Why Friendships Tend to Fade...

Stefan Molyneux

Sunday Morning Live Donors Show 7 September 2025  In this introspective episode, philosopher Stefan Molyneux explores the evolution of relationships as we age, encouraging callers to share their experiences. Reflecting on his own past connections and the impact of technology, he highlights the irony of feeling isolated despite digital connectivity. Ultimately, Stefan emphasizes the importance of authentic communication and the effort needed to maintain meaningful bonds in a complex world.  FOLLOW ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneux  GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK! https://peacefulparenting.com/  Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!  Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!  You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!  See you soon! https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

Transcript

00:00Yes, so, sorry, good morning, everybody, hope you're doing well, and I have a big topic for everyone today, and if you want to call and help me sort of hash through it, or whatever else is on your mind, I'm, of course, thrilled, overjoyed, happy, and humbly grateful to hear your thoughts, and, of course, this is for donors, and we're going to go in a minute or two to donor only.

00:27Okay, oh, let me get my detailed fish-eyed lens glasses going on, no mime show today, yeah, that's right, that's right, that's correct, that's correct, all right, so let's see here.

00:42If you have questions, comments, issues, challenges, problems, you know what, I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, let's do it, let's do it this way.

00:48I'm going to ask the question, and then, you know, if you all are interested, you can, and I'll keep the, I'll keep it going, streaming to everyone, if you're interested, we can, that topic, we can do whatever topic you like.

00:59So, I was just thinking, you know, I'm 59 in a couple weeks, and it's a funny thing.

01:15When you get older, and I'm sort of, I wrote about this in my new book, and the first chapter is out for listeners, if you want, for donors, at freedomain.locals.com, or freedomain, sorry, or subscribestore.com slash freedomain.

01:33But, but when you get older, it's like, you kind of come full circle, and your early life re-emerges, and maybe it's got something to do with retirement, and maybe it's got something, not that I'm going to retire, but, you know, sort of that age.

01:45And maybe it's got something to do with the fact that you kind of want to circle back and look at your youth and childhood and sort of the big choices you've made in your life.

01:53Because, I mean, most of my big choices are pretty deep in the rear view, like most of the big things that I'm going to decide to do, I have already decided to do, and I've already done, or not done, right?

02:06It's probably a little bit too late to become the lead ballet dancer for the Bolshoi, probably a little bit late to go and be a K-pop star, probably a little bit too late.

02:17But, well, I mean, it's probably too late if I wanted to get back into acting, or, you know, that kind of stuff.

02:23It's too late for me to become a great pianist, it's too late for me to learn mime in the correct and productive way.

02:33So, most of my big decisions are behind me.

02:39I mean, who I married is almost a quarter century in the past, and it's going to be for the next, hopefully, 30 years to go.

02:44So, and, 30, yeah, it could happen.

02:50Yeah, it could happen.

02:5159 to 89, yeah, it could happen.

02:54But, you know, the number of children I'm going to have is in the rear view.

03:00My career, you know, it's too late to go become a doctor, or a lawyer, or an accountant, or something like that.

03:07So, when your decisions are kind of deep in the rear view,

03:11yeah.

03:14You know, it's sort of important to evaluate what those decisions were.

03:20You know, it's too late.

03:22I think it's too late to have any particular relationship with my family of origin.

03:28And it's too late.

03:30I mean, realistically, it's kind of too late to go and get a PhD.

03:35And it would be too much time away from my wife, you know.

03:38And also, as you get older, you know, I got the new Doom game, and I used to enjoy the Doom games.

03:43I started playing it for a minute or two.

03:45And it was okay.

03:47I thought it was a bit easy.

03:48It was a little bit easy.

03:49But it's like, you know, there's not this infinite span of time ahead when you get older, right?

03:56It's limited, right?

03:59Because when you're young, I mean, I didn't really think that much of time when I was younger, of course,

04:03because it just, like, there's this infinite cavalcade of days, minutes, hours, months, and years, even decades, it feels like, ahead of you.

04:12But when you're significantly closer to the end than the beginning,

04:18there's something in my mind, and I think this is true of a lot of people,

04:21it just kind of kicks in and says, let's evaluate, right?

04:26Let's have a post-mortem, we used to call them in the business world.

04:29When we'd finish a project, we'd go over the project, what went well, what went badly.

04:32And there's a post-mortem.

04:35And one of the things that I've been thinking about, and I'd love to get your guys' thoughts on this,

04:40is the instability or lack of bonding in relationships.

04:50You ever have this?

04:53This, because, you know, the way that I was raised,

04:58and this was, like, really deep, really taboo,

05:00but the way that I was raised was something like, you know, blood is thicker than water.

05:06You know, friendship through thick and thin.

05:08You know, people have got your back.

05:10People really, really care.

05:11And they're really, really loyal.

05:14And that sort of loyalty, that caring, that bonding was very, I don't know if it was an older kind of thing.

05:27Yeah, I don't know if it's an older kind of thing.

05:31I don't even know if it's promoted or talked about these days among the younger people,

05:39but relationships were everything.

05:43Now, maybe that's because I grew up in, you know, mostly a monoethnic, monoethnic, mono culture,

05:48where, you know, you could get those kinds of social bonds on a regular basis,

05:53although they've just kind of grew around you.

