January 6, 2020 was one of the darker days in American History, certainly politically.  As a nation, we found ourselves continuing to grapple with the impact of an election that seemed destined to be historically chaotic from the start, and culminated with a contingency of people, presumably largely comprised of American citizens, physically “storming” the Capitol Building during the session when Congress was tasked with certifying the election results from 2 months ago.  The events of the day have been labeled with a wide range of descriptions: Patriotism.  Domestic Terrorism.  Free Speech.  Sabotage of Democracy.  Regardless of where you fall politically or on that spectrum of analysis, I think the vast majority of us can agree that we simply can not have THAT type of situation occurring in Washington D.C. every four years and at the conclusion of the election process.  Or at least I hope we can agree on that.  

There will undoubtedly be many articles, interviews, blogs, and books regarding the events leading up to yesterday and the events of the day itself…and undertaken by people far more intelligent than I am.  And thank God for that, because I’m just here to point out a few common-sense themes that regularly appear on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that might help us sort out this mess now, and potentially avoid something similar in the future.  

  Wait, huh?  Yes.  Joe Rogan, or as he often refers to himself, “The Fear Factor Guy.”  He’s also a comedian, an expert martial artist and commentator, and host of one of the most successful and widely listened to long-form podcasts in the history of ever.  Opinions of him vary between “best source for unbiased news in our current society” to “offensive, loud-mouth meat-head”…and everything in between.  Whatever your comfort level is with either his views or his delivery, there are some undeniably positive themes that, if applied, could serve our nation very well in these unprecedented times.  

1.)   “The Solution to Bad Speech is Good Speech.”  And lots of it.  The topic of “free speech” and the First Amendment come up often on the JRE podcast, and this is not surprising given his occupation as an entertainer who makes a living saying often controversial things.  What I have found refreshing is the simplicity with which he has “boiled down” the intent of the First Amendment, and that is to allow people to freely express themselves…regardless of if you agree with the content…and allow truth and the intellect of others shine light on ridiculous positions to invalidate them…as opposed to any kind of censorship.  

2.)   “Long-Form Conversations are Necessary.”  One of the scariest things about our culture and media is how quickly a Tweet, a Facebook post, or a soundbite can set the world on fire.  The problem with this reality is that you simply can’t ascertain a complete analysis of a complex sociological matter in a sentence or two, lacking context, and without the ability to discuss the intent or rationale of the messenger.  Rogan solves this by having conversations with his guests that go on for hours at a time…allowing him (and the listeners) to walk away from an episode with considerable framework of the true position of whomever he was talking to.  Millions of JRE listeners, myself included, were incredibly excited when the improbable idea of Rogan hosting a presidential debate was floated onto the internet, and compared to what the actual debates provided us, it is a real shame that did not occur.  Personally, I think it should be mandatory for future elections…as unlikely as that seems.  

3.)   “Be nice.” Joe Rogan…a ball of energy, testosterone, weed, whiskey, tattoos, and curse words…is one of the most consistently broadcast voices urging humanity to be kind to each other, listen compassionately, avoid violence and aggression, and to simply be a cool person to other people.  Essentially, if Mr. Rodgers joined a biker gang, you’d get Joe Rogan.  His neighborhood is just a lot bigger, and we would do very well to start looking at our country with that kind of perspective. 

  We have been through a lot as a country lately.  2020 was filled with Covid-19 chaos and despair, among many other social and racial conflicts, and we have already witnessed one of the most stunning displays of political unrest in recent memory to bring in 2021.  As for me, I’m hoping we have hit the “low-point” of the year already, and we can begin turning the pages to a country that engages in intelligent communication that fills our eyes and ears with words and conversation that advances truth, compassion, and a sustainable way of living together on Rocket Ship Earth.  Won’t you be my neighbor?  

#higherprimate #freakparty