This is the Truth Network. Yeah. Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right, let's talk the truth news. I can't hide it.
A daily program powered by the Truth Network. This is kind of a great thing, and I'll tell you what. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together. Speak your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host.
Welcome to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to To be with you today, I thank you for your indulgence as I was out last week. And I am back in the saddle. I'll tell you about that trip, maybe a little bit later in the show.
But we are thrilled to be here today. If you want to be a part of the program, 866. Three, four, eight. 7884-866-34 Truth, whatever's on your mind. I have a couple things I'm going to throw out to you, but if you've got something that's pressing on your mind, and as always, If you're a family caregiver, You could always go to the front of the line.
because that's the passion I have of reaching to my fellow caregivers. Truth Network host. One of my programs that I do every week, Hope for the Caregiver, on this network. And I've been doing this now for 14 years. I've been on the air for 14 years, not always on the Truth Network, but.
I've been here for many, many years on it. And I'm grateful to do it.
So, if that's something on your mind as we go into this fall season. which can be very difficult for family caregivers. September is National Recovery Month. And if you are involved in a relationship with someone who is an alcoholic or an addict, You know the importance of recovery, and if they're not in recovery, you really know the importance. Of what a recovery program looks like.
And I'm the only one that has any kind of national platform for family caregivers that has included family members of alcoholics and addicts.
So if this is something that's heavy on your mind, please. know that this this this show would also be for you in this time, okay? We talk about a lot of news and current events and things such as that, but I will always take time for that. 866-34 TRUTH 866-348 seventy eight eighty four. Do you know In Scripture What was the first thing?
That uh God said was not good. Do you know what that is, off the top of your head? You can see it in Genesis 2, 18. The first time that God said something was not good, you know, He had created this, He said it was good. He created this, He said it was good, created this, and said it was good.
But the first time He said something was not good, No one had sinned yet. Adam, Eve had not sinned. Because there was no Eve. God looked at what He made and repeatedly called it good, and then He looked at Adam and said, It is not good. that the man should be alone.
Genesis 2.18. Adam had done nothing wrong. He needed another person. And God knew it. Most of us remember the the isolation of COVID.
And for family caregivers, That's the way it is without a pandemic. Uh think about how many dim dinner invitations are turned down. Because leaving the home is complicated if you've got a disabled loved one or a child with special needs. Or If you've got somebody in your life who's got mental illness or an addiction. Sunday morning at church, for some people, can require a lot more planning than most people put into a vacation.
I know people who have severe disabilities in their family with children and and trying to get to church is is incredibly difficult. And by the way, is your church accommodating? To people with disabilities. If somebody came in with a child that's completely wheelchair-bound, that has a trach, or things such as that. Is your church prepared for this?
Can they get in? Is there a ramp? Is it easy access? All those kinds of things. I often often tell people that caregivers can feel.
isolated in a crowded room, and I tell pastors that caregivers can feel isolated on a crowded pew. You ever look down The Pew. at your church, the row, where people are sitting. And do you see some one who is a caregiver. Maybe they're there by themselves, or maybe they have their loved one with them and they're kind of having to tend to them.
Do you reach out to them? There's a difference between isolation and solitude. You know, throughout scripture, you see places where prophets and even Jesus sought out solitude. And I and I love a quiet cup of coffee in the morning as much as anybody. before things really get started.
And if I take an afternoon horseback ride, Um, man, that feels like a holiday to me.
Solitude gives us room to breathe. But isolation leaves us wondering who who's going to pick up the phone if we call. And it's in that kind of quiet, that isolation where dark thoughts multiply. How many of you have ever been in that situation where you feel isolated and you replay a conversation a thousand times? You berate yourself without mercy.
Oh, I wish I'd said this, or I can't believe this, or what you know, just you just replay it. How many of you ever been there? How many of you in those moments sink into despair? And you think Man.
Sometimes we just need another person. simply to say Tell me what happened. I've been writing recently on my Substack, and you can go out and see more of this at caregiver.substack.com. about pushing back against Fear. And that and the need for the For measured temperament when we're advocating for someone we love, because that's what caregivers do.
