Transcript
Malcolm Guidry: and Okay, folks, hello and welcome back to this episode five of the Perspectives Pod. I'm Malcolm. I'm joined by my son, Joseph.
Joseph: you know
Malcolm Guidry: um Joseph, hello, Joseph. It's good to have him always. ah Simone, unfortunately, isn't with us today because she's on vacation with her mom. She decided to treat her mom to a vacation in the Caribbean.
Malcolm Guidry: And I thought that was really sweet. So that's where she is right now. And, you know,
Joseph: I've seen some of the pictures already. They're having a very wonderful time.
Malcolm Guidry: Well, bet. I bet. Come on. You know, they went to Turks and Caicos.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: And so, yeah, you know, I mean, they deserve a nice little vacation together.
Joseph: Absolutely.
Malcolm Guidry: So I think that's a good thing. Anyway, so, oh, man, have we come and we got some things to talk about. So today is the 2nd of March, Sunday, the 2nd of March.
Joseph: i
Malcolm Guidry: Those of you who may not be aware, and some of you may have decided to tune out from the news periodically for your sanity, I get that. Friday, we had an Oval Office disaster.
Malcolm Guidry: um Joe, why don't you go ahead and just give a brief description of what happened?
Joseph: Well, the framing is that it was a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Donald Trump as well as Vice President J.D. Vance. It was essentially an introductory public greeting before they'd have proper negotiations to sign a deal.
Joseph: Standard stuff for international meetings. Um, about two minutes in to the meeting, which was, again, it was in the Oval Office.
Malcolm Guidry: Two minutes, mind you.
Joseph: Yeah, just two minutes in.
Malcolm Guidry: Two minutes.
Joseph: They did their greetings and hellos and then pretty much jumped straight into this, which was... Donald Trump being very blithe about Ukraine's eagerness to appreciate the aid, J.D. Vance acting as the role of hype man, for lack of a better word, jumping in and scolding Zelensky for his lack of gratefulness.
Joseph: Zelensky himself. kept his cool. He was not argumentative except when absolutely pressed.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Yeah.
Joseph: And even then he would respond simply trying to redirect the conversation back to his appreciation for aid and his need for more aid. um That's how it started getting escalating. But what it turned into was just a shouting match between Trump and Zelensky with Trump shouting and Zelensky sitting there and taking it because How do you really respond to the president of the United States who you desperately need aid from talking to you like a mafia Don?
Malcolm Guidry: yeah
Joseph: And that is no exaggeration. We'll post a link to the full interview in the show notes.
Malcolm Guidry: No, not at all.
Joseph: So watch it for yourself. But he was shouting, he was scolding.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: There was a reporter in the background who was criticizing Zelensky for not wearing a suit, despite the fact that of all the major concerns going on, that doesn't even hit the radar.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: For those of you who are aware during the Obama administration, it had shades of Obama's tan suit fiasco, which I regret even mentioning because it's so sick silly.
Malcolm Guidry: You know, yeah, that that I remember when that happened. I don't know what the hell. Why was that an issue? Because Reagan wore a tan suit. I remember distinctly.
Joseph: And several people tried saying no one ever wore a tan suit, including Reagan.
Malcolm Guidry: No, that's all that.
Joseph: Yeah, they even said Reagan never wore a tan suit.
Malcolm Guidry: That's absolutely false. That is absolutely false.
Joseph: It is.
Malcolm Guidry: I remember distinctly and we can certainly bring it up. Maybe we'll post ah a ah show note, a link.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: ah But no, Reagan definitely, Reagan could do it. Reagan had style and panache and and very, always very well dressed.
Joseph: Yes.
Joseph: And quite frankly, Obama had it as well.
Malcolm Guidry: And and yes.
Joseph: He killed Ben that tan suit. But the the greater issue I think is people who want to criticize someone and they don't have anything good to criticize them on.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes. Yes. Anyway.
Joseph: Like from the Republican perspective during the Obama administration, if they were going after him for his choice of mustard and his suits preferences, he They've got nothing of substance in that.
Malcolm Guidry: You got nothing. That's right.
Joseph: And with Zelensky, he's this firebrand revolutionary in the best of ways, defending his country on practically on the front lines every chance he can get.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. so
Malcolm Guidry: That's right.
Joseph: The epitome of respect and gratefulness. There's nothing to criticize him on except his suit.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. The man is in He's a wartime leader. His country has been invaded by a hostile, aggressive power, neighboring power, um you know, and and so he chooses not to wear a suit. Who cares?
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: I don't care if the guy chooses not the way he's dressed is fine with me because I appreciate what it is he's doing.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: He's standing up for democracy. He's fighting on the front lines of democracy against authoritarianism, against autocracy, against communism.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: So why I don't care how the man dresses.
Joseph: And quite frankly, his reasons even are respectful as well.
Malcolm Guidry: But anyway.
Joseph: He's not just wearing it because he doesn't like suits. He's wearing it because he does not feel he should dress up while his people are fighting and dying.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. But, you know, just yeah.
Joseph: And yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: and No, you're right. But not to spend too much time on this particular issue. The person, though, as you had as you and I had discussed earlier, the person who asked him the question, the reporter who asked him the question is a reporter who's actually involved in an intimate relationship with Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Joseph: Mm hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: Now, I was surprised to find out that she and her husband separated. OK, fine, whatever. You know, I would imagine, you know, politics, especially when you're spending as much time as elected officials spend working. It's not a nine to five job when you're an elected official.
Malcolm Guidry: It's 24 seven. OK, so maybe that.
Joseph: Relationships can be strained and they ultimately break.
Malcolm Guidry: Sure. right. sure
Joseph: But the concern back to this whole press conference is,
Malcolm Guidry: sure
Joseph: This reporter is asking these ridiculous questions who clearly has some influence from a very, shall I say, divisive and be polite about it, congressperson.
Malcolm Guidry: right
Malcolm Guidry: i would be I would be surprised if if there weren't any influence from her.
Joseph: Yeah. And that's just the icing on the cake of it, because Donald Trump and J.D.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: Vance were basically prepping this as an ambush, as it turns out. They wanted Zelensky to look weak and ineffective and
Malcolm Guidry: That's right.
Joseph: I think they wanted to browbeat him into taking whatever deal was offered.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: And they really didn't expect that he would not give in to such cheap tactics.
Malcolm Guidry: It was.
Malcolm Guidry: it was It was such a ah moment of bullying, truly. And and you would you certainly, we expect more from our leaders.
Joseph: Especially with the nation that we are.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: We're the United States of America. And what that means is we are the most powerful country that this world has ever seen.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: ah We're more powerful than any empire that's come before. Our military could take on the rest of the world and probably win.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: We are in a position of untold strength. And so when someone comes to us, quite frankly, we should act more like Don Corleone and less like whatever mafia people Donald Trump obeys.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Well, you know, it's you're right.
Joseph: Because we have power. We have authority. They come to us because they know that.
Malcolm Guidry: You're right. Mm hmm.
