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May 26, 2024 - Stew Peters Show

51:37

Defending democracy: Patriots Rally, Veterans Fight for Democracy Against Non-Citizen Voting

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	If I were to tell you that the men and women who are sitting up in the high offices on Capitol Hill
	Are having discussions on the eve of Memorial Day about whether or not to let illegals vote or non-citizens vote would you think that that's interesting?
	I certainly do, especially when our country is so polarized right now and there's so many things happening.
	It just kind of seems par for the course, for the current leadership that we have in place.
	Well, today the conversation between Jason and I is we are going to discuss this such matter.
	So please stick with us.
	Don't go away.
	We start now.
	Hey everybody, welcome here to the next installment of the Richard Leonard Show podcast.
	I want to thank you very much for being here today.
	Before we get started, and before we announce how this show is made possible, I want to take one second and just wish the country Happy Memorial Day.
	Let us not forget what Memorial Day is really about.
	And if you don't know, you should probably do yourself a favor and do your due diligence.
	And check it out.
	I'm sure we'll get into it in today's show, but we have limited time, so we're just going to get started.
	So let's go find Jason.
	He's off frolicking somewhere.
	Well, hello, sir.
	How are you?
	Very good, and yourself?
	I'm doing very well.
	Thank you for joining us this evening.
	I appreciate it.
	Thank you.
	It's been a minute.
	And well, now that you're here, before we get started, we got to tell everyone how this show is made possible.
	And so you're going to be on screen for that.
	That is Cortez Wealth Management.
	Get on over to AmericaFirstRetirementPlan.com.
	Let Carlos and his staff help you plan a tax-free retirement.
	You deserve it, folks.
	You've put in a lot of work.
	So when you're done working, allow Carlos and his people to help you plan a tax-free retirement plan for yourselves.
	So get on over there, AmericaFirstRetirementPlan.com.
	Thank you, Jason, for that reminder.
	I appreciate it.
	Okay.
	Well, it has been a while.
	And I got to say, we've missed you.
	We've missed you here in the studio.
	We've missed your expert tutelage on all topics that we discuss.
	Whether you believe it or not, your insights are valuable and we appreciate them.
	So thank you for being here.
	So with that said, I'm extremely interested to hear your take on non-citizens voting.
	What say you, sir?
	And on the eve of Memorial Day, of all days, a day where we take a moment and think about those who gave everything for this country, to watch a governance in action, basically gutting the freedoms that service members have sacrificed either everything for or at least something.
	It's shocking.
	I mean, the fact that when we looked at this article real quickly, you know, you kind of want to break down the numbers.
	The numbers are irrelevant.
	The fact that it's one is too many.
	Yeah.
	You know, in previous generations, we fought against this socialism and this communism and these things that today we seem to give away Those things that we hold the most dear to people who haven't done the things to become one of us.
	The ability to vote is the most powerful thing that we have.
	I know that our election systems are flawed.
	They are most likely completely corrupt.
	But it is the one time that we truly get to exercise a real freedom for impactual change from the top down.
	And the fact that arguments have been made in the past, bro, do you remember when they said, well, don't worry, it doesn't really affect you because they're only voting in local politics.
	Mm-hmm.
	Yes.
	So apparently local politics don't matter to me.
	Like, I shouldn't care what happens at the school board, where I am, where we are.
	Like, we shouldn't care about tax levies that are happening in our county.
	You should, yes.
	Well, absolutely.
	And that's the whole thing.
	It's always driven by narrative garbage.
	It's all nonsense.
	It's a big slide.
	It's a big way to go gain a free vote by allowing people that haven't earned the right to be voters voting.
	Well, and I think that this is a bait and switch sort of thing, right?
	Yeah.
	Like, we're going to talk about, well, it's only local elections.
	And the idea is to get people to look at, well, there's a presidential election.
	I mean, there's a lot of elections coming up, but of course the presidential election is what everyone's talking about.
	And so if we're going to talk about that...
	I think that they think if we're going to talk about the presidential election, well, then who cares about the local stuff, right?
	Because we're really concerned about who's going to be the president of the office.
	But what people don't really seem to grasp, let's just take, for example, at a county level.
