Point of View May 17, 2024 – Hour 2 : Weekend Edition

[00:00:00] I did post an article on DEI on the run.

[00:00:48] And I thought, just to give a little bit of history, a couple years ago I was speaking

[00:00:52] at the Hope Center, which is where a lot of you have been.

[00:00:54] And of course the Hope Center has, of course, First Liberty, Pro Ministries, and East West

[00:00:59] Ministry and Hope for the Heart and all that.

[00:01:01] And I remember speaking, and at one point I mentioned DEI, and I could tell from the

[00:01:06] quizzical look on the faces of so many individuals, and finally somebody put up their hand and

[00:01:11] said, could you explain what DEI is?

[00:01:13] I would imagine all of you know what it is now, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

[00:01:18] That sounds pretty good.

[00:01:19] And then you start recognizing that there are some real problems with it, as illustrated

[00:01:24] by the fact that just the other day Alan Dershowitz, who was talking about why do we have all of

[00:01:30] these students that are saying these kinds of anti-Semitic arguments, and he was saying

[00:01:36] it's due to DEI and what's called intersectionality.

[00:01:40] Those are a lot of big words for the fact that if you are powerful, you are an oppressor,

[00:01:45] and if you're weak, you are a victim and need to be supported.

[00:01:49] And so he was saying that.

[00:01:51] Just the other day, an individual I find myself quoting a lot lately, Scott Galloway, the

[00:01:55] Algebra of Wealth and all the rest, just went into a lot of detail on how DEI is destroying

[00:02:03] these universities.

[00:02:05] And Alan Dershowitz used to be a head of the ACLU, not any longer, but certainly would

[00:02:10] be a liberal who voted for Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

[00:02:14] Scott Galloway definitely, and his colleague Jonathan Haidt, who has written the most recent

[00:02:19] book on anxious generation, would be your classic liberals.

[00:02:23] But they're talking about the problem with DEI.

[00:02:26] And so Liberty, I thought I'd come to you because just a minute ago we were mentioning

[00:02:30] in our Take Action that the World Health Organization agreement or treaty, the country of England,

[00:02:38] the UK said we're not going to endorse it.

[00:02:41] Well, the other day there was a report came out from the UK saying DEI is really bad for

[00:02:46] business.

[00:02:47] So you're starting to see common sense breaking out all over the place.

[00:02:51] Yes, I've seen a few things from across the pond lately where they seem to be getting

[00:02:57] some common sense again, including with the transgender treatment for children and all

[00:03:01] of that.

[00:03:02] But yes, I think one of the biggest problems with DEI is that it erases our motivation

[00:03:10] oftentimes for people to really get to know anybody on an individual level.

[00:03:14] And this is the idea of identity politics where people make assumptions based on just

[00:03:19] what they can see on somebody.

[00:03:22] Well, you know, they probably are privileged.

[00:03:24] They're probably wealthy.

[00:03:26] They probably think this way or maybe they were even hired because of DEI.

[00:03:30] And it erases our ability and motivation to just get to know people.

[00:03:36] And it's not even helpful.

[00:03:37] In fact, on a grade school level, I remember last year the Heritage Foundation issued a

[00:03:43] study where they found that during the pandemic, public schools that had a chief diversity

[00:03:50] officer in those schools, minority students actually performed poorly, worse than

[00:03:56] minority students in schools that didn't have a diversity officer.

[00:03:59] So even if the idea is that they're trying to help people, even if the idea is good,

[00:04:07] it's just not working and they're not actually addressing any of the real problems.

[00:04:11] It's hurting people.

[00:04:13] So, you know.

[00:04:15] Well, and I think that when we're seeing it on the litigation side in corporate America,

[00:04:22] these companies who are all in on DEI.

[00:04:25] Right. And as that there is going to be a conflict with religion.

[00:04:30] If you have orthodox, traditional religious beliefs, there you go.

[00:04:34] It's inevitable.

[00:04:36] And so we have cases where people are asked to affirm DEI statements that are contrary

[00:04:44] to scripture. And if you're a Bible believing Christian, you can't affirm those

[00:04:49] statements. And so what happens?

[00:04:51] You get called nasty names and you get fired.

[00:04:53] That's the case of Valerie Closterman in Michigan.

[00:04:57] We've had I mean, this is you know, when you talk about growth, growth industry,

[00:05:04] there's liberty.

[00:05:05] It's corporate America.

[00:05:06] And it is interesting to see this trend because let's see how this plays out.

[00:05:12] You haven't mentioned yet, I'm sure you talked about this week, the kicker from the

[00:05:15] Chiefs. Harrison, go to it right now.

[00:05:19] And I'm going to mess is it Budner?

[00:05:21] I yeah, I'm not sure.

[00:05:23] It's the kicker for the Chiefs who spoke at a Catholic university and expressed his

[00:05:29] religious beliefs that were consistent with Catholic beliefs, consistent with Catholic

[00:05:35] individual at a Catholic school giving Catholic doctrine.

[00:05:38] And the NFL has a problem with it.

[00:05:40] And the NFL has a problem with it.

[00:05:41] And you had the city of Kansas City on its official Twitter account, X account,

[00:05:49] calling him out and telling people where he lives.

[00:05:52] Wow. The official Kansas City account.

[00:05:56] And but this is I mean, the NFL is very I mean, another name for DEI is woke.

[00:06:02] Woke. Right.

[00:06:03] There you go.

[00:06:04] And, you know, the NFL is all in on on the woke agenda.

[00:06:09] It's going to be really interesting.

[00:06:11] Now, what's good for the kicker is Kansas City Chiefs, of course, owned by the Hunt

[00:06:16] family. Clark Hunt here from I don't think in Kansas City they like it, but he's from

[00:06:21] Dallas because, of course, the Kansas City Chiefs used to be the Dallas Texans and

[00:06:26] moved to Kansas City.

[00:06:28] But I think they'll support their kicker because they also have similar religious

[00:06:34] beliefs. Mahomes will and everybody else.

[00:06:36] Yeah, but we will see what the NFL does.

[00:06:38] I know.

[00:06:40] But whether it's Alaska Airlines or it's the University of Michigan Health System or

[00:06:46] the NFL or the NBA, it you know, it's going to be I mean, it's like they're eating

[00:06:54] their own. And so they start eating their own.

[00:06:56] And now people are starting when you have traditional liberals saying, I mean, the

[00:07:01] list that you just mentioned, Kirby, I mean, something's up and it just tells you how

[00:07:05] bad and that we're being led by the Brits.

[00:07:09] And I'm an Anglophile at a certain point, but usually not on social policy.

[00:07:15] Right. We're looking to we're looking to Europe.

[00:07:18] I mean, although I don't even know if it's Europe or their abortion restrictions and

[00:07:22] Europe or their restrictions on transgender.

[00:07:25] I mean, it seems like common sense is breaking out better over there, but it's

[00:07:29] happening here as well. First of all, since you mentioned real quickly, one of your key

[00:07:32] cases, discrimination doesn't fly.

[00:07:35] That's Lacey Smith with Alaska Airlines.

[00:07:37] So whether it's the NFL or Alaska Airlines or whether it's many of your other

[00:07:43] individuals who have been under fire because of their faith, I'm thinking of your fire

[00:07:47] chief and all sorts of other individuals.

[00:07:50] That, again, is a reason for you to scroll down under Jeff Matthews picture and go to

[00:07:56] first liberty and look at these cases, because that's one of the reasons I wanted to

[00:08:00] bring it up. One, because it's bad ideology.

[00:08:03] But second of all, it is the justification for so many of these religious liberty

[00:08:08] threats at a time when after we come back from the break, I'd also like to get your

[00:08:13] comments, because didn't the Supreme Court rail on this whole idea of using explicitly

[00:08:18] racially conscious admissions?

[00:08:20] I think they did. And of course, a number of universities have decided to either

[00:08:25] completely defund or signaturally reduce the funding of their D.I.

[00:08:31] initiative. So we'll continue on that because we have a lot more to cover and another

[00:08:35] word for D.I.

[00:08:36] I like what Jeff said woke.

[00:08:38] So we'll talk about openness right after this.

[00:08:58] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:04] Is Christianity as bad as atheists say that it is?

[00:09:07] For decades, we've heard the charges from the so-called new atheists like Richard Dawkins

[00:09:11] and Christopher Hitchens.

[00:09:13] But those ideas are starting to surface in other discussions.

[00:09:16] As one of my radio guests noted, non-Christians used to ask if Christianity is true.

[00:09:21] But now many ask whether Christianity is good.

[00:09:24] Secular professors often talk about Christianity in a negative way, focusing only on the

[00:09:28] Crusades, the Inquisition or Salem witch trials.

[00:09:31] But they never seem to hear about any of the positive contributions of Christianity.

[00:09:36] Fortunately, Jerry Newcomb has provided such lists in his books and commentaries.

[00:09:40] For example, if you're educated, you should probably think Christianity education for the

[00:09:45] masses was a gift of Christianity to the world.

[00:09:47] He explains education.

[00:09:49] America was established so that citizens could read the Bible for themselves and not be

[00:09:53] deluded. Nearly all the colleges in America's early history were founded on Christian

[00:09:58] principles. If you've ever been to a hospital, you should thank Christianity.

[00:10:02] St. Basil of Caesarea, who lived in the fourth century, is credited with creating the first

[00:10:06] hospital in the history of the world.

[00:10:08] And let's not forget the advances in science.

[00:10:10] As Norm Geisler and I explain in our book Origin Science, most of the pioneers of the

[00:10:15] field of science had a Christian worldview and others were theist who believed in God.

[00:10:20] You know, most of the social movements of the 19th and 20th century sprung from Christian

[00:10:24] convictions. The abolition movement, the child labor law movement, the suffrage

[00:10:29] movement, even the civil rights movement are just a few examples.

[00:10:32] Christianity shouldn't be blamed for what is bad in the world.

[00:10:35] We should be grateful for the many blessings it provides each of us.

[00:10:39] I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

[00:10:47] For a free copy of Kirby's booklet, A Biblical View on Socialism, go to

[00:10:51] Viewpoints.info slash socialism.

[00:10:54] That's Viewpoints.info slash socialism.

[00:10:57] You're listening to Point of View, your listener supported source for truth.

[00:11:04] Back once again, a couple of things I thought I might mention as action items.

[00:11:07] One of those is this article on DEI.

[00:11:10] You may be in a business or you may know somebody which is in a corporation where

[00:11:15] they've had a lot of these DEI issues.

[00:11:18] And I appreciate the fact that the editors in this case of National Review, but also

[00:11:23] the editors of The Wall Street Journal, have said it's time to end DEI.

[00:11:27] DEI needs to die.

[00:11:30] Is another line that people have been using.

[00:11:33] And so that might be helpful to them.

[00:11:35] Also, of course, we have a link to First Liberty because as you heard Jeff say just

[00:11:39] a minute ago, the increasing number of cases are coming from individuals who if

[00:11:47] they hold to an Orthodox Christian point of view cannot agree with some of the things

[00:11:51] being said.

[00:11:52] So the good news is they can actually go and contact First Liberty.

[00:11:58] And first of all, find out their rights in the workplace.

[00:12:01] You even have a booklet on that.

[00:12:02] We do.

[00:12:02] But if there's a real issue in the case, of course, of Alaska Airlines, it might end

[00:12:07] up being a court case.

[00:12:08] No.

[00:12:08] And you know, unfortunately, this is one where we actually turn people away.

[00:12:12] And so we can't take every case because there are quite frankly too many.

[00:12:16] So, you know, in our minds, we're trying to be strategic because we want to go to

[00:12:21] places where we win and we can win precedent that doesn't just impact the person in

[00:12:26] the case.

[00:12:26] Yes.

[00:12:27] So think of someone like Joe Kennedy, coach football coach Joe Kennedy.

[00:12:30] Yes.

[00:12:30] Great victory for Joe Kennedy.

[00:12:32] But Joe Kennedy's case, because it's such a historic precedent, is literally going to

[00:12:37] impact religious freedom for decades to come.