05:56But I would say, you know, it's funny.

05:57I was trying to run through the relationships that were the longest,

06:09that ended without even a bang or a whimper.

06:14Like, I had friendships from the age of, say, 13 to early 30s, decades.

06:27And these are people that I sometimes worked with, sometimes even lived with.

06:36And they just kind of evaporated without anything, really, no big conflict.

06:49I think one person just didn't return another call, and then just time went on.

06:54And it's wild, man.

06:55And so people who were sort of wound into the very fabric of your life,

07:00or sorry, I shouldn't say about you, because it's about me.

07:02I don't want to make it about me, but I don't want to put it in your shoes.

07:05So people who were wound into the very fabric of my life,

07:07that I went through significant, you know, trials, tribulations,

07:10with the people I hiked with, vacationed with,

07:15even people that I worked in the frozen hinterlands of the up north,

07:19and my gold panning and prospecting days, all of the, I mean, they just,

07:24it wasn't even like the, it wasn't even like a chain that snapped or a thread that broke.

07:30It was just there, not there.

07:34There, not there.

07:37Now, I have pursued people, of course, over the course of my life,

07:40if I didn't want a relationship to end, whether it's a friendship or whatever,

07:42or even a romantic relationship, I've sort of pursued people.

07:45And I'll just be straight up and say,

07:49I can't remember a time,

07:51I can't remember a time

07:52where people,

07:55if this sort of distance has sort of just

07:57appeared,

08:00or

08:00the relationship has just kind of

08:03despawned in a way,

08:05gone to the back rooms,

08:06I can't remember a time

08:07when people

08:11chased me,

08:13like, you know, the sort of eponymous scenes in

08:15movies and TV shows

08:18where the girl's leaving

08:19on a plane,

08:21and the guy's like barreling his way through security,

08:24but I love you,

08:25you know, this kind of stuff, right?

08:27And

08:28I don't know if it's something in the history,

08:31on the order,

08:32or in the modernity,

08:33or maybe in human nature,

08:34or something like that,

08:36but the threads,

08:37you know,

08:38the ties that bind,

08:39the threads just seem to be really

08:41thin,

08:46loose,

08:46and

08:47threadbare.

08:50Now,

08:50I could say,

08:51of course,

08:52I could say,

08:52well, Steph,

08:53you know,

08:53you had this very tough childhood,

08:54and you moved around from place to place,

08:57and

08:57you know,

08:58then when you were a student,

08:59you moved 18 times in

09:01five years,

09:02or,

09:03you know,

09:03you're just constantly on the move,

09:04and you were born in Ireland,

09:05grew up in England,

09:06went to Africa,

09:07then Canada,

09:07like you didn't move from place to place,

09:10you went to three different universities,

09:11like you're just an in-motion kind of guy,

09:14and maybe that combination of

09:17not pair-bonding with your family of origin,

09:20and then moving around all the time,

09:21that you're just kind of this gypsy soul,

09:23that doesn't put down roots,

09:24and you know,

09:24wherever I lay my hat,

09:25that's my home,

09:26and

09:26early morning yesterday,

09:29I was up before the dawn,

09:31really have enjoyed my stay,

09:32but I must be moving on.