And isolation makes both of those things harder to push back against fear and to keep a measured temperament, because in isolation, we're. We we become warped in our thinking. We're listening to just one voice, ours. And when I'm tired or angry, I need someone who will hear me out and separate what I know. from what I fear.
And my wife needs me to bring a clear mind. To the next conversation with their doctor. How many scriptures off the top of your head? can you think of that talk about our mind? You know, for the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of a power and love and of a sound Mind.
Let this mind Be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. When you just go down the list of all the scriptures to talk about. renewing our mind. And I talked about this several weeks ago. Sin broke our brains.
We can't think right. And if anybody tells you differently, Well, they'll lie about other things too, because we are contaminated by sin. It's affected everything. That's what total depravity means. It doesn't mean utter depravity, it means total depravity.
Every part of our life is affected. We can't think right. And when we get alone and we're listening to our own voices, Do you know what does Proverbs say? Lean not on your own understanding. but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.
I need help getting there. And You know For so many, reaching out can feel intimidating. Making a phone call to this program could feel intimidating. When I started a caregiver support group seven years ago in our little community here. I was the only one at the table for three weeks.
And now we're going to need a bigger table. God did not tell Adam. to get better At being alone. He gave him some one to share his life. And we need a friend, we need another caregiver, a neighbor, someone in the church to listen.
As we wrestle with the next decision, our loved ones that are dealing with whatever. whatever disability, whatever impairments, They need advocates. But advocates need people. And you know it's not good that we're alone. You know how I know that?
Because God said so. He said it all the way back in Genesis 2.18. it is not good that the man is alone. And I'm grateful for this network. I'm grateful for this program because as some of you are driving home or listening while you're going about your work or your home or getting ready for dinner or whatever it is you're doing, I just wanted to tell you you're not alone.
And that's what the body of Christ does: that we reach out to one another in our distress. And if you want to be a part of that 866 thirty four TRUTH eight six six three four eight seventy eight eighty four. I know that sometimes the phone feels like it weighs about a hundred pounds.
Okay, I I get that. But do not try to carry these things by yourself. Whatever it is you're carrying. Don't try to do this by yourself. Bear one another's burdens is what Scripture tells us.
Do we take this seriously? Do we do this? Do we bear one another's burdens? What does that look like in your life? When you have encountered individuals and done this, what does that look like to you?
How does that work? For you. And that's what we're going to talk about a little bit today, and then whatever else that you have on your mind, you can see more of the stuff that I've been writing on. And my substack, again, it's at caregiver.substack.com. And you'll see various things that I put out there for you.
I've spent 40 years Standing in more hospital rooms and more hospital corridors outside ICUs. Then I want to kill. But I was never alone. Because God said so. That's Truth Talk Live.
We'll be right back. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Belt Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you, 866.
34 TRUTH, 866-348 7884. If you want to be a part of the program before the break, I talked about the first thing. that God called not good. that Adam was alone, Isn't that interesting? You know, Milton brought that up in Paradise Lost, and I always thought that was a fascinating observation.
And that ought to make us Think about the people who are carrying something heavy. Without anyone to talk it through. And Yeah. If that's something that's heavy on your mind, please feel free. I want you to call in and share whatever's going on.
and we'll we'll stop everything and talk about it. But I also want to bring up something today too. That I've been thinking about as we're going into the election season, and you think, oh, Peter, you're going to get into politics.
Well, not really. I want to kind of do what I call an idea audit. An idea ought it. IDA, not IKEA, those are too hard to assemble. IDEA, IDEA audit, nothing fancy.
Just a few questions we can ask about Any proposal any party, anybody who is asking for your vote.
Now you think about how much money is being spent in these campaigns. Have you been getting a lot of emails? Have you been getting a lot of Phone calls about, you know, we need you to chip in $5 by midnight tonight. Have you been getting a lot of flyers in your box or in your mailbox? You know, it it's It's everywhere.
We can't watch TV with it. We can't do anything without seeing it. And I thought, do we? Ever audit these guys? Do we ever ask the hard questions?
Because we can't really count on the media to do so. I mean, you know, I mean I mean, do you trust the media? Does it does anybody trust the media anymore? I I it it The only media I really truly 100% trust is C-SPAN because they just turn the camera on and let it roll and nobody's talking when they're doing stuff. And that's pretty much the only one I just turn the camera on and let me fill in my own commentary.
But for the most part, I don't trust any of them. And, you know, Jesus did not trust himself to his own disciples.
Okay. People are flawed, and so the only thing we can really trust is what? the word of God. That's it. There's no other place to go.
Everything else must be Buttresses against the Word of God. If not, then what we're doing is we're building on faulty premises, on human understanding. But we have the Word of God. We have scripture. We can trust Scripture.
And we can go back and look at these things and compare the ideas that we're hearing.
So, I want to ask you a couple of ideas. Idea audit, if you will. Here are some of the questions I would ask for all these things.
Okay, what is the problem? What are you proposing to do about it? Who would it help? What would it cost? How would we know if it worked?
One of the things that those are the things I ask a lot about pretty much everything in my life. What does this look like? Think about, for example, this train, this high-speed train, that they've been talking about building now in California. I think. I think You can fact check me on this, but I think they've already spent, what, twenty four billion dollars?
Something crazy like that. And to have it laid one rail.
So what they've done is they spent all this money. Just to talk about it. They haven't done anything. I mean, it's just like. Wow.
You know, and so I think an idea audit is a good thing. What does this look like? Who who's responsible for this? And what are the task assignments? Who's accountable?
And it sounds simple, it ought to be simple. But if you listen to A political conversation for five minutes. You're going to hear a lot of what's going on with the other side. What's wrong about them? and precious little about what any one intends to do.
I was listening, for example, somebody was asking several different folks in the Democrat Party about Hassan Piker. You've been following this? I don't know if you've been following this or not, but. They said, what do you think about him? And are you prepared to disavow him for his comments about such and such?
And they said, and all of them, it's almost like they had a script.
Well, I'm not here to talk about a podcaster from L.A. I want to talk about the issues of what we need to do to protect this country from Trump. And they all pretty much said the same thing. And I thought, those aren't really good ideas. That that's not a somebody saying, hey, I want to accomplish something.
And I thought, you know, maybe we can start doing this on our own. We had a a caller here to this program a couple of months ago, Jamal, over in North Carolina. Really, Jamal, if you're listening, you really did make a difference, man. I mean, I keep coming back to that because you you you challenge me because you get involved in local politics and you're showing up at at County things and municipal things and school board things, and that's how it's done, and you're in there mixing it up. And I'm just really impressed by that.
And so I thought, you know, maybe we can arm ourselves with things to ask. Because if I think Are you getting the feeling that while we're over here focusing on such and such, maybe our job, maybe even our church, all these kinds of things, there's a whole bunch of people that are focusing on. Infiltrating everything in government and Moving it. away from the things of God. into increasingly not only secular, but hostile Two The Christian community.
Are you are you getting that sense? Because it sure does seem that way. More and more things like that. that at our public education and our On our city government, on our municipal governments, on civil, all that kind of stuff, it just increasingly hostile towards the values. that built this country as far as Judeo Christian values.
So when you say, you know, marriage is between a man and a woman.
Well Can you believe that we have that conversation now? That, well, what is a man? What is a woman? And and and I I look at this and I think, well, what has happened? How did we get here?
And I kind of wonder if we as responsible citizens of this country, particularly the Christian community, Did we abandon our responsibility to audit? Two. intellectually audit. and challenge these things, to show up and challenge them. and don't let them filibuster over you.
But but to truly ask good questions and and say, Hey, hey, what What does that look like? And You know, I I I look at all the things that they're promising out there. And so to me I think it's fair to The ask. Questions of of folks and and and You know The heart of the question is I think that's, you know, what do you want done, and what happens after that? Then you start getting real tangible answers.
I've done this with many doctors. For example, let me take it out of politics for just a minute, and I'll talk about it with doctors. I've had doctors say, Well, we're going to try this for a while and see what happens. You know what the first question I ask is? How long is a while?
I pin them down. That we're not going to have this. Drag out. They say, okay, we'll do two weeks, okay? on the day fifteen Expect a call from me.