[00:12:41] I mean, it's that important a victory.

[00:12:43] So that's what we're looking for.

[00:12:44] But yes, the easiest way is go to our website.

[00:12:46] You know, one of the cases that we recently resolved favorably was we represented a nurse

[00:12:53] practitioner at CVS.

[00:12:55] I think it's one we've talked about here before, Robin Strater.

[00:12:57] And Robin had asked for an accommodation in order not to participate in giving abortion

[00:13:05] pills.

[00:13:06] And when abortion was legal and CVS would not accommodate her, she lost her job.

[00:13:12] And we're pleased to report that CVS has seen the light and they've agreed to a favorable

[00:13:18] settlement.

[00:13:18] And that's all I can say is that there was a favorable settlement.

[00:13:22] And Robin and First Liberty are happy about the settlement.

[00:13:25] But it's another example is, yeah, when this happens to someone, whether it's you have

[00:13:30] an employer who's asking you to do something contrary to your religious beliefs, you don't

[00:13:35] have to just quit that there that the Constitution, the employment laws, the federal

[00:13:41] employment laws and state employment laws give you rights.

[00:13:46] And that's why our post office case was so important.

[00:13:49] Representing Gerald Groff, who wanted he was being asked to violate his religious beliefs

[00:13:55] in working on the Sabbath.

[00:13:57] Post office accommodated him until they didn't.

[00:14:00] And he ended up having to sue them.

[00:14:03] And what's the Supreme Court said was, well, you're applying the wrong standard.

[00:14:06] Employer has to show that they're actually burdening the business.

[00:14:10] So if you're an employee and you're being asked to violate your religious beliefs, you

[00:14:15] should know you have you have rights.

[00:14:17] You do have rights.

[00:14:18] And I just mentioned this article says that University of Florida announced that it has

[00:14:22] closed the office of chief diversity officer.

[00:14:25] Now, a while back, I guess it was in March.

[00:14:28] I mentioned that and that actually saved five million dollars at the University of

[00:14:34] Florida. So Liberty, we're talking about closing it down in University of Florida.

[00:14:39] This article talks about significantly reducing the funding at the University of North

[00:14:44] Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[00:14:45] And even if you go to the bottom of the article, even the president of MIT might

[00:14:51] remember when she was in front of the individuals in Congress has said that the school

[00:14:57] will no longer impose a diversity statement on hires.

[00:15:01] So I do see that we are ultimately kind of winning a culture war in this regard.

[00:15:07] Yes. And so this is a great example of something, a positive trend where enough people

[00:15:14] really spoke up about this issue.

[00:15:16] And thanks to organizations like First Liberty Institute who are making an impact where

[00:15:21] we can see a positive change in the right direction.

[00:15:23] And again, I think it just is common sense for a lot of people across the political

[00:15:27] spectrum realizing that DEI not only is it hurting the rights of many people of faith

[00:15:35] who are being forced to, you know, assent to things that they can't in good conscience

[00:15:41] assent to. It also just wasn't doing what it was purportedly set out to do.

[00:15:46] It wasn't actually helping people, as we mentioned in the last segment with the Heritage

[00:15:50] Report, where schools who had a chief diversity officer, their minority students were

[00:15:54] actually underperforming more so than schools without one.

[00:15:57] So it just wasn't working.

[00:15:58] And people are seeing that you also mentioned something in passing.

[00:16:01] I want to come back to it again, that if the impact it also has on those so-called victims,

[00:16:08] because because we have had affirmative action, because we have DEI, because we've had

[00:16:13] all this kind of woke push, there is a tendency that if you're, let's say, an African

[00:16:19] American in a company, sometimes people wonder if you're, quote, an affirmative action

[00:16:24] hire. And so it not only does not help them, it actually puts a cloud over their head

[00:16:30] sometimes, doesn't it?

[00:16:31] Well, yeah.

[00:16:32] And, you know, I just as a woman, I would not want to go somewhere and have somebody

[00:16:37] assume that I was hired because they needed to fill a gender quota.

[00:16:42] Yes. I want to be able to prove that I'm the right person for this job.

[00:16:45] I think any reasonable person wants that.

[00:16:49] And so I think, you know, we want to focus on people who are good at the job and hire

[00:16:57] according to merit.

[00:16:58] And naturally there's going to be diversity in that.

[00:17:02] And if you're seeing that there are communities or that there are people because of

[00:17:06] hard circumstances, you know where they coming from, then the place to address that is at

[00:17:11] the root level, you know, improve educational opportunities in K through 12 education or

[00:17:17] make college more accessible.

[00:17:18] It's insane nowadays how expensive it can be for somebody to get a college degree.

[00:17:22] But you can help people to have higher achievement in education and everything at the

[00:17:29] lower levels. So that's going to have a bigger impact down the line rather than trying to

[00:17:35] force DEI.

[00:17:36] And then again, this cloud of suspicion over people that really don't deserve to have

[00:17:41] that cloud of suspicion over them.

[00:17:42] Well, again, that gets into something else.

[00:17:44] And, you know, Jeff, I know you fly in airplanes and the joke has been lately, you know, I

[00:17:49] look into the cockpit and see because you have some of these airlines that are saying

[00:17:53] we're not really going to so much focus on merit as we are going to focus on the fact

[00:17:59] that we've got entirely too many white males in the cockpit.

[00:18:03] And I've had some people over the years say when I see someone up on the cockpit that

[00:18:08] isn't a white male, as sad as it is to even have to say something like that.

[00:18:13] You can understand why there are people having that cloud over their head and even

[00:18:19] having the hesitancy about whether Heather McDonald talks about even what they're

[00:18:24] doing now in the medical schools, whether or not that's the best surgeon, whether

[00:18:27] that's the best pilot.

[00:18:28] Because, you know, when I bring a plumber to my house, I don't care what color you are.

[00:18:33] I don't care what your religious background is.

[00:18:36] I don't care what your ethnic background is.

[00:18:37] I don't care what your gender is.

[00:18:39] If you're going to be able to fix my plumbing, that's really all I care about.