09:34I mean,

09:35it's,

09:35I thought of that,

09:36however,

09:37however,

09:38I mean,

09:39the big saving grace regarding that,

09:41is my marriage,

09:44and I've been friends with a great fellow that I work with,

09:53we've been friends for 16,

09:5417 years,

09:55and that's going strong,

09:57and my wife and I,

09:57of course,

09:58have been married 23 years,

10:02and

10:03I mean,

10:04honestly,

10:05it's,

10:05I hate to,

10:06I mean,

10:06I sort of hate to say it,

10:08but I want to say it,

10:10because it's true,

10:10like,

10:11just when you think it's great,

10:12it gets better,

10:13and

10:13so,

10:18the bond,

10:19I know that I'm capable of the bond,

10:21because I have it with my,

10:23I have it with

10:24my wife,

10:25I have it with my daughter,

10:26and it's sort of unquestioned,

10:29and foundational,

10:30and all that kind of stuff,

10:31so,

10:32I don't know,

10:33I can do it,

10:34but it's kind of true,

10:35like,

10:35I can do it,

10:36and

10:37it's not hard,

10:38in fact,

10:39it's great,

10:40but I don't know how many people can do it,

10:43and I,

10:44honestly,

10:44I can think of,

10:45and it's sort of,

10:45even,

10:46even in the history of this show,

10:48there have been people

10:49that

10:50have been friends,

10:52we've met up,

10:53and,

10:53and they just,

10:54I don't,

10:56I don't generally have

10:57much conflict with people,

10:59I mean,

11:00I have a little disagreement here and there,

11:01it's usually pretty easy to work out,

11:03I don't really,

11:04you know,

11:04some people thrive on conflict,

11:06and so on,

11:07I don't even thrive on conflict,

11:09in the social media thing,

11:11I just,

11:11I just don't want to shut up,

11:12because there are bullies in the world,

11:13I just,

11:14that's,

11:14I just don't want to censor,

11:16because,

11:16self-censor,

11:16because there are bullies in the world,

11:18that's kind of the job,

11:20you can't call yourself a philosopher,

11:21if you self-censor it,

11:22to that degree,

11:23so,

11:25like even,

11:26even over the course of what I've been doing here,

11:27for like 20 years,

11:29I mean,

11:29there have been phases,

11:30and James,

11:30I'm sure,

11:30will remember some of these,

11:31you know,

11:32and I won't go through the names,

11:33but these are people that,

11:34we met up,

11:35we,

11:36we were close,

11:38we had lots of conversations,

11:39and so on,

11:40and then,

11:41they just kind of,

11:44vanish,

11:46and it's not like there's some big conflict,

11:48and,

11:49and,

11:50so,

11:50people come in,

11:51there's sort of,

11:52a sort of bond,

11:53it feels like a bond,

11:54and then they,

11:58there's not even an exit,

12:02it's almost like they're,

12:03it's almost like,

12:07you know,

12:07they always have this thing in movies,

12:08where,

12:09you know,

12:09and,

12:09Sixth Sense kind of thing,

12:11where,

12:11you know,

12:12or the,

12:13Fight Club kind of thing,

12:14where,

12:14it was all a dream,

12:16that wasn't a real person,

12:16you know,

12:17it's almost like that,

12:17like,

12:18there's a simulation,

12:19that puts people in your lives,

12:20and then,

12:21they just,

12:22I don't even know,

12:23how to put it,

12:23it's not like an exit,

12:24because an exit is when someone leaves,

12:27and they don't leave,

12:28they don't storm out,

12:28there's not conflict,

12:29they just,

12:31stop,

12:33they just stop,

12:34it just stops,

12:36I'm not putting all the blame,

12:38on other people,

12:38I'm not even sure,

12:39if there is anything to blame,

12:42but,

12:42it's wild man,

12:43I mean,

12:44if it wasn't for my marriage,

12:45I would think basically,

12:46that people are just,

12:47ghosts drifting around,

12:48like ping pong balls,

12:48that pass through each other,

12:49without rhyme or reason,

12:50connect and disconnect,

12:51without rhyme or reason,

12:52and we're all just,

12:54round in motion,

12:55atoms in a social space,

12:56colliding and bouncing,

12:58and drifting,

12:59and,

12:59so,

13:00I mean,

13:00I know,

13:01that I'm capable of,

13:02and love this sort of pair bonding,

13:05I mean,

13:06I know I've had friends,

13:07for close to 20 years,

13:09but,

13:09people come,

13:11and people go,

13:11and,

13:16maybe that's,

13:17I know this sort of,

13:18bowling alone hypothesis,

13:20Daniel Putnam,

13:21I think his name was,

13:23who wrote many years about,

13:25you know,

13:25maybe it's multiculturalism,

13:26or diversity is,

13:27is shredding social bonds,

13:29or whatever,

13:29but,

13:31yeah,

13:32it's a,

13:32it's a funny phenomenon,

13:34that people come,

13:35and people go,

13:36and,

13:39I mean,

13:42as you guys know,

13:43I'm not in touch with,

13:44anyone,

13:45free,

13:46free domain,

13:48and,

13:51they just go,

13:55and,

13:55again,

13:56I'm not,

13:56I will chase some people sometimes,

13:58but not,

13:59too much or too long,

14:00because,

14:00you know,

14:01if people,

14:03don't want to,

14:04for whatever reason,

14:05but again,

14:05it's not like they have any,

14:06problem with me,

14:08or I,

14:08I with them,

14:09really,

14:10it just,

14:12I don't know if there's a word for it,

14:14I'm sure there is in German,

14:15some polysyllabic mouth muncher,

14:17but,

14:18yeah,

14:18it's just,

14:18it's just a funny phenomenon,

14:20how people come,

14:20and people go,

14:21and,

14:23as you get older,

14:25it's,

14:25I mean,

14:26these kinds of patterns,

14:27really,

14:27really show up,

14:29in your mind,

14:30or at least they do in mine,

14:31I'm sure they do in people as a whole,

14:33but that,

14:34I mean,

14:36I've always been pretty self-sufficient,

14:38you know,

14:40if I were faced with,

14:41as I have,

14:42sometimes I'm faced with,