'Cause I will be calling you. You see the difference when you hold their feet to the fire. You don't just get to just throw something up against the wall and, man, we'll try this and whatever, and see what happens. No. No, I don't do that.
Whatever, even waiting is an action step, but we're going to put a deadline on this, okay? On day 15, we'll reevaluate. After two weeks, we'll reevaluate.
Okay, I'm calling, and we're going to reevaluate. That's the kind of quantifying that we need to do. with everything in our life. We need to do that with with Everything. Otherwise, what we'll have is we'll have a bunch of people that really don't know what they believe, what they stand for, why they believe it.
and why this is valuable. You follow me on that, and we can talk some more about that when we come back. We'll take your calls to at 866-34-TRUTH. 866-348 7884-866-34 Truth. This is Peter Rosenberger.
This is Truth Talk Live, and we will be. Right back. Truth talk. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live.
This is Peter Rosebrother. Glad to be with you. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348. 7884. If you wish to be a part of the program, we're talking about.
An idea audit. An idea audit. As we go into election season. And I think it really applies across the board to pretty much anything. any institution of mankind Because as I said in the first block, sin broke our brains.
We cannot lean on our own understanding. It's right there in the text. Sin broker brains And so we have I think we have I think I could back this up biblically too, that we have a responsibility. to Test things. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago.
Test all the spirits. Test them. But test them against what?
Well, you test them against scripture. And and so when we ask these People who are asking for a vote, who are asking to have a measure of control over our lives, don't you think we ought at least? Ask em some good questions.
So let's start with, for example. And you can reply to this to Democrats and Republicans. Independents, libertarians, whatever. But let's start with the Democrats. Can you name?
one proposal from the Democratic party that you believe would improve the country Over the last Five years. Maybe over the last year. But can you name one proposal? that they're putting forth as a party. that they stand for.
And you think it's going to improve the country. And tell say what it is, and why you think it would help. And what what comes to your mind And when you look at the Democrat Party, you say, man, these people have really got an idea here. And I think we need to implement this in our country, and it's going to make our country more prosperous. safer And more um Uh uh and and stronger.
They've really got a handle on this. Is there anything That comes to your mind that the Democrats are out there proposing that they've done with the last. Five years. You know. Or Ten years.
I mean, I mean, whatever. What what's something that you think of with them? And um You you may be a Democrat and have an answer ready. You may be a Republican who sees merit in one of their particular proposals, or you may be an Independent who wishes somebody would take a good idea and actually get it done, but Throw that one out there and feel free to call on that 86634-TRUTH. 866 3487884.
Now, we're going to put proposals from Trump and the Republicans through the same audit. And I'm going to separate those two out. Trump and the Republicans. Because I don't know how enthusiastic the Republicans are about some of the things that Trump has started over ten years ago. The Republicans weren't making any efforts to close the border.
If you've got one issue that Trump is. Constantly hammered since the moment he came down the escalator, and he's been on the national scene now. for 11 years. certainly has changed politics, whether you like him or don't. He has been consistent on Closing the border.
Closing the border. Republicans didn't lift a finger really to do that. They they just sat there and and he forced the issue. But he's been consistent on it.
Now is that a good is that a good thing? Do you feel like that's a good thing to close our borders? and to have a secure border. And he was talking about this at the United Nations yesterday. And he said, you know.
Nations have a right for sovereignty. Do you agree with that? Do you have a right to close the border to your house? Do you have a right to keep people from coming into your house that don't belong there, that have no financial stake in your home, that you have not invited? Do you have a right for that?
And if you do, then does the country. And like I said, I don't know that the Republicans were all that. gung ho on that, but he has forced the issue. Um So I I I don't want to give um my preferred candidate a pass, while demanding a detailed accounting from someone else's. If an idea is good, If it's sound...
It should hold up to questions. Don't would you not agree? That um if it's a good idea it could it couldn't withstand being questioned. And Scripture gives us a good place to start, Proverbs 18:13. if one gives an answer before he hears it, it is his folly and shame.
Well, that sadly, that particular verse is. followed me into more than one conversation. I can be halfway through my answer. before the other person's even finished the question. Maybe you've done that too.