[00:18:43] And even more so if you're going to do any kind of surgery on me, I want to make sure

[00:18:47] you're one of the best in the business.

[00:18:48] Yeah.

[00:18:49] You know, one of the big proponents of DEI is the NBA.

[00:18:52] Oh, and Mark Cuban.

[00:18:53] So we're sitting here in the studios in Dallas.

[00:18:56] So I'll make a public offer.

[00:18:58] I mean, I want to see the Mavericks, the Dallas Mavericks, commit themselves to DEI.

[00:19:04] In order to do that, they need to let Jeff Matier, someone over 40, white, under six

[00:19:10] foot, play on their team.

[00:19:13] Why can't I play?

[00:19:15] I mean, I want to be on the Dallas.

[00:19:16] Why can't I be in the Dallas Mavericks?

[00:19:19] I really want to be a Texas Ranger.

[00:19:20] Yeah, but I want them to win.

[00:19:23] I don't want to play for them.

[00:19:25] And it's not that I don't want the Mavericks to win, but I, you know, Cuban is such an

[00:19:29] outspoken person on this.

[00:19:30] And I'm thinking you don't even apply it to your team.

[00:19:34] And shouldn't.

[00:19:35] No, because it's about personnel.

[00:19:38] You know, you're best.

[00:19:39] You want the best.

[00:19:40] But you know, Liberty said it so well.

[00:19:43] You want the best person for the job.

[00:19:45] And and I think what this does, the DEI department, and I didn't know about that

[00:19:49] heritage study. So that's very interesting, Liberty.

[00:19:51] And I think part of it is what I some of my experience looking at college campuses is

[00:19:59] these type of programs, it just creates an unhealthy environment because when you've

[00:20:05] got hundreds and I think in the case in Texas at the state universities, they've now

[00:20:11] laid off hundreds employees because Texas passed a law saying enough with this nonsense.

[00:20:16] And so it actually caused people out of jobs.

[00:20:21] What were these people up to?

[00:20:23] Well, sometimes, you know, you have people they're in search of problems and when they

[00:20:30] in search of problems, they sometimes create problems.

[00:20:34] And I think that creates a very unhealthy and you're always looking and some of the

[00:20:39] things that we've heard about, you know, the ability to make anonymous complaints.

[00:20:44] And so, you know, I just think back to my college days, which is a few years ago.

[00:20:51] But if my college roommate didn't like me, he makes a complaint about me anonymously.

[00:20:56] And then they start investigating, saying that I said something hateful or something.

[00:21:02] This it's been an unhealthy, very, very unhealthy environment.

[00:21:05] But I'm ready to play for the Mavs.

[00:21:07] Yeah, I think so. Mark Cuban, if you're listening, I'm ready.

[00:21:10] I'll suit up tonight.

[00:21:11] But Liberty made a good case and that is it just causes division and polarization.

[00:21:16] Do we need more of it?

[00:21:17] No, we don't.

[00:21:18] And again, if you want to read a good book, one that I think very highly of by Heather

[00:21:21] MacDonald, When Race Trump's Merit.

[00:21:25] Turn a phrase there.

[00:21:26] Pretty good.

[00:21:26] We come back, though we're going to talk about the American dream right after this.

[00:21:31] In 19th century London, two towering historical figures did battle not with guns and

[00:21:37] bombs, but words and ideas.

[00:21:40] London was home to Karl Marx, the father of communism and legendary Baptist preacher

[00:21:47] Charles Spurgeon.

[00:21:48] London was in many ways the center of the world economically, militarily and

[00:21:53] intellectually.

[00:21:55] Marx sought to destroy religion, the family and everything the Bible supports.

[00:22:00] Spurgeon stood against him.

[00:22:02] Warning of socialism's dangers.

[00:22:04] Spurgeon understood Christianity is not just religious truth.

[00:22:09] It is truth for all of life.

[00:22:11] Where do you find men with that kind of wisdom to stand against darkness today?

[00:22:16] Get the light you need on today's most pressing issues delivered to your inbox when

[00:22:22] you sign up for the Viewpoints commentary at Pointofview.net slash sign up every

[00:22:28] weekday in less than two minutes.

[00:22:30] You'll learn how to be a person of light to stand against darkness in our time.

[00:22:35] It's free.

[00:22:36] So visit Pointofview.net slash sign up right now.

[00:22:41] Pointofview.net slash sign up.

[00:22:49] Point of View will continue after this.

[00:22:59] You are listening to Point of View.

[00:23:03] The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the

[00:23:08] management or staff of the station.

[00:23:11] And now here again is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:14] Been a half hour going to spend some time talking about really two aspects of this

[00:23:18] article, which again, I'm not necessarily endorsing the book at all, but it's a good

[00:23:23] conversation starter.

[00:23:25] It has the title, The Elites Are Hoarding the American Dream.

[00:23:30] And what it does is it brings together a couple of issues.

[00:23:33] Issue number one is what we've talked about earlier in the week.

[00:23:36] I find myself every once in a while quoting from Scott Galloway.

[00:23:39] He's got the new book out called The Algebra of Wealthy as a TED talk.

[00:23:42] But one is the fact that he says the social contract in America is broken for the first

[00:23:48] time in U.S.

[00:23:48] history.

[00:23:49] The 30 year old is no longer doing as well as his or her parents were at 30.

[00:23:53] So that's the economic part of that.

[00:23:55] And that is due to all sorts of things we talked about earlier in the week, the

[00:23:59] devaluation of the dollar, the outsourcing of material overseas, the pandemic and

[00:24:06] lockdowns and all sorts of things of that nature.

[00:24:09] But it also and matter of fact, I have a commentary coming out next week on that.

[00:24:13] But it also brings up something else that we wanted to talk about.

[00:24:17] And I know that certainly Jeff wants to talk about it because Mike Rowe, I think all

[00:24:23] of us know who he is, have pointed out that we have seven million men ages 25 to

[00:24:28] 54 who are not only not working, they're not looking for work.

[00:24:33] And he calls this the flight from work.

[00:24:35] And other people have written about this, like Nicholas Eberstadt.

[00:24:39] And at a time when we need skills like welders and steam fitters and pipe fitters

[00:24:44] and mechanics and electricians and all the rest, we have that as well.

[00:24:48] So you've got two issues.

[00:24:50] Number one, this argument that the only way you can succeed is go to college.

[00:24:54] Wrong.

[00:24:55] And number two, that even so it is becoming more and more difficult economically for

[00:25:02] the younger generation to make ends meet.

[00:25:04] So Liberty, let me have you start off with that, because I know you've talked about

[00:25:07] this even on your podcast.

[00:25:09] Yeah.

[00:25:09] So one topic that we just covered in the episode will come out this week or in the

[00:25:14] next couple of weeks in our political engagement series was actually about the

[00:25:18] idea of localism.

[00:25:20] And I feel like it may be somewhat of a solution to the problems raised in this

[00:25:24] article.

[00:25:26] In short, people, young people are told they have to get a college degree, which is

[00:25:30] just not affordable for hardly anybody.

[00:25:33] And they are told even in the language we use to encourage young people, you're

[00:25:37] going to go far.

[00:25:38] You're going to get out of here.

[00:25:39] You're going to go places.

[00:25:41] So people are leaving their communities where they were raised in.

[00:25:44] And we devalue a lot of really good work like manual labor or even care work,

[00:25:49] childcare.

[00:25:51] Even when it comes to the family, women are told that there's no value in being a

[00:25:54] stay at home mom because if they're not earning a certain paycheck, then their

[00:25:58] work isn't valuable or there's no value in staying home to care for an elderly

[00:26:02] parent.

[00:26:03] So you have not only people who are moving away, getting in debt, going places

[00:26:08] away from their family.

[00:26:09] They're not getting married.

[00:26:10] They're not having kids because they can't afford them.

[00:26:12] They can't afford to buy a house and they're moving to these more expensive

[00:26:15] areas of the country.

[00:26:17] They're unhappy.

[00:26:18] And then, you know, you have a lot of local communities in middle America that

[00:26:22] are dying and this exacerbating class system.

[00:26:26] But if more people, if we emphasize to more people that there is value in all

[00:26:31] kinds of work.

[00:26:32] So if you want to go to college, great, but you don't have to go to college.

[00:26:35] You could go to grade school, trade school, and then you don't have to go away.

[00:26:40] You can invest in your community where you grew up.

[00:26:43] You can get married early.

[00:26:44] You can start a family.

[00:26:46] If we were encouraging that we would reinvigorate a lot of local communities.

[00:26:50] I think a lot more people would be able to afford things.

[00:26:52] They'd be better off financially.

[00:26:54] They'd be happier.

[00:26:55] Um, and maybe some of this would balance out.

[00:26:57] I don't know.

[00:26:58] Those are some of my thoughts on some of the problems that we're seeing.

[00:27:01] I'm thinking about, I'm going to get a recording of that to send to my children

[00:27:05] because I like the idea of them staying local.

[00:27:07] Although I didn't stay local.

[00:27:09] So I, you know, I think they could, they could call me hypocrite, but no, I agree

[00:27:13] completely with you, Liberty.

[00:27:16] I think, uh, I think some people who have really thought about, as the part of

[00:27:21] the, this is about the American dream and we've kind of been sold, which I don't

[00:27:26] think is why it's not a Christian.

[00:27:28] It's not the Christian dream.

[00:27:29] I mean, I think we should recognize the American dream and what God has for us

[00:27:35] are not necessarily the same thing.

[00:27:37] But the American dream has morphed into this idea that, that you go to college,

[00:27:42] everybody goes to college, every student goes to college.

[00:27:45] And because of the financial system that we've created where you were anyone,

[00:27:49] almost anyone can get a student loan.

[00:27:52] Um, then you have people who are just going and, and they literally just blow

[00:27:56] that money and you elect someone like Joe Biden and guess what?

[00:28:00] Oh, I want to forgive that.

[00:28:01] I'll forgive that money.

[00:28:03] Um, which I think then goes right on the backs of those who don't go to college.

[00:28:07] You're paying for people who went to college and went to parties for, for,

[00:28:11] for two or three years before, before they get kicked out, if they got kicked out

[00:28:14] then, yes, if they got kicked out.

[00:28:18] But what we all know, I mean, you're a homeowner, I'm a homeowner,

[00:28:21] Omer Kirby's a homeowner.

[00:28:23] Finding people to actually do things for your home.

[00:28:28] I just went through a massive remodel because of a plumbing, uh,

[00:28:33] a water leak issue.

[00:28:35] So we had to completely redo our house.

[00:28:36] Do you know how hard it was to get good people?

[00:28:40] And, and really, and, and I give, I give God a hundred percent of the credit.

[00:28:44] We had a very young man who was starting his business and early twenties.

[00:28:50] Now he'd grown up because his dad had been involved in as a contractor and boy,

[00:28:56] that guy and he got his cruise there and did, did just a wonderful, wonderful job.

[00:29:02] And, and, and there's a perception.

[00:29:05] Well, you know, he couldn't go, Oh, I guess he couldn't go to college.

[00:29:08] You know?

[00:29:08] So he has to just do this.

[00:29:10] No, I had in depth conversations with him on, on many matters and, and thinking

[00:29:16] he could have been a history professor if he'd wanted to, but he likes

[00:29:19] to work with his hands.

[00:29:20] He likes to build something.

[00:29:22] And I think, you know, what do I do?

[00:29:24] You know, I sue people.

[00:29:26] What do I do with my hands?

[00:29:27] I write things.

[00:29:28] I sign letters, I sign lawsuits.

[00:29:29] But I think, I do think we need, and certainly believers, we need to really

[00:29:34] kind of refocus and, and exactly as you said, uh, Liberty, I think we need to

[00:29:39] have people thinking about college is not for everyone, it shouldn't be for

[00:29:43] everyone and there shouldn't be, we shouldn't have this class.

[00:29:46] And I think the article Kirby does point this out.

[00:29:48] There shouldn't be this class of the elite.

[00:29:50] Yeah.

[00:29:50] All of us who went to college, you know, and went on and got advanced degrees.

[00:29:54] And then there's, then there's everybody else.

[00:29:57] Well, I know, and I know you fall in this.

[00:29:59] I know my wife, um, um, did this as well for a large part of her.

[00:30:04] Look, she stepped back.

[00:30:05] She's a very talented writer.

[00:30:06] She stepped back for several years where our children were young.

[00:30:10] That was necessary.

[00:30:11] I know.

[00:30:11] Cause I've observed it.

[00:30:12] And then she would go away on retreats and I would have to

[00:30:15] actually have to do the work.

[00:30:16] And that's the hardest job.

[00:30:19] That's the hardest job.

[00:30:21] We're a little bit, what?

[00:30:21] One week away from mother's day.

[00:30:23] Happy mother's day.

[00:30:24] Thanks.

[00:30:25] Um, but I know, I mean, that's the hardest job and, and, and.

[00:30:29] You know, the, the people who repair your fat, I had my rat found foundation

[00:30:34] repair, the people who repair your foundation, the people who fix our

[00:30:37] cars, all the different things.

[00:30:39] Those are admirable, worthy, and, and those folks need to be, need to be treated.

[00:30:44] And based upon when I pay a plumber, they are thinking they're pretty valuable,

[00:30:48] but, uh, but that's good.

[00:30:49] That's good.

[00:30:50] There needs more because there's a shortage.

[00:30:52] Absolutely.

[00:30:52] That's, I mean, that's just, um, again, it's really unfortunate that there is.

[00:31:00] And some elite circles, I won't speak for everybody, but there's a kind of

[00:31:03] snobbery and like, you know, that sort of labor, but you try to do it.

[00:31:07] I mean, there's things that I can't do.

[00:31:09] It's, it's very skilled work.

[00:31:11] And again, I think it would shock you what I can't do.

[00:31:15] And fortunately I know my wife's not listening or she could call in and give

[00:31:18] you the list of things that she has to hire people to do because I can't.

[00:31:21] And so that's valuable work.

[00:31:23] And I think we need to, as Christians, like you said, reframe the

[00:31:26] conversation of the value of work as, as I believe as humans, we were made to work.

[00:31:31] Work was called good in the garden.

[00:31:34] Um, and so, but there's all kinds of work that is valuable.

[00:31:36] And so are we, are we truly valuing different kinds of work?

[00:31:40] Are we preparing our kids and educating them for life?

[00:31:43] Not just for the purpose of a certain degree.

[00:31:46] Um, are we really preparing them to live a whole life regardless of what career

[00:31:50] they choose or what skillset they have?

[00:31:53] One other thing just real quickly before we take a break is when she's talking

[00:31:56] about the elites hoarding the American dream in some respects, because

[00:32:00] we have a class of elites.

[00:32:02] These are the ones that go to Davos, Switzerland and the world economic

[00:32:06] forum and are the ones that want to implement some of the things we've

[00:32:10] talked about, whether it's ESG or DEI, uh, the phrase out of the world economic

[00:32:16] forum, you know, you won't own anything and you'll be happy.

[00:32:20] And at a time when we are starting to see more and more young people say, I

[00:32:24] don't think I'll ever own a home.

[00:32:26] That kind of mindset is playing out.

[00:32:28] And so in addition to the snobbery in America, some of the people that are

[00:32:33] the elites think they know better than the rest of us, and that's not very good

[00:32:37] either.

[00:32:37] Yeah.

[00:32:37] What's the quote from animal farm?

[00:32:39] Some, some are more equal than others.

[00:32:43] Yeah.

[00:32:44] Yeah.

[00:32:44] I mean, I mean, look, and it is, it's, we know when you read the stories about

[00:32:50] the Soviet union and perhaps Russia today as well, but I mean, there's a

[00:32:53] class, you know, even, even in communist Marxist, um, uh, Soviet union, there was

[00:33:00] all, there's, there was a class of elites who had all the special privileges.

[00:33:04] They got to stay in all the special and the nice palaces and things like that.

[00:33:09] I mean, they rise and then they protect.

[00:33:11] So even when they, you know, say phrases, um, like they're, they're for equity and

[00:33:17] they're for inclusion, they're for diversity.

[00:33:19] Yeah, they are, but for the, not for me.

[00:33:22] Yeah, exactly.

[00:33:23] Exactly.

[00:33:23] Well said.

[00:33:24] So again, it's just a piece that came out there.

[00:33:26] Of course, uh, we'll certainly talk about some other aspects of it, but I did want

[00:33:30] to get to some comments, both from Jeff and Liberty, but come back, we'll get

[00:33:34] some comments from Penna Dexter.

[00:33:36] Our, our commentary is right now.

[00:33:38] It's on the trans directive.

[00:33:41] You just can't make some of this up and we'll do some final comments about, uh,

[00:33:45] these websites you can go to, to find out more.

[00:33:47] We'll be right back.

[00:33:57] Radical transgender directives just keep coming from the executive

[00:34:00] branch of the federal government.

[00:34:01] The latest decree official guidance for employers from the equal employment

[00:34:05] opportunity commission concerns restroom and pronoun use.

[00:34:08] The guidance states that the denial of access to a bathroom or other sex

[00:34:12] segregated facility consistent with the individual's gender identity could bring

[00:34:16] a workplace under harassment charges.

[00:34:18] So could misgendering repeated and intentional use of a name or pronoun

[00:34:22] inconsistent with the individual's known gender identity.

[00:34:25] Title seven of the 1964 civil rights act prohibits employers with more than 15

[00:34:30] employees from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, or national

[00:34:35] origin.

[00:34:35] Now without a vote in Congress, the EEOC is including sexual orientation

[00:34:40] and gender identity in the list of protected categories.

[00:34:43] The EEOC mandate is to combat racism and sexism in the workplace, not to force

[00:34:48] employers to pretend a person can change his or her gender identity.

[00:34:51] Last July, the United States Senate narrowly confirmed called Pana Kodak all

[00:34:55] to serve on the EEOC leading up to the vote.

[00:34:58] Senator Ted Cruz voiced his concern about what he described as her record of

[00:35:03] support for transgender ideology.

[00:35:05] Ms.

[00:35:05] Kodak all was confirmed as the third Democrat on the five member commission.

[00:35:09] This guidance is the fruit.

[00:35:10] When the EEOC proposed the update last fall, 20 state attorneys general expressed

[00:35:15] their opposition, arguing that the proposed guidance would threaten the first

[00:35:18] amendment rights of employers, employees, and in some cases, customers.

[00:35:23] Reed Rubenstein, director of oversight at America First Legal pointed out that it

[00:35:27] is likely that the EEOC will focus on small and privately owned family businesses,

[00:35:32] many of which lack the resources to fight back effectively.

[00:35:35] Christian employers be warned.

[00:35:37] The heritage foundations, Jay Richards told the daily signal normal people must

[00:35:42] understand.

[00:35:43] He warns we're dealing with a totalitarian ideology that wants to destroy the

[00:35:47] present order.

[00:35:49] For point of view, I'm Pana Dexter.

[00:35:56] You're listening to point of view.

[00:35:59] Your listener supported source for truth.

[00:36:01] Back for a few more minutes.

[00:36:02] Let me just mention that a Pana Dexter's commentary is available and go to our

[00:36:06] website right now and you will see it's EEOC's trans directive.

[00:36:11] If you don't receive the viewpoints commentary, you can click on the read.

[00:36:14] Now you'll see a section where it says never miss a viewpoint.

[00:36:17] You can sign up.

[00:36:18] My particular commentaries come to you Monday through Friday to your inbox and

[00:36:24] Pana's will come to you on Saturday.

[00:36:26] And so that is something that we certainly want to make available to you.

[00:36:30] I might just mention too, that as we go through this whole idea of the

[00:36:33] transgender issue, those of you that have signed up for the pray for America

[00:36:39] weekly updates, the latest one is there.

[00:36:41] But if you have not signed up, click on that button that says subscribe, but

[00:36:46] Liberty, let me come to you because we're talking about the fact that it seems like

[00:36:49] every day we get another decree from this administration about transgenderism.

[00:36:56] This one now is guidance to employers who are part of the, are actually affected by

[00:37:03] the EEOC, which stands for the equal employment opportunity commission.

[00:37:08] And so again, it's giving guidance to employers about how to use restrooms

[00:37:13] and which pronouns to use your thoughts.

[00:37:15] You know, we've been talking a lot about DEI and inclusion.

[00:37:21] But women are being excluded in a lot of these changes from the administration

[00:37:26] and from progressive groups that are pushing a lot of these changes where

[00:37:32] they're basically saying women, you don't have any private space anymore.

[00:37:36] And if you want private space, then you're going to be called a

[00:37:40] bigot and maybe fired or worse.

[00:37:43] And so it's just, it's sad to me because again, you can pray for and love people

[00:37:51] who are struggling with gender identity issues, but even that, when it goes down

[00:37:56] to the number of kids who are identifying as trans now, there's a lot going into

[00:38:01] that, most of it's not even legitimate.

[00:38:05] And so, but then you have them saying, if you are a female and you want to have

[00:38:10] a bathroom to yourself or a locker room to yourself, you know, you're not

[00:38:13] allowed to do that anymore, a prison to yourself and you have women that are

[00:38:17] being assaulted in spaces that are supposed to be safe for them.

[00:38:20] So, you know, this is really the issue of equality that we need to be talking

[00:38:25] about in our nation because all of a sudden women are becoming second class

[00:38:28] citizens basically because of our biology.

[00:38:31] And this presents some, this is going to be challenged.

[00:38:34] It's going to be challenged in court.

[00:38:35] It does present constitutional concerns and mainly one, I mean, the obvious one

[00:38:41] is if I tell you what pronoun you have to use, then I'm telling you how the

[00:38:45] government's telling you how to speak.

[00:38:48] And if they're telling you to do something different, different

[00:38:50] to your religious beliefs.

[00:38:51] I mean, if I'm forced, you know, at gunpoint, the gunpoint of the federal

[00:38:55] government saying you've got to refer to someone in a way, you know, is not true.

[00:39:01] And it's contrary to biology, also contrary to your religious beliefs.

[00:39:07] I mean, that violates the first amendment.

[00:39:09] So I think this is, I think it's interesting that the Biden

[00:39:15] administration is ruling these out right now.

[00:39:17] And I think that boy, that this could be two or three segments, perhaps Kirby, but

[00:39:23] just to kind of tease the issue a little bit, you know, why at the end of an

[00:39:29] administration, are you issuing, you know, relatively end of the first term of

[00:39:34] administration issuing some very controversial because we're seeing in each

[00:39:38] of the departments, so EEOC education, health and human services, they're ruling

[00:39:43] them all out.

[00:39:44] Where were these two years ago?

[00:39:46] Where were they?

[00:39:47] You know, year one.

[00:39:48] Um, you know, why do they now?

[00:39:51] That's is that obvious?

[00:39:53] I mean, there are two, right?

[00:39:54] That's one theory.

[00:39:55] Then the other one might be, you know, the other theory could be that they're

[00:39:59] energizing, they're going to energize their left base and energize their base.

[00:40:04] So I, you know, I, this.

[00:40:08] I guess nothing surprises me anymore from the Biden administration, because there's

[00:40:13] no protections for people of faith.

[00:40:14] And so if you're a, you know, if you're a business that employs on the federal

[00:40:18] level, more than 15 employees, although there are some states, Hawaii, for instance,

[00:40:22] one employee, Hawaii, if you're one employee, then, then, then the state

[00:40:26] discrimination laws, which.

[00:40:28] Track usually tracked or at least, or, or in some cases expand the federal apply.

[00:40:33] But for most, for instance, in Texas, it would be 15 employees.

[00:40:37] Then you've got to check your religious beliefs at the door and do things you

[00:40:41] don't believe in or be subject to, to, they call it guidance, but these guidances

[00:40:45] have been used in court cases against employers.

[00:40:48] They certainly have.