14:43like a week on my own,

14:45maybe I can't go anywhere,

14:46for whatever reason,

14:47and,

14:48it's great,

14:49I mean,

14:49I can write,

14:50I can think,

14:50I can read,

14:51I can exercise,

14:51I,

14:52I always enjoy my own company,

14:55because that's kind of weird,

14:56like,

14:56like I'm a party,

14:57or something like that,

14:58but,

14:58I'm very self-sufficient that way,

15:00and I think that self-sufficiency,

15:03has something to do with the root,

15:04of the pair bonding,

15:06but,

15:11yeah,

15:12it's funny,

15:12because there was a guy,

15:13let's just call him Bob,

15:14there was a guy named Bob,

15:15who I was friends with,

15:16in my,

15:17late 20s,

15:19very early 30s,

15:20and,

15:21Bob even met,

15:22my,

15:24to be wife,

15:25back in the day,

15:25and,

15:28Bob had a bad habit,

15:34bad habit,

15:35I would say,

15:36I could,

15:36I could argue a very bad habit,

15:38of,

15:39when we were in social circles,

15:43Bob would always make these jokes,

15:46that,

15:48were at my expense,

15:49like some silly thing,

15:50or some foolish thing that I'd done,

15:54and,

15:55I said,

15:57you know,

15:57that's kind of annoying,

15:59like,

16:00I'm,

16:00of course I have a goofy side,

16:01and I have a side that makes mistakes,

16:03and so on,

16:04but I'm,

16:05a ridiculously competent guy,

16:07as a whole,

16:08I mean,

16:08I've done,

16:09you know,

16:10manual labor,

16:11I've started businesses,

16:12I've done computer coding,

16:14I've written novels,

16:14plays,

16:15been an actor,

16:16I've done the podcasting thing,

16:18I'm a really good public speaker,

16:20and,

16:20I'm really good on my feet,

16:21I'm a good debater,

16:23and I'm,

16:23I'm good at history,

16:24I'm good at philosophy,

16:25like,

16:26I'm a,

16:27as a whole,

16:28I mean,

16:28there's things,

16:29of course,

16:29that I'm not good at,

16:30but on the whole,

16:31I'm a ridiculously competent person,

16:33and I say that with all due humility,

16:34because it's a lot of responsibility,

16:36to be good at stuff,

16:37but,

16:38I'm a ridiculously competent person,

16:40and,

16:41yeah,

16:43so just sort of being made fun of,

16:44for being bad at things,

16:45is just,

16:47you know,

16:48it doesn't,

16:48it doesn't sit well,

16:50it's good,

16:50you know,

16:50it's good to be able to laugh at yourself,

16:52but not all the time,

16:53because life can be,

16:54you know,

16:54serious and important as well,

16:57so I have a,

16:58let me just see,

16:59if there's anybody who wants to,

17:00jump in and jawbone on this,

17:02let me just see,

17:04um,

17:04what y'all are saying about this,

17:09bum,

17:10bum,

17:10oh,

17:10let's see,

17:11let's see,

17:12let's see,

17:16doom,

17:16sorry,

17:17I know this is making,

17:17everyone sees it,

17:18I've touched the screen that's on,

17:21uh,

17:21you do need a,

17:22um,

17:23desktop or tablet,

17:24required,

17:24does not work on phones,

17:25to join in for the call,

17:27somebody says,

17:28my mortality,

17:29really started to sink in for me,

17:30when I turned 30 earlier this year,

17:32yeah,

17:32there was a novel,

17:33it was an autobiographical novel,

17:35for some Russian thinker,

17:36that I read many years ago,

17:38and on the back it said,

17:39you know,

17:39the childhood window opened up,

17:41and he saw everything clearly,

17:44I think boomers killed the bond,

17:45with their children,

17:46by neglecting them,

17:47yeah,

17:47I think,

17:47that's right,

17:48I think that's right,

17:51true dad,

17:51latchkey kids,

17:52yeah,

17:52I was a latchkey kid,

17:53for sure,

17:54for sure,

17:55uh,

17:59I'm sorry,

18:00what was the question again,

18:02I think I know what you're talking about,

18:03Steph,

18:04I've experienced similar things,

18:05all right,

18:06this is the case,

18:07for most non-immediate family,

18:09the less close,

18:09the more tenuous,

18:10oh,

18:13the later generations grew up with the internet,

18:15and so see relationships as more superfluous,

18:17boring,

18:18slash difficult,

18:19equals delete,

18:20somebody says,

18:23you're a Jew,

18:24Jews resent age and aging,

18:26and people resent,

18:27yous,

18:28I mean,

18:30I,

18:30nothing that you say is true,

18:32but I appreciate your contract,

18:33I appreciate your typing,

18:35all right,

18:36um,

18:37they just sort of fade away,

18:40despawn,

18:41well,

18:41but fade away,

18:43and,

18:43and I'm,

18:43I'm not trying to tell you your experience,

18:45of course,

18:45but,

18:45but fade away is like,

18:48you see less and less,

18:49what I'm talking about is,

18:50you're,

18:50you're close,

18:52and,

18:53nothing in particular happens,

18:54but you just stop communicating,

18:56you just stop talking,

18:57how was friendship before the internet,

19:00was it like this,

19:01um,

19:02not really,

19:03I don't think so,

19:04you've had a lot of success,

19:08that can lead to insecurity,

19:09and resentment from some friends,

19:11yeah,

19:11for sure,

19:12Richard says,

19:13from your account here,

19:14it seems like we have a somewhat similar,

19:15experiential history,

19:16yeah,

19:18fdrurl.com slash live call,

19:20to join in,

19:22um,

19:27I saw a video,

19:28says Rich,

19:28about historical male friendships,

19:30they seemed to be much closer,

19:33on the long letters,

19:34they used to send each other,

19:35more brotherly than modern day families,

19:37yeah,

19:39somebody says,

19:40I was friends with a guy in high school,

19:41we hung out several times a week,

19:42for years,

19:42and after graduation,

19:43he just disappeared,

19:45a few months ago,

19:45he contacted me,

19:46after 10 years,

19:47you know,

19:48he just got out of rehab,

19:49he's since disappeared again,

19:51never replied to my messages,

19:52very strange,

19:52he despawned,

19:53well,

19:53I mean,

19:54he went into,

19:55an addict,

19:56James says,

19:56I was also latchkey,

19:57from age 7 or 8,

19:58yeah,

19:59yeah,

20:02I think a lot of people,

20:04are non-confrontational,

20:05says someone,

20:06so they are more likely to disappear,

20:08than confront you,

20:09about something you did,

20:10or said,

20:10to offend them,

20:12modern friendship equals TLDR,

20:15pretty funny,

20:16right,

20:17I see what you mean,

20:18says James,

20:18yeah,

20:18it does just stop,

20:19not just fade away,

20:20like it diminishes,

20:21just,

20:21it's a,

20:21yeah,

20:22diminishing,

20:23I could sort of understand,

20:24so,

20:26listen,

20:27I'm happy to talk about this,

20:29or any other subject,

20:31somebody says,

20:32on the other hand,

20:33if I'm the one,

20:33who has to keep reaching out,

20:34at some point,

20:34I'll stop carrying the friendship,

20:36yeah,

20:36isn't that the thing,

20:38right,

20:38isn't that the thing,

20:39that,

20:40I think,

20:42I think,

20:43men,

20:43maybe women have this too,

20:44this sort of,

20:46caution,

20:46or maybe this fear,

20:48which is,

20:49if I stop putting energy,

20:51into the relationship,

20:52does it still work,

20:54if I stop contacting,

20:56if I stop planning,

20:57if I stop initiating,

20:59will the friendship,

21:01still exist,

21:03will the relationship,

21:04still exist,

21:05that's the me too plus,

21:07like I have to be me plus,

21:09plus,

21:09in order to just,

21:11equal,

21:12someone else,

21:13or something else,

21:15that is a,

21:16I think that's a,

21:17for people who are energetic,

21:19and focused,

21:19and maybe good conversationalists,

21:21and experience these bonds,

21:23there is always that question,

21:24it's like,

21:25well,

21:25if I stop putting energy,

21:26and effort in,

21:28entrepreneurs experience,

21:29the same thing,

21:30which is,

21:30if I stop working 80 hours a week,

21:32is my business even sustainable,

21:33and if I stop putting,

21:34all of this extra,

21:35effort into friendships,

21:36relationships,

21:37love relationships,

21:38whatever,

21:38if I stop putting,

21:40all this crazy extra effort in,

21:41what happens,

21:45because it's,

21:46kind of exhausting,

21:47right,

21:48it's kind of exhausting,

21:49to keep pouring,

21:50a lot of energy in,

21:51so,

21:53let's see here,

21:56someone says,

21:57gen alpha,

21:58is asking if gen x,

21:59was allowed to go outside,

22:00unsupervised,

22:01until the lights came on,

22:02let is the wrong,

22:03to compare,

22:04next month,

22:05we get out of the house,

22:06and stay away,

22:07but most of the time alone,

22:08even at home,

22:09my parents didn't want to know,

22:10what I thought,

22:10other than,

22:11I knew how to obey,

22:12and not question what,

22:13yeah,

22:14somebody says,

22:17I had the same thoughts,

22:18about you,

22:19as a donor,

22:19I felt a little neglected,

22:20why you got yourself,

22:21covered in excrement,

22:22on x,

22:23and that's fair,

22:23and that's why,

22:24we're doing these,

22:25jazz club chats,

22:27somebody says,

22:28me and my wife,

22:28have struggled with conflict,

22:30we made a commitment,

22:30to resolve it,

22:31and even called in,

22:33while she was pregnant,

22:34I don't have another relationship,

22:35in my life,

22:36I can say similar about,

22:37that me or the other,

22:38have gone to similar lengths,

22:39to resolve conflict,

22:40maybe that's a flaw,

22:41on my end,

22:42somebody says,

22:46I had an incident,

22:46with a friend,

22:47after high school,

22:48I called him the next day,

22:49to put things in perspective,

22:50and I thought,

22:51continue on as we were,

22:52he wasn't having it,

22:54years later,

22:55I ran into him,

22:57in the mall,

22:57chased him down,

22:58to talk again,

22:59oh and what happened,

23:01somebody says,

23:01my generation,

23:03would cry,

23:03if the parents,

23:04forced them out of the house,

23:05too much,

23:06too much addiction,

23:07to movies and video games,

23:08yeah,

23:09he was just down,

23:11with the friendship,

23:12wants nothing to do with me,

23:13or other friends,

23:14I mean there's a,

23:15there's a big COVID thing too,

23:16right,

23:17is,

23:19you know,

23:19one of the chilling things,

23:20to see in life,

23:21is,

23:23do friends prefer,

23:25you,

23:26or propaganda,

23:30that's,

23:30that's a tough question,

23:31to ask,

23:32right,

23:35the TV is saying this,

23:37you're saying,

23:39question this,

23:42who do you choose,

23:44who do you choose,

23:44I mean,

23:45we know,

23:46that,

23:47a significant majority,

23:49of people,

23:50will just choose,

23:51the propaganda,

23:52over the,

23:53over the,

23:54brothers,

23:56parents,

23:58kids,

23:59just choose,

24:00the propaganda,

24:01and,

24:06they'll choose,

24:07it of life,

24:09parenthood,

24:09love,

24:10they'll just choose,

24:10the propaganda,

24:12and of course,

24:12propaganda,

24:13is a flex of power,

24:14and most people,

24:15who resisted power,

24:16political power,

24:17hierarchical power,

24:18coercive power,

24:19most people,

24:20who resisted that,

24:21over the course,

24:21of human history,

24:22got killed,

24:23or ostracized,

24:24so there is of course,

24:25you know,

24:25well don't make me choose,

24:27between you,

24:28and propaganda,

24:29because,

24:31well,

24:31obvious reasons,

24:32right,

24:32I wonder,

24:37how many,

24:38relationships,

24:39have been destroyed,

24:39since COVID,

24:40yeah,

24:41yeah,

24:44during,

24:46since,

24:48yeah,

24:49I mean,

24:50as I said,

24:50like human beings,

24:51we can only meet,

24:52and connect in reality,

24:54shared delusions,