Maybe I'm not the only one. But I certainly am guilty of that, of not listening enough. And so I really want to, and it's kind of Challenging'cause I mean here I am doing a talk show. But I'm putting forth just ideas that I have with it, and you can go from there and what you want to do with it. But Before we answer a proposal.
We need to hear what's being proposed. What problem is it supposed to solve? Who is affected? Who would it change? For example, the border.
Well, what What problem is it supposed to solve?
Well, we had people coming in here that we couldn't properly vet. that we were coming they were coming in for for Various reasons.
Some of them had legitimate reasons, but they were not coming in through the front door. They were coming in through the back door or through the window. And they were not assimilating into the country and becoming a part of the American culture. They were coming in to take advantage of. the American people.
And we had too many of those.
Now, you can argue that it was by design because we wanted more voters. one party or the other. Or more constituents, so you could create that kind of thing that's.
Okay. make the case for it. But is it still a problem? Is it a problem that we had an open border? And if so, why?
And if we close the border. What does it solve? Who's affected? And who would it change? See you see how we do that if we just start asking questions.
You know, Trump made it a priority. And you may support the particular actions he has taken, or you may have concerns about him. But Which action Do you think about it? What is it meant to accomplish? How do we measure success?
and what cost or consequences should we examine? Cons you ever heard that phrase? Consider the cost? You don't build a house unless you think about What is this going to cost? What are we going to do?
Um it it seemed For the cost of living, for example. And these questions, by the way, don't require you to surrender your position. They require you to explain it, like the cost of living. Everybody says they want prices to go down. I don't know anybody standing in a grocery store hoping to pay more for X.
But lower cost is a goal. What is the proposal?
Okay, how do you intend to make that happen? lower cost. If someone says, well, they'll make housing more affordable, well how? If someone says they'll make health care more affordable, Okay, well what changes? What would a family actually see in its monthly bill?
Do you see where I'm going with this? How many of you heard everybody clamoring, not everybody, but so many people clamoring for Medicare for all? We're going to do Medicare for all.
Well, what is that going to cost? What would that look like? Where do you start with that? You've got people running in various places and cities under the Democrat Socialist Party. And they're saying we've got to have free housing.
Okay, what kind of housing? What kind of free house are you going to give to somebody? You're going to give them an apartment, you're going to build. Cinder block houses like they did in East Germany. During the Cold War?
I mean, is that what you're going to do? I mean, there's free houses in Cuba. Are we going to live like that? Is that what we're going to do? Do you see how when we ask these kinds of questions?
Do you see how when we Press the issue. And you can't count on the media to do it. Because the media is going to be Yelling at the person they don't like or nodding in agreement and enthusiastic affection for the person they do. But we're the ones that are having to deal with it. And so it's incumbent upon us to start learning to ask better questions.
You know, again, about health care. If that's going to be more affordable, okay, how? I've been dealing with health care issues for a very, very, very long time.
So what is that going to look like? And then there's a question, I wish. that every politician had to answer without looking at a staff member. You ready for this one? You might want to write this down.
What might go wrong with your plan? What might go wrong with your plan? So, when Mondami wants to do free grocery stores or low-cost grocery stores in New York. What might go wrong with this? What do you know about human nature?
That might grow wrong with this. I in in LA, they wanted to give out free needles. to junkies to have clean needles. What might go wrong with that? Is there a potential Landmine in here.
And we're going to allow homeless people to camp out. In public parks. What What could possibly go wrong with this? Y you follow where I'm going with this? And we have a responsibility to ask these kind of questions.
And we can't count on anybody else to ask them. It's time for us to ask them. as citizens of this country, as individuals. and hopefully as as believers. You know, what what what's going on with this?
Every decision has a cost. Every policy has effects you intended, And sometimes affects you didn't And I've spent enough time making decisions for someone I love to know that saying this will fix it is easy. Sitting down and thinking through what could happen next.
Now that's where it gets hard. And when I'm speaking with one of my wife's doctors, I don't want a slogan. I want to know what the treatment is supposed to do. I had to call a timeout. You ever called a timeout with surgeons?
I was in Preop. And I pulled two orthos and a plastic surgeon. into pre-op. And I said, we're going to take a timeout. We're getting ready to go into surgery because this thing just kept multiplying.
She went in there for two surgeries and it morphed into 11, and they had to. keep going in there and correcting the problem. And I said, we're going to stop, we're going to have a timeout. What's the plan? What is the next action step?
What does success look like here? And these are very important people. two orthopedic surgeons and a plastic surgeon, and these were attending physicians. These weren't lower rank. This is a big teaching hospital.
But we had that conversation and I asked the hard questions. When you ask the hard questions, then you start developing a plan and people are held to account. That's what needs to happen. That's Truth Talk Live, 866-34-TRUTH. We'll be right back.
You're listening to the truth network and truthnetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you, 866-34-TRUTH, 866-34878. eighty four.
We're talking about an idea audit. People are asking for your vote. These people who are asking for your vote will have a measure of control over your lives, and your finances and your property. They're asking for it.
Now, do you have a responsibility? To question them, to examine them, to listen to their ideas. To ask for their ideas. Maybe they have just some vague slogan they're doing, and you want to press further. Do you have a responsibility?
And You don't have to be hostile, you don't have to be combative to be confrontive. To confront somebody, it doesn't require you to be combative. You just ask. And decisions like this, they really matter. I mean, I've dealt with this in healthcare.
I've asked hard questions of very, very, very trained and smart people. But they didn't always see it clearly.
Sometimes they get so into the weeds they can't see the big picture. And as my wife's sole caregiver for forty years, my job is to see the big picture. I have a Ph D in HER. I have a couple of PhDs in her. And so I would ask hard questions.
What's the goal here? What are we trying to accomplish? And, you know, and I've done this to people and I've left them flat-footed. Because they realized they weren't thinking Uniquely to her. They were just kind of.
You know, this is the way we're going to do it. And I'm like, well, wait a minute, wait a minute. You're going to, for example, I'll give you an example on this, very good example. Um She broke her leg. She fell and broke her femur.
And we had to get her to heal up. She had to have surgery to convalesce from this. got it squared away. But her back was bent over at almost forty five degrees.
Well, actually it's l it's forty eight degrees, it was more. And we had to go through all these extensive surgeries. uh to repair her back over the last five years. But there was a A couple of folks there at the medical team at the facility, particularly a physical therapist, that was saying, Well, we need to get her leg rehabbed. Get her l the leg that she broke.
And I looked at him and I said, rehabbed to what? She can't walk she's bent over. we have to get it to heal so that we can get her back straight so that she can start walking again. He lost sight of the big goal. We just gotta get her leg rehabbed.
To what? All I did was say rehab to what? Three words. And it brought him up short, and he had to back up and realize: oh, okay, we've got a bigger problem here. Proverbs 18, 17.
Always go to the Word of God. Always go to the Word of God. The one who states his case first seems right. until the other comes and examines him. Proverbs eighteen seventeen the one who states his case First.
seems right. until the other comes and examines him. And I was in a committee meeting with several with there was like half a dozen medical professionals in this meeting and that physical therapist was pretty Um arrogant. and abrasive. And he was really pushing on me pretty hard until I asked that question.
Everybody's like, you know, we got to get a rehab. And everybody's like, oh, okay. And then I said to the team, and her doctor, one of her doctors, was in that group. And they all looked at me when I said, Rehabbed to what? And they realise, oh.
You cannot put her in a cookie cutter. You're going to have to think bigger. and I examined him and then they were able to reassess and go a different direction. I mean, that's so practical. You hear the first account, and everybody looks at this guy, well, that settles it.
He's right. and then somebody else walks in the room. and ask the question you didn't consider. And that's the whole point of this. And We have a responsibility to do this with public policy.
Ask the person who's making the case what the proposal is supposed to accomplish. Ask someone who disagrees what they think has been overlooked. Then go back and ask whether the objection holds up. It's more work than just repeating what we hear on television, but the decisions are worth the work. And it applies to an idea I already like.
Especially one I already like. Because I'm not going to just live in a vacuum of agreement. If you have a bunch of sycophants around you that are just agreeing with you, you're just going to keep saying the same thing over and over and over. And, you know, I I know how quickly I can spot a weakness. and a proposal from somebody I distrust.
Okay. But it takes a little bit more discipline to ask the same hard question of a proposal from somebody I admire. If I'm willing to examine one, but unwilling to examine the other. That tells you something about me.
So I think you ought to be Equally if not more aggressive with people that you admire or agree with or or consider yourself part of their tribe.
So if you're part of the Republican Party, if you really like the Republicans, whatever, then it would seem to me that you need to be doubly aggressive. to make sure that you've really thought through these things and that they're thinking through it too. and challenge them. Good ideas can withstand this. You know, we all have people we're inclined to believe.
You know, we recognize their voice, their concerns, and Um Perhaps her sense of humor. And we know what they're going to say about the opposition before they say it. And that familiarity can make us a little bit less curious. I want to be curious enough to ask Um What what's going to happen if we do this? I want to be that curious.
What's that going to look like?
So when Trump says we're going to close the border, okay, well What's that going to look like? How are we going to pull this off? How are we going to shut this border down? What can we expect our country to experience? What could possibly go wrong?
So the Democrats say we're going to give Medicare for all.
Okay. How are we going to do this? What does that look like? Where do we start? What's the first step?
What's the first action step? How are we going to pay for it? Who's going to pay for it? And What is that going to look like, and how will that affect health care for people who've been paying into the Medicare system through their work for a long time? Because Medicare is not Medicaid.
So what is that going to look like for these people? Will they see a decline in services? Are we going to look like Europe where you have long lines and you're going to have long appointments for things? I mean, you know, wait. forever to get an appointment.
Is it going to be rationed out? Is it going to be tiered health care? What's that going to look like?
Take housing. Yeah. Your candidate says, or a candidate says, I'm going to make housing affordable. We're hearing a lot about affordability right now. I want to know what that means for the family whose rent rises every year.
Is the proposal about building homes? Are we going to build more homes about financing, about taxes? What can this candidate actually do from the office they're seeking? What kind of power do they have to do this? And when should that family expect to see a change?
See, those aren't hostile questions. A person who has a serious proposal ought to welcome the chance to explain it. And if you see people that won't explain it, Why would you trust him with your vote? You only get one vote. Um well.
Okay. Put that aside. If a candidate says, I'm going to protect your health care, protect what specifically? Your ability to see the doctor? The cost of a prescription?
The coverage you have now? If the proposed change helps this group, how will it affect this group, another group? You know, and as a caregiver, I got to tell you, I listen pretty closely when somebody makes a promise about health care. Because I live With the gap between what sounds good in a speech, and what happens when a family tries to arrange care on a Tuesday morning. And that experience doesn't give me every answer, but it does give me questions, and questions can be useful.
If you'll notice, Who? asked The first question. God Adam, where are you?
Well, actually, of mankind. If you look back at when Eve was being tempted, Satan asked the question. But um Did God say? This He challenged the Word of God. But God asked Adam the question.
Where are you? It's not because he didn't know where Adam was. But the question was forcing the issue. And he does this over and over and over again throughout scripture when he gets to Job. Where were you when I was doing all this?
The question forces the issue. And if Eve had just answered what God had actually said, but she didn't even get it right. She didn't even get the quote right because evidently Adam didn't properly give her the right information. or didn't make sure she understood it,'cause she banged she mangled the quote. But questions are useful.
Now Listening isn't agreeing. After I hear you out. I may still think your proposal is Messed up. You may think mine is. but at least we'll have discussed the proposal.
James 1.19 says, know this. My beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. What do you think about that? Quick to hear. slow to speak, slow to anger That may be.
Difficult. For Some it is for me sometimes. But I'm working on it. And even though I'm doing a talk show and I'm having to carry the show. But I still want to be able to listen and hear from other people's viewpoints.
What's going on?
So, if you call and say, Well the Democrats have no idea. Or no ideas. I'm going to ask whether you've heard a particular proposal and why you think it fails. Same thing with Republicans. That's how we do it.
We ask better questions. We give an idea audit. And I would like very much for us to carry that into this election season before you go in. to the election booth.
Okay? This is Peter Rosenberger. See more at caregiver.substack.com. We'll see you next week. Yeah.
