Here, kids, have some white pills about America | Hour 1

What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepekclendarshow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support. So okay, just a little bit of a background information real quick. My wife, Christy, she is the lord over the TVs in the well, I mean in the living room. We have so many apps on our TV for you. We don't have like the cable package anymore. We cut the cord a long time ago. We but like we pick up an app, we ditch an app, and all of that. Then she likes to watch way more TV than I do. But I watch some programs with her, so I don't know, Like I couldn't tell you the shows that we do that I do watch. I couldn't tell you if it's on Netflix, if it's on Apple, if it's on well, any of the others that I don't know their names like I don't know what where these shows exist, but she does, and she like boo boo boo boo boo, bounces all around between all the different apps and all of that. However, when it comes to the rabbit ears, and for people who don't know what that means, this is old school antenna all right. Back in the old days, you didn't even need to pay anybody for television. I mean you had to buy a TV. They were very expensive a long time ago. But then you just had the antenna and you would just like pull out the what do they call telescoping antenna arms and you would just kind of adjust them and you would pick up the local channels for free. Now you do have to watch the commercials, but that's the that's where I excel, right, So, and nowadays you have the digital antenna, but I still have the two rabbit ears. Okay, I still have those two posts right Well. Anyway, I say all of that, that's just the background informations, neither here nor there. But now you will understand why we ended up watching the World Cup game last night, the soccer game between America and two other countries, and the refs that we ended up watching that game and Espanol because apparently when Christy went looking for it, it was on the Peacock channel and she found and the one she tuned into was the Spanish broadcast, and I got to tell you way more fun. It was like it was that guy he was at like he was he was just tuned up eleven out of ten constant. I mean, I don't know how many Red Bulls or Toros de Rojas he drank. I'm not sure, but that guy was just torqued the whole time. He said goal for like seventeen straight minutes. It was amazing. So if you are looking for a different kind of experience, maybe you're watching the world because I guess what the next game is? What is it Monday night? The USA plays again? Is this the and this is the furthest we've ever gotten into the sixteen? Right? I mean I think we got here once before, maybe, but yeah, I mean we even did it last night again playing Bosnia and Herzegovina Hurtzegovina whatever, two different countries they had to join together in order to try to beat us, and they had to get that that referee who like that guy. I am starting a petition I feel like if we can convince the administration that he is he is enriching uranium past sixty percent, I feel like this could help us. I'm like, I'm just throwing that, okay, or maybe all right, let's not we don't have to go to that extreme. We could just say something like maybe he's running a country that's delivering drug boats to America, something like that, and we'll just do like a like a Venezuelan operation on this on that ref. Yeah, they're pretty bad. And by the way, just as anytime I talk about soccer aka footbolt, I always note the sheer lunacy and stupidity. They dumb as that only one person knows how much time is left in the game. It is such a stupid rule, so dumb and kind of COMMI if you I mean, really if it's I mean, it is kind of it's kind of comy that this one guy who's got the stopwatch on the field and nobody knows how much time is. Like, you can't, like, you can't bluetooth that clock into the into a clock in the stadium. Give me a break. Of course you can't. You can let everybody know, you can have an official timekeeper on the sideline, keeping the time, just like we do in like every other sport that runs on a clock. You can do this, FIFA, you can do this this way we all know, most notably the players know how much time is actually left on the clock. In this way, the referees can't give a team a little bit extra time if they're on like a breakaway and they're about to score and tie up the game or whatever. No, no more, big fat European thumb on the scale. Okay, no. By the way, you see the National Mall last night, there was a big watch party out there, the same place where they're having the Great American State Fair. That media has been like, okay, there's nobody here. Oh my god, that place was packed last night, absolutely packed. So today I'm sure we're gonna get all the stories about they killed all of the grass, the people who logged on the grass, that it's all trampled down. I'm sure we'll get those stories. So for people who are of a younger generation, you may not understand how new this is, Like you guys, but we just saw the United States in the Winter Olympics win gold in the men's and women's hockey game, like the only time that has ever happened before. Like I believe I was still you know, eating, I was drinking milk like I was a baby. Like that just doesn't happen. And we just saw it men's and women's. And now you've got the soccer team playing like I don't know, they're good. That doesn't happen either, Okay, Like really that in my lifetime, the US men's soccer team, like nobody paid attention to soccer because no, we didn't have any good teams, like and that's not the disparage the previous team back in like what twenty five years ago whenever it was when they went I'm just saying, the fish might not know it's wet here, Okay. And I know because at the end of the program I was yesterday, I was talking about this polling about who's proud to be an American, you know, and the declining rates of people that say they are extremely proud to be American. And by the way, these types of victories in the sporting world, they help add to that pride. When your team beats the Canadians at hockey, uh huh huh, Well that's actually French. Well for the French Canadians. It does apply. So you have this new found feeling of pride that yes, we did this thing, and let's all like unity unifying all of that same thing with the soccer team going on right now. How amazing is it that we have a good soccer team and it's all in America. We had all these Europeans coming into the country and they're all like, oh my gosh, this BUCkies is amazing. You know, we don't realize because these things are just part of our lives. And this is particularly acute among younger people. And I'm not believe me, this is in no way a bashing of young people millennials, gen Z. I'm not doing that at all. I'm simply pointing out that when I was young, and when the boomers were young, right, we didn't know these things either because we were young too, and when we were growing up, we just thought this is the way it is, because this is what this is the way it is. But the older people would say, it hasn't always been like that. And so that's what I'm going to get into today. I'm going to call it a public service. I'm going to help white pill some of the youth, okay, because you don't know you're wet all right. 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Yes, and thank you Moral Compass for sending that along. It's one of my favorite clips from The Simpsons about soccer. I do have some messages here, but I do want to get onto the white pilling here. Basic bill says, do you want Americans to get involved in soccer? Americans love scoring. Let's get the goal one yard taller and three yards wider. I'd like to see a game that's like twelve to nine. Yeah, that's fair. The Paralympic US team also won goal too, says Dan, Thank you Dan. Nine to eight zero number says I've always heard what great shape you have to be in to play soccer, But watching the game last night, I realize every two minutes they take a break to bring the trainers out to check the player's injury. So yeah, that is uh. I did make a comment to watching one of the grown men crying and pleading to the ref that he was injured. That's kind of like, come on, man, have some self respect. I'm hurt, don't you see I'm hurt, and the reps is just looking at him like come on. Beth's favorite Russ says, I listened to a lot of podcasts at one and a half to two times the speed, and the regular Spanish soccer broadcast is too fast for me. All right, So let me get to this because at the during the show yesterday, I talked about the polling and about pride in America. Are you proud to be American? And there's been a precipitous decline, particularly among Democrats and the youth, and talked a little bit about you know, some of those reasons, and mainly I blame K twelve education. And I'm going to get into this concept of gratitude as well later on. But at the end of that hour I got a message from the text line from an eighth three number who said, because I was saying, you know, when people say, oh, America is terrible in all this, and I point out, like, well, in comparison to what right, if you want to say something is bad, something is terrible, then give me a comparative that we should emulate, right, because we all acknowledge that all human beings are fallible. Nobody is perfect. Governments that are comprised of human beings are therefore not going to be perfect. Right, They're going to do bad things. They'll do some good things, right, But what is the idea behind the government, behind the nation? Right, how do people behave in this culture and in the society and all of that. And then you have to compare these things to others in comparison to what and so this EIGHTO three numbers said, in comparison to what you ask, this is the generational difference. Older people like yourself are comparing the well whoa whoa whoa, I'm gen X. I think that is I am squarely lower middle age. I feel older people like your self are comparing the country to like Somalia. Okay, I wasn't comparing us to Somalia, because there really isn't any comparison there, Like that's I only need like one marker. As soon as I check that one off, it's like, Okay, I'm out, We've won, right, and I'm not comparing only to Somalia. I compare America to the rest of the nations on the planet and still think we're the best. But I fall in that category of extremely proud American. So yes, we're very proud to be American in comparison to Somalia. No, nope, I'm extremely proud to be American for reasons that have nothing to do with those other countries. When I was talking about in comparison to what I'm talking about, the sentiment that exists that our system is terrible versus their system socialism, because we were talking at great length yesterday about the Democratic Socialists of America and communism, Marxism, all of that, right, and so what I was talking about there was like, Okay, if you want to go and live in those types of systems. Then go over and live in one of those systems. Right, But the pride in your country is based off of the other things besides the comparison. Okay, so there is that. So here's the crux of it, though for young people, it is in comparison to our parents and grandparents' generation, and our living standards and quality of life prospects, et cetera, all getting increasingly worse. We cannot be as proud of the country because we know it has fallen from its high standards. And is it too much to ask that, being born here as a heritage American, that we expect to have a quality of life equal to or better than our parents something to take into consideration when you wonder why young people aren't as proud. Okay, So I went through and and as I as I do in my daily endeavors, I accumulate various show prep topics. I don't do all of these things every single day, but I will amass a folder, if you will, of several stories that tie into a certain topic. And this is one of those topics. The first thing is that fifteen ways Generation Z gen Z lives differently than older generations. Okay, generations are different, right. You guys grew up in a different time, You had access to different things. You have a different cultural zeitgeist that's occurring. Right. The touchstones in your life are different than the Baby Boomers, for example. Right, these universally shared experiences as a nation, that sort of stuff. Okay, you all kind of breed the same air as a generation. Every generation does, right, So number one, your digital natives, not digital adopters. Right, Millennials and gen Z, especially gen Z, like you don't know any other world besides the digital age. Okay, they care about the planet like it's personal. They are redefining career success. The traditional model of climbing a corporate ladder throughout a forty year career is now outdated. Gen Z wants flexible hours, meaningful projects, side hustles, and mental health days. If a job feels toxic, they leave that job without looking back. Okay, I'm not going to make any kind of qualitative argument against these things. And I know that not every gen Z person adheres to all of these things, but in general, right, these are sort of generational qualities. Okay, not obsessed with buying homes. I don't know if I agree with that one, but they question in traditional education paths, they redefine relationships and marriage. They prioritize passion over paychecks when they can embrace diversity and inclusivity. They redefine consumerism, spending on experiences rather than things. They care about where their money goes. They want ethical companies right, They expect instant access to everything. They turn hobbies into side hustles. And here's the thing. They crave authenticity, not just politeness. Authenticity. Well, you are in luck because I am about to give you some really authentic information. Okay. And again this is not coming from any kind of place of hatred or putting down anybody or anything like that. I'm just going to let you know about in an authentic way. I should say, you guys actually have it very very good. Now. I know you don't believe this. The reason you don't believe this is because you've been told a lie. You have been raised on a lie. This is what I mean. The fish doesn't know it's wet. You have been getting this same messaging reinforced through your algorithms, the doom scrolling, the demoralization campaigns, your K twelve education, especially in higher ed. You have been told things and I'm going to give you some data that are not true. They're just not true. Are their challenges to be sure, But as the American philosopher Lynyrd Skinnerd said, troubles will come and they will pass. Every generation goes through troubles, every one of them. They're just different. So for millennials and Gen Z, let me assure you, as a card carrying member of Generation X, we thought everything was terrible. That was kind of our entire brand, like on everything, we were too cool for everything. Because everything was terrible. It defined us. We never even got an actual generation designation. They called us X and we were like, you guys, don't even know what you're doing. And they were just like, we don't know what to make of these people, and they just left it as X. That's it. X is like unknown, that's it, okay. So trust me, I anybody in Gen X recognizes sees themselves if even just a little bit, in the next generations. This idea, though, that everything is terrible is not true. It's not true. There is there is a guy launching rocket ships to the moon. I mean like that, that's an amazing thing. There was an old bit that Louis c K did where he told I know, Louisy kaye problematic. I get it. I'm not endorsing. I'm just saying that he did some bit about how you know, people get on an airplane and all they do is complain about the entire airline experience. And I get that again, gen X are here complaining is like what we do. I've turned it into a lucrative career. I'm just kidding. It's not that lucrative, but I change. I mean, I get paid. So Louis who see K points out though that like you do you understand like you're sitting in a chair thousands of feet above the ground, going at hundreds of miles an hour, like we should everybody when you get on a plane, that's like the only thing that you should be thinking of is oh my gosh, I'm flying. But we don't even recognize anymore. This is one of the things that the European visitors to the to America during the World Cup. This is one of the things that they highlighted for US Americans. They they recentered, refocused us. If you're paying attention to like the things that are so mundane in our lives that we take for granted. I'm not here to tell you that every single thing is perfect. How could I That would be a lie. But I'm not going to buy into the crap that everything is terrible because it's not. Like, do you understand you possess all of the knowledge of the entire human existence in your pocket. That is an amazing thing. And for people who grew up as a digital native, as gen Z is, and depending on where you are when you were born as a millennial, like if you were you're older millennial, you will remember you know, pre digital basically, but if you're on the younger side of the millennial spectrum, then you're probably pretty close to a digital native as well. But you have no memory of things that you know you used to have to go to search out, Like if you didn't know the answer to something, you either had to go to a library, you had to find somebody, like an actual person, talk to that person about this thing that you don't know an answer to, and then if they didn't know, you had to go find somebody else or if they lied to you, you would be running around with misinformation in your head. Right, So these are just tiny examples, Okay, tiny examples. You can have anything delivered to you within hours. Any music that you want is at your fingertips. Do you have like try to imagine a world where your favorite artist, whoever that may be, puts out a new I was gonna say album. Do they call them that anymore? They used to call them albums? A collection of songs on one piece of vinyl that was pressed into a disc. Okay, you had to wait for that to come out, and then you had to go down to a store. And when you were young, if it wasn't within bike riding distance, you had to get your parent to drive you. So then you would go to this store. You would hope that they had a copy available. If it wasn't already sold out, then you had you had to buy that copy. You had to buy that record or CD, and then you would have to go back home, where you would have to then have a device to play it out of and that's where you would have to listen to it right there. That's it. That was your option. If you wanted to hear this song, you had to listen to it right here on this one turntable. Now you can listen to a song anywhere you want, any song you want ever, I mean ever, every single song humans have ever recorded is now available to you wherever, whenever you want. That is an amazing thing. These are quality of life issues, right, and that's just part of the puzzle here. I understand the economics. I'll get to that in a moment. So, as the philosophers Mike and the mechanics pointed out, every generation blames the one before. Okay, and again, as a Gen xer, I totally get this. But you know what, boomers get this too, because they rebelled against their parents' generation and then they told they kept talking about it for like the next forty years, like every movie and TV show was about their rebellion during the sixties. And so that was what we Gen xers had to put up with during our entire childhood. I mean, and keep in mind also, like our parents had to be reminded that they had kids on TV. Like there were literal PSAs that were on TV telling parents, Hey, you know what, it's eleven o'clock. Do you know where your kids are? That's literally what they said on the PSAs. Okay, first latch key kids generation, right, that was us Gen X So I'm not saying any of this stuff to say that you stink and we're better. I'm saying we're the same. We have gone through the same sort of thing, just a little different. It's the same but different. So your generation is going to be experiencing and encountering different kinds of challenges. Right. Nobody is promised a challenge free life. I mean, that's it's going that everything is going to look different. Like for example, you could have been born in a generation when the average lifespan was say forty two years old. Right, you could have been born gone through a World War, a great Depression, and then another world and maybe you survived all three of those things. And maybe you didn't, right, I mean things have been bad in other generations as well. Maybe you got drafted to go to Vietnam. Maybe you came of age when we were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Right, So every generation experiences these different types of challenges. Troubles will come, they will pass, but also your life, in your economic situation is going to be this may come as a shock largely within your control. And this is one of the black pill demoralization arguments that they make is that somebody else is preventing you from getting ahead. And I understand you have been done The gen zs and Millennials have been done wrong by older generations, no doubt about this, Okay, gen X, the boomers, they have done wrong by you by telling you things that demoralized you and disincentivized you. If you have been told that somebody else is going to prevent you from getting ahead, getting what you want, having the life you want, or whatever right, they have done you a disservice, okay, because all of these things are actually in your control. You control your destiny. That's not to say things don't happen along the way that create obstacles or may even throw you off track or something. But you control your own destiny. You make decisions that impact your life but also your finances. And you may not know this because once again, a fish doesn't know it's wet. And if you are a digital native and you've just grown up with door Dash and you think, and we talked about this a couple of weeks ago, people think that that they get door dash for like one, two or even three meals a day, and that is a great way to waste your money, absolutely waste your money. You go to the grocery store, and I'm not saying you pay somebody to go shopping for you. I'm saying, you go to the grocery store. I do this, I'll probably do it today. I go to the grocery store, I look for the look at prices, I have a list, and I buy the stuff and then I make my food. And that is how people have basically done it for well, probably like hundreds of years, well since stores, you know, since the advent of stores. Like yeah, we could have been born during a period of time when there were no shopping store groceries like that would really stink. Glad I wasn't around for that. So see, this is the other component here, which is looking back when I talk about in comparison to what because I could try to compare, well, I don't have as much money right now as my parents did at my age, which I don't even know if that's true, because I don't know what their finances were at my age. But I could also compare myself to somebody living in like, I don't know, eighteen hundred and that was a very difficult existence. Or how about how about coal miners of one hundred years ago. That's a pretty brutal existence, you know, so in comparison to what I do, have some of these economic data points, and some of them may actually surprise you. About the millennials and the Gen zs. For example, do you know who's going who's on track right now now to be the wealthiest generation ever? Spoiler it's not the boomers and it's not Gen x HM, who could it be? All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecallanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.