[00:40:49] Well, let me take at least one phone call here in California.

[00:40:52] Devin, you want to share your testimony?

[00:40:55] Oh, yes, sir.

[00:40:56] How are you doing?

[00:40:56] Kirby?

[00:40:57] Very good.

[00:40:58] What's on your mind?

[00:41:00] I'm actually, uh, in regards to saying that people have to go to college in order

[00:41:06] to actually get a good career, get a good job.

[00:41:10] And I've, I actually never even went to college.

[00:41:12] I had just ended up getting a GED.

[00:41:15] And then I, I spent time, I spent 13 years in the military as an aircraft

[00:41:19] technician and now I actually repair large bakery trucks that go through and

[00:41:26] deliver goods and everything all up and down the West coast here.

[00:41:30] Good.

[00:41:31] And you make the whole economy run.

[00:41:34] So that's why we are so grateful for people like you.

[00:41:37] And, uh, I appreciate that.

[00:41:38] I wish I had a little more time to talk about all those.

[00:41:41] We might even do a program where we kind of have a micro type of focus on all the

[00:41:46] individuals that have said, if you want to keep this economy running, you certainly

[00:41:51] do need the individuals that are working with their hands.

[00:41:54] And so that is certainly the case, but I wanted to go around the round table real

[00:41:58] quickly because, um, certainly we can get some prayer requests, but also Liberty.

[00:42:03] You've talked a little bit about what's available at the no Y podcast.

[00:42:07] Talk about what is at the podcast?

[00:42:09] How could people can subscribe?

[00:42:10] Because, uh, in some respects I think we've illustrated, we need to do some

[00:42:14] political education before November.

[00:42:16] Absolutely.

[00:42:17] So we're wrapping up our series this month on political engagement.

[00:42:22] And so we've had so many great episodes.

[00:42:24] The next series is also going to be fun.

[00:42:26] We're going to talk about how faith impacts art, uh, recorded an episode today

[00:42:30] with Steven Megan from here at point of view.

[00:42:32] So you get to hear those voices, but you can go to no Y podcast.com.

[00:42:37] And our goal is to really help young adults know why they believe what they

[00:42:41] believe about a variety of issues, really the issues that affect how

[00:42:46] a person builds their life.

[00:42:47] And so, um, definitely give it a listen or share it with a young person in

[00:42:51] your life, anywhere you listen to podcast, or you can go to no Y podcast.com.

[00:42:55] Might mentioned too, we have our Spotify, which is actually something that Megan

[00:43:00] puts on and the point of view highlights have one that just launched here on

[00:43:05] science and faith, uh, one on how to deal with the issue of mental illness.

[00:43:11] Uh, just yesterday we had Bruce Miller on, you have that particular

[00:43:14] interview from a previous interview on leading the church in a time of

[00:43:18] sexual questioning and a number of others.

[00:43:21] So again, if you are into podcasts and I hope you are, cause that's

[00:43:25] a great way to learn.

[00:43:26] We have the podcast, of course, of the no Y podcast.

[00:43:29] And of course the highlights of, uh, of some of the things that we've been

[00:43:33] talking about here on point of view.

[00:43:34] But Jeff, let me come to you as well, because you've got a lot of cases and

[00:43:38] a certainly a lot of prayer targets.

[00:43:40] No, we do.

[00:43:41] And I, if I could mention anything, I would just say, pray for our pastors,

[00:43:45] because I think as we started today, um, Liberty brought up, you know, and

[00:43:49] asking the question, is there something, I mean, something going on?

[00:43:51] The answer is yes, something's going on.

[00:43:54] And it's crazy cause they're attacking these pastors are just trying to minister.

[00:43:58] Our pastor in Ohio, uh, Chris Avell, our, our, our, our church in

[00:44:03] Gethsemane church in Arizona, uh, the rock, uh, which is a church in, uh,

[00:44:09] castle Hills, Colorado, and then our Jewish clients.

[00:44:12] Um, we, we, we talked about Nashville, um, and, and the folks

[00:44:16] ministering to Jews there.

[00:44:17] Um, rabbi in Florida, a rabbi in Hawaii.

[00:44:21] I mean, lots of light and I could, you know, could continue, but for now

[00:44:25] pray for our pastors, pray, pray, pray, pray for the rabbis that we're working

[00:44:29] with first Liberty live and certainly first Liberty live.com.

[00:44:34] So first Liberty.org and first Liberty.live.com.

[00:44:38] Uh, certainly some of those resources that are available.

[00:44:42] And next week we have a millennial round table.

[00:44:43] So we're going to hear again from you a Liberty on Thursday, along

[00:44:46] with a number of other individuals, dr.

[00:44:49] Merrill Matthews, I think will actually be hosting on Friday.

[00:44:51] So we have a lot to cover, but let me just encourage you to enjoy the weekend

[00:44:55] first of all, I want to thank Megan for not only engineering the program, but

[00:44:58] producing the Spotify highlights and Steve, thank you for producing the program.

[00:45:03] Have a great weekend.

[00:45:04] We'll see you back here on Monday, right here on point of view.

[00:45:11] It almost seems like we live in a different world from many

[00:45:15] people in positions of authority.

[00:45:17] They say men can be women and women, men, people are prosecuted

[00:45:22] differently or not at all, depending on their politics, criminals are more

[00:45:27] valued and rewarded than law abiding citizens.

[00:45:31] It's so overwhelming, so demoralizing.

[00:45:34] You feel like giving up, but we can't, we shouldn't, we must not as Winston

[00:45:40] Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of world war two, never give in,

[00:45:45] never give in, never, never, never, never yield to force, never yield to the

[00:45:50] apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

[00:45:54] And that's what we say to you today.

[00:45:56] This is not a time to give in, but to step up and join point of view

[00:46:01] in providing clarity in the chaos.

[00:46:04] We can't do it alone, but together with God's help, we will overcome the darkness.

[00:46:11] Invest in biblical clarity today at point of view dot net or call 1-800-347-5151

[00:46:19] point of view dot net and 800-347-5151.

[00:46:28] Point of view is produced by point of view ministries.