24:55you know,

24:55it's like saying,

24:56well I have a relationship,

24:57with someone I dream about,

24:58at night,

24:58but don't know,

24:59in the real,

25:00in real life,

25:00like you don't have a relationship,

25:02there's only self,

25:03and other,

25:03and you can only meet,

25:05in reality,

25:06in truth,

25:06in objectivity,

25:07that's the only place,

25:08that you can meet,

25:09getting married,

25:12in Dungeons and Dragons,

25:14will not give you a child,

25:20so,

25:21propaganda substitutes,

25:26lies for truth,

25:27conformity for,

25:29integrity,

25:30and separates people,

25:32enormously,

25:32and I think the amount,

25:33of propaganda,

25:34generally through the media,

25:36and government schools,

25:36and so on,

25:37the amount of propaganda,

25:39inflicted on people,

25:40really isolates us,

25:41and isolation,

25:42is what you need,

25:43if you want to,

25:44expand your political power,

25:45right,

25:45people need to be isolated,

25:46and separated,

25:47right,

25:48someone says,

25:53as an entrepreneur,

25:53I'm certain,

25:54you know the difference,

25:55between working in the business,

25:56versus on the business,

25:57if you're doing,

25:58the employee's work,

25:59who is doing the boss's work,

26:00while you are not,

26:01or who's doing the boss's work,

26:02where you are not,

26:04good way to get familiar,

26:05with bankruptcy,

26:06in my opinion,

26:07somebody says,

26:10I,

26:11my family did this,

26:12simply dissolved,

26:13yeah,

26:14and it's,

26:14it's disorienting,

26:15right,

26:16because,

26:17because,

26:20you have all this history,

26:24you have all these ties,

26:25you have all these memories,

26:27and then it just,

26:29like it never was,

26:31like it never was,

26:33and then it's like,

26:33well,

26:34but,

26:34but it was,

26:35it was not was,

26:36right,

26:38somebody says,

26:38depends on the scale,

26:40oh,

26:40somebody says,

26:41hmm,

26:42recently had a bit of,

26:43recent experience with this,

26:44I had a friend,

26:45close to your age actually,

26:46who I actually have a tremendous amount of,

26:48a tremendous amount of,

26:51who I actually have a tremendous amount of,

26:53I don't know what that means,

26:54and have had a number of great conversations with,

26:56I sort of ghosted him,

26:57because I was intimidated to broach the subject,

27:00what subject,

27:01I don't know,

27:02we got back to talking again,

27:03and he did ask me if he'd done anything to offend or upset me,

27:05and I opened up about it,

27:06and we're back on talking again,

27:08it's kind of tough,

27:08but I think millennials,

27:10are more conflict diverse,

27:14hmm,

27:16yeah,

27:17people would rather,

27:20you know,

27:20there's this old joke,

27:21you're like,

27:22men would rather join a paramilitary force,

27:24than go to therapy,

27:25like,

27:25what would people rather do,

27:27than just have honest conversations,

27:29about things that trouble them,

27:31with people,

27:32because,

27:36conflict and intimacy,

27:38are often,

27:40perceived to be opposites,

27:41you know,

27:42if you're having conflict,

27:43that means,

27:43you're not close,

27:44it's like,

27:44no,

27:45there's almost nothing closer,

27:46than,

27:47reasoned conflict,

27:48I don't mean like,

27:49screaming at each other or anything,

27:50although,

27:50I guess you're close,

27:51but trapped,

27:52in a descending bath escape,

27:53but,

27:55when you're actually,

27:55having a conversation,

27:56you're saying,

27:57this bothered me about,

27:58something you did,

27:59and you know,

27:59real time relationship style,

28:00I'm not saying you're wrong,

28:01I'm just saying I was bothered,

28:02that's as close as you can get,

28:04and if you can't have those conversations,

28:06I don't know what the relationship is really,

28:12hmm,

28:15yeah,

28:15conflict diverse,

28:16is no bond,

28:17yeah,

28:17for sure,

28:17somebody says,

28:20I think it's important to act on the thoughts,

28:22of growing apart,

28:23if someone crosses your mind,

28:24reach out to them,

28:25and tell them that,

28:26okay,

28:31I'll get to that in a sec,

28:32somebody says,

28:32I had a dream last night,

28:33of a guy going to bat for me,

28:34in a chat group,

28:35after I was bad,

28:36I think the disappearing friends,

28:38don't see how associating with you,

28:39will increase,

28:40the gene mean reproduction,

28:41yeah,

28:42maybe,

28:45yeah,

28:47well,

28:50and of course,

28:51I had this bond,

28:53I thought I had this bond,

28:54you know,

28:55you wouldn't know this,

28:56sort of back in the day,

28:59James,

28:59James is really,

29:00the only surviving witness,

29:03in the social orbit,

29:04of the sort of early days of FDR,

29:06we were pretty close,

29:07some private chats,

29:09and meetups,

29:10and so on,

29:12and then,

29:14I certainly,

29:14to some degree,

29:15with the media attacks,

29:16although the media attacks,

29:18were in many ways,

29:19more in my marriage,

29:20than anything else,

29:21but,

29:22there was,

29:24a real scattering,

29:26with this kind of stuff,

29:28and again,

29:29just,

29:30despawn,

29:31and,

29:32then,

29:33of course,

29:34when I was deplatformed,

29:36you know,

29:36people that I had tons,

29:37of conversations with,

29:38people that I had,

29:39even done call-in shows with,

29:40and so on,

29:42and,

29:43reasonably,

29:44reasonably close,

29:45and the audience as a whole,

29:46like,

29:47as you do now,

29:4895,

29:4897%,

29:49and the reason I go,

29:51by these numbers,

29:51and they're not perfect numbers,

29:53because who knows,

29:53right,

29:54but,

29:55I used to get at least 100k,

29:58views on YouTube,

29:59and then,

30:00when I moved to BitChute,

30:02I got like 3k.