Joseph: they are Anyone with half a brain knows for who what we have. We don't need to remind them of that.
Malcolm Guidry: Well, And, you know, yeah. and And considering our history since, especially since the end of World War two where we emerged from World War two the clear leader of the free world.
Malcolm Guidry: And, you know, back then you referenced it. There was a lot of reference to the free world because, of course, the the world was essentially divided up until the end of the Cold War. Divided between the free world, meaning democracies and those that are under communist rule that was led by either China or Russia or the former Soviet Union.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: But You know, we just, what ah what a horrible day. it was an embarrassing day this past Friday for the United States, for citizens who, like you and I and many others, I would have to say, i can't imagine at this point there being 40% of the electorate who still supports Donald Trump.
Malcolm Guidry: I have to think that this guy, I've been reading that he's been losing support over the past several weeks since he's come into office because of his behavior, because of his choices, his actions, his executive ah executive orders.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: So yeah it's he didn't do, I don't think he did himself any favors. the the way The way he spoke, To you you don't have you you don't have the cards.
Malcolm Guidry: You know, you need to show more appreciation, that sort of thing.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: J.D. Vance, the little little boy, ah the little shit. J.D. Vance sitting on the sofa over there having to chime in. I don't know what made him think he had the the right.
Joseph: The authority. Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: the authority to chime in and put in his two cents worth. I think he just wanted to show Trump, hey, I'm your guy. you know and And anyway, to chime in and say to to Zelensky, you know have you said thank you once since you've been here?
Malcolm Guidry: What the hell? You don't say that in politics, in diplomacy. You don't conduct diplomacy between diplomacy between ah powers the same way you would you would conduct a relationship between you and your neighbor.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: It's not the same.
Joseph: I mean, if you talk to your neighbor that way, it's disgraceful. There's no one you should talk to that way.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. Correct.
Joseph: and it I know it sounds like we're just getting upset about rhetoric, but this is what the United States is outside of our borders. We are our words and we are our actions.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: And our actions in this sentence have been angry words and withdrawing support.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: for something that frankly benefits us because there was a point Zelensky was trying to make that if Ukraine falls, then Russia's influence is one step closer to hitting the US.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: You know, there's an ocean in between us, but Russia were to, God forbid, conquer Europe, which if they take Ukraine does put them one step closer, we'd be feeling them breathing down our necks.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Yeah. yeah
Malcolm Guidry: right
Joseph: So it's in our best interest to keep Russia contained.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah
Joseph: And if we can do that without sending a man over, because not one U.S. soldier has died in Ukraine that did not go there of their own free will to volunteer.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. And speaking of that, speaking of of the reference that Zelensky made to Russia, you know, getting one step closer to possibly crossing that ocean and and confronting the United States, of course, Trump had to say, don't tell us what we should feel.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: that's not what That's not what he was trying to do. He was not trying to tell you how to feel.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: So Trump does not have, ah clearly by his his behavior, his his actions, his words, he does not have the character or the temperament to be a president of the United States.
Joseph: He doesn't. And this is this shouldn't be a partisan issue. I know a lot of Republicans voted for him.
Malcolm Guidry: He shouldn't.
Joseph: but When when our i say are I'm now referring to myself as a Democrat, when we have a Democrat president and they make a misstep, as Obama did, as Clinton did, we call them out.
Joseph: There were a lot of Democrats calling Clinton out to resign in the wake of his scandal, because that's just what you do.
Malcolm Guidry: Sure. Yeah. sure yeah
Joseph: The president, parties as aside, the president is acting out of line And we should respect our country enough to make sure that our presidents act in a manner that befits our country. And if they don't, we bring them out and put someone else in who will live up to that.
Joseph: Party aside.
Malcolm Guidry: That's what democracies do. That is what democracies do. That's what freedom of speech is about. um And that's something we've been able to do up until now. Trump, of course, wants to have the authority to do what he wants, to say what he wants, and to not be ridiculed, to not be criticized.
Malcolm Guidry: If you do, you become an enemy of his, and then he will seek retribution against you. That's not freedom. That is...
Joseph: And it's not a far off idea. He's getting closer to being being able to do that. He has his attack dog, Kash Patel, in charge of the FBI. He is acting in ways that far exceed presidential power.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: He's for now jokingly, but who knows how long that joke will continue referring to himself as a king.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: He's very close. to being able to actually send people after his enemies if he so chooses.
Malcolm Guidry: It's not a joke. It's not a joke. i don't take I don't take anything he says as a joke. One thing about Trump is he will tell you in no uncertain terms what he's going to do.
Malcolm Guidry: There was a cartoon, I think in the New Yorker magazine, there were these two sheep ah in a pasture and there was a billboard in the pasture. And the billboard had a picture of a wolf in a suit.
Malcolm Guidry: And the caption was, I'm going to eat you. And the one sheep said to the other, well, at least he you know tells it like it is or something like that.
Joseph: Yes. Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: And this came out around the the beginning of the first term of Trump's back around 20, sometime in 2017, I guess. But I never forgot that. So, no, I don't take anything Trump says lightly.
Malcolm Guidry: I don't say, oh, that's just Trump bullshit. you know, this guy will tell you what he's going to do.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: So I do feel, as we've talked about before, his desire, and I'm not the only one to talk about this. There are many people who have mentioned this, many authoritative figures with government experience who have been in various administrations who say Donald Trump wants to carve the world up into spheres of influence.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: Us handling the Americas, i Putin handling Europe and China, Xi handling Asia.
Malcolm Guidry: And that is going to create.
Joseph: And even if that has succeeded, even if we get to that point, why would China and Russia let us keep to our own sphere? Why when they can get more?
Malcolm Guidry: Well, sure.
Joseph: It's not set in stone.
Malcolm Guidry: Of course.
Joseph: Anyone who's trying to say that that's just how things naturally come, ah countries get their own sphere of influence, they're being dismissive of the fact that throughout history, no nation's border has ever stayed the same without effort to keep it that way.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Exactly.
Joseph: whether that be through trade deals, economic deals, threats of war or war itself, because countries want to grow bigger and other countries don't want to grow smaller.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Right.
Joseph: That's the source of all international conflict.
Malcolm Guidry: And there's someone who recently said, if I can remember who it is, um who recently said that, well, you know, in defense of what Trump is pursuing, well, you know, borders change, borders shift.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: And yeah, sure. If you're looking to, oh, actually it was, it was the former, he was formerly affiliated with the Carnegie Endowment for Peace and the Moscow office of the Carnegie Endowment Peace.
Joseph: His first name is Dimitri. I forget his last name, but he did a recent interview with Ian Brimmer.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes. And that was on a podcast. With Ian Bremmer, exactly, on ibra Ian Bremmer's podcast. And that's where he mentioned, you know, how, oh, well, you know, borders shift, borders change.
Malcolm Guidry: Well, no, because unless you're going to allow your border to shift by way.
Joseph: Yeah. A border doesn't shift unless a person chooses to shift it.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. Correct. So, no, I mean, that's anyway, we can't let this happen.
Joseph: Hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: um Talking further about what has transpired since the disaster in the Oval Office on Friday. ah One of the things is meant something mentioned by Ursula von der Leyen, who is the leader of the EU. I forget her exact title, but she's calling for an urgent rearming of Europe.
Malcolm Guidry: Of course, since the end of World War II, you had this Pax Americana. And. Sure.
Joseph: Just to interject really briefly, she's the li president of the European Commission. That's her official title.
Malcolm Guidry: OK, there you go. OK, so ever since the end of World War II, we've had this American peace, the Pax Americana, the United States being the most powerful nation since then, economically, politically, militarily, we were able to keep the peace.
Malcolm Guidry: us along with our allies to make sure democracy thrived. And now that that is no longer the case, thanks to Donald Trump insulting our allies, making the world a more unstable and less safe place, allying the United States with Russia, we are in a state now, in ah in a situation where our allies cannot depend on us anymore.
Malcolm Guidry: And the EU feeling it needs to urgently rearm because if Russia succeeds, which it's looking like they may, but if Russia succeeds in keeping the territory that it it stole
Joseph: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: from Ukraine. um And let's say it chooses subsequently to invade Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Baltic Republics, which were once part of the Soviet Union.
Malcolm Guidry: Those are democratic countries now. I'm not sure if they're members of the EU yet, but let's say they go there. Then what about Poland? Poland, if I'm not mistaken, Poland is the next in line after Ukraine.
Malcolm Guidry: It's then Poland that could be next to be invaded. So where does it
Joseph: And in the wake of all of this, NATO doesn't really have as much impact as it used to because I think it's safe to say after the events in the Oval Office that if Poland, which as I recall is a member of NATO, were to be attacked, we wouldn't intervene if it's Russia doing it.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: So it's just Europe.
Malcolm Guidry: That's right.
Joseph: the NATO is effectively now just Europe.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Now, I will say that NATO's, okay, NATO, the European countries, the European Union, their economy is about, I read recently, 15 times larger, their economy, 15 times larger than that of Russia's.
Joseph: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Russia is a paper tiger. However, they've got nuclear weapons. Okay.
Joseph: You
Malcolm Guidry: I also learned that, um and I've got to find the link for this so we can post it in the show notes, but Ukraine has... killed and injured over 800,000 Russians in this battle.
Joseph: do.
Malcolm Guidry: They've been beating the shit out of them.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: and And it's, of course, we were able to, you know, we provided them with weapons, but they've been doing the lion's share of the fighting.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: And the reason they're fighting so hard is because they're fighting for for their survival. so and and So over 800,000, it was cited, I think 825,000. And that was also in that same Ian Bremmer ian bremmer podcast.
Malcolm Guidry: Prior to his interview with this Russian person, Dmitry, he interviewed someone ah who works, who is, I think, a member of the EU and a member of the parliament of the EU.
Malcolm Guidry: Anyway, she cited this number and I thought that was just amazing. Anyway, long story short, ah Ukraine is fighting for their lives. They've got their back against a wall and they're fighting like like a rabid lion.
Malcolm Guidry: And they're doing a great job, but they can't do it.
Joseph: And they need help to maintain it. And it's in our interest in every conceivable aspect to to do that. It's in our interest morally. We are a democracy, at least for the moment, and we want to support other democracies.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Absolutely.
Joseph: It's in our interest politically, because by supporting a European country, we gain the respect of Europe. which does help in trade deals and other future agreements.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: And from Henry Kissinger's real politic perspective, just the most amoral, what benefits us?
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: We're not sending Ukraine our most advanced equipment. we're sending it We're sending them our surplus. We're sending them stuff that's just sitting in storage.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Sure.
Joseph: That's still great stuff, but it's not our best stuff by any means.
Malcolm Guidry: Sure. Yeah.
Joseph: It's already been built. We're just been giving it to them for a heavy discount or for free because then they put their lives on the line. Again, we don't lose any soldiers. We're across the world.
Joseph: We face no direct risk, but we could fight a proxy war against Russia, which –
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: despite what people may say is not our friend. And even if they were our friend from this same utilitarian perspective, there's better countries to align with out there, with better economies, better resources.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Oh, that's right. Correct. You know, it's interesting. um Russia is not our friend. They're certainly Donald Trump's friend.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: And I'm not saying that facetiously. I'm saying that literally. ah Donald Trump has had bug up his ass for the European Union for a very long time, for Europe and the European Union.
Malcolm Guidry: Um, in 1987, he visited Moscow, I think for the first time.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: Um, it was before that visit that he married Ivana Trump, whose father, by the way, worked for the KGB. Yes, he did look it up and went to Moscow in 1987. And then after not too long after his return from Moscow, he posted, uh,
Malcolm Guidry: yeah are um art of ads He posted ads in major newspapers talking about how Europe is not our friend and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So when you think of these things and you look at his behavior now, how he really admires and can't say enough good about ah Vladimir Putin, um the guy is, i am convinced, a Russian asset.
Malcolm Guidry: We have a Manchurian candidate in the White House, folks. i You know, at first, I thought to myself back when he ran for his first term and he was saying things like, Russia, if you're listening, ah you know, something about Hillary's emails, you know, and I'm like, what?
Joseph: Yeah, the hacker released into them.
Malcolm Guidry: Why would he say such a thing? Why would he say such a thing? And then there were people talking about how, you know, Russia ah was was interfering in our election. Paul Manafort, his campaign, um his campaign.
Malcolm Guidry: Manager, I guess, for his first time.
Joseph: It was high up in the campaign, yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes, I think it was his campaign manager. He ah had done some work for Russia, in fact. So you look at you connect the dots, guys. That's all I'm saying. Connect the dots.
Malcolm Guidry: And then you can't help but come away with a sneaking, a really strong suspicion ah that Donald Trump is a Russian asset. So this is uncharted territory. It's horrific.
Malcolm Guidry: And it's something we need to fight against in any way we can. Absolutely.
Joseph: And we need to because look, this is just simple national security. The leader of our country cannot be beholden to another country.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Joseph: I don't care if that country is Liechtenstein.
Malcolm Guidry: Indeed.
Joseph: It has to be a United States first representative. Trump may say America first, but let me tell you, as you've said, what he's done in the past week, what he's done since this administration started has been in no way beneficial to Americans.
Malcolm Guidry: That's right.
Malcolm Guidry: No.
Malcolm Guidry: Not at all.
Joseph: He might be cutting spending through Elon Musk, but what spending is being cut, it's like if you cut your power bill to save money. Sure, you're saving money, but you also have no power now.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. You know, i want to talk a little bit about, OK, Ursula von der Leyen talking about the EU urgently moving to rearm.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: um And Trump, when you think about it, Trump wanting to take us out of NATO. OK, so i did a little research before this, before our podcast. I did some research online just to see what the effects would be if.
