Why is Skepticism Under Attack? Do We Really Need Seat Belts For Our Brains?
Do We Really Need Seat Belts For Our Brains?
So what is happening? Why is Joe Rogan under such attack? He once said he would vote for Bernie Sanders. I have no idea what his politics are. However, his personal treatment of his COVID infection along with guests he’s had on to ask about vaccines has caused the American legacy media to lose their sh**.
Why? I’m not some Joe Rogan fanboy. As a matter of fact I’ve probably listened to a total of 3 full episodes of Rogan. I do however watch some of his YouTube clips. He gets all the best guests. I agree with some of his guests and some I don't. He had Bernie Sanders on. I don’t agree with Bernie’s take on governance. I still listened. it was a great place for me to hear what Bernie had to say.
He had Jordan Peterson on. I like Jordan Peterson’s writing and thinking. He has liberals, conservatives, Bill Maher, Ben Shapiro. It doesn’t matter. Joe Rogan has anyone on he seems to think he can learn something from.
I admire that. The largest podcaster in the world is who he is for one primary reason-he's curious.
I’d dare say what has made him so successful is he offers a (oh my gosh I can’t believe I’m going to write this) “safe space” for all to come and listen to differing opinions. Joe Rogan's show is the pro sporting event of current events.
When we go to sporting events we don't care about the politics of the people sitting next to us. As long as they're rooting for the same team, for that moment they are in our tribe.
It's the same with Rogan. Liberals, conservatives, libertarians, moderates and everyone in between shows up for the event that is The Joe Rogan Experience to safely learn. I think the inability to label Rogan a liberal or conservative is what has made the show so appealing. All sides feel welcome. Unlike MSNBC and Fox where the opinion shows are always going to lean ideologically left or right, Rogan does neither.
One day you might listen and think he's a hard core Trumpster. Then next you might think he's a donor to the Tides Foundation. Why is this? It's because in this tribal era we are constantly listening to what people say and now in the case of Joe Rogan who they ask questions of to determine if they are one of "us" or one of "them." This is a problem.
Rogan is not a politician. He’s doesn’t need his listeners. If it all went away tomorrow, he’d be just fine. Yet his being treated as public enemy #1 by the American legacy media. Why? Why would one guy in a home studio with no more than a microphone and internet access be such a threat to the likes of CNN?
Since when did differing opinions and the scientific driver of skepticism become such an offense. In Adam Grant’s book “Think Again” he outlines the problem with dividing all major issues into two sides either for or against leaving no room for nuance.
We seem to do it all cases now. If you’re for higher taxes, you’re a socialist. If you’re pro-life, your anti-female reproductive rights. If you question the efficacy of vaccines, your an anti-vaxxer. If you're not for Black Lives Matter, you hate black people. If you're for Black Lives Matter, you're a wokester. Everything is becoming so binary.
We are living in a world that is leaving no room for nuance. This is not good. What’s worse is if one side has decided the only way to defeat the opposition is to not even allow questions to be asked, we are in big trouble. Questions must be asked. Voltaire once said, "Judge a man not by the quality of his answers but by the quality of his questions."
How can we get quality questions if we are trying to silence the people who have access to the greatest minds on the planet to ask their take on issues? The big dust up seemed to start with Rogan's interview of Dr. Robert Malone. You may recall I saw this coming. I wrote an article a few weeks ago when I saw what was most likely on the way.
When Rogan had Dr. Robert Malone on the podcast he immediately came under attack. Malone, who happens to be a longtime colleague and friend of Anthony Fauci has been banned from Twitter due to his contrarian views of vaccines. Oh, and by the way Dr. Robert Malone helped invent mRNA vaccine technology now being used for the vaccines.
With just that small data point if you're Joe Rogan and you're curious about COVID and vaccines, wouldn't you want to talk to the guy who helped create the vaccines in the first place? I would. Heck, on the Jason Wright show while doing research on creatine I learned of Dr. Jose Antonio. I read some of his research. I thought to myself, wow if I could get this guy on my show to discuss creatine, that would be amazing.
So I reached out, and boom! You can hear Dr. Antonio on episode 119 of The Jason Wright Show. Believe me, if I had the stroke Rogan has and could call up just about any expert on any topic and they'd say, "yes" to coming on the JWS, I'd reach out and have them on immediately.
American journalists have received awards for their interviews of the most hideous humans on earth. We used to want to hear from differing views and opinions. Now, it's almost off limits if it's against a national media narrative. This is nuts.
Rogan for his part came out and said he would try to get more guests with differing opinions instead of those who hold contrarian views to the common narrative. Wait a minute. Didn't Joe just have Sanjay Gupta on his podcast, the Chief Medical Correspondent and well known vaccine advocate for CNN? If Rogan didn't allow the contrarians on the other side of the argument would never be heard. That's a big problem.
We always need as much data as possible especially when in comes to matters of our health and well-being.
There was once a time when it was expected of media outlets to get guests on who had wildly different opinions to allow us to peak into the mind of a Charles Manson, David Duke or Saddam Hussein. The interviewer asked question we might ask about these intriguing figures if we were there ourselves.
Now legacy media seems to only want to reinforce a prescribed narrative and attack anyone who lets us hear the “other” side. Joe Rogan seemingly has one agenda-to satisfy his curiosity. When did this become a crime?
Here's my advice for you, VL reader. Be a thinker. Know what you know. Too much information is only a bad thing if we are unable to process it. To best handle the massive onslaught of data we now have at our fingertips, we must train and ready our minds.
Read books, eat right, get fresh air and sunlight. Don't be afraid to talk to the "other" side. Try to learn. In my most recent book review I covered the book, "How to Have Impossible Conversations." The biggest takeaway was when you are talking to someone completely opposed to you try to be as curious as possible. Don't try to change their mind. Try to understand why they think they way they do. Try to see if there's something new to be learned.
Further, when did we all become so stupid we needed the likes of Brian Stelter at CNN and the federal government to install seatbelts on our brains?
Joe Rogan may not be the most interesting man in the world, but I’d dare say he’s one of the most curious. My advice to you, stay curious my friends.
In this Friday's episode of The Jason Wright Show "Best Friday Ever" I covered this topic. I hope you'll take a listen.