Dennis Prager Show - Has the Quarantine Affected your Relationships?
Aired: 2020-03-18
Duration: 07:13


=== A Phenomenon Of Freedom (04:51) ===

[00:00:00]  1-8 Prager 776-877-243-7776.
[00:00:08]  Do you have recommendations to people on how to handle it?
[00:00:14]  That's another one because a lot of people are listening right now.
[00:00:20]  And you might have a thought on how to make this more tolerable.
[00:00:27]  Or do you go to work?
[00:00:35]  Thank you.
[00:00:36]  I can tell you from the traffic patterns, not many people are going to work where I live in Southern California.
[00:00:46]  I now, anywhere I go, I get there as if it were Christmas morning.
[00:00:55]  I mean, it's a phenomenon.
[00:00:58]  The time we're living in is a phenomenon.
[00:01:02]  This is a classic example of the Chinese curse, may you live in interesting times.
[00:01:09]  Though, the irony is, they're interesting times, but you may not be having an interesting life right now.
[00:01:18]  I mean, basically, most Americans right now are under house arrest.
[00:01:25]  Now you know what house arrest is.
[00:01:29]  It's generally considered...
[00:01:32]  A bad thing.
[00:01:33]  People don't get sentenced to house arrest and go, whoa, what a chance to clean up the house and reconnect with my loved one.
[00:01:43]  On the other hand, this is not permanent.
[00:01:48]  So how is it working out?
[00:01:50]  I'm thinking about it.
[00:01:57]  So if you...
[00:01:59]  The trick here, if I may say, offer some advice, is that what is critical is not to complain.
[00:02:14]  I think this is a good time to adopt some of my theories of the happiness hour.
[00:02:22]  I'm against complaining generally.
[00:02:24]  It doesn't do anything.
[00:02:26]  I mean, or maybe reserve 10 minutes.
[00:02:30]  I'm not baby.
[00:02:31]  I'm serious.
[00:02:32]  Reserve a 10-minute period each day to say what's really annoying you.
[00:02:38]  Not about the other person.
[00:02:39]  I don't think that's a good idea.
[00:02:41]  But just about the situation.
[00:02:43]  But here's another thing.
[00:02:46]  Maybe I'll talk about this during the happiness hour.
[00:02:49]  This is an example of where it is critical to react positively.
[00:02:58]  And I am a skeptic of the quarantine, and I'm saying this.
[00:03:05]  This is the only freedom we truly have in life, is how we react to what happens.
[00:03:15]  You and I are not free to determine whether we can go to a restaurant.
[00:03:21]  You can't go.
[00:03:23]  Or a movie.
[00:03:24]  Or a sporting event.
[00:03:26]  It's just because they're not happening.
[00:03:28]  You can't go.
[00:03:29]  They're not open.
[00:03:31]  Our only freedom.
[00:03:33]  This is from Viktor Frankl.
[00:03:35]  Our only freedom, true freedom, is how we react.
[00:03:41]  So maybe this will be my happiness hour theme because I probably want to incorporate what's happening into the happiness hour.
[00:03:50]  But it's take, make, As much lemonade out of this lemon.
[00:03:56]  And for some of you, it's a very, very hard thing to do.
[00:04:02]  If you're a waiter, a waitress, or as they now say, server.
[00:04:07]  I don't know why that's a preferable.
[00:04:10]  I know why it's a preferable term, but I don't think it's a preferable term.
[00:04:14]  But if that's what, then you, you're not making a living.
[00:04:21]  I work out three days a week with a personal trainer at a gym.
[00:04:29]  She's not having any income now.
[00:04:34]  That's how she makes her money, is from her clients.

=== Anyway, Let Me Go (02:35) ===

[00:04:39]  When did I last have a session?
[00:04:41]  It was, I guess, Sunday.
[00:04:44]  Yeah, Sunday was open, and it was my last one.
[00:04:49]  There weren't too many people there, but I would continue to go.
[00:04:55]  The law of logic would prevail that not hugging anybody at the gym, everybody keeps that distance anyway, I would have continued to go.
[00:05:17]  It's not easy.
[00:05:18]  I know what she's doing.
[00:05:20]  She's spending all day now with her newborn.
[00:05:24]  That's probably in some ways a blessing.
[00:05:29]  But the income is an issue.
[00:05:33]  All right, everybody.
[00:05:36]  Let's see how you're doing with your significant other.
[00:05:43]  Walt.
[00:05:45]  In Seattle, Washington.
[00:05:47]  Hi, Walt.
[00:05:48]  Yes, sir.
[00:05:49]  Hi.
[00:05:49]  Can you hear me okay?
[00:05:51]  I certainly can.
[00:05:53]  Oh, wonderful.
[00:05:53]  Hey, Dennis, you're a wonderful man.
[00:05:55]  I'm a longtime listener, first-time caller.
[00:05:57]  Thank you for all of that.
[00:05:59]  And I'm also Ukrainian, which is neither here nor there, but I admire you very, very much.
[00:06:04]  Well, thank you.
[00:06:05]  You know, for whatever reason, I have a lot of Ukrainian listeners in Seattle.
[00:06:11]  Yes.
[00:06:12]  I came to this country in 1961, and I was born in Ukraine.
[00:06:16]  But anyway, let me, if it's okay with you, I don't want to take too much time.
[00:06:20]  We're doing really well.
[00:06:22]  My girlfriend's 79, and I just turned 69 on March 16th.
[00:06:27]  We've been in a lockdown for two weeks now, so this is not new to us.
[00:06:32]  This is our third week.
[00:06:33]  And you know what?
[00:06:34]  We do stuff like crossword puzzles.
[00:06:37]  She likes to do circle the word kind of a thing.
[00:06:41]  We're both recovering alcoholics.
[00:06:43]  We actually have gone so far as to even have a meeting of our own, just she and I, because, you know, we can't go to AA meetings.
[00:06:51]  So, you know what?
[00:06:52]  It's just another way of me loving her.
[00:06:54]  We've been together for four years, and I had a choice of either being away from her for two weeks or I could be with her thanks to her very kind, compassionate person that's in charge of this retirement home.
[00:07:08]  All right.
[00:07:09]  Good man.
[00:07:11]  I'm glad it is working out.