Hello again, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another episode of Freedom's Creed. Today is Tuesday, November the 23rd, 2021. And being that it's a Tuesday, I'm bringing back the Tolerating Tuesday format, which is simply a way for me to talk about something that I am concerned about. And I know that that probably doesn't sound any different than any other episode that I do. However, it's a time for me to sort of reiterate the importance of being tolerant and tolerating things that we may not agree with, but really should accept because it's the nature of the society which we live in. So with that, let's get going. The first Tolerating Tuesday episode that I did was actually on July the 20th of this year. It was episode 30. And my intention was to do one of these kinds of episodes on a more regular basis, but so much for intentions, right? In any case, I want to bring it back, and I say bring it back, but it's I've barely just begun this whole trek of podcasting. It's a it's a new universe for me, quite frankly. But in any case, I want to do on a regular basis a tolerating Tuesday episode, and it'll be something that I believe will add greater context to the podcast and perhaps even help you as a listener to get to know who I am, maybe a little bit better than what you might during a regular episode. In any case, it'll evolve over time, I'm sure, as most things that are new often do. In that first tolerating Tuesday episode back in July, the focus was really on tolerating viewpoints that are not like our own. Debating someone without it becoming personal, the way social media plays into our attempt to be tolerating, things like that. If you want to take a listen to that episode, again, it's episode 30. Feel free to go back and listen to that and then come back to this episode. The question I have for you right now is something that I want each of you to think about. And that is, are there things that we shouldn't tolerate? Think about that for a minute. And if there are things that we shouldn't tolerate, how do we go about expressing that displeasure with something that we don't tolerate? Obviously, we're not talking about something as simplistic as a particular food. If you don't tolerate Brussels sprouts, then don't eat them. Simple. Eat something else, eat something that you like better. We're not talking about things like that. We're talking about things that are a little more substantive. What I would say, and the way that I would answer that question, is that first of all, we need to go back to the Constitution's First Amendment because that provides the groundwork, which we have all come to know as the right to freedom of speech. It's the First Amendment. I mean, truly, there are things in our lives that we shouldn't tolerate. We shouldn't tolerate someone being mean to our children, or we shouldn't tolerate someone taking advantage of us in any way. Ultimately, we shouldn't tolerate anyone who encroaches upon our ability to live a life with freedom and liberty. That's one of the beauties of living in the United States. We have the right to be free, to exercise liberty in a responsible way. My right to speak out on what I believe is a protected right, as it is for you. If you disagree with me, again, the First Amendment provides the answer. We have the right to quote peaceably assemble, unquote. So if we're in the public square where we often see played out the incorrect way to assemble, how confident are any of us that we can change hearts and minds in the midst of what is often chaos and where emotions often trump good judgment? It's a difficult proposition. And I wouldn't blame anyone if they were hesitant or even fearful to go out in the public square and voice an opinion about a topic, no matter what it is. It's one thing to peaceably assemble, and it's quite another thing when the pretext of someone's demonstration is supposedly peaceful, but yet in a matter of a very brief few moments, it can turn into something completely different. So, yes, the First Amendment does allow for peaceful assembly, and that's how it should be. The First Amendment does not condone violence, rioting, looting, murder, and the like. Yet unfortunately, it would seem, based on past experience in recent memory anyway, that many of our politicians have usurped the Constitution's First Amendment by acquiescing any time peaceably assembling people erupt into violence and bloodshed. Well, as always, there's often a better way, and in this case, it's no different. And shouldn't all of us be seeking for a better way? Does it really matter that people who assemble peaceably disagree with one another in every aspect of life, whether it be politics or religion or any other social aspect relating to living in America? It makes sense to me that all of us should be seeking for a better way. A better way is not to see violence played out on the streets of America. A better way is not for looting and fires and mayhem and murder being played out on the streets of America. We're not some third world country vying to have a better government, a better foundation for liberty and peaceful living. We have it. We have it in place today. It's been in place for a long time now. There's no reason why we should see these things play out on the streets of America where people are injured and even murdered just because they have a different point of view. That kind of thing should trouble all of us. And it doesn't mean that just because we believe that it's troubling, that we're against uh social justice. We want justice for everyone. And again, whether people want to believe it or not, that's the basis of the Constitution. It's the foundation for the Bill of Rights. I understand, I get it. History hasn't always been kind to people. It's been that way from the beginning of time. We have a constitution in place that's been in place now for well over 200 years, and compared to most other governments in the world, it's been pretty darn good. Yes, we still have issues, we still have problems, but the way that we correct those problems, the way that we we make things better, is not to resort to violence and to treating other people horribly just because they think differently than we do. That's not the way to solve it. There is a better way. And my advice to people is that we need to find that better way soon, or we're not going to recognize the country before long. And no, I'm not a doomsday type person, but my wife is always saying to me that you should plan for the worst and hope for the best. I think that's pretty good advice. We should