	The county sheriff holds the power to take away your right to vote.
	I mean, they decide at which level to prosecute you for whether it's a petty crime or not.
	You know, did you make a mistake?
	I mean, so just on that front alone, your local politics has the ability to take away your ability to vote anyway.
	So why would we not be concerned about that?
	Yeah, and your local politics are what drive your everyday life.
	It's the county commissioners that are making decisions on where the tax dollars get to go.
	It's the city councils who then, from those resources, decide what work gets done.
	If it's gonna be a pet project of theirs or something that's truly gonna benefit the community.
	These are all very important things.
	I mean, obviously we all believe that with a different presidency, you have different things that they're gonna be able to do.
	And we live in absolutely unchartered times with this executive order action that's continually going on.
	And so I do digress a little bit.
	Not like those things aren't super important, but the president, he doesn't need to go dig a hole or drill a well, but if he allows people to go drill wells, oh boy, watch oil production go through the roof and the price of fuel comes down.
	And that certainly impacts all of us day to day.
	Yes.
	So I'm not undermining that, but certainly there's a greater impact on our day to day lives at the local levels anyway.
	And it's just like you're saying, it's a bait and switch, it's a rope-a-dope, it's, you know, it's herpes light versus full-blown AIDS. Like, they both suck!
	It's trash.
	And the fact that we have any politicians that want to support this and then people that want to follow those politicians right down that path of stupidity is nonsense.
	I mean, I don't know, bud.
	Maybe you and I will go make a quick 400 mile jaunt north and go see if the Canadians want us voting in one of their election cycles.
	I don't think they're going to be excited about it.
	Yeah, I think we'll be stopped at Thunder Bay or wherever the border crossing is.
	Right?
	And I think that, you know, especially considering, you know, as somber of the day as we're going into tomorrow, you know, honoring those men and women that gave it all.
	We need to be mindful that they gave it all so we had the opportunity to keep it.
	Freedom isn't free.
	It's not just a bumper sticker.
	As a veteran, as a former military member, these types of occurrences are the things that we went to other places to shut down.
	I remember seeing the first free election in Iraq.
	Now, of course, they learned a few things in Afghanistan, but these people never had the power to exercise a vote, you know?
	And there weren't IDs and all these other things, but hey, you know what?
	A big old pink or purple ink stand to put purple ink on everybody's hands here in the States, maybe that would help us out.
	I don't know if that fixes mail-in balloting, but it sure as shit worked in Iraq.
	But that's the biggest...
	It's supposed to be the key to freedom.
	By being able to vote your voice.
	And here we have a situation where, again, Americans' voices are diluted by those who shouldn't necessarily be voting.
	Yes.
	Period.
	It's alarming to me, bro, that this is even a conversation amongst the powers that be.
	And you're right.
	On the day, on the eve of Memorial Day, think about if we could, you know, so undisgruntled we do our one last chats, right?
	Think about if tomorrow morning you go out to the cemetery to see your grandfather or your brother or your dad or whoever might be buried there.
	That was a veteran at a national cemetery.
	And they just so happened to be sitting on their headstone.
	You get one last conversation with them.
	And the one thing you ask them is, hey, by the way, what's your take on this allowing non-Americans to vote in our elections?
	I bet you they'd be pissed.
	Because this is part of the reason that people decide to join the military.
	This is part of the reason why people choose to be cops.
	They choose to do lines of work that protect the freedoms in which We should be holding most dear, in my opinion.
	It doesn't seem like the general populace is really holding these freedoms dear to them.
	Because our politicians, anyway, seem to be willing to just give the shit away.
	Like it's a blue light special and Kmart just popped back up.
	But...
	Like, what would they say?
	I mean, and so also, Jason, there's a lot of people nowadays that are saying all of it's a lie.
	Our founding fathers were liars.
	Our government is liars.
	All these politicians and celebrities and blah, blah, blah, it's all a lie and it's all fake and everyone's a piece of shit.
	And so, if that turns out to be true, well then maybe none of it really matters anyway.
	Then, shit, everyone should come vote because none of it matters.
	It's all hogwash.
	It's all bullshit.
	Yeah.
	It's all a preset game.
	Right.
	There are some people that will say it's a preset game, and I'm sure it is, but you also look at an outlier like Trump and what he was able to do.
	That completely, that, as soon as you see something like that happen, You understand what the power of that vote is.
	Because nobody was happy about that.
	There wasn't a far left clamor for him.
	There wasn't a far right clamor for him.
	He wasn't generally liked by either side.
	He was kind of that outlier, and he didn't really need it.
	He wasn't doing it for personal gain.
	You know, he had the ability to navigate a very difficult job.
	Anybody that believes that being the President of the United States of America is something where, well, I guess we can see it being done easier now in these last couple of years, but that's just because he doesn't know what he's doing.
	Well, I caught myself.
	You're welcome.
	You're good.
	But, you know...
	I think if we were to have that one last chat, my gut would tell me you would just see them vaporize, and I think it would just be like, we used to stack commies, not elect them.
	You know, that'd probably be the one-liner, and they'd be gone.
	Like, I can't believe that, you know, because this is ultimately...
	The military is there to preserve freedom, to preserve the opportunity, For all of us to bathe in our freedoms.
	Our freedom to speak.
	Our freedoms to bear arms.
	Our freedom to have a voice in elections.
	And I think the old commie stackers would be so...
	They wouldn't even be disappointed.
	Remember when your parents would say they'd be disappointed in you?
	They'd be pissed.
	We went through all that for you to allow this nonsense to occur.
	The fact that people can't say no to any of this stuff or they get labeled as a racist or labeled as a misogynist or sexist, it doesn't matter, an ist of some sort, right?
	They didn't care.
	It doesn't matter because the only thing that mattered was that you're either an American or you're not an American.
	That's the game.
	We want everybody to have freedoms outside of this country.
	It would be great if we could be the...
	You know, if we could follow the...
	What was that?
	Team America?
	You know, be the global police?
	Yeah, yeah.
	The puppeteers back at it again.
	At the end of the day, the same freedom we supposedly go overseas to defend is the freedom and ability for those people to have a voice.
	The same voice that we want to maintain at home.
	And here we've gone...
	20 years fighting for somebody, but then we all get home and everything that we fought for there just doesn't matter here.
	Right.
	Well, then why would you send anybody over there at the same time where you've got The Iranian president's helicopter flying out of the sky.
	You've got a Slovak leader who was shot four times, I believe.
	Didn't die.
	There's just nonsense everywhere you turn.
	And so the fact that we're continually hit with all this bullshit, at the same time, when they dilute the ability for any of us to have commonality with one another, where do you keep fighting?
	And what do you think these dudes would say?
	I don't know.
	I think that you're right.
	Maybe they'll just disappear and then you'll just see this vapor of a middle finger float up into the air.
	Listen, there are few things in life, in my opinion, that That a person can hang their hat on as it pertains to being a patriot, right?
	I mean, there's a lot of people that are going to say they're patriots, and so if that's the case, great.
	But I think that there's different levels of patriots, maybe, I don't.
	I guess I struggle with a way to put this that doesn't sound like you're excluding anybody, but who gives a shit, right?
	We're not into saving anybody's feelings.
	But when you do something as selfless and as brave and with as much personal courage as it takes to walk into a recruiting office and raise your hand I feel like the reasons for which a person does that is something that's taught to them.
	We were taught our whole lives, up until recently, that freedom isn't free.
	One of your only God-given rights as an American citizen is your ability to cast a vote when you reach age, of age, when you become an adult.
	Women fought for it for years.
	Black folks fought for it for years.
	A lot of work in this country went into people having the right to vote.
	And now we're having discussions about letting non-Americans, non-citizens vote in our elections.
	It is preposterous to me that this is even a discussion that's had in the halls of Congress, in any of the office, Longworth and Hayward, all those other dumbass office buildings on Capitol Hill, that people are even having this discussion.
	Right.
	And...
	Why is nobody, like, I gotta say, it'd be really refreshing to hear that somebody walked into this circle of a conversation about this particular topic, and they kind of went, what are you talking about?
	And then got in the center of the circle and slapped the shit out of everybody having it.
	Dude, you hit the nail on the head though when you said it.
	These are God-given rights.
	These are inalienable rights given to everyone that walks the free grass and swims in the free waters of the United States of America.
	That's what our government is there for.
	It's to ensure that nobody has those rights encroached on.
	So the fact that we always expand all this stuff out there, you know, one of the other lines that you just said, and I think it should be another t-shirt, it's time to do some Patriot shit.
	Yeah.
	That's...
	And I'm not saying that in the, you know, grab the musketoon and let's rock and roll.
	Well, but hey.
	Yeah, but black folks fought long and hard.
	And then who actually voted to ensure that rights were given, you know, throughout women's suffrage.
	Who fought to ensure that those rights, that was patriot stuff.
	Yep.
	Those, at the end of the day, they're Americans.
	Those were folks that should have had those God-given inalienable rights afforded to them like everyone else.
	This is not the same.
	The fact that we talk about equity and all this other stuff about other countries' citizens coming here, we wouldn't get this anywhere else.
	This is something worth fighting for.
	This is something worth standing out and having a discussion about.
	Again, leading into the most important day, I believe, of our calendar year.
	With Memorial Day.
	Because those whose blood ran up in pursuit of fighting for freedom, Are the heroes that we can only...
	We can't even light a candle next to their torch.
	They made that sacrifice.
	They did it willingly.
	In most cases, I believe.
	I don't want to be fact-checked on that one.
	But there's...
	You know what I'm saying?
	Yes.
	I mean, there's such a heavy gravity to this.
	And I think, you know, being a veteran...
	And understanding that, that's one of those things where, yeah, we can get really pissed off about this voting thing.
	And it is duly important.
	But realistically, as a veteran, letting people know that these are the types of things that irritate the hell out of us.
	And why they irritate us.
	You know, hopefully make somebody else think about it.
	Because too often we're too inundated.
	By information, by overload, by skew, by propaganda.
	You can call it what you want because you can look up this article and I challenge anyone out there.
	If it's a right-leaning or a left-reading propagandist, you're going to notice the spin is going to be based upon the information that they want you to perceive rather than the information that's there.
	I could give you the straight vote and you can make up your mind.
	But if I'm Fox, I'm gonna say a whopping 52 Democrats voted against this.
	If I'm going to look at a left-leaning CNN, I believe that the narrative driven was the exact opposite.
	Yep.
	Right?
	And so, again, depending upon where you're getting the information, at the end of the day, the precipitation is there were more votes to disallow this than there were to allow it, which is a win.
	But again, the fact that any...
	Well, I won't call them statesmen.
	I really want to.
	Yeah, well, they're not statesmen.
	They're not statesmen.
	They're politicians.
	It's...
	T-City.
	But they, even one of them, right then and there, as a voting member, you're out.
	I don't care if you, you know, it's the Bob the Builder, or Bob the Bridge Builder.
	I shouldn't even say that.
	I'm just going to stop.
	No, no, no.
	Go ahead.
	Well, right?
	You can build a million bridges, but you bang one goat, guess what?
	You're Bob the Goat Banger.
	Nobody remembers the Million Bridges.
	This is your Bob the Goatbanger moment.
	That's it.
	I'm done.
	It's over.
	And the fact that Yeah, the fact that we have to sit here and have that conversation, it's not about forgiveness.
	We forget about everything.
	I mean, shit, the way they write these laws every day, I don't even know how many laws are on the books or how thick the papers are.
	I mean, shit, I don't even think the Obamacare Act has even been thoroughly read through.
	There's no way possible.
	Things like 17 reams of paper.
	Well, you gotta vote for it to find out what's in it.
	You know, bring that trash to any business meeting or to any military planning for a mission execution and just say, oh, we just gotta go do it to find out what's in there.
	I mean, this is the kind of stuff that's just nonsense.
	We need to work with less nonsense.
	You hit on something that really kind of pisses me off.
	This whole discussion about equity...
	This whole discussion in this country about equity.
	I get it to a certain point.
	But when we're talking about rights afforded to United States citizens, there is no equity.
	In fact, we're violating equity standards, if that's what you want to call them.
	And we're taking the power away from the men and women who were born here.
	Or the men and women that went through the proper channels to get citizenship and have earned the right to cast a vote on whatever day the election comes.
	That's equal.
	And that's all there needs to be.
	That's it.
	This conversation about equity is so convoluted.
	It's all bullshit.
	I don't care.
	I don't care if you don't feel equal.
	Well, guess what?
	Maybe you're not equal.
	Do what you need to do to earn the right that you want to have afforded to you or shut up.
	Stop bitching.
	You don't get to just walk in the door and say, hey, well, I feel left out.
	I think I want to vote now.
	And then have some greasy, slick-back politician work some goddamn magic to get you the right to vote that you didn't earn.
	Why is it that you just think that you deserve it?
	Because you're here?
	Go the hell home.
	I'll tell you what.
	If I go to Somalia...
	And decide I'm going to cast a vote for the next barbarian that wants to hack up half of the goddang city.
	I bet you they don't let me vote for that.
	I bet you I'm the first one to get hacked up.
	If I go down to Venezuela and say, hey, I've been here for a few years, I'd like to vote in your election, they're going to put me in prison.
	If I go to Russia and say, hey, I support Vladimir Putin, would you allow me to vote so we can help ensure that he gets re-elected?
	Nope.
	In fact, maybe I'll get killed.
	Or I'll be held prisoner.
	And then guess what?
	Then I'll have to beg and plead and hope that my country comes to save me.
	But yet here we are having discussions about frickin' equity.
	Equity for people that don't deserve equity.
	You get enough equity.
	You're here probably from a lot of people for free.
	You're leeching off the system.
	When you're robbing Americans and you twist your ankle and you go to the emergency room and they can't refuse anybody care, because that's some dumbass law too.
	Well, Jason, you and I got to pay for it.
	Or when you sneak across the border and you get knocked up at the local Chicano gangbang in Texas, and you go to have abortions or have your kid, and you get it done for free, all the care is for free, and then you get daycare and you get diapers and you get formula and you get a place to stay because we can't have a mother on the street with a newborn baby.
	Doesn't seem too equal to me.
	Let an American girl...
	Go in after having, oh boy, let her go in and have a baby with nowhere to go.
	They're going to kick her ass out.
	Well, you better call your parents or you don't have a friend or a family member or somebody to come help you out.
	You can't stay here, ma'am.
	I'm really sorry.
	We have other patients to treat.
	But if the woman doesn't speak English, she's going to get put in a place right away.
	Right away.
	No problem.
	And here we are talking about equity.
	Well, I'll tell you what.
	Equity is not a thing.
	Because Americans aren't treated equally.
	In fact, the people that aren't Americans, the illegal immigrants, the folks that are here that don't have citizenship, they're the ones that get the benefits.
	And if you don't believe that, do some research.
	Right?
	It's unbelievable that, and again, that we're even having this conversation.
	But I think that's, you know, especially when you're talking about it, I can sense your emotional attachment to it.
	There's no question about it.
	And I really think, in the veteran community, that is something that happens.
	We get very polarized when it comes to issues like this because we get the big picture.
	We had to do things, or were allowed to do things, volunteered and voluntold, That ensured that when we got home, we would have these other things.
	And we knew that if we're out here doing this, that saves Americans back home who can, you know, who theoretically, if they go to the hospital and they break that foot and they don't have insurance, we're taking care of it.
	But to know that that finite resource is being burned up by people that aren't kind of...
	They're not part of Team America.
	No, we're right back to that one.
	But they're not Team America, and they're...
	They're a priority.
	Yeah.
	And you have to ask, why are they a priority?
	Well, because they're going to be voters, Jason.
	Well, and we've come full circle.
	Equity.
	Let me shove that equity right up your ass.
	Go do squats in a cucumber patch of equity.
	With butter ass?
	Ridiculous.
	But I thought all we got here was the pursuit of happiness.
	Again, these God-given rights, these things that God creates for all of us.
	The fact that we kind of forget about who lays this path out.
	This isn't us.
	We don't put all these things in.
	Everything that's happening is behind an evil facade.
	It's the pursuit.
	Yeah, the pursuit of your happiness doesn't necessarily mean that you have to ruin other people's, right?
	That's not what I'm saying.
	But hold on.
	It's not a pursuit for them.
	It's not a pursuit.
	Correct.
	It's come here and get entitlements.
	For you, for me, for many, many, many other Americans, it's a pursuit every single day.
	To keep your gas tank full, to keep your family fed, to deal with non-stop, god dang traffic.
	God dang, I hate traffic and construction so much.
	It's a pursuit every day just to keep your head above water as an American.
	And no wonder why people are going absolutely apeshit.
	Because they see.
	And this topic right here is the perfect example, right?
	Well, we're going to let non-Americans vote in just the local elections.
	Well, yeah, like you said earlier, but the local folks are the ones that decide a lot of your taxes, a lot of this, a lot of that.
	These are the people that decide how much money comes out of your pocket, right?
	When you get new roads.
	Yeah.
	And so they're all very important.
	Every election.
	And you know what, Jason?
	To me, it wouldn't matter if we were having a national vote to decide who the best Care Bearer is.
	They don't give a shit.
	You're still not entitled to it.
	I agree.
	So, go vote at home.
	They have elections.
	Somewhere.
	It's a shameful day.
	Quite frankly, what are you voting for, right?
	Uniparty trash, left or right?
	They're all doing the same stuff.
	It pains me to know that we have very rare votes that are unanimous, or with a single digit outlier.
	Where there's a, you know, 300 and some to 5.
	You know, it kind of makes you feel good knowing that the vast majority of the people that are, you know, elected to these offices are holding to a standard.
	You know, a real thing.
	Like, they're in full agreement.
	Like, these things aren't, they can't be compromised.
	You know, and I think as a, you know, as a member of the military, that's the hardest thing, too, right?
	Is understanding that people will compromise themselves for some power and some money.
	For what?
	It's all a grab.
	It's all trash.
	At the end of the day, I don't know about you, but I can tell you this much, my coffin isn't going to have saddlebags on it.
	I'm not dragging it off into the great beyond.
	And the fact that you'll do these things and create this much strife and pain For people that are Americans.
	Think about if you were somebody aging into Social Security right now.
	And you've paid in your entire life.
	I mean, we all know that Social Security programs just kicked into general fund and nothing was ever bookmarked or earmarked or kept safe.
	None of it was ever invested.
	Nothing that they ever told us was going to happen truly happened.
	And so they keep talking about it going bankrupt.
	And maybe you ran into a series of terrible things that happened to you from middle age into retirement, and you don't have a lot saved up.
	Maybe you still have a mortgage.
	And now you're on a finite budget.
	And that budget could be smaller than somebody who came from a foreign country, illegally crossed our border, and they're receiving greater benefits than you.
	I don't believe that was the envisioned plan for our great safety net.
	I think Social Security and the great safety net were wonderful ideas, no question.
	But leave it to a politician to shit all over it.
	And here it gets used for whatever purpose that they decide is going to give them an advantage.
	Rather than ensure that they do the right things for the citizens that are there to take care of.
	Yes.
	And yet, twice a month, we pay into this fund.
	Most of us.
	A large number of us.
	Yeah.
	Anyway, guys, we have to...
	Sorry to cut you off, bro.
	We gotta take a break.
	We'll be right back with you.
	Don't go away.
	Our enemies have a plan!
	Our enemy's leader has a plan.
	We all have one common enemy.
	His name is Satan and right now his minions are trying to run this country.
	We're gonna expose all the lies around the COVID bioweapons.
	We're gonna expose all the lies around our fake and stolen rig elections.
	We're going to put the sexual depravity of our fake leaders on full display.
	And then when the truth is known to the entire world, we are going to have extreme accountability.
	We will be the plan.
	We are never going to give up.
	Hey guys, welcome back here to the second segment of the show.
	I feel like, Jason, we hammered it pretty good, the first segment.
	I think we should take the last little bit of the show here and just talk about Memorial Day and why it's special.
	And so I'll give you the opportunity to go first.
	We have about 12 and a half minutes left.
	So, take as much of that 12 and a half minutes as you need.
	But, what's your take on Memorial Day?
	And I have a feeling that we are going to have some similar takes.
	So, go ahead.
	I would think so.
	To be honest, Memorial Day for me, up until...
	Maybe even a handful of years ago.
	I didn't truly wrap my mind around it.
	I kind of, you know, coincided things with Veterans Day, a day of sacrifice, etc.
	And I had a moment, I think it was during COVID, where our state chose not to put out flags on Memorial Day.
	And I started to think more and more about that.
	And that happened to be the time where I really started to realize what Memorial Day meant.
	It's a pretty easy thing to say, look, have a great Memorial Day weekend.
	Let's go save 15% on a mattress or a couch, you know, whatever deal of the day is going on.
	Wonderful opportunity to schlep some shit on the back of veterans who gave it all.
	And so when I started to look into it, and I don't know if you knew this, Richard, but About the time when they started to celebrate or to memorialize this day, and obviously they had a different name, you can hit on that, but it was honoring 620,000 soldiers that had died during the Civil War, which equates to 2% of the population.
	620,000 people?
	Yes.
	Two percent of the population of the United States of America at that time.
	One in 50 Americans.
	Well, that right there for sure is sobering.
	I didn't know that.
	I didn't know that number.
	I didn't know that number, and I'm glad this article actually brought it up because when I was looking into it, that was something that I saw.
	So, I guess, historically speaking, of course, there's terrible numbers, obviously, when anyone dies for any reason, but certainly in a combat situation.
	But could you imagine if we lived in a world right now where you had 2% of your military gone?
	Over a 20-year...
	I mean, we didn't even get close to a fraction of that.
	This thing, when it started, was to honor those who sacrificed everything for all Americans.
	And they decorated those graves.
	And it was very important because they wanted to honor their memories, should you not forget.
	And I think...
	That was the real emotional bone for me, was not forgetting.
	You know, it's one thing.
	I mean, you and I talk about it.
	You know, we do shows on Disgruntled here.
	We talk about being a veteran.
	We talk about the way things affect us as veterans.
	But those who gave it all, They don't have a voice.
	They don't have an opportunity to live the life that they went out to ensure that we all get to live.
	And I really think that was what solidified the importance of Memorial Day for me, was thinking back to that time in this country.
	That was perilous.
	Like, the country was shocked.
	It was shit.
	There was nothing.
	Like, we had lost so many people.
	Businesses were destroyed.
	Commerce was destroyed.
	The country wasn't functioning.
	Coming out of the Civil War was not exactly a peaceful, happy time for any American.
	And they found it fit at that time to ensure that they did not forget about the sacrifices made.
	Now a military member dies, or 30,000 die over the course of a couple of decades, and merely a mention.
	Well hell, 22 a day die.
	That's what I'm saying.
	The numbers just keep going, right?
	You know, we can't even focus on that 22 a day and trying to assist people there and ensure that, you know, maybe we have the resources or the outreach or the opportunity to help them because I don't care if you succumb to your injuries in-country or Oconis when you're back here.
	And so, It's amazing to think when our country was, quote unquote, at its lowest, we took the time to honor and understand the true importance of what had happened.
	And now here we are, fast forward, to a place where, arguably, we have it the best, quote unquote, the easiest of any generation to this point.
	And of course, we have our issues of not denying that.
	We can't, even in these fruited plains that we get to frolic around in, we rarely take the time to understand why.
	And Memorial Day is there to do so, and I hope anybody listening is hearing this, and maybe this puts a little different perspective to that three-day weekend.
	No changes, still plenty of beer.
	Bossier, you know, insert relaxation of any form or fashion that you enjoy.
	But take 30 seconds to think about it, because I have to believe that we all know somebody.
	It's either a family member, it's a close family friend, or a friend adjacent who served.
	And they know those who didn't get to come home, or you know one.
	And just think about it.
	And understand that it's an amazing opportunity for us on a long weekend to just be mindful of the blessings that we have to be here today.
	And that's it.
	Well said, my friend.
	They called it Celebration Day, right?
	In the late 1800s when it started?
	So, the best I can understand, they called it Celebration Day.
	And many communities throughout the country set different times throughout the year as a time of remembrance for their particular group of veterans, you know, from their area, until it was just made a national holiday, whatever year that was, but it was a long time ago.
	1871 or something.
	Yes, I think you're right.
	No, or was it 1868?
	Nope, 71.
	It was before 1900.
	We'll say that.
	And I think that you touched on a very good point.
	Everybody knows somebody, whether connected or once or twice removed, that served and maybe even is no longer with us.
	And so that's an important thing to think about, I think, because...
	When we have discussions like we had earlier on in the show, and the things that are afforded to us as Americans...
	Think about your loved one or the person that you know that served this country who's no longer with us.
	Think about them and the reason why they may have served.
	Maybe they joined the military to get a free college education, which is fine.
	No problem.
	Now that isn't even really a thing because we're giving free college education to a whole lot of people, including illegals that are here.
	But it used to be a great thing.
	But I would challenge everybody to, when they're stopping to have a moment, or if you make it a habit to go out to a national cemetery or any cemetery to see these people that are close to you or your friends or whatever, just think real close.
	Think very carefully about the cost.
	When you pull into that National Cemetery, and you see droves of white headstones, if you go to Arlington, and as far as the eye can see, if you look into the cemetery, you see white headstones, and you see monuments.
	I mean, they're very well put together, they're well maintained, especially this time of year, well manicured.
	And understand that this is the cost of war.
	The freedoms that we talked about earlier in the show and that we talk about often, they're not free.
	We've all heard it before.
	Freedom isn't free.
	It all comes with a cost.
	And so on Memorial Day, when you're thinking about those people and you're giving them a moment or an hour or two hours or whatever of your time, remember that the sacrifices they made, the blood, sweat, and tears that left their body paid the bill.
	They paid the cost.
	As well as many other men and women that came after them.
	Or the ones that are paying it now.
	But on this day, on Memorial Day, we remember those that are no longer with us.
	November is the day we get to celebrate the ones that are still with us.
	But understand, and I'm sure, Jason, that I'll get some flack for how pissed off I got talking about non-Americans voting and being on my soapbox.
	And that's fine.
	I don't give a shit.
	But it's because this shit isn't free.
	And there was a lot of really hard work put in for all of these things to be afforded to us.
	And even if you're one of those people that says it's all a lie, it's not real, it's fake, it doesn't matter who you are.
	Maybe you're right.
	Maybe it is all a lie.
	Maybe it is all fake.
	But for those men and women who are in the ground, it wasn't fake.
	This idea of freedom...
	Leaving a better life to their kids, to their family, to their communities, to Americans that come after them.
	It wasn't fake.
	They paid the cost in blood.
	And so those are the things that we cannot forget.
	And I will repeat this every Memorial Day.
	Last year on Memorial Day, I talked about it as well.
	There is a gentleman on YouTube who is a special forces operator.
	I think maybe he was a Navy SEAL by the name of Sean Ryan.
	He's got a huge podcast.
	And last year on Memorial Day, he did a special and he ended with, The best way to pay honor to those who paid the cost for our freedoms is to ask yourself every day, When you are doing your nightly routine before bed,
	whatever that may be, and you look in the mirror, ask yourself, are you the kind of American that deserves the sacrifice that was paid for you?
	I don't know that I could ever think of any way to put it better.
	Do you deserve it?
	Are you leading a life that deserves the sacrifice that was laid down for you?
	And we could talk about the same thing with your faith, right?
	You have faith in a higher power, and there's a set of rules put in place, a way of living to honor the things in which you believe.
	And so you live by that.
	Well, this is similar, not saying that the people that served are godlike, but they paid one hell of a cost.
	Are you deserving of the cost that they paid?
	And if not, maybe you have some soul searching to do, or I'm quite certain that Delta Airlines would love to have you on one of their planes out of the United States of America.
	Anyway, with that being said, we've run out of time today.
	So, as Jason said, please, please, please, tomorrow, just remember.
	Remember the people that are no longer with us, that bore the burden of our freedom.
	Remember them.
	Jason, thank you for your time.
	I really appreciate you being here.
	As always, we love you here.
	And you guys take care of yourselves.
	Be good to each other.
	God knows there's enough people fighting against you, so be good to each other.
	Have a great evening.
	We'll see you next week.

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