State Insecurity EP70 : Monologue
During this past week, the birthday of one of my departed friends occurred. Taken entirely too young, I watched some of the grief from his family and how they dealt with it on social media. Separated by distance, this voyeuristic window in which I viewed their pain allowed me to identify with it before I went back to the grind and back to not thinking about the times that it takes me away from those I love.
To me, the equation just doesn't add up that much anymore. We're taken away from the things we are most passionate about in life and instead we find ourselves in menial jobs and tasks and not in the enjoyment of each other and the simple wonders of life. No check I ever made could replace my dear friend, no award, and no promotion.
For some, their work is a higher calling, for me...well I guess that's why I have a podcast. I just don't get the fulfillment or sense of satisfaction of a hard days work that I get from being able to do these shows and talk with all of you. My best friends these days are my team here at the show and all my listeners. The rest of my mostly solitary life is a process of coming up with ideas and planning on executing them. Sometimes its easy and sometimes things fall apart but for well over a year now we are going strong thanks to all of you and thanks to the motivation the loss of my friend gave me.
I don't have much in my life that I can use to honor someone taken so tragically from me and from a loving family. There's nothing I can do to replace what was abruptly separated from us and given to another place where most of us can see angels going. All we can do here on earth is find a reason to carry on, to be strong for one another, and to exemplify the love that we had for those now missing from our lives with our good deeds.
This show is a lot of things for the TNP Crew. Its our way of letting off steam, having a few laughs, and having some of the most intriguing conversations with people that I've ever experienced. But my good friend John Henry said it best when he told my other good friend Chris Graves on his show that we do this to help people. Yes we do, and that helps me get through each week.
As in music, this has been a way for me to separate my somewhat normal existence into something more fantastic, with new experiences, new problems to solve, and incredible new people to meet. And just like with music this platform has the ability to change people's lives. I for one can attest to that because it has certainly changed mine. Even though we tend to have a good time here, which is kind of the point, we do take what we do on the show and for each other seriously...that's why you couldn't pay us to be anything else but as real as we can be every single week.
I heard about the spat between Steven Crowder and Daily Wire this past week. We've referenced the work of both of them here on the show. I'm not gonna get into all the little details and what I think about their quarrel right now and I only bring it up to say this:
$50 million doesn't replace your integrity.
We've experienced a good amount of growth as a platform these past few months thanks to Livestreaming and the hard work of our Contributors Chris Graves and Lisa Belanger at promoting us every chance they get. We want to reach more people, change more lives, as ours have changed since we started doing this, but we are not doing this as part of our job. We do this to serve our real purpose, which is putting the people of our culture back in the driver's seat when it comes to controlling their destiny.
I have heard from many of you listening in the comments and I hope that you all can continue sending messages and even start up conversations among each other. I would love to see this show as a gathering place for all who seek what we do in truth and liberty. But as this show grows with your support and participation I never want to lose sight of why this exists because its what keeps me from the cold ground where my friend lays.
The work that we do here is but an extension of our love for our people. The ones who made this mountain on which we stand and the power that propels the sound of our voices to reach others in need. That's why I call this the DIY Media, not just because we do it ourselves but from where I come from the term DIY means not for sale.
That's why the people are starting to recognize what we and our friends are doing in this community, because when everything else is up for sale you can't find a price tag on us. Our payoff is something that no man can deliver, because everyone can have a podcast these days, but when it comes down to it there's only one thing that matters...authenticity.