Joe Rogan on Civil Liberties in the Age of Coronavirus

I think that's one of the things that you really have to get into those valleys to appreciate, to really hit those peaks. I think that's what's going on right now. As you're saying that I'm thinking about like literally what's happening in this country and I hope that, you know, we get to the point where we see the sun and we feel it, but then we have to also not forget. I think you're 100% right. I think we have it really, really easy in this country. What you were saying about this is the reality of third world countries or places where, I mean, you're under a military dictatorship where you can't get food. You can't travel wherever you want to. You don't have the freedom to move about whenever you want to. And we're in this weird situation here today in California. They've put this lockdown on everybody where supposedly until April 19th, you can't have a gathering of more than 10 people and you're all essential businesses are supposed to be closed. Like, well, fucking good luck with that. Good luck. Good luck. Good luck with a whole month of telling people they can't work. This is crazy. I had an experience that stuck with me that I use as like a lens of context from overseas. And it was from Afghanistan. I was in a sniper overwatch position and I was watching a, I was on one side of a valley. There was a unit on the other side of the valley and there was a village in between. And I watched an individual come out in the morning to the only water source in the valley, small stream, and watch them just take a shit in the water. Oh, Jesus Christ. And then later on in the day, another person came out and downstream of that took a bath in the water. And later on in the day, a woman came out with two kids and got their drinking water downstream from both of those things and went back to their house. And it's like, okay, we have it really, really good. Really, really good. Really, really good. And in that village, there was probably a light bulb. Why did he take a shit in the river? Maybe he didn't have any toilet paper because the grocery store was out. I just wanted to wash his ass. Why not? Yeah. I mean. So that's the thing about people that's this willingness to do something that you know is going to negatively impact others, but you don't care because in the moment it's good for you. When you see someone throwing a cigarette out the window of their car, that's a perfect example that they don't want that cigarette in their car. So they just say, oh, somebody else will handle it. Yeah. But if you see enough of those things or in that, it reframes the way that you look at what people complain about. And I have thought about that day very often because in that short period of time, it's just like, I don't ever really have that much to complain about. What's going to go on right now for the next few months, I would guess, maybe the rest of the year is going to be horrendous. And I hope that everybody makes it out okay on the other side, but the reality is people are going to die and it's going to suck and it's going to destroy families. And there's the economic destruction will probably be worse than the physical destruction from the death side of the house. But we're still going to be okay at the end of that. And even as if it gets horrendous here, we are doing so much better than so many other people on the face of this earth. Their daily best is not going to even approach what it's going to look like at our worst as we navigate our way through this. My biggest concern is not just the deaths, which is a big concern, not just the financial crisis, which is also a big concern, but it's also the government gobbling up freedoms in exchange for the illusion of safety. That's a real concern. It's been happening for a long time though. Yeah, but it's also whenever there's a real crisis, there's always an excuse to pass legislation that diminishes our rights. I mean, it's just, it makes it easier for them, makes it easier for them to do what they perceive to be their job. Only if people are scared. It's because they're finding the seams in people's attention span. Instead of being objective, they're being emotional and that clouds your vision and it clouds your judgment. And when they're not paying attention because they're scared because they're online all goddamn day, looking at people taking pictures of the empty toilet paper aisle in the grocery store, other people who might have malicious intent are moving on that man intent and nobody is paying attention to it. Yeah, that's where a lot of people that the more, what's the best way to say, I'm trying not to use the word retarded, conspiratorily minded that don't think very well. The first term was accurate. Yeah. They think of it in terms of a gigantic conspiracy and this is all set up. No, people take advantage of moments. And that's the difference. That's what really happens where there's moments where they can pass something like the Patriot Act or the Patriot Act 2. They do it. It's not because they've set this up to pass that. No, they use it as an opportunity because they know the people are scared and they use it as an opportunity to further diminish our rights because it makes it easier for them to control us. And that's a real concern right now. It's a real concern right now. And it's something that people go, oh, that's the last thing you should be thinking about. No, it's one of the things you should be thinking about. There's many things you should be thinking about right now besides your safety and your health and not spreading a disease and making sure you wash your hands and stay away from old people and maintain social distance. All that stuff is important, but also recognize what the fuck these career politicians and these career lawmakers and these career people that are in charge of controlling mass groups of people. Any laws that help you, any rights that help you, it makes their job more difficult. And that's something to be concerned with right now. I think fear is totally natural. I think if you don't experience fear, you might trend towards the sociopathic side of the spectrum, but it's totally natural. It should be expected, but you have a choice in how you receive what is going on and you can allow the fear to cloud your judgment and drive your decision making process. Or you can recognize that the fear of death overseas isn't what keeps you alive. Objective, analytical, thought process, and doing the things that need to be done keep you alive regardless of how scared you are or fearful you are. That's what keeps you alive. It's okay to be scared, but just don't let it take over and control you.