plan for the worst. The worst, in my mind, would be losing the freedom and liberty that we have as American citizens. That'd be pretty awful. Where would we go then? What would we do? What kind of system would we have in place that would give all people the same kinds of opportunities than what we have in place right now? I don't know of one. And I'm not willing to try that experiment at this point in time in America's existence. My hope is that the Constitution can be taught again as it should be in our schools, from grade school all the way up. In my mind, that is the best hope that it's taught to people so that they can appreciate what they have. And by saying this, I'm in in no way am I saying that we shouldn't teach history as it happened. We should. We should teach about the things that happened in our history that we don't want to have repeated. Because if we don't teach those things, they will be repeated. And we don't want to repeat the things that didn't work, and that were not equitable for all people. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, our declaration, these are things that, if taught properly, are going to benefit all of us, not just some of us or a few of us, but everyone. And not just people who are born in this country, but people who come here from other countries. It will benefit them. It has benefited many generations of people who have come here for a better way of life. And it will continue to do so if we are vigilant about teaching the merits of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It's really quite simple. I talk about the founding documents of our country often, and it's for good reason. It's for this very reason that we were able to do the things that we can do in America because of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration. These are things that have created the most success in my mind of any country in the world. Prior to this American experiment, there was nothing like this ever tried in the history of mankind. Ever. And then all of a sudden, in the 18th century, some people came along and said, you know what? We want to be free from the tyranny of a government. And so we're going to fight a war to make us free, to be free, or to die trying. And that's what took place. So I will continue to talk about this. I will continue to try to educate people about it. That's the whole nature of why I started the podcast to begin with. There are things that take place in our society that we need to rectify. No doubt about it. We need to change. And hopefully we can. Hopefully, working together, we can change. And that doesn't imply anything about political party or any other social aspect of life. If we respect one another and we respect each other's rights to worship as we please, to speak as we please, and to do all the things that we do in our society without being encroached upon by the government or by other people, we're going to live a great life. Does it mean we're not going to have challenges? Absolutely not. We are going to have challenges. That's life. Challenges happen in life. All of us have to tolerate something, and some of us have to tolerate a lot. I'm not saying that's me, but I'm saying the more we can tolerate other things, other people, the better off our life is going to be. And again, that's just life. We have to do these things if we're going to be happy, if we're going to be successful, if we're going to be provident citizens, we just have to tolerate things. My wife tolerates me every day. But I think she still loves me. No, I know she still loves me. In all sincerity, though, there are people who think that somehow they're immune from tolerating others, and that the rest of us just need to be wary of people like that. And either one keep our distance from them or two be tolerant enough to try to talk to that person and to find common ground. And if in that event, after talking to them, that is, we can't find common ground, then we just agree to disagree. But we don't have to be disagreeable. I know it's cliche. I hear it all the time. You hear it all the time. But it's true. We don't have to be disagreeable. It's when we become disagreeable that we then will tolerate doing whatever is necessary to make sure that our point of view is heard and in some cases felt, if you know what I'm saying. In other words, violence is never the answer. Unless, of course, you're an MMA fighter, then in that case, have at it, I guess. But just do it within the octagon. Then you'll be fine. Well, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for tolerating me today for these few minutes. And I will tell you that I think you should go out and make it a great Tuesday. Make it a great week. Have a great Thanksgiving wherever you are. Do something nice for someone else, even a stranger. It will change the world one person at a time. I know. It's simplistic. I'm a simple guy. I believe in simple things. I want to understand the complex, but you know what? Being nice to someone, even a stranger, it's not complex. It's quite simple. So we should all try it. I will, and I hope that you will too. For my quote today, I actually have two from Barbara Corcoran, whom we all know from Shark Tank fame, but she was quite successful before being on Shark Tank. And naturally, much of what she says has to do with success in business and entrepreneurship and those kinds of things. But I think these two quotes can be applied to any aspect of life. She said this, first of all, quote, the difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves, unquote. Isn't that so true? You can look at successful people and it they've had setbacks and trials, but they've spent much less time than the rest of us worrying about feeling sorry for themselves. They get over it and they move on. It's a great, I think, gift to have, and I think all of us can develop that kind of a gift. She also had this to say, and I love it, quote, the truth is you can teach any skill, but you cannot change a bad attitude. End of quote. That's such a great quote, and it's so true. We can teach a lot of skills, and we do, and we should, especially if we have the talent to do so. But the one thing we can't change is attitude. And the only caveat that I would add to that is that your attitude is the only one you can change. And if a boss has a bad attitude, well, that boss needs to change that attitude. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the episode. Go out and make it a fantastic day. And as always, if you can think it, you can plan it. If you can plan it, you can do it.