30:04Now,

30:05there were a couple of other platforms,

30:06but not too substantial,

30:08that was my biggest for a while,

30:09so I could say,

30:10you know,

30:1090,

30:1195,

30:1197% sort of depends on,

30:13on how you count it,

30:15but,

30:17and the barrier is,

30:19ridiculously low,

30:20right,

30:20the barrier to,

30:21I mean,

30:21honestly,

30:22it takes about 30 seconds,

30:23to sign up,

30:24on BitChute,

30:25or,

30:26Odyssey,

30:27or Rumble,

30:28or something,

30:28Rumble wasn't around back then,

30:29I don't think,

30:30but,

30:32there was just,

30:33nothing,

30:35and so,

30:36even those bonds,

30:37you know,

30:37just very fragile,

30:43and say what you like,

30:44about other cultures,

30:46you know,

30:47plus or minus,

30:47but they really do,

30:49oh,

30:49thank you,

30:50I appreciate that,

30:50oh,

30:50freedomain.com,

30:51you can tip on the show as well,

30:53I appreciate that,

30:54but,

30:55having those bonds,

30:57be very fragile,

30:59is very beneficial,

31:00right,

31:01somebody says,

31:04all my high school friends,

31:05I kept through college,

31:06I haven't spoken to them,

31:07for over 12 years now,

31:09mainly because,

31:09they never continue to level up,

31:11career,

31:11wife,

31:11kids,

31:12we no longer had anything in common,

31:13my closest friend talked about,

31:14the New York Jets,

31:15while I'm talking about,

31:16wife,

31:16kids,

31:16career,

31:17business,

31:17etc,

31:18that,

31:18I think is a really good point,

31:20that's a really good point,

31:21what's that meme about therapy,

31:25they have replaced,

31:26the Catholic confessional,

31:27and a priest,

31:28with a liberal woman,

31:29who voted for Joe Biden,

31:30yeah,

31:31I see that,

31:32I really am just about,

31:33the only survivor,

31:34from the early days,

31:34yeah,

31:34that's right James,

31:35that's right,

31:36good on you,

31:37for being in,

31:38for the long run,

31:39loyalty is something,

31:40I really know,

31:41and value myself,

31:42yeah,

31:43isolation of the target,

31:44is also moved by,

31:45predatory personalities,

31:46oh yeah,

31:46yeah,

31:46absolutely,

31:47isolate,

31:47polarize,

31:49attack,

31:49right,

31:50you have to get the,

31:52you have to get the prey,

31:53away from the herd,

31:54in order to take it down,

31:55and that's really what,

31:55deplatforming is all about,

32:00Richard,

32:01says,

32:01hi,

32:01Steph,

32:01finally got my rumble log in,

32:03sorted,

32:03catching up now,

32:04excellent,

32:04somebody says,

32:08yeah,

32:08me and my wife,

32:08figured out,

32:09that a lot of our conflict,

32:10was founded,

32:11in our unresolved issues,

32:12with our family of origin,

32:13once I confronted mine,

32:15it was almost like,

32:15they vanished,

32:16didn't ever exist,

32:17occasionally I will see my dad,

32:18but he just acts like,

32:19I don't exist,

32:20oh,

32:21sorry about that,

32:22my wife's parents,

32:22will call her,

32:23once every six months,

32:25and between those times,

32:26it's like a void,

32:27sad,

32:27but we are now seeking,

32:28to move away,

32:28for our son's benefit,

32:29I'm sorry about that,

32:30so it's very sad,

32:35ah,

32:36mines,

32:37gab,

32:37bit shoot,

32:37library,

32:38odyssey,

32:38lots of those sites,

32:39are probably zombie sites,

32:40library I think,

32:41got hacked down,

32:42by regulations,

32:43outside the earlier comment,

32:48I think it's more,

32:49of people's object permanence,

32:50and inability to move,

32:51dodge,

32:51be nimble,

32:52in any capacity,

32:53hmm,

32:57somebody says,

32:58I used to watch,

32:59you in the early days,

33:01unfortunately,

33:01I got distracted,

33:01did by other things,

33:02and completely forgot about,

33:03you continuing to watch,

33:05would have saved me,

33:05a lot of mistakes,

33:06I think so,

33:07I think so,

33:07so,

33:12I'm gonna,

33:13I'm just gonna,

33:14because I have some answers,

33:16you know,

33:16whether they are the answers or not,

33:18I couldn't tell you,

33:19but I'm gonna switch to donors only,

33:21if you want to join,

33:22on locals,

33:23fdrurl.com

33:24slash locals,

33:26fdrurl.com

33:27slash locals,

33:28and we will keep,

33:30that chugging along,

33:32and,

33:34you can join us there,

33:37because I do have,

33:39I have answers,

33:40and I'd love to get your thoughts,

33:42about that,

33:43I have some answers,

33:44whether the answers are true or valid,

33:45I just don't know,

33:51all right,

33:51oh yeah,

33:54lots of good comments here,

33:55so we'll get to those,

33:56but I don't want to start reading a comment,

33:57we're about to go,

33:59private in like,

34:00eight,

34:01seven,

34:02six,

34:03all right,

34:06so let's just wait to,

34:07go over to donor only,

34:08we are now donor only,

34:10so,

34:11somebody says,

34:13I think growing up with YouTube,

34:14and bonding with internet personas,

34:16just passively,

34:17just by passively,

34:18watching their videos,

34:19taught me that relationships can exist,

34:21without any effort,

34:21from my end,

34:23you can get some of the joy,

34:24of human connection,

34:24without building any social muscles,

34:26by watching YouTubers,

34:27and just lurking on the internet,

34:28it's dangerously easy,

34:29to choose that,

34:29over legitimate friendships,

34:30especially since I bonded heavily,

34:32with my computer,

34:32and the internet,

34:34well,

34:34it's the kind of thing,

34:35like it's the difference,

34:36between professional singers,

34:37and like,

34:39amateur karaoke,

34:40right,

34:40and,

34:41so,

34:42the other thing too,

34:43is that,

34:45also,

34:46it's like,

34:47looking at,

34:48just beautiful,

34:49beautiful people all the time,

34:50and then finding the average person,

34:53ugly,

34:55homely,

34:56unpleasant,

34:57and,

34:58this is super stimuli,

34:59right,

34:59so,

34:59if you are,

35:00looking at someone like me,

35:03or Scott Adams,

35:05or Mike Zunovich,

35:06or,

35:06you know,

35:06lots of different people,

35:08on the left and the right,

35:10they're professional,

35:11like we're professional communicators,

35:12so that's our job,

35:13we've got very,

35:14good social instincts,

35:15great language skills,

35:16we know how to talk to people,

35:17we know how to,

35:18I mean,

35:18I've done tons of interviews,

35:19and there's call-in shows,

35:21and so on,

35:21right,

35:22so,

35:22we are professional communicators,

35:24and the degree of communication,

35:26that we're capable of,

35:27is not matched,

35:28most likely,

35:29by the average person,

35:30in your social circle,

35:31and maybe,

35:32maybe,

35:32but unlikely,

35:34and so,

35:35if you,

35:38sort of listen to,

35:39my call-in shows,

35:40for instance,

35:41and,

35:41I mean,

35:42I think they're useful,

35:42obviously helpful,

35:43and good,

35:43but if you listen to my call-in shows,

35:45and then you say,

35:47I need to have conversations like that,

35:52you kind of got to build your way up to that kind of stuff,

35:54I didn't have conversations like that,

35:55when I was younger,

35:56at least not with,

35:57that level of productivity,

35:59so,

36:00if you,

36:00are constantly exposing yourself to,

36:03you know,

36:03sort of top tier,

36:04top 0.1% professional communicators,

36:06and then you try and have conversations,

36:09with the average vaxxed underhead in your environment,

36:12or even before,

36:13average status,

36:15a propaganda zombie,

36:16it's going to be tough,

36:18to replicate,

36:19if that makes sense,

36:20it's going to be very tough to replicate.

36:25Schools forcing kids together,

36:26who otherwise wouldn't associate,

36:27doesn't help,

36:28especially combined with parents,

36:30who strictly limit socializing and free time.

36:31I spent so much time,

36:32with a horrible friend group,

36:35in grade middle school,

36:36that I wasn't sure how to handle,

36:37being around relatively better people,

36:38after moving to high school,

36:39I spent three years going between,

36:41being argumentative and being closed off,

36:43even after opening up a bit,

36:45in the past year,

36:45in the last year,

36:46I still had no experience socializing out of class.

36:49Thank you Steph,

36:49what a gift to hear you talk,

36:50I appreciate that.

36:53When you were deplatformed,

36:55by how much did donations reduce,

36:56compared to viewers,

36:57are loyalists more generous?

36:58So it wasn't quite a 97% drop in donations,

37:02that would have been unsurvivable.

37:04Definitely massive drops,

37:06but not quite,

37:07not as bad, right?

37:14It was very easy to follow you on DLad,

37:16but after you got kicked off the platforms,

37:19you have a website,

37:20so it's easy to find your material, yeah?

37:28With that,

37:29I'll be happy to will.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended