:01:52.840 It was almost like having, you know, in busier cities and in wealthier environments, it was almost like having money.

00:02:02.720 Family seemed to be a currency there.

00:02:08.160 Rumors were bigger there.

00:02:09.720 Rumors were, you know, like, did you hear this or did you hear that, you know?

00:02:16.980 Because with less people, words, they hang in the air longer.

00:02:23.020 You know, like the kind of like the seminal spray of a lean seahorse.

00:02:33.060 Picture a seahorse jumping out of the water and spraying out its nuts out into the air.

00:02:37.620 That's going to be a beautiful mist, something fine that's going to hang in the air.

00:02:41.220 And that's how the rumors are in a smaller town.

00:02:43.500 They tend to hang in the air more because there's less people.

00:02:49.080 So, you know, words aren't as plentiful.

00:02:53.780 So when something is said, it hangs around longer.

00:02:58.680 People get up early.

00:02:59.780 People were working.

00:03:01.160 That was a big thing.

00:03:02.140 Getting up early, showing that you were awake to your neighbors, probably to your children.

00:03:07.860 Going to church was important, not only for religious purposes, but also as a social event

00:03:13.660 in a smaller town or a smaller community.

00:03:16.920 You know, that's important.

00:03:19.900 You know, just getting to see other people.

00:03:22.480 That's where you would do it at church.

00:03:25.720 Fostering children was big, it seemed like.

00:03:28.500 I ran into a few different families that had foster children.

00:03:31.320 And you might say, well, Theo, that's nothing, you know?

00:03:34.200 Well, I've lived in Los Angeles for a long time.

00:03:36.820 I've met a few people that have had foster children.

00:03:38.760 Now, a foster child is, sometimes there are children that have, you know, their parents

00:03:44.220 are doing wrong.

00:03:45.340 And they're being, you know, wild.

00:03:47.440 And they're being miscreants.

00:03:48.540 And they're being, you know, rabid, almost.

00:03:52.400 Something's wrong with their brain or something's wrong with their, they might have addiction.

00:03:56.100 They're not taking care of their children.

00:03:57.500 And those children will go into foster homes where people whose families are functioning

00:04:02.300 well will take care of them.

00:04:03.620 You also have children that are just going to be straight up adopted.

00:04:06.780 And I saw a lot of that in this smaller town environment.

00:04:09.680 Of course, this is just one small town.

00:04:12.240 I'm not saying this is every small town, but I'm just telling you some things that I noticed.

00:04:17.440 And for being in that small of an environment to see a couple different families that had

00:04:21.320 foster children, it stood out to me.

00:04:24.800 Keeping your yard clean was important.

00:04:26.900 Keeping your yard, you know, just the grass cut.

00:04:29.800 Keep your grass cut.

00:04:31.320 You know, keep your dirty laundry off the clothesline.

00:04:35.160 It can be there for a couple days, but it doesn't need to be hanging out there for a month.

00:04:39.540 And I liked that.

00:04:41.120 I liked having this semblance of responsibility because it was a smaller environment.

00:04:48.060 You felt more liable to your peers because there were so few of them, you know, and more

00:04:56.100 liable to your neighbors.

00:04:58.660 There was a little bit of drinking, you know, probably as much as anywhere else.

00:05:01.860 But in a small town, like if you drink a lot, it's going to, you're going to be the town drunk pretty quick.

00:05:06.740 Because there aren't as many people.

00:05:10.000 So I think like what you do and who you are in a smaller environment resonates more because it means more to you because there's less people there to see it.

00:05:24.460 And because, you know, with a smaller environment, less people to see it.

00:05:29.460 That means that your actions, they really speak volumes because you probably don't get a million chances to impress people.

00:05:38.820 So, yeah, that was my America, man.

00:05:40.900 That was my America this past weekend in a small town.

00:05:44.560 And then it got me to thinking after last episode of this past weekend, what was my America, you know, personally?

00:05:53.120 And we're going to get into some calls here in just a few minutes, but I just want to tell you what my America was like.

00:05:58.620 So some takeaways from my America growing up.

00:06:01.880 That's what I want to serve to you first here.

00:06:05.420 Opportunity.

00:06:06.420 I never felt like I couldn't.

00:06:10.340 Not in America.

00:06:11.320 I didn't feel that.

00:06:12.060 I didn't feel like I couldn't.

00:06:14.320 There have been many times where I felt like I didn't do things.

00:06:17.740 I didn't achieve.

00:06:18.800 I didn't try hard.

00:06:20.460 You know, I didn't accomplish.

00:06:24.560 But I never felt like I couldn't have achieved.

00:06:27.740 Like it wasn't an opportunity.

00:06:30.200 Like it wasn't an option.

00:06:32.240 One of my best friends I remember asked me one time, he said,

00:06:36.260 Theo, have you ever worked really hard at something and not achieved it?

00:06:42.040 And I thought, like, wow, I really hadn't.

00:06:45.860 You know, I never worked.

00:06:46.520 And I'm not trying to brag about myself, but I never worked really hard at something and not achieved it.

00:06:52.820 I've had goals that I didn't achieve, surely, but that I really gave it my all.

00:06:59.180 That I didn't take time off.

00:07:00.920 That I didn't take naps when I shouldn't have.

00:07:03.860 Or, you know, spend time petting the neighbor's animals when I should have been out there running track.

00:07:08.840 You know, or, you know, hiding things.

00:07:13.920 I remember I got this, one time I was trying to be this, when the school spelling bee,

00:07:19.200 and somebody gave us one of those electric worm rods.

00:07:23.780 And those worm rods, you put them in the ground, you plug them in, and it electrocutes the ground, and the worms come up.

00:07:31.000 I mean, it's like free worms.

00:07:34.640 I mean, it's like, you know, when, you know, it's like parting the seas almost, and just worms, worms.

00:07:43.460 Just coming up out of the ground.

00:07:45.600 Worms you didn't even know were in the ground.

00:07:47.560 And you put the stick in, and boom, worms fly up.

00:07:50.040 Anywhere you plug it in at, this electrical worm rod.

00:07:52.340 And I remember getting addicted to using that for probably about three weeks.

00:07:57.740 And come spelling bee time, I got fifth place.

00:08:01.360 You know?

00:08:02.160 And I could have done better if I'd have tried.

00:08:03.760 Half the kids in my town could not spell.

00:08:05.720 Still cannot.

00:08:07.320 You know, and that's honest.

00:08:08.400 That's honest to goodness.

00:08:09.420 That's true.

00:08:10.000 And I think a lot of them, if they're listening to this, will hear that and be like,

00:08:12.880 what's he talking about?

00:08:14.680 But then if they really start thinking around, they'll be like, yeah, he's probably right.

00:08:19.420 I didn't come from really from the spelling belt.

00:08:21.460 But anyhow, I got that worm rod, and I wasn't focused, and I didn't do well on the spelling bee.

00:08:27.420 Actually, a pregnant girl beat me in fifth grade.

00:08:30.340 She won the school spelling bee.

00:08:31.900 I will never forget that.

00:08:34.680 Anyhow, but I'd never worked really hard at something and not been able to achieve it.

00:08:39.300 You know?

00:08:39.520 And that was, I think that's just a testament to the fact that we live in America.

00:08:44.380 You know?

00:08:44.940 Because I never felt like I couldn't.

00:08:46.860 I mean, my mother was educated.

00:08:48.040 She didn't have the greatest employment, but she worked hard.

00:08:52.000 She delivered baked goods.

00:08:53.480 She delivered newspapers.

00:08:55.740 And that was because of circumstance.

00:08:57.360 She had to work because she had to provide.

00:09:00.000 You know, she was not ignorant in the least.

00:09:03.400 She graduated from Duke University.

00:09:05.040 She was an educated lady.

00:09:06.300 And she never left me with a feeling that I couldn't.

00:09:11.520 You know, I think she always left me with a feeling that as long as I got educated, that I could.

00:09:16.280 And then I naturally just felt in America that as long as I made an effort, that I would always have opportunity.

00:09:26.060 You know, that opportunity was always going to be there.

00:09:28.380 The second thing is that you can share your opinion.

00:09:31.960 And we're going to get to some calls, guys.

00:09:33.220 We've got a bunch of calls coming in.

00:09:34.540 I'll get to them shortly.

00:09:35.980 I just want to establish a little bit more of my foundation.

00:09:38.780 Because this whole thing got me to thinking, what did America mean to me?

00:09:44.040 You know?

00:09:44.880 And I'm coming to you from Nashville.

00:09:46.280 I'm in Nashville.

00:09:47.340 Some of you guys are probably wondering, well, Theo, why wasn't the episode up on Thursday morning?

00:09:51.980 Well, it's still Thursday.

00:09:53.760 Okay?

00:09:54.020 It's 8.49 p.m. here.

00:09:56.520 And I just got it up.

00:09:58.640 I had to fly here.

00:10:00.080 You know?

00:10:00.300 And I went and saw Book of Mormon last night.

00:10:01.920 I wanted to do something for myself.

00:10:03.960 So.

00:10:04.920 But, yeah.

00:10:05.480 The second thought for me was that I can share my opinion.

00:10:10.140 You know?

00:10:10.420 Though I think that some people should have to be licensed these days to have an opinion.

00:10:14.500 Because with stuff like Twitter and all this, any MOOC, you know, gets to have one.

00:10:19.720 And that's a Joey Diaz term right there.

00:10:21.580 But I got to have one.

00:10:24.980 You know?

00:10:25.200 Even the ignorant got to have one.

00:10:27.080 If you were really ignorant, you still got to have an opinion.

00:10:30.420 You know?

00:10:30.780 If you were cruel or whatever your intentions.

00:10:32.660 They didn't have to check your intentions.

00:10:34.460 Everyone got an opinion.

00:10:36.580 That's one thing you naturally feel here in America.

00:10:39.720 Or I did anyway.

00:10:41.720 Safety.

00:10:42.240 That's another feeling that I think about when I think about America.

00:10:46.800 You know, growing up, I didn't live in the safest neighborhood.

00:10:50.540 But I felt safe in my country.

00:10:54.720 You know?

00:10:54.980 I felt like our neighborhood, our town, our city, our state was safe.

00:11:02.540 You know?

00:11:03.040 We weren't at war with Mississippi.

00:11:05.800 You know?

00:11:06.180 Even though we were in a battle for, I think, first, like, last place for good drinking water.

00:11:13.340 But we weren't at, like, you know, at physical odds.

00:11:16.440 And that's a blessing that America's always had.

00:11:18.700 We're not at war with our border neighbors.

00:11:22.800 You know?

00:11:23.120 Canada's not going to attack us.

00:11:25.100 I mean, they would ask first if they could attack us.

00:11:27.760 They are, you know, the most kindred people, usually.

00:11:31.340 Mexico's not going to attack us because they're all here.

00:11:34.820 So, I mean, they'd have to leave and then come attack.

00:11:37.680 They're not going to do that.

00:11:39.900 So, you know, we've just been so fortunate geographically.

00:11:43.820 I mean, so many other countries are at war with their neighbors.

00:11:48.400 You know?

00:11:49.020 I've had a shitty neighbor, dude.

00:11:51.280 I've had the shitty, you know, my step-parents still have a shitty batch of neighbors over there.

00:11:55.900 And the Ottmans, these guys are a bunch of damn devils.

00:11:58.540 You know, they've got nine children and all of them, you know, just look like they've got extra bones in their face and whatever.

00:12:05.600 And I don't know.

00:12:06.220 They're not bad people, but they're bad neighbors.

00:12:09.160 They're bad neighbors.

00:12:11.700 And thankfully, they don't have guns, though.

00:12:14.800 Because we've all had a shitty neighbor.

00:12:17.060 Now, give your shitty neighbor a gun.

00:12:19.780 Ah!

00:12:20.760 That is spooky, you know?

00:12:22.920 That's terrifying.

00:12:24.600 And that's most countries' truth.

00:12:27.080 You know?

00:12:27.280 And that's not ours.

00:12:29.680 And then also pride.

00:12:30.940 I always felt a sense of pride for America.

00:12:33.420 You know?

00:12:33.860 And I think some of that came from just a pride that was in the air.

00:12:38.940 You know?

00:12:39.120 The news was always like, America's trying.

00:12:41.400 You know?

00:12:41.540 We're trying our best, you know?

00:12:43.880 You know?

00:12:44.380 We're in it together.

00:12:46.060 And this isn't good for America.

00:12:48.020 This isn't good.

00:12:48.960 America wasn't divided, really.

00:12:51.640 I think there were different views and different political parties.

00:12:57.460 Sure.

00:12:57.700 But America itself wasn't divided.

00:13:01.320 You know?

00:13:01.740 You always felt like somebody had the best interests of America.

00:13:05.360 That your leaders did.

00:13:07.560 And I remember a few years ago, I wandered out of a buddy's apartment complex.

00:13:10.960 And they had a veterans parade going on.

00:13:14.940 And it just brought a tear to me, man.

00:13:17.040 It just made me tear up.

00:13:19.460 You know?

00:13:19.980 Because your emotions, when I would see, I just saw the men walking down the street and the flags.

00:13:24.820 And you think of all the wars where people didn't come home.

00:13:29.040 And maybe I romanticized things.

00:13:31.300 Maybe I'm a romantic.

00:13:32.860 But it just made me feel something.

00:13:36.260 It made me feel a part of something.

00:13:37.960 It made me feel gratitude.

00:13:40.760 And it wasn't a feeling that I had to create.

00:13:42.780 That I had to think up.

00:13:44.220 It was something innate inside of myself.

00:13:47.200 Like my emotions just got erect.

00:13:49.800 You know?

00:13:50.840 Because your emotions, I mean, they will come to the surface of your skin.

00:13:56.860 And you can feel these just whirlpools of just, just tenderness and damn, just like, just like, just like somebody filled your neck in your, in your face with warm, in your cheeks with warm apple cobbler.

00:14:14.480 You know?

00:14:14.840 And that's your emotions getting riled up.

00:14:17.960 And, you know, and then you, they tear up.

00:14:20.500 A lot of times your emotions will basically ejaculate out of your eyes with salt water.

00:14:25.840 And that's tears.

00:14:26.960 And that's what happened to me watching that Veterans Day parade was seeing these men and just seeing the pride that they all had this one thing in common, that they had supported this flag, that they had supported this idea of America.

00:14:41.640 And maybe that's a romanticized idea, but I would rather have a romanticized idea than the alternative, which is having no pride in our country.

00:14:55.700 I would rather have the first one.

00:14:58.540 And we had that.

00:14:59.500 And it was just a lot of that.

00:15:00.700 There was, there was more of that back then it felt like.

00:15:02.800 More of that pride, you know?

00:15:05.480 And now I just don't know if you see it as much.

00:15:08.540 You know, the flag felt like a real thing to me.

00:15:10.620 I don't know if I was young, but the flag felt like a real thing.

00:15:15.060 You know, we had to say the Pledge of Allegiance at school, I think just on Friday.

00:15:19.000 But we all got up and we said it together and we crossed our, you know, we crossed our, our chest with our hand and we said it.

00:15:25.740 And it wasn't that everybody was like, fuck yeah, America, you know, at the end of it.

00:15:30.060 But it was just something that was unifying.

00:15:32.500 It was some solidarity.

00:15:34.580 And I think that that's, that's important.

00:15:37.160 And it felt important then.

00:15:38.720 And it felt like, oh, we're all on the same team.

00:15:41.080 If something happens or something comes in here and invades us, I don't care if it's a, you know, back then it was Cuba or Russia or Guam.

00:15:50.120 I don't care if it's, you know, one of those, one of those forces.

00:15:55.220 Or I don't care if it's a damn vulture.

00:15:56.940 I don't care if it's some, you know, creaky old angry vulture that flies in here, you know, and is just, you know, trying to bite people's necks and stuff and just damn, just beak people's eyelashes off their face or whatever.

00:16:13.080 But it felt like anything that came in, we had each other and that we were going to be supportive of each other.

00:16:21.000 And that was, that was good, man.

00:16:22.720 I liked that.

00:16:23.800 I liked that feeling.

00:16:25.500 You know, I liked that feeling.

00:16:27.860 I felt fortunate.

00:16:29.060 I felt fortunate to live in America and now it feels as if the American flag, it's like when they show it on TV, they show it sometimes, it's like in this context that we should be ashamed of it.

00:16:42.200 Like it's only representative of, of people that aren't open-minded.

00:16:48.060 And that's extremely alarming to me.

00:16:51.040 And this is just my point of view.

00:16:53.120 And I'm happy to be wrong.

00:16:55.200 I'm happy to be reminded of the other side and you can hit the hotline and tell me about that.

00:17:01.520 But, but I just feel sometimes like they're trying to show it in a way that we should be ashamed.

00:17:09.180 You know, like what are you doing with yourselves, America?

00:17:12.920 You know, but it's the number one flag, man.

00:17:16.380 I mean, it's the flag.

00:17:17.520 Like it's, it's the, it's, it burns me up when I meet Americans that, that aren't even supportive of America.

00:17:28.140 You know, and I even meet, I meet some of them through work and everything where it's like you see a lot of, of it in, I think, bigger cities where there's a lot more diversity.

00:17:35.260 You know, and people voting for the interest of their, of the country that they came from, you know, but not voting for the interest of, of America.

00:17:43.620 Um, but that's, that's wild to me because I guess I just could never imagine that, you know, it's like you can't, you, if you're here, you vote for here, you know, you vote for what you think is best for here.

00:17:58.180 Because I don't have any issue with the countries that some of these people might be from, that they might do this sort of thing, but it upsets me to hear that.

00:18:05.780 You know, I'm happy that you're from another country.

00:18:07.640 I'm happy that you live here and that your children live here and you make money here, whatever.

00:18:12.960 But I find it, to me, rude that you should favor that country, whatever your country is that your, your parents or grandparents are from, than the one that you currently live and prosper in.

00:18:27.120 I think that's selfish and I think that's rude and a country that you receive military safety from, you know, if your home country is so phenomenal, then just stay there and vote for what you want to there.

00:18:42.660 But at least if you're going to be in America, at least be supportive of America.

00:18:48.680 Now, those are my thoughts and feelings being an American and not being from somewhere else and living here.

00:18:55.380 But I, you know, I do wonder if I lived in another country, how would I behave?

00:19:03.060 You know, if I lived in, in Spain, would I vote for, and there was an election, would I vote for whatever's best for America?

00:19:11.340 You know, or would I vote for what's best for Spain?

00:19:14.660 You know, it's easy for me to sit here and say that I wouldn't, but I don't know.

00:19:18.540 You know, I don't know for sure, but I do know that I don't expect you to live here and not support this nation.

00:19:33.320 You know, sure, was this nation built upon, you know, the backs of slavery and greed and, and countless negative things?

00:19:41.900 Yes and no.

00:19:44.860 You know, I'll say both.

00:19:46.480 I think a lot of those things are just how humanity has played out.

00:19:51.600 I think they are infections and just how humanity's played out.

00:19:58.800 But we can't entirely condemn our current state for the atrocities of, of times long ago.

00:20:07.320 Times were different.

00:20:10.600 You know, we can't, you know, just keep beating ourselves up for things that we weren't even doing.

00:20:18.400 We can try to repair, but we can't just keep beating ourselves up for a past that we were not even alive for.

00:20:27.340 And that if we had the chance to play out again, that we probably wouldn't do.

00:20:32.660 All right, let's get to some calls, man.

00:20:34.160 You guys have been patient.

00:20:34.920 Thank you for hearing me out.

00:20:37.200 Thank you guys for hitting the hotline.

00:20:39.020 That number is 985-665-9403, I think.

00:20:49.080 Let me check right now.

00:20:50.240 That number is 985-664-9503.

00:20:55.220 All right, let's get some calls right here.

00:20:57.780 And you're on this past weekend follow-up.

00:21:01.000 The old, what's up, you overconfident cool young?

00:21:06.160 Man, I was calling in to tell you, I think the greatest thing about America is civil discourse.

00:21:11.040 I can think one thing, you can think another thing, and we all good.

00:21:15.880 Now, this gentleman said, call me a cool young.

00:21:19.000 Now, he's just saying you, you know, that's Cajun lingo for you, you know, you little shit boy or whatever, you wild shit man, feces, pepper boy, you know, something like that.

00:21:33.940 And he's saying that civil discourse, we can agree to disagree, or we can at least disagree.

00:21:39.820 Onward.

00:21:40.980 Well, as long as people don't act stupid.

00:21:43.440 Anyway, I think the biggest problem facing us here in the great land of America is overpopulation.

00:21:49.940 I don't have a real good answer to that, at least not one that most people would describe to.

00:21:55.640 I would like to hear your opinion on that.

00:21:57.540 Is there a cure for overpopulation?

00:22:00.200 We're going to run ourselves out of land and food.

00:22:03.040 Have a good one, man.

00:22:03.920 I mean, I think there's, yeah, there's a cure for overpopulation.

00:22:06.940 You know, you can, you can, you can stop people from having other people.

00:22:14.160 And I've said this before, you can take people's nuts, you can take kids nuts, you know, and give them back later when they have proven that they are contributing members of society, you know.

00:22:28.140 And I don't think that just the rich are going to be contributing members.

00:22:31.260 I think you're going to have all types, you know.

00:22:33.100 But I think that would create a desire amongst young men to want to do better and do their best.

00:22:38.600 Now, overpopulation, yeah, I mean, it's a real, it's a fact that you're talking about.

00:22:43.800 I mean, the amount of resources we have and the rate that we are creating more people is unbelievable, especially in America.

00:22:52.400 It's not, it's not sustainable.

00:22:54.380 It's not.

00:22:54.900 Go look it up.

00:22:55.960 Look it up all over.

00:22:58.040 You know, look in your refrigerator.

00:23:00.860 Now add 20 people to your house.

00:23:03.980 And now what you have in your refrigerator looks like a lot less.

00:23:07.180 And that's what's going on.

00:23:08.960 Big picture America.

00:23:10.140 It might not happen in our lifetime.

00:23:11.680 But big picture America.

00:23:12.980 In America, we are so greedy.

00:23:15.220 We use, I read somewhere that the average American uses eight times the average amount of, you know, food and water and whatever.

00:23:29.380 Toilet tissues and this and that.

00:23:31.200 Kleenexes and soap and everything.

00:23:33.400 As the average Chinese or Indian person.

00:23:36.440 Can you even imagine that?

00:23:39.360 I mean, that's consumption.

00:23:40.580 That's crazy.

00:23:41.260 And when you think about it, you don't see, you know, a fat Indian.

00:23:46.440 You know, you just don't see it.

00:23:48.160 I mean, they had one fat Indian.

00:23:49.560 They made a dang God out of him.

00:23:51.680 That Buddha.

00:23:53.760 That Buddha, man.

00:23:55.540 And they made him the God.

00:23:57.580 Because he was fat.

00:23:58.500 He was the only fat one they'd ever seen.

00:24:01.100 You know, and he was being greedy at the pork plate.

00:24:03.700 Or God just made him fat.

00:24:05.280 And they saw him then as a deity.

00:24:08.400 But you don't see a lot of fat Chinese, you know.

00:24:11.720 If they got a fat Chinese, they make them wrestle.

00:24:15.500 You know, if they got a fat Chinese, they're suddenly famous wrestlers.

00:24:18.940 You know, or they're in these videos shooting each other and, you know, with air pistols and with paint guns.

00:24:24.500 So, you don't see a lot of that gluttony.

00:24:28.080 In America, we are gluttonous.

00:24:29.940 And as the population increases, boy, shit is going to be set off.

00:24:34.840 You're going to see a couple of mooks out in the street, a couple of brothers out there beating each other down for a couple of sticks of celery.

00:24:39.900 And the least aggressive of humans will lose out, you know.

00:24:46.920 You're telling me you're going to wrestle a couple of carrot sticks away from a real strong brother out of Florida?

00:24:52.280 You know the answer to that.

00:24:55.500 You're going to be carrot free.

00:24:57.660 You're going to be carrot free, man.

00:25:00.020 So, yeah, consumption is at a crazy level.

00:25:02.500 Is this something that's going to happen to us now overpopulation?

00:25:04.820 No.

00:25:05.700 But it's a real thing that's going to happen.

00:25:07.640 But can you imagine if they started to put stipulations on how many children you can have?

00:25:13.020 All these women who are, and I'm talking violent women, nasty women, or some of these nasty women, not all.

00:25:21.740 Some of these super nasty, the kind who are wearing capes and just flying around eating their pussy, they would be upset.

00:25:32.000 They would be very upset, even though they don't even have children.

00:25:36.000 I bet they would be upset.

00:25:38.640 And then you would have some people, you know, you'd have Christian uprising for sure.

00:25:43.040 You know, because a lot of that is go forth and populate.

00:25:45.720 And, you know, it would be interesting.

00:25:49.440 You'd have a lot of different variations and levels of people not wanting to put humanity first.

00:25:56.220 Because that's the thing.

00:25:57.700 It's like we don't want to put the extension of humanity first.

00:26:02.040 We all want to put ourselves first.

00:26:04.880 And you see it a lot with health care.

00:26:06.500 It's like we just don't want to admit that we all are going to die.

00:26:10.900 We don't want to face it.

00:26:12.000 We don't want to admit it.

00:26:14.500 I mean, because we almost feel like we're at a point where we can beat it or something.

00:26:18.140 But the fact is we're all going to.

00:26:20.960 So anyway, not to try and get Debbie Downers on you.

00:26:22.860 And this has kind of gotten a serious episode.

00:26:24.300 But, you know, we're talking about America and that serious stuff, you know.

00:26:28.400 Now, the next one we had in right here was a text.

00:26:33.700 And I'll read this to you.

00:26:34.780 This is from Sal.

00:26:36.940 Yo, Theo, it's Sal from Jersey again.

00:26:39.940 I texted a while back.

00:26:41.940 I told you I started a podcast with my uncle called The Red Podcast.

00:26:46.480 You definitely touched on some chords about America.

00:26:49.600 I feel like people have forgotten.

00:26:51.540 They forgot 9-11.

00:26:52.800 They forgot that America is the place that people from other countries literally die to fucking come here.

00:27:00.260 Die to fucking come here, he said.

00:27:02.960 They forgot what made this country great, which is you can be,

00:27:06.180 you can make yourself anything you want to be with maximum effort.

00:27:09.720 He says this younger generation has been coddled into believing they don't have to work.

00:27:13.940 If people would strive for the best and to be the best, everything would be different.

00:27:20.820 And you know what?

00:27:21.720 Some of this stuff I agree.

00:27:22.800 Sal, I appreciate you texting in.

00:27:24.460 And I appreciate our previous caller calling in.

00:27:26.300 I didn't say thank you.

00:27:28.440 And some of this I agree with.

00:27:30.380 You know, laziness has become an infection.

00:27:34.680 I mean, I really feel like it's become an infection.

00:27:40.460 You know, for once, I'd like to see a politician say, hey, get off your ass.

00:27:46.180 Because you and your laziness are killing America.

00:27:51.440 Because we're only good as our lowest common denominator.

00:27:55.620 And there's this laziness out there that's been created that we don't seem to be able to beat.

00:28:01.420 And sometimes I think that it's an infection.

00:28:05.480 You know, I feel like we've had, we've gotten so comfortable that it's become, we've been infected by comfort.

00:28:17.860 If that makes any sense.

00:28:20.640 You know, it's like, like I think it's a product of too much comfort.

00:28:26.260 It's why, because even the poor are lazy.

00:28:29.900 If you notice that.

00:28:31.300 Even the poor are lazy.

00:28:32.580 It used to be the rich were lazy.

00:28:34.700 You know?

00:28:35.480 Like you'd picture like this big fat rich guy just being lazy.

00:28:38.920 And just, you know, sitting around us eating artichoke hearts.

00:28:43.020 And just, you know, having, you know, hookers blow cocaine into his eyes.

00:28:48.180 And, you know, having Chinese kids just, just fucking choke each other out in the yard for entertainment and shit like that.

00:28:54.540 But now the rich are working harder and the poor, a lot of the poor, just seem to have given up.

00:29:02.780 You know?

00:29:03.980 And I'm not, this is just, these are some thoughts that I have.

00:29:06.080 But I wonder, has the ability to make it out of poverty become too steep?

00:29:11.900 You know, has that ability, has it become too steep to even make it out that people are just like, ah, fuck it.

00:29:18.460 I'll just live off the government as long as I have a cell phone.

00:29:22.100 You know, as long as my basic needs are met.

00:29:25.940 And if you're someone who's in that strata, you know, that socioeconomic class, call in and let me know.

00:29:33.220 You know?

00:29:34.040 Do you feel like if you are poor that you've lost hope?

00:29:38.140 And there's no shame in being poor.

00:29:41.120 You know, I mean, there's a lot that keep the poor down.

00:29:45.120 You know, if you're rich and you get a pill addiction, you got some easy way, you know, you can go to a fancy place to get better.

00:29:52.040 But you're poor, you're battling these opioids, man, it's all, I mean, it's tougher when you don't have money.

00:29:59.540 You know, when I was young, it was mostly like booze that was keeping people sick, you know, at the bottom rungs of society.

00:30:07.820 And food, booze and food.

00:30:09.500 But now, you know, is it too much?

00:30:12.540 Are there too many things with these strong opioids and with these methadone and, you know, and just to get to that higher level, to get out of that lower strata?

00:30:24.720 Do you think it's too high of a reach?

00:30:27.380 Do you think we've just been infected by taking care of people so much that even people who have dreams, they're just like, ah, they're too far.

00:30:40.180 It's comfortable enough.

00:30:42.380 Have we made it too comfortable for people, all people, not just poor people, but have we made it too comfortable?

00:30:51.400 Have we achieved just such a basic level of comfort that we are killing that desire, you know, that we're killing that desire to want to do better?

00:31:05.500 You know, has laziness become an infection?

00:31:07.820 Are we infected by our own level of basic comfort?

00:31:15.260 I think that's what I'm trying to get.

00:31:16.380 I hope that makes sense.

00:31:17.480 Sometimes I don't even know.

00:31:18.580 Because it does seem like these days, if you have a cell phone, you're kept entertained and that's enough.

00:31:28.220 You know, that's enough.

00:31:29.460 You have entertainment.

00:31:30.760 You have free health care.

00:31:32.100 You're satiated.

00:31:34.480 You're satiated, you know?

00:31:36.500 Like when I was growing up, we didn't have health insurance, I remember.

00:31:39.800 We just didn't have it.

00:31:40.720 There were times where we did have it and then there were times where we just didn't have it.

00:31:43.760 My mother was like, you can't play that, you can't go play football at the school because if you get hurt, you're just going to be that boy who's got his arm tied to the side of his body for the rest of his life.

00:31:56.360 You know?

00:31:56.980 And we've all gotten a little bit infected by laziness.

00:31:59.940 I'll sit in my living room.

00:32:01.120 Sometimes it's 9 a.m.

00:32:02.280 And I look around and I say to myself, man, if I go back to sleep right now, tomorrow will be exactly the same.

00:32:12.680 I can get up tomorrow and just do today.

00:32:14.940 I'll be okay.

00:32:16.460 I can call in sick.

00:32:19.360 I'll be okay.

00:32:20.420 You know?

00:32:23.660 Instagram and social media, it's made us all kind of celebrities in a way.

00:32:28.560 You know, it's made us all satiated.

00:32:32.180 We've all got enough celebrity.

00:32:34.440 We've all got enough.

00:32:36.140 It used to be, you know, you had to hustle.

00:32:38.000 You know, I remember we were, I think, eight years old before we got a VCR.

00:32:43.380 You know?

00:32:44.660 And that was big in our neighborhood.

00:32:46.700 We didn't have that.

00:32:47.740 You know?

00:32:49.180 And it was, but now everybody has.

00:32:51.320 So you're satiated enough.

00:32:53.560 Your desire's gotten lazy.

00:32:55.140 It's innate.

00:32:56.820 You know?

00:32:57.840 We're all celebrities.

00:33:00.120 And we don't even want to show ourselves working hard on our Instagrams and stuff, if you notice that.

00:33:04.800 Nobody wants to show hard work.

00:33:07.380 Isn't that interesting?

00:33:09.220 We don't want to show that.

00:33:10.300 We want to show ourselves, you know, whizzing around in benzes and being amazing and beating the fuck out of magicians.

00:33:17.080 You know?

00:33:19.140 Because magicians do.

00:33:20.500 They're our arch nemesis of comedians.

00:33:22.000 And if you don't know that, then now you know that, dude.

00:33:25.540 But yeah, have we gotten lazy?

00:33:28.660 You know, social media, it doesn't convey the human spirit very well.

00:33:33.100 You know, social media does not convey the human spirit very well.

00:33:36.900 Have we killed spirit?

00:33:41.520 Have we killed spirit?

00:33:43.500 The human spirit?

00:33:44.980 Is something going on today in the society where we've killed it in America?

00:33:48.880 You know, I remember I used to cut timber when I was young with this boy, this fellow who was mentally retarded.

00:33:54.580 This man, they call him Slack Ronnie.

00:33:56.880 And I'm not making fun of him for being retarded.

00:33:58.860 I loved him.

00:34:00.420 You know, and I still would love him if I saw him because he's still alive.

00:34:03.320 He's in Mississippi.

00:34:05.020 But I used to cut timber with him when I was working on this farm.

00:34:07.860 And they call him Slack Ronnie because he was slack in his brain, you know?

00:34:11.880 But he was a good guy and he loved the Boston Celtics and he always called me Cad Daddy.

00:34:16.760 He's like, what did you say there, Cad Daddy?

00:34:18.260 I love them Boston Celtics.

00:34:19.580 But he almost cut my leg off one time when we were working together because I had a tan and he kind of thought that my leg was birch, you know, was a birch branch.

00:34:30.980 But he worked hard.

00:34:33.120 That was the thing about Ronnie.

00:34:35.580 Ronnie worked hard, you know, because he still had spirit in him that wasn't affected.

00:34:40.920 And even though he was mentally handicapped, they still let him get out there with his spirit.

00:34:45.400 Even though he was mentally unwell, you know, even though part of his brain was dormant, you know, even though if his brain was a birdhouse, they wouldn't have maybe but one bird a year stopping by and probably wouldn't lay any eggs, maybe just shit in the corner.

00:35:03.420 But he was, but they still let him work because he had the spirit.

00:35:07.120 He wanted to work.

00:35:08.160 And now the government, if you mentally disabled, if you slack, they're happy at just giving you a little bit of money.

00:35:17.940 Don't work.

00:35:19.860 And I wonder if that's just laziness.

00:35:21.860 Laziness is even at the, you know, that's a weird outlier to look at, but it's real.

00:35:29.080 And it makes me wonder about laziness and not catering to our spirit, to the human spirit, to the American spirit.

00:35:35.680 Cause this was 22 years ago, but the mentally ill were working back then and they were working hard.

00:35:43.040 The many, the mentally ill had spirit.

00:35:46.640 You know, Ronnie was running chainsaw.

00:35:49.200 They didn't even let me run the damn chainsaw cause I had less experience.

00:35:53.700 Here's this dude have the, he has the mental experience of probably a nine year old, but because a year and a half of that nine years was running chainsaw.

00:36:03.500 Well, he got to run it and I'm out there risking getting my leg cut off, even though I'm 22 years old.

00:36:10.740 And today, if you're mentally ill, people don't want you working because somehow it became bad for you.

00:36:16.800 You know, too many people that aren't even mentally ill decided it was safer for the mentally ill not to work.

00:36:23.080 And the spirit dies then.

00:36:27.440 The spirit dies, man.

00:36:29.520 Let's take another caller here, man.

00:36:31.240 I didn't mean to get in all that off that text, but let's take another, another caller here.

00:36:35.660 Uh, here we, let me see.

00:36:39.820 Here we go.

00:36:40.920 Hey, Theo Vaughn.

00:36:44.700 I was, uh, couldn't sleep.

00:36:47.700 I was having a couple of beers and your podcast came up.

00:36:51.400 I was listening.

00:36:52.140 You had a question.

00:36:53.060 What does it mean to be an American these days?

00:36:59.040 Yep.

00:36:59.460 That was the question there, brother.

00:37:00.600 What does it mean to be an American?

00:37:02.020 I'm happy that you woke up or couldn't sleep and, uh, decided to have a couple of beers, man.

00:37:06.140 That's, uh, I like that.

00:37:07.620 I respect that dude.

00:37:08.520 That's very Irish.

00:37:09.500 And then you seem to indicate that maybe isolationism was the answer, but I don't think it is.

00:37:16.200 I mean, the worst terrorist attack we had in 2001 when they took down those buildings,

00:37:21.160 we didn't try and run away and hide ourselves and build walls around ourselves and keep people we thought might be bad out.

00:37:29.840 We just, you know, straighten our shoulders and move forward.

00:37:34.260 He's saying isolationism.

00:37:35.420 He's saying, um, you know, that it's not a time for America to shut down and to look inward, I'm guessing.

00:37:41.680 Um, but, uh, but to straighten our shoulders out and go forward.

00:37:46.600 Well, let's listen to the rest.

00:37:47.960 And I think that's what we have to do with every one of these cowardly attacks.

00:37:53.380 Most of them don't come from outside sources anyway.

00:37:55.960 Most of them come from people who are here who are idiots and get converted with propaganda.

00:38:01.920 Anyway, I don't think the way forward is to hide.

00:38:05.980 I think the way forward is to move forward.

00:38:08.380 All right, brother.

00:38:09.920 I appreciate your call, man.

00:38:11.520 Um, I don't know if you kind of understood what I was saying.

00:38:14.440 I appreciate your call and you're saying steady our shoulders, you know, don't isolate.

00:38:19.180 Um, but I guess I don't know what you mean exactly.

00:38:21.980 Cause I don't think that un-American-ness is coming from outside of us these days.

00:38:27.560 You know, after 9-11, we steadied our shoulders and we moved forward, right?

00:38:32.720 There wasn't any isolation.

00:38:33.820 Everyone was American and we were, you know, wondering who did this and what's the best,

00:38:39.540 how do we get these, you know, do we take revenge?

00:38:42.120 Do we lead by example?

00:38:43.580 And I think there's a bit of both.

00:38:44.660 I think Bush administration tried to take revenge.

00:38:47.260 And I think that Obama's administration tried to more lead by example of not taking revenge.

00:38:53.660 Um, but everyone I felt like was America first, at least for right after 9-11.

00:38:59.000 But now what's happening to America is the division, it's here.

00:39:03.580 The division isn't coming from, you know, I don't think the division is coming really

00:39:08.140 from outside of us.

00:39:10.460 I mean, they're definitely, the more we diversify ourself, the more different ideas we will have

00:39:16.820 here and different devout beliefs.

00:39:20.900 But I feel like there's this, there's a, there's a division amongst, amongst pre-existing

00:39:26.400 Americans, you know, that we don't have an enemy, that we're finding the enemy amongst ourselves.

00:39:34.120 You know, I don't feel like we're isolating as much as we are dividing.

00:39:39.520 You know, I don't feel like America's sticking together against the bad guy, whatever that

00:39:44.140 is, that bad guy may be.

00:39:45.980 And that's just a, you know, a term.

00:39:49.440 But I feel like that America is turning at each other and thinking each other is the bad

00:39:59.060 guy.

00:39:59.420 You know, you can say keep the shop open and don't hide, but I don't think we're hiding

00:40:04.480 from anyone as much as we are facing off against each other, you know, if that makes any sense

00:40:11.280 to you.

00:40:11.520 And I appreciate your call.

00:40:12.460 And I also don't think things are as bad as the media makes them out to be.

00:40:17.120 But I do appreciate your call, man.

00:40:19.800 But I'm thinking more like what is, how are we on, just like what makes us American or

00:40:27.160 what makes you feel American?

00:40:28.860 So that might've been a little bit off of, off a topic, your call, but thank you anyhow.

00:40:33.460 All right.

00:40:33.860 Let's check in another call here.

00:40:35.380 We got Jeff from Colorado.

00:40:38.720 Hey, Theo, this is Jeff calling you from Colorado.

00:40:42.540 Ooh, I just said that.

00:40:44.860 Thank you for your call, Jeff.

00:40:46.180 Appreciate you.

00:40:46.960 Onward.

00:40:47.940 Just about your, what is America these days or what does it mean to be an American?

00:40:53.120 And I think that you kind of touched on it when you said we all have a different idea

00:40:57.220 of what that means, depending on where we are in the country and, you know, even the

00:41:02.380 people that don't, that aren't proud of the country, that think that it's full of deplorables

00:41:10.140 and all that stuff.

00:41:11.780 They have a right to feel that way too.

00:41:13.000 And that's the great thing about it is that we are free to believe whatever we want to

00:41:17.660 believe in.

00:41:19.540 That's true.

00:41:20.380 That's a great point, man.

00:41:21.520 We're free to believe whatever we want to believe.

00:41:23.740 I can sit here.

00:41:24.580 I can listen to callers say their beliefs.

00:41:26.160 I can share mine.

00:41:27.960 And I just want to interject right now.

00:41:29.180 We are getting to the point where we'll be able to have live callers.

00:41:32.240 Hopefully, I know I keep kind of saying it.

00:41:34.620 I'm trying to make it happen.

00:41:35.900 I promise you.

00:41:38.200 It costs.

00:41:39.220 It takes time.

00:41:40.660 Location is a lot of stuff.

00:41:41.680 But I do want you to know that that is an end goal of mine or a goal of mine.

00:41:47.360 But anyhow, let's get back to your call here, Jeff.

00:41:51.340 Either celebrate our country or not, you know.

00:41:54.360 Yeah, people have the opportunity to celebrate our country or not.

00:41:59.260 Yes.

00:42:01.720 But I guess I wish, and it could be selfish, that everyone should celebrate our country

00:42:07.160 no matter what.

00:42:08.960 That's what's so special about America.

00:42:13.320 And, you know, I mean, out of many, one, right?

00:42:17.460 E pluribus unum is a motto for our country.

00:42:19.520 So I just think that we all need to remember that on a fundamental level, we all agree that

00:42:25.900 this is the place to live, right?

00:42:27.920 And if we start there, it's easier to have conversations about difficult topics if we

00:42:33.700 can find common ground first and then build up from that.

00:42:36.280 So anyway, yeah, don't be ashamed to fly those flags because this is the greatest country

00:42:41.080 that the world has ever known.

00:42:42.880 Thanks for your call, Jeff.

00:42:44.040 I appreciate that.

00:42:45.000 And say hello to Colorado for me.

00:42:47.340 I've had some issues up there at different altitudes, but I've always enjoyed myself.

00:42:51.740 Well, I'll say this.

00:42:52.420 I mean, you know, you say as long as we are on the same common ground, but I don't know

00:42:56.200 if we are.

00:42:56.880 That's the thing, you know?

00:42:59.180 And I don't know.

00:42:59.640 And some people, you know, like you're in the election, you have people saying they would

00:43:02.620 leave America if their person didn't win.

00:43:06.120 Like, what?

00:43:08.400 Where are you going to go?

00:43:11.200 And then to not even go.

00:43:14.220 It's just, it's just such a spoiled kind of vibe.

00:43:18.320 I feel like it's out there.

00:43:20.140 And you say fly the flags.

00:43:21.620 I mean, there's a vibe by some in America that the American flag is negative.

00:43:26.820 You know, if you wave a flag, an American flag at an intersection in Los Angeles or maybe

00:43:31.520 not New York City as much, but in Los Angeles, people might view you as a troublemaker.

00:43:37.960 You know, it feels like, you know, like the television, like they don't, you know, that

00:43:43.920 they would make it seem that, that they would make it seem that way, you know?

00:43:48.740 You know, and maybe part of that's because, you know, during the election, the most recent

00:43:52.720 presidential election, you had Trump that used the red, white, and blue flag, the American

00:43:56.260 flag, more as his campaign flag.

00:43:58.640 And then Hillary created sort of this different emblem with the H and the arrow.

00:44:03.920 And so I don't know if maybe that started some of it, that, you know, it put a different

00:44:09.760 emblem up there for people that were supporting one direction as opposed to people that were

00:44:15.820 supporting the other.

00:44:17.960 You know, but I don't know.

00:44:19.100 Do we all agree on that?

00:44:21.900 Do we all agree that, that this is the greatest place to live?

00:44:25.840 Because I feel like, I feel like we should, but I don't know if I'm able to comprehend the

00:44:36.720 different perspectives that would make me feel like I would say that we shouldn't.

00:44:44.460 You know, I don't know if I'm able to, it's hard to see other people's perspectives.

00:44:47.440 That's what's so hard.

00:44:48.840 They always say like, well, put your person in that person's shoes, but it's so hard to

00:44:52.960 really do that.

00:44:55.660 And I think we've just been getting a lot of perspectives these days.

00:44:59.280 And everybody's perspective is shared.

00:45:02.000 And everybody's perspective is magnified because, you know, the news is entertainment now.

00:45:07.800 And as long as they can create controversy, they'll do it.

00:45:11.340 So it's just, it's a confusing time.

00:45:13.220 But I don't know if we're all on, if we all agree on that.

00:45:16.060 I don't know.

00:45:16.220 And if we do, we might do it for different reasons, you know.

00:45:19.600 I think some people see America more as like just a grounds for profit.

00:45:23.900 Some people see it more as like a land of liberty.

00:45:27.860 And a lot of us probably just see it as both, you know, something in between.

00:45:34.400 But I think that some people have been affected or infected really by the American dream.

00:45:40.780 You know, some people are living the American dream.

00:45:42.920 You know, we watched our parents live it.

00:45:47.340 You know, we're trying to achieve it.

00:45:48.880 And others, I feel like, are infected with it.

00:45:52.960 They always had it.

00:45:55.340 You know, because I think the American dream can be an infection.

00:45:58.680 They were born into it.

00:46:01.020 I mean, how can you have gratitude when you've never had to be grateful for anything?

00:46:06.020 I don't see how you can.

00:46:09.380 I think it would be very hard to.

00:46:11.720 And I'm not saying that the wealthy are ungrateful or that they're un-American.

00:46:16.100 But I do sense a vibe amongst the uber-wealthy, like a sense of kind of entitlement that feels like an infection.

00:46:27.300 And I sense it.

00:46:29.760 I've sensed it sometimes in myself, you know, and I'm not uber-wealthy.

00:46:33.820 I mean, but I have been blessed to transcend class in my life, you know.

00:46:38.760 I mean, everybody's been poor.

00:46:41.980 A lot of people have.

00:46:43.060 I'm not saying I was ever any poorer than you.

00:46:45.520 But I grew up poor, below the poverty line, you know.

00:46:51.560 I mean, I grew up, you know, when I really think about it, I just grew up poor.

00:46:57.920 I just did, you know.

00:47:00.140 And I was ashamed of it for a long time and whatever.

00:47:02.460 But anyhow, but I've been blessed now to transcend class.

00:47:05.580 So I'm able to see what other people are seeing.

00:47:07.540 And I even sometimes will see the poorest of the poor now.

00:47:13.260 And some of the stuff that they do or their vibe, it's sometimes it just, it makes me sad, you know.

00:47:20.800 Whereas years ago, that would have been my tribe, you know, or whatever.

00:47:23.860 But it was also all I knew.

00:47:26.940 But I question the motive of people, you know, who live here and who make their money here

00:47:31.160 and pull their wealth from America but say that it's not the place to live.

00:47:37.140 Or who refer to others as, you know, as deplorable.

00:47:42.740 Just because other people don't have.

00:47:45.860 You know, like I said earlier, we're just our lowest common denominator.

00:47:48.900 But I do notice that when you achieve the American dream

00:47:52.020 and you are able to start to live in it, that you get comfortable.

00:47:57.460 And I think that if people are born into it and have had just that extensiveness of it their whole life,

00:48:02.800 and maybe their parents were as well.

00:48:04.380 Also, there's not even a fable or a tale in their family, you know, to be passed down.

00:48:11.780 That how are they going to have any gratitude to live and gratitude for people that are still suffering to achieve their dreams?

00:48:20.920 It's like when you live at Disney World, how can you know it's Disney World?

00:48:26.040 You don't know.

00:48:28.020 You know, you can.

00:48:28.720 It's very rare that you can.

00:48:30.620 And I find it.

00:48:31.200 I wonder if it's probably very rare that some parents are able to recognize their level of success and their environment

00:48:38.240 and still able to teach their kids, you know, how to handle themselves and how to live decently

00:48:46.680 in a world where a lot of people aren't as fortunate as they are.

00:48:50.240 And I can see that infection occur.

00:48:51.860 I can feel it sometimes in myself at certain moments, you know.

00:48:55.380 I can feel those dark arts, man.

00:48:57.100 And I feel like America's gotten to the point where we're kind of steadying our shoulders.

00:49:01.600 We're moving forward, you know.

00:49:05.520 And I think America's saying enough of these politicians that don't serve us.

00:49:08.780 We want to get rid of this system.

00:49:11.960 I feel like we are.

00:49:13.140 We're doing some things, you know.

00:49:15.020 But yeah, it's crazy.

00:49:16.800 It's like, it's just, it's crazy, man.

00:49:20.940 It's a lot.

00:49:21.700 It's a lot going on right now.

00:49:23.820 And that's interesting.

00:49:24.900 There's a lot going on.

00:49:26.540 If you want to open your mind and think about this stuff, there's a lot.

00:49:30.020 There's a lot of levels.

00:49:31.500 There's a lot of levels.

00:49:32.480 Thank you for your call.

00:49:33.640 Let's take one more call right here.

00:49:36.900 And this is from Tom.

00:49:39.700 This is one of my favorite calls, actually.

00:49:41.620 Let's listen to it.

00:49:42.400 Here we go.

00:49:43.540 Hey, Theo.

00:49:44.240 It's Tom.

00:49:45.940 I live in rural, rural North Carolina now.

00:49:49.840 I grew up in the inner city, and I just wanted to talk about what America means to me.

00:49:54.540 Rural.

00:49:55.080 Now, this is kind of the call I was looking for.

00:49:57.480 Something like this.

00:49:58.280 And other people have done it, but I'm liking this.

00:49:59.900 Let's go, Tom.

00:50:00.680 Rural North Carolina.

00:50:03.520 Growing up, I didn't have a lot of opportunity, but I had a lot more than somebody in my position

00:50:08.260 in another country.

00:50:09.660 My brother chose to go enlist in 2001 to the Iraq War.

00:50:14.680 And that always meant a lot to me.

00:50:16.120 That was, I mean, some of the things he's talked about and the problems he's had after.

00:50:21.380 And just to take the chance to go out and know you could die just to make a better life

00:50:25.620 for me.

00:50:26.260 And my pop served in Korea.

00:50:28.460 Okay, so he's got a military family.

00:50:31.300 There's a lot of stuff there in his family where, you know, you grow up, you see those

00:50:34.800 pictures of your family and your siblings in the military and that outfit and that uniform.

00:50:40.180 A lot of fear, I'm sure.

00:50:42.140 You know, not knowing what their lives are like and what their, you know, their futures are going

00:50:47.840 to be like.

00:50:48.480 Onward.

00:50:49.000 Thank you for sharing, Tom.

00:50:49.940 You know, he, his dad jumped off a boat from Lithuania in the New York Harbor to come to

00:50:58.200 this country.

00:50:59.300 Can you imagine that?

00:51:01.120 I'm going to stop it right there.

00:51:02.300 Can you imagine that, Tom?

00:51:03.560 There was a time.

00:51:05.200 His, Tom's grandfather jumped off of a ship in Lithuania to come to America.

00:51:10.180 Dude, these days, people could be docked, you know, 40 feet off the coast and would die

00:51:19.320 on some cruise just because they don't have the heart to swim back to shore.

00:51:24.240 They, you know, they just physically think they couldn't.

00:51:28.380 Man, who are we?

00:51:30.460 What's up with our spirit?

00:51:31.860 Onward.

00:51:33.120 I've always felt really, really proud to be an American.

00:51:36.360 I think it's kind of silly when you see some people that are like, well, you're not diverse

00:51:41.180 enough.

00:51:41.660 I mean, these people that are always complaining online, doing all this mess, those are the

00:51:45.860 people that aren't out doing things.

00:51:47.820 I agree.

00:51:48.580 I think you, we, social media privileges should be a privilege.

00:51:53.160 You know, they should be something you have to earn.

00:51:56.280 You have to get a degree.

00:51:57.580 You have to go look somebody in the eye somewhere and tell them you aren't a fucking moron.

00:52:02.700 Let's keep it moving.

00:52:03.600 I live now.

00:52:04.860 I just want to go even, even more rural because it's just, the people are nicer.

00:52:10.500 You know, the little things mean more.

00:52:13.080 You find more people that are better.

00:52:15.100 I don't consider myself a religious person, but I don't see anything wrong with religion.

00:52:19.920 When I come to work at least twice a week, someone gives me a hug and says that Jesus loves

00:52:24.380 me.

00:52:24.540 And I'm, I grew up Jewish and I just tell them, you know, Jesus loves you too, man.

00:52:30.160 And Jesus, I mean, it's just, there's nothing wrong with being positive when it's so easy

00:52:34.340 to be negative.

00:52:35.920 Wow.

00:52:37.120 Who is this guy?

00:52:38.100 Is this guy the new mascot?

00:52:39.400 Huh?

00:52:39.580 Who is Tom?

00:52:40.940 I mean, this guy's lifting my spirits up, man.

00:52:43.240 I got a little bit of a sprinkle in my eye, you know, like mother nature's trying to just

00:52:47.160 piss out of my fucking eye holes with saltwater urine.

00:52:51.840 Emotional.

00:52:53.000 Emotional drips.

00:52:54.620 Yeah, man.

00:52:55.420 You're right, Tom.

00:52:57.180 You were right, bro.

00:52:58.880 Listen to Tom, dude.

00:52:59.900 He's out there hugging people who love Jesus.

00:53:02.880 He's grew up Jewish.

00:53:04.900 He wants to head out to the woods.

00:53:06.680 He wants to make his life simple.

00:53:08.040 He wants to have some, some feeling.

00:53:11.340 And this might be a traditional view, but this, you know, to me, this resonates and maybe

00:53:17.360 I'm old fashioned, you know, but to me, this resonates.

00:53:20.720 Let's keep, let's hear the rest of this out.

00:53:22.200 The thing about this, if you make $35,000 a year, you're in the 1% of the entire world.

00:53:28.320 We get so mad at the 1% of the entire world of our country that we forget that $35,000

00:53:35.680 in this country, you made that in almost any other country, any third world country,

00:53:41.100 you'd be a king.

00:53:43.460 So it's, I just really feel grateful.

00:53:46.360 People just need to understand.

00:53:47.580 Wow.

00:53:48.080 That's so true.

00:53:48.760 You think about that.

00:53:49.480 So we think about the 1% of America and think about how much money they have.

00:53:53.120 But then if you were to take anybody that makes $35,000 a year, that that is the top

00:53:59.160 1% of the world's wealth.

00:54:02.600 It's pretty fascinating.

00:54:03.580 I don't know if that's accurate or not, but God damn, that sounds beautiful if it's

00:54:06.700 accurate.

00:54:07.500 God dang.

00:54:10.100 Ah, thanks for sharing that, Tom.

00:54:11.680 Let's listen.

00:54:12.140 Almost done.

00:54:12.600 Man, man, it's like how soon we forget.

00:54:14.920 If you were born 100 years earlier, your life would have been so much harder.

00:54:18.300 We just take everything for granted.

00:54:19.580 Nobody's grateful anymore.

00:54:21.520 Nobody's grateful of how many opportunities we have.

00:54:24.420 It's just a little bit frustrating.

00:54:26.240 Thanks for the, thanks for everything you do, man.

00:54:28.540 I appreciate it.

00:54:29.700 Thank you, Tom.

00:54:30.620 Just thanks for sharing, man.

00:54:31.800 You can hear Tom's feelings.

00:54:33.020 Can you hear his feelings?

00:54:34.820 That's the kind of call we need, man.

00:54:36.720 That guy's got feelings.

00:54:38.400 And he's inspired me, man.

00:54:39.740 I'm sitting upright.

00:54:41.860 You know?

00:54:43.180 He's got a feeling.

00:54:45.260 How do we get that, man?

00:54:46.900 Something's infected us as humans.

00:54:49.640 We've gotten infected.

00:54:51.240 We've gotten comfortable.

00:54:53.360 You know, it's kind of wild.

00:54:55.800 We've got one more text here that came in.

00:54:58.560 Thank you, Tom, very much for that call.

00:55:00.260 That was interesting, man.

00:55:02.180 You know, that was really, really interesting.

00:55:04.020 A lot going on there.

00:55:05.060 And I just appreciate your vibe, man.

00:55:06.980 I appreciate your vibe.

00:55:09.100 This text right here came in.

00:55:10.600 It's from Beaverton, Oregon.

00:55:11.600 I'm just going to read you some excerpts from it.

00:55:13.500 Happy fucking fourth, man.

00:55:15.340 Love ya.

00:55:16.480 Get back to the old longer podcast.

00:55:19.940 The men in my family have served.

00:55:21.620 My husband and son still serve in the military.

00:55:24.880 Hard work, integrity, class, strength, knowledge, and empathy.

00:55:28.360 American style.

00:55:30.260 Get out of L.A., dude.

00:55:31.740 Doesn't seem like your humble stomping ground.

00:55:33.840 I'm from NorCal, but we moved here to Oregon when our boys were six and nine to give them

00:55:39.680 a better life.

00:55:41.220 It worked out.

00:55:42.060 I love Oregon.

00:55:43.160 Pride lives here.

00:55:44.700 Love your mind, dude.

00:55:47.320 Crop circles may be in your future in that mullet haircut.

00:55:50.620 Dancy, dancy girl.

00:55:51.940 Winky face.

00:55:53.780 Dance like no one is watching.

00:55:55.720 Come to Helium Comedy Club.

00:55:57.680 Have kids.

00:55:58.480 I did at 15.

00:56:00.120 Fuck, man.

00:56:00.740 I survived somehow.

00:56:02.520 We all have regrets.

00:56:03.660 Don't dwell on it.

00:56:04.980 I ran away at 14 and left my mom until I got pregnant and then I needed her.

00:56:09.960 I have stories, but I have so much love for my man that was by me for 23 years with two

00:56:14.120 beautiful young kids.

00:56:15.740 Make some fucking babies, man.

00:56:17.560 Kids are awesome and healers of our souls.

00:56:19.880 They're like animals.

00:56:21.540 Black sand beaches.

00:56:22.800 It's awesome.

00:56:24.020 Can you please have stickers available?

00:56:26.760 And that was the text.

00:56:28.320 And that made me smile, man.

00:56:29.720 For one, you can feel the love in that woman's text.

00:56:32.460 She has kids.

00:56:33.560 She has a man.

00:56:34.760 She has a spouse.

00:56:36.080 I'm going to share her life.

00:56:37.420 She's got some girth to her life.

00:56:39.600 She thinks about the beach.

00:56:41.360 She has a soul.

00:56:43.460 She references it.

00:56:44.380 She talks about her children.

00:56:46.420 She doesn't talk about her that much.

00:56:49.440 She talks about her life, but she doesn't talk about her.

00:56:53.520 So thank you.

00:56:54.780 The dance like no one's watching part?

00:56:56.380 A little cliche for me, honestly.

00:56:58.000 But you could tell it was her life.

00:57:01.400 And it made me feel something.

00:57:02.640 It made me feel a bit of American pride.

00:57:05.060 Kind of like Uncle Sam was just, you know, gleeking on my back.

00:57:09.200 And just like Aerosmith was just singing directly into my ears.

00:57:13.000 Made me feel good.

00:57:14.540 Made me feel good.

00:57:16.460 All right, guys.

00:57:18.700 I think I'm going to wrap up this episode.

00:57:20.620 I want to know, though, if you hit the hotline.

00:57:24.000 A buddy of mine was telling me recently about how a man took advantage of him one time when he was unconscious.

00:57:31.480 You know, when he was, you know, male taking advantage of kind of stuff.

00:57:35.540 And I want to know if that kind of stuff goes on out there.

00:57:37.560 You know, I just, I don't know if it does, but I've wondered that.

00:57:42.500 Is that kind of stuff going on?

00:57:45.080 And then also somebody called in about booty goons.

00:57:47.880 I don't know if you guys know what booty goons are.

00:57:49.580 It's a prison term.

00:57:50.700 But we'll get to that coming up in this coming episode that will come out on Monday.

00:57:55.360 I want to thank you guys so much.

00:57:56.700 I have some dates coming up.

00:57:57.840 I'm in Nashville right now.

00:57:59.920 If you have friends here, send them out.

00:58:01.800 I need the support.

00:58:02.660 Next week, I'll be in Orlando at the Orlando Improv, 13th through the 16th.

00:58:09.040 Then I'll be in San Diego on the 20th of July.

00:58:12.560 And that is at the House of Blues.

00:58:15.800 The 27th through the 30th, I'll be in Montreal at Just for Laughs.

00:58:19.400 And then Dallas, Texas, I'm coming to the Addison Improv.

00:58:22.600 And that's August 10th through the 13th.

00:58:26.340 And you can buy a shirt or the album.

00:58:28.640 I have two albums out, 30 Pound Bag of Hamster Bones and Musket Fire.

00:58:32.660 Both of those are on iTunes.

00:58:34.440 Grab them.

00:58:34.980 Show some support.

00:58:36.800 And I appreciate you guys.

00:58:38.480 I appreciate everything, man.

00:58:40.020 I appreciate the calls.

00:58:40.920 I appreciate you guys thinking about America with me.

00:58:42.520 What does it mean?

00:58:44.020 You know, it's an interesting time.

00:58:45.920 And it's time for us to keep our minds open and to think.

00:58:48.920 We've gotten so sedate, man.

00:58:51.180 I have too.

00:58:51.960 Trust me.

00:58:52.380 These calls are waking me up.

00:58:54.120 But thank you guys so much for hitting the hotline.

00:58:56.660 Again, that number is 985-664-9503.

00:59:03.560 What else can you check out?

00:59:06.360 That's it, man.

00:59:07.400 I think that's pretty much all I got.

00:59:09.660 Still considering Patreon, but I haven't gotten that put together yet.

00:59:13.880 And I just thank you guys for supporting the podcast.

00:59:16.680 If you have an idea for next week or for the week after, something you want to talk about,

00:59:20.560 something you want to think about, let me know.

00:59:22.760 If we get any more follow-up calls to this discussion about America, I'll include some

00:59:28.160 of those into Monday's episode.

00:59:31.980 We've also got some other great calls, man.

00:59:34.420 So some of those I'll incorporate into the Monday episode.

00:59:38.000 But thank you guys.

00:59:38.820 I'm going to take us out again with some of the same tunes that brought us in.

00:59:43.280 And this is People on the Bus, Medicine.

00:59:49.140 A link to this, if there is one.

00:59:59.740 We'll be in the YouTube comments section.

01:00:04.060 And please subscribe if you're listening.

01:00:06.100 Come on.

01:00:07.800 The least you can do is subscribe.

01:00:10.420 Because that's how advertisers know.

01:00:13.160 That's how we get these numbers.

01:00:14.880 That's how we get...

01:00:16.240 You've got to start to remember this stuff in your life as a consumer.

01:00:21.320 Express where you consume.

01:00:24.180 If you like something, say you like it.

01:00:27.380 Because whatever you support financially is what will continue to prosper.

01:00:33.600 So if you're sick of the entertainment you're getting out there, then quit supporting it.

01:00:40.660 And I mean that, man.

01:00:42.820 You know, I'm so sick of seeing the most talented people I know.

01:00:46.780 And I'm not talking about myself.

01:00:48.700 But I'm talking about some talented friends who don't get opportunities.

01:00:53.100 Just because they're not in that money world yet.

01:00:56.900 You know?

01:00:58.060 Stand up for yourselves.

01:00:59.880 Keep your mind open.

01:01:01.800 Keep your heart open.

01:01:02.900 And feel free to hit that hotline and tell me anything you think.

01:01:06.100 If I'm wrong, tell me.

01:01:07.540 I am happy to be wrong, man.

01:01:10.380 I don't have to be right.

01:01:12.320 I just want to try and just keep moving forward, man.

01:01:15.500 Progress, not perfection, you know.

01:01:17.120 Thank you guys for your support.

01:01:18.620 Be good to yourselves, man.

01:01:20.780 You probably deserve it.

01:01:22.060 Love you.

01:01:22.360 Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Jonathan Kite, and welcome to Kite Club.

01:01:34.340 A podcast where I'll be sharing thoughts on things like current events, stand-up stories, and seven ways to pleasure your partner.

01:01:42.100 The answer may shock you.

01:01:43.400 Sometimes I'll interview my friends.

01:01:45.900 Sometimes I won't.

01:01:47.580 And as always, I'll be joined by the voices in my head.

01:01:50.480 You have three new voice messages.

01:01:53.540 A lot of people are talking about Kite Club.

01:01:56.420 I've been talking about Kite Club for so long.

01:01:59.100 Longer than anybody else.

01:02:00.740 So great.

01:02:01.360 I think Tom Hanks just butt-dialed me.

01:02:20.720 Anyway, first rule of Kite Club is, tell everyone about Kite Club.

01:02:25.040 Second rule of Kite Club is, tell everyone about Kite Club.

01:02:29.280 Third rule.

01:02:29.800 Like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

01:02:32.980 Or watch us on YouTube, yeah?

01:02:35.060 And yes, don't worry.

01:02:36.340 My Brad Pitt impression will get better.

This Past Weekend with Theo Von - July 07, 2017

Follow Up： What is an American？｜ This Past Weekend #31

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