Malcolm Guidry: These two things happened. We were taken out of NATO and then Europe were to build up its military, Europe in general. OK, so. you know, a few things that i learned and I jotted down some notes, which are here on my screen, it would end up there would end up being a power vacuum ah because and it would certainly embolden our adversaries.
Malcolm Guidry: Russia, for example, would feel emboldened. And they would want to test European resolve. Okay, you've built up your militaries. They're going to feel threatened by that. So there's going to be some conflict leading to this military buildup.
Malcolm Guidry: I understand Europe wanting to build up its its defenses, but that's why we have military bases. The United States has military bases throughout Europe to defend against former Soviet, now Russian aggression.
Joseph: And to protect our trade interest because we trade a lot with Europe.
Malcolm Guidry: Okay.
Malcolm Guidry: Totally. You're absolutely right. And a lot of people don't think about that. um Also, China could benefit from weakened transatlantic alliances.
Malcolm Guidry: um It could expand its economic influence with and military influence, when you think about it, with fewer constraints.
Joseph: Yeah, and it wants to make inroads into Europe.
Malcolm Guidry: So,
Joseph: China is trying to sell a lot of vehicles there, a lot of equipment.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Joseph: They have a lot of national interests that are trying to open up business a business branches there.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Joseph: And without U.S.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: influence, China is the next biggest partner.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. And let's face it, without the United States being a member of NATO, NATO pretty much becomes irrelevant.
Joseph: Yeah, because the EU already exists.
Malcolm Guidry: ah
Joseph: It's just the same thing.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, that's right. And then when it comes to Europe, without NATO being able to coordinate strategy, um it would be less effective from a security standpoint.
Malcolm Guidry: um And it would be fragmented without NATO. NATO has established this structure which adds to the security, adds to the leadership. There is there are clear definitions that they can follow.
Malcolm Guidry: But without it, it's a whole new world. it's a whole different ballgame. And then there's also the shift in power dynamics globally. um You know, certain security guarantees would no longer be, you could no longer depend on them.
Malcolm Guidry: A multipolar world. And this is something I remember studying when I was an undergraduate a long time ago because my minor was foreign policy. I just find it fascinating. But in a mo multipolar world, there's lots more tension and chance for conflict because you've got these competing interests.
Malcolm Guidry: And this one's going to go on an incursion to invade this country or test the boundaries of this country or that country. And there's just going to be much more instability in a mo ah multipolar world.
Malcolm Guidry: um And then also, when you think about it, the erosion of the U.S.'s soft power. Case in point, U.S. aid. U.S. aid was a great example, is and was a great example of our soft power in diplomacy.
Malcolm Guidry: Hard power is the military. Soft power is is our diplomacy and the things we do to help countries.
Joseph: And be helped in turn because a grateful country is a loyal ally.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct, correct. um This diplomatic soft power helps to reduce um instability and helps to shape global events to our advantage, to the advantage of democracy.
Malcolm Guidry: So, you you know, these are some of the examples of of what would happen if we left NATO, if Europe were to stand on its own, if we devolved into a multipolar society, a multipolar world, and then, you know, military gaps.
Malcolm Guidry: I just can't even begin to imagine the the the danger. So we're in a very a very dangerous, precipitous time.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: ahead.
Joseph: And foreign aid, just to add an aside, it's such a cheap method of international assurance.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: Our annual budget, this is the total amount of money spent, and this is before the Trump cuts.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah
Joseph: It's about 1%, maybe 5% total if you count everything adjacent to foreign aid in terms of spending.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah
Joseph: Our military budget is a good third. And not to say the military budget isn't important, but The military is one tool. Foreign aid is another tool. We'd be fools to only use one tool.
Joseph: And those two tools have why we've had almost 70 years of peace since World War II.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, exactly.
Joseph: It's not been us just sitting idly and letting people be grateful. We've been working every year to maintain that peace, making mistakes sometimes, but overall, all we've not had a World War since.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. And, you know, when it comes, you mentioned our military budget. Our military budget is is just under $900 billion. dollars So it's almost $1 trillion. dollars And we would do just fine if our military budget were half that amount. We'd still be outspending any other nation.
Malcolm Guidry: And many nations combined, um we could, I think what ended up happening, you know, we outspent during Reagan's administration throughout the 80s into the 90s, we outspent Russia, which helped um facilitate and accelerate their collapse, the the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Joseph: Because they just had to try and keep up.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. And they just could not. They didn't have the economy that would enable them to do that.
Joseph: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: So but I think what has happened is, you know, these military contracts, this this huge military budget. One thing I learned. When I was in charge of a but of a small budget in my shop, when I was in the Air Force in Spokane, Washington, one of my responsibilities was dealing with um the the budget for my shop.
Malcolm Guidry: And one thing I was taught is if you don't spend it, you lose it. So you got to spend it. Whatever money that's allotted to you, that's budgeted to us, if we don't spend it, we're going to lose it.
Malcolm Guidry: So spend the money away.
Joseph: And it's much harder to get that money back.
Malcolm Guidry: And it's harder to get it back. So I think what has ended up happening is because of that mindset, ah military our military budget has continued to grow um exorbitantly.
Malcolm Guidry: And economies around the United States have become so dependent on those on you know the military industrial complex, if you want to call it that,
Joseph: Hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: You know, politicians like to bring home the bacon, and that's an important part of being a politician. a politician Politics, all politics is local. You have to remember that if you're going to get into politics.
Malcolm Guidry: No matter what level of politics you get up to until you enter that executive office, You're U.S. senator, you're a congressman. Keep in mind that all politics is local. All decisions that you make, how is it going to affect my constituents back home?
Malcolm Guidry: okay You have to always think that way if you have a desire to stay in office.
Joseph: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: So anyway, the point I was going to make, though, was these these military contracts, the huge military budget that we have, nearly one trillion dollars, um all that bacon that's being brought back home by these politicians to their constituents, to their districts.
Malcolm Guidry: That's hard to reduce, you know, because if you start, you'd be getting rid of jobs.
Joseph: Because you'd be getting rid of jobs.
Malcolm Guidry: So we've really been a monster.
Joseph: I mean, a military, correct me if I'm wrong, a military base, I mean, it ah not only employs the soldiers there, it employs local contractors that might provide services.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Joseph: It funds a lot of shops and services around the military base. There's a lot of soldiers with a lot of money who might want to get and let off some steam.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: And all of that contributes to the economy.
Malcolm Guidry: Absolutely.
Joseph: But that's not the only way. Our infrastructure across the country is crumbling.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: And that needs a lot of investment.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: It also needs a lot of workers. What better way to bring home the bacon, as you put it, than instead of a fifth military base and a landlocked country in the United States that's never going to face a conflict, you bring a work program to fix roads, put power lines underground instead of above ground to make sure they're more resilient in storms.
Malcolm Guidry: Sure.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Yeah.
Joseph: You need people to dig those ditches, to put those lines in.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: You need people to make survey the land. You need a lot of people, and that's a lot of money that's going to come into those communities.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah You know, you look back on on when we were in the Depression during the 1930s, and this current administration is at war with FDR's New Deal.
Malcolm Guidry: They want to dismantle the the government that Franklin Delano Roosevelt created. During the Depression, they think it's no longer needed. Well, that's a pile of shit because part of that is Social Security.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: They want to take down Social Security. They're not saying it explicitly, but they're moving.
Joseph: They're frailing it in terms, entitlements and excessive spending.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, like right.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: See, the government's job is to take care of the people. That is the reason government exists, to take care of the people and the things.
Joseph: And we're the government. It's not this shadowy organization.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, yeah.
Joseph: Your community members join the government. They run for office.
Malcolm Guidry: That's right.
Joseph: They volunteer.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: It's us. It's just who we are.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: It's not this shadowy group that has people coming in from across the country.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: No, it's your neighbors.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. That's right. But yeah, i mean, you look at you look at all the different programs that were established during the 1930s by the Roosevelt administration to help drag the United States out of the Depression. It worked.
Malcolm Guidry: it I mean, we had the, gosh, I can't remember, the Civilian Conservation Corps, We had so many different groups, organizations that were created to put people to work, to improve our our infrastructure.
Joseph: yeah
Joseph: the The Interstate Project by Eisenhower in the 50s, the entire reason we can so easily drive across the country is because of a massive program implemented to better connect our country.
Malcolm Guidry: And.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes. Absolutely.
Joseph: all the ah When you go to the grocery store and you see all the wonderful things we have available,
Malcolm Guidry: And what I.
Malcolm Guidry: Mm hmm.
Joseph: That's from the interstate. That's trucks traveling across the interstate.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: Imagine a world without I-10 or I-50 or any of the I's.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, yeah.
Joseph: How much harder would it be to get from point A to point B? And it cost a lot of money to implement and it employed a lot of people, certainly, but we may have made so much money since that investment.
Malcolm Guidry: It would be social.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: It's an investment and it's paid off.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. look at Look at what Joe Biden established. What was the, he called it Build Back Better. What was the name of the program that he he created where he funded for, i don't know how many billions of dollars, the the
Joseph: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: um strengthening of our infrastructure? I don't know.
Joseph: That was a portion of it. It was passed in, I think, 2022. 2021. Yeah. Yeah. um
Malcolm Guidry: Right. I can't remember the name of it, but that there were there were billions of dollars budgeted.
Joseph: twenty twenty one
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Billions of dollars budgeted for this. Many lots of money has already been sent out to the states. I've noticed changes here in Westchester County, for example, in the New York metro area.
Malcolm Guidry: Roads have begun to look better because I've got to tell you, for a long time, you would see these potholes and bridges all across the country that are so and are beginning to fail that need replacement.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: And we were letting our our infrastructure fail immediately. And my point is why can't we channel some of the money that typically goes to the Department of Defense and channel that to other programs that are in need of of funding?
Joseph: Yeah, instead of defending our country from foreign threats, which we already do, we can defend our country from internal collapse.
Malcolm Guidry: right
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. Correct.
Malcolm Guidry: That's right. That's right.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: So anyway, it's a matter of priorities. It's a matter of political will um and just just making the tough decisions. And that's why we elect these people.
Malcolm Guidry: and We elect them to office to make the tough decisions on our behalf. But I have to say...
Joseph: And if they don't, we have to step up and get them out.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct, correct. And, you know, no political party is perfect. Democrats are not perfect. Republicans are a fucking disaster there.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Right now, the Republican Party is just a a bunch of traitorous ah sycophants to Donald Trump. That's why so many politicians, so many people have left the Republican Party, but they have no other place to go.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: So I'm certainly hoping that we do have an establishment, but it has to happen. And I think I mentioned this in one of the earlier episodes. This has to happen organically from the ground up.
Malcolm Guidry: You can't just have a new political party established by these former high-ranking Republican officials from the top down.
Joseph: Yeah, it's untrustworthy.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, you can't. So it's got to happen organically from the bottom up um and then start out locally, go state, and then go national. But yeah, it's
Joseph: And it's got to represent what you want because there have got to be many people out there who are listening to this and they're Republicans and they hate what's happening. They don't want – they want to be the party of Reagan again.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: You can do that. You just have to hold your elected officials accountable, your party leadership accountable. And if they won't listen, you leave and start on your own.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Right.
Joseph: I know we're a two-party system, but the Whigs used to be an incredibly large political party. They no longer exist.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: We can't change leadership.
Malcolm Guidry: That's right. That's right.
Malcolm Guidry: um I'm actually looking up the number right now because you say, you know, holding leadership accountable. One thing I'm going to do again is mention the phone number to call ah the house.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: and They'll connect you with your Congress person in your district. They'll also connect you to the Senate, to whoever your senator is. The number is 202-224-3121.
Malcolm Guidry: I encourage everybody listening, everybody watching, call that number, call them every day, not just once.
Joseph: Because it works. It works. it's It's a collective effort.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: If everyone does it, we'd be fantastic. But even if 10% of the people do it, we'll still do well because for every phone call they get, they have to imagine if people are that angry to risk to call them, how many more people are also angry enough to not vote a certain way but aren't angry enough to call?
Malcolm Guidry: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Right.
Joseph: it's a You have an outsized influence if you call because they'll think you represent a lot more than just yourself, even if you don't say a thing to that effect.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Exactly.
Joseph: And if you can, go to a town hall nearby too.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. So.
Joseph: ah Make your voice heard. if you're I don't care if you're the deepest blue and their representatives the deepest red, go anyway because your voice still matters. If you're the same party, go anyway.
Malcolm Guidry: That's right.
Joseph: You can still hold people that are on your side accountable if they're going off what you think they should do.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Yeah. So again, it's 202-224-3121. So ah so give them a call. I'm also going to look up um if you're interested in marching, if you're interested in protesting, there are a couple of national organizations that are helping to organize protests and you can reach out to them.
Joseph: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: But just to talk a little more, though, i mean, also another consequence is the geopolitical realignment. That could occur. um There are some European countries that might seek, believe it or not, that might seek closer ties with Russia or China to help fill that security void that's left by the United States.
Malcolm Guidry: We don't want that. Okay. For obvious reasons, we don't want Russia to fill the void. Once we leave, we don't want China. These are authoritarian regimes, so we don't want them anywhere near our allies.
Malcolm Guidry: So that just, I can't even begin to imagine the, uh, the consequences if that were to occur.
Joseph: the consequences to us.
Malcolm Guidry: And then also that's right. Oh my goodness. Of course. And then, you know, new flashpoints for conflicts could could arise you know as a result of these realignments.
Malcolm Guidry: So it's just, and then when you think about the economic and trade disruptions, as Joe mentioned earlier, because of all the trade we we do with Europe, all the all the trade we do with the Far East, if these spheres of influence are allowed to become established, well,
Malcolm Guidry: You know, you can pretty much count you can count on trade being severely disrupted for the worst, not for the best. um We stand to suffer a great deal of disruption, negative disruption.
Malcolm Guidry: Sometimes disruption can be positive. Change can be good as well as bad. But Folks, when you look at at the logic, ah the logical outcomes of what could happen because of what Trump is is trying to do, trying to accomplish, it's not good at all.
Malcolm Guidry: So, ah Joe, let's talk a little bit about Curtis Yarvin.
Joseph: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: tell us Tell us why you feel a discussion about Curtis Yarvin is important.
Joseph: So Curtis Yarvin, I'll get into his specifics right now, but the reason why we bring it up in this episode as it relates to the current situation that stemmed from the Oval Office to the Trump administration as a whole because Curtis Yarvin is an individual who has a philosophy that is very influential among powerful people such as Peter Thiel, who is – I believe he's the either current or former owner of PayPal. He's a fountain he's the founder of PayPal, a very wealthy businessman who was essentially the mentor to J.D. Vance.
Joseph: And to this day, they still have a strong relationship. Elon Musk is also someone who embodies ideals expressed by Curtis Yarvin. He has not publicly stated to support Yarvin's ideals or reject them, but you can see a lot of similarity.
Joseph: And these are just the two people that you can see the most obvious connections to. Now, getting into who Curtis Yarvin is, he is a thinker, a modern-day thinker of philphios ah philosophy that goes against the democratic and sort of liberal consensus that is popular in most other spheres of influence.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: um He was also known by the name Mencius Moldbug, which he used to write on his blog in the early 2000s.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah
Joseph: And his blog was called Unqualified Reservations. He presented ideas that At the time, he didn't give an official name to, but these ideas were centered around the idea that democracy, the liberal sphere of politics, weren't inherently good, that they were just merely one perspective and they could be harmful and lately have been harmful.
Joseph: And his idea was that we should follow a different perspective. We should have a different system. He looks to corporations which are centered around efficiency, growth, and success.
Joseph: And the word he gave to this idea of running states like a corporation is neocameralism. And it's essentially a new government.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct, right.
Joseph: That's what ah his theory is, where the CEO is the leader and they are – like a king in many ways they could be theoretically replaced but they have the power of a king certainly these beliefs of his have been more recently codified into a general um philosophy and worldview called the dark enlightenment which is a counterpart to the enlightenment era of recent history where freedom of thought
Malcolm Guidry: right
Joseph: And liberal expression was considered the highest ideal. This is the opposite, where efficiency, power, and wealth earned through these two traits are what matter.
Joseph: And everything else takes a smack seat to that.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Yeah. um Do you know anything about his his view of the cathedral? Have you heard him talk about the cathedral or or read anything about that?
Joseph: Yes. His idea is that the cathedral refers to, I'm sure we're all familiar with the phrasing of the ivory tower, the high-minded intellectuals that sit far apart from the world in their tall ivory tower. And the cathedral represents that mixed with government.
Joseph: The idea that elites and what those of wealth and influence are all connected and they shape the government.
Malcolm Guidry: Academia.
Joseph: They shape public perception.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: to society's detriment because they are not really connected to it.
Malcolm Guidry: Right, right. So he what he wants to do essentially is tear down the influence of academia, higher ed, universities, and mass media, you know Washington Post, New York Times, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, all these members of his cathedral, because he feels that they've negatively influenced ah society.
Joseph: they've stymied progress, they've steered us away from advancing as a society, they've made us comfortable, but not successful. That's his view, essentially.
Malcolm Guidry: You know, I'd like to know what this guy, what are his what are his qualifications for being considered or considering himself to be this this intellectual philosopher?
Malcolm Guidry: I mean, what do you know anything about his his background, where he was born and raised, where he went to school, anything like that?
Joseph: ah I think he has a background in technology. I think he works as a programmer for a period of time. I could be wrong on that.
Malcolm Guidry: Mm-hmm.
Joseph: If I am, I'll post a clarification in the show notes. But he, as far as I can tell, is well read. He is and intelligent man, certainly. And there is something to be said about philosophy coming from all perspectives, not just those of intelligence, you know,
Joseph: the great famous Greek philosophers had to create their schools of thought, but that doesn't mean they're all created equal. ah You can be a philosopher and have crackpot ideas that make little grounding in reality.
Malcolm Guidry: right
Joseph: And ultimately, I'm the only difference between crackpot ideals and genuinely held beliefs are how many people you can convince that your ideas are worth believing.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: And
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, because unfortunately some people are, you know, they're more susceptible to, you know, people like this who put forth.
Joseph: who speak with authority, they speak with charisma and that's really it.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. Correct.
Joseph: Charisma sways many people and authority even more.
Malcolm Guidry: That's why it's so important to think critically and to ask yourself, does this sound right? And why do I think it sounds right? you know And try to keep emotion out of your intellect, which can be hard, I admit.
Malcolm Guidry: i can I can be very emotional when it comes to Donald Trump because he offends me so much with what he's doing to our country and the divisiveness that he's brought forth.
Malcolm Guidry: You know leaders are supposed to bring people together, not tear them apart. And he's he's, you know, but when you look at it from an intelligent, rational perspective, you see that what Trump and the authors of 2025 and Trump's supporters, it's just it's a recipe for disaster for this country.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Yeah, it's it's very interesting that Yarvin's beliefs, philosophy have gained traction among a lot of right wing intellectuals, a large, not a large, but with some Silicon Valley intellectuals.
Malcolm Guidry: figures, if you will. um He's come forth with this idea of dark enlightenment. Tell us a little bit about what dark enlightenment is, as according to Curtis Yarvin.
Joseph: Well, the dark enlightenment is Curtis Yarvin's beliefs pretty much encapsulated into one whole and then some. It's not just Yarvin. It's Yarvin and people like Nick Land who have further codified these ideals into a cohesive philosophy.
Malcolm Guidry: Why is it called bark enlightenment?
Joseph: And well, it's not the enlightenment of old. It is its counterpart.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: It's its inversion.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Oh,
Joseph: It's a complete philosophical shift and it is sorry, I had just drag dropped something on the floor right now.
Joseph: I'm trying to make sure it is still, yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: who cares? the perfect right
Joseph: Apologies.
Malcolm Guidry: You know, are are coming our founding fathers were were strongly influenced by the Enlightenment, the the intellectual Enlightenment that took place in Europe, I want to say between, what was it during the 1600s and 1700s?
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah,
Joseph: That sounds about right, yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah Voltaire, and name some of the other philosophers that were large ah figures in the Enlightenment at that time, Joe.
Joseph: I believe John Locke is one that comes to mind.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: ah Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Kant, David Hume.
Malcolm Guidry: That's right. Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Mm-hmm.
Joseph: I mean, every philosopher you think of off the top of your head that isn't a Greek philosopher is probably from the Enlightenment era because it was this explosion of three free thought that was encouraged and was never really possible because of government to influence previously.
Malcolm Guidry: Mm-hmm. Right.
Joseph: So all of these people were finally free to follow their thoughts to wherever they went.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Yeah. So, um you know, when you think about our country, the founding of the United States, people who were living in England, in Europe, wanting freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of freedom of religion to begin with.
Malcolm Guidry: ah The Enlightenment was this intellectual movement. and philosophical movement that took place. It dominated Europe um during the 18th century, which is the 1700s, from the late 1600s through the 1700s,
Malcolm Guidry: advocating reason, intellect, thinking, skepticism, ah thinking critically, which is something that
Joseph: And such a variety of ideas, too. it wasn't one person from their ivory tower espousing these beliefs. It was several people. John Locke and Hobbes, they are almost diametrically opposed in beliefs, but they were both out there.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: that right
Joseph: They argued with each other, or at least if they didn't personally do it, their supporters certainly did. And it's through that discourse and debate that ultimately a general consensus arose, not in any codified sense, but the ideas that generally arose as the most sensible ones were what people adopted, such as the founders of the United States.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah
Joseph: They certainly were versed in these, at the time, contemporary beliefs, as well as those of the classical era.
Malcolm Guidry: right
Joseph: But the Age of Enlightenment essentially is the foundation of our modern world.
Malcolm Guidry: and Absolutely.
Joseph: And I understand the Dark Enlightenment is named perfectly, is perfectly suited to rejecting that because it rejects the entire premise of freedom of expression and freedom of thought.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Which is absurd, because what and and the reason that is absurd, dark enlightenment is diametrically opposed to the enlightenment. It wants to take us back. Dark enlightenment advocates authoritarianism.
Malcolm Guidry: It advocates ignorance. It advocates a submission to... ah Those who know best. It's very pro-fascism because fascism has fascism believes that there are certain people in society who are smarter and better and more deserving than others.
Malcolm Guidry: That's what fascism is. That is what this dark enlightenment philosophy advocated by Curtis Yarvin is about.
Joseph: And
Joseph: and
Malcolm Guidry: We don't want to go back in time to the time before the enlightenment when the world was dominated by kings and queens and you had serfs and slaves.
Malcolm Guidry: We're not going back.
Joseph: And we don't want to go back to that because in a hierarchical society, you don't necessarily end up at the top. A lot of us think we might, but Curtis Yarvin in particular advocates a rather gruesome alternative for those at the bottom of society.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct.
Joseph: In a post he originally made on his blog in 2008, he presented, first off, he framed nonproductive members of society.
Joseph: That's anyone who can't earn a living, who isn't wanted by anyone else, you know, people who in our current society might live off of welfare and of charity because they can't support themselves.
Joseph: He first makes a joke that we turn them all into biodiesel to fuel buses. And he says, okay, just kidding. His serious solution, it's callous, but his serious solution is, and I quote, a humane alternative to genocide.
Malcolm Guidry: It's a very crude joke.
Joseph: which is to take those who cannot support themselves, put them in permanent solitary confinement in a cell that cannot be opened, and then provide a virtual reality experience that allows them to live a fulfilling life in this cell, in this pod, and that they will never be seen by society.
Malcolm Guidry: My God.
Joseph: They will have no influence. They will live, grow old, and die in their cube while they live in a virtual world.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: That's his humane alternative.
Malcolm Guidry: ah Right. Right. I think that's something that.
Joseph: Now, even if that's seriously implemented, which would cost an inordinate amount of money, take up in an inordinate amount of space, it's still horrific.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: It is.
Joseph: But as we've seen a lot with philosophers like this and those who push ideologies like this, they'll try and present something more appealing to get close to the idea. And then when we're already close to the idea, why not go a little further?
Malcolm Guidry: You know, Elon Musk wants to terraform and populate, settle on Mars.
Joseph: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: You could just imagine the kind of of government Mars would have if he were able to populate, settle Mars. What type of people he would want to send to Mars, I can guarantee you, wouldn't be people of color, wouldn't be people below a certain income strata.
Malcolm Guidry: um It would be probably an elitist, um very, very much a dark enlightenment sort of environment.
Joseph: And they'd all be beholden to him, because even if they were of his preferred class, if you were to displease the Grand Emperor of Mars, he'll just throw you out the airlock.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Right.
Joseph: you're You're beholden to him and his beliefs.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Exactly.
Joseph: And even if he is the most benevolent of dictators, what happens after he dies?
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: Or what happens if his uploaded eternal consciousness gets corrupted down the road? The future is unknown, and you can't ever trust in the will of one person to be just and good, because that person will change or they will not be the same person eventually.
Malcolm Guidry: No.
Malcolm Guidry: Never.
Malcolm Guidry: Human beings are fallible. There is no perfect human being.
Joseph: That's why we spend so much time coming up with systems of government to be in the way of humanity, because...
Malcolm Guidry: You know, but that's exactly why our founders established our democracy and why democracy, our democracy moves slowly.
Malcolm Guidry: There are reasons why it's designed the way it is.
Joseph: They spent a long time debating this. when I say debating, I mean they probably got into fistfights over it. they were Remember, that our founders were very young men who were revolutionaries. They were not men of just words and no action.
Joseph: And some of them vehemently disagreed with one another.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Can you imagine if we were to be able to have a dinner party today? And if you could invite anyone from history, if you could bring them back in time to the modern day and and have a dinner party, inviting people like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, Franklin, I'm sorry, Benjamin Franklin, as well as
Joseph: I would probably pick Benjamin Franklin if I had to pick one, but yes, as many as possible because to first off, to hear them in their own words, in their own casual words, speak, and then to show them what their experiment has become, the good and the bad.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Joseph: I think they would be overjoyed to see how – not just how powerful the US has become, but how much good it did with that power over the years.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. And we have done a lot of
Joseph: They would likely be, a lot of them would likely be happy to see that we worked through the whole slavery issue, more or less. Some may not be as happy, but then they'd see where we're currently at.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Joseph: And I think one of their first questions would be after seeing about 20 minutes of our current president, why,
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Joseph: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: why haven't Why haven't we revolted? Why haven't we dragged him out of the White House by the scruff of his neck and tarred and feathered him?
Joseph: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: Yes, we're a young country.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: ah Just a few generations ago, we rebelled against the king and started our own country.
Malcolm Guidry: yeah That's right.
Joseph: 250 years is not a long time of the national states. That's why we're mocked as a young, impetuous country.
Malcolm Guidry: Okay. Correct. Correct. And I'm hoping you mentioned that and I'm hoping that we're what we're going through are growing pains um and that we emerge on the other side stronger and better.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: That is my belief. I am an optimist. I do feel that we will emerge from this ah in a better state than we currently are, but it's going to take some time and it could get worse before it gets better.
Joseph: I think you're right.
Malcolm Guidry: But...
Joseph: i think we will emerge. I am.
Malcolm Guidry: But we have to work at it. We can't just talk about it.
Joseph: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: We've got to do the work because if we don't do the work, if we don't pester our elected officials, if we don't demand ah democracy and justice, ah we won't get it
Joseph: And those who are influenced by people with terrible ideas, such as Curtis Yarvin, will maintain power and work to implement that system. And it won't be good for any of us.
Malcolm Guidry: And, you know, it's a free country. Curtis Yarvin has the right to have those beliefs.
Joseph: Yeah. I want him to be free and able to speak his lunacy as much as possible.
Malcolm Guidry: But.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, yeah.
Joseph: I just want everyone to be intelligent enough to make their own decisions on if it's worth listening to or not.
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. And his rights in where my nose begins.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: But, you know, talking about the Enlightenment, though, I mean, everything that it brought to us, everything that it brought to our founding fathers ah is what they they used in drafting the Constitution, drafting the Declaration of Independence, um you know individual rights and liberties, which everyone wants, um the push for the separation the per ah push for the separation of church and state.
Joseph: mm-hmm
Joseph: it was practically new I mean yes
Malcolm Guidry: and And questioning religious authority. ah There should be no one religion that's above any others.
Joseph: yes
Malcolm Guidry: um I can just imagine, I can just see this administration, the Trump administration, establishing Christianity as the official religion of the United States.
Joseph: They're working on it. They've already established an office of faith, and which just the very concept of a government office of faith is antithetical to the spirit of separation of church and state.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Yes.
Malcolm Guidry: Absolutely. Absolutely. He's already, um I believe he signed an executive order making, English, the official language of the United States.
Joseph: That is true, yes.
Malcolm Guidry: We've never done that before.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: I mean,
Joseph: And there's no need. We already all speak English, and there's a small section of people who don't.
Malcolm Guidry: correct.
Joseph: They'll eventually learn it because if you live in a country, you're going to learn the language.
Malcolm Guidry: Let me tell you what happened. Let's talk about something for a minute. Um, being from South Louisiana, being Cajun, French Acadian.
Joseph: hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: In South Louisiana, it's called Cajun.
Joseph: Yeah. Mm
Malcolm Guidry: ah My ancestors came over the ocean from France to Canada and settled in Canada.
Joseph: hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: They weren't allowed to practice their religion. They had to swear allegiance to the king, quaint King George, King George III at the time, they refused to do that.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: So they were kicked out of of Canada, out of Nova Scotia. And they came south to the United States. Some settled in Maine, some settled along the northern portion of the United States, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Malcolm Guidry: A good portion, a good majority of them came down to Louisiana, settled ah particularly in South Louisiana, which is where we're from.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: And ah they wanted to practice their Catholicism. They wanted to speak their language. Now, my parents, being born in 1921 and 1922, my father in 21, my mother in 22, grew up during a time when children were being forced to speak English.
Malcolm Guidry: They were being punished, corporal punishment, paddled. so hit with rulers if they spoke French in class because they were being forced to learn English. Now, of course, I appreciate and understand the need to know how to speak English.
Joseph: Yeah, you need to be able to have a common shared language, but not the only language.
Malcolm Guidry: It is absolutely important. Right. Correct. And that's a reason why. And it stems from that ah belief in stifling the French language, forcefully stifling the French language.
Malcolm Guidry: That's a big part part of the reason why we've lost our ability in South Louisiana to speak French. I don't speak French because my parents.
Joseph: yeah I don't either yeah
Malcolm Guidry: Right. ah My parents grew up in that environment. They would go home. They would speak French, but they didn't want their children to learn how to speak French. because it had been ingrained within them that it was something embarrassing.
Malcolm Guidry: And so the French language in South Louisiana is dying. And that's a damn shame because when you lose your language, you lose your culture. And we're slowly losing our culture.
Malcolm Guidry: um A culture that I have a great deal of admiration for is the Puerto Rican culture. And it's because of my wife, Sadia, who is Puerto Rican. She was born in New York, but she's Puerto Rican first, last, always.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: She's proud of her.
Joseph: It's our culture. Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Absolutely. like And they will never, ah they will, you know, we talk about it sometimes how, you know, yeah Puerto Rico should become a state. It is a territory.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: It's, it's this limbo, mode because it's not a state, it's a territory, there are certain rights. I don't believe they can vote for president and and in Puerto Rico.
Joseph: I don't think so. I think they get a representative, but they can't vote.
Malcolm Guidry: and
Joseph: They're just present.
Malcolm Guidry: It's that's all it is. So I would certainly be happy happy if Puerto Rico were to become a state. But a major sticking point to them ever becoming a state is they will maintain, they will refuse giving up their language.
Malcolm Guidry: They speak Spanish. They will continue to speak Spanish no matter what, because that is, they understand if you lose your language, you lose your culture.
Joseph: Yeah. And they can certainly learn English.
Malcolm Guidry: So...
Joseph: I'm sure they'd love to promote having English lessons.
Malcolm Guidry: Most of them speak English.
Joseph: That's true.
Malcolm Guidry: Most of them in Puerto Rico speak it.
Joseph: There you go.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. So it's not a matter of of learning English.
Joseph: yeah
Joseph: and And it's not even a novel concept. Europe's handled the idea of a multilingual society expertly.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, that's right.
Joseph: you The Danes can speak flawless English one second and then flawless any other language they know.
Malcolm Guidry: Sure.
Joseph: It's not hard to learn multiple languages if you start young.
Malcolm Guidry: Listen, when I was in...
Malcolm Guidry: Correct. When I was in England, stationed in England at ah RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk County, just outside of Ipswich, a place that's very dear to my heart.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: um But I remember attending classes on base ah at with the University of Maryland. University of Maryland would would provide college courses on base.
Malcolm Guidry: And we had not only military members We also had civilian employees working for the Department of Defense attending classes. We also had spouses of ah military members and these civilian folks who were able to attend classes. And I remember this one ah this one woman, she was Belgian, but she she spoke she spoke English, French, and Dutch.
Malcolm Guidry: Three languages.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Here in the United States, the majority of us, the vast majority of us speak one. I wish I could speak more than one language. I should be able to speak French.
Joseph: yeah
Malcolm Guidry: I'm im i trying to learn Spanish off and on. I get frustrated with it. it But, you know, um anyway, it's it's just it.
Malcolm Guidry: I admire people who can speak more than one language and do it proficiently.
Joseph: And it's it's great for expanding your horizons because there's so many more books you can read, shows you can watch, music you can understand.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah, yeah, yes, yeah.
Joseph: It changes your perception on communication itself because suddenly you have to think the same concept can have multiple words. I mean, it's it's a wonderful way to increase your mental ability in general because in the process of learning that language, you find so many new ways to look at the world.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: and you know that's You're right, and and that's something else that that makes me think of the Enlightenment.
Joseph: Mm-hmm.
Malcolm Guidry: ah the The Enlightenment being yeah the philosophers that developed the Enlightenment. it was One of the things they advocated was social progress.
Malcolm Guidry: um The potential for human advancement through reason and education, improving society through education, through reason and and growing, allowing people to grow.
Malcolm Guidry: and become better and improving society as a whole.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: And then, of course, there's scientific progress. All of this is because of the Enlightenment and this dark Enlightenment bullshit that Curtis Yarvin advocates that J.D.
Malcolm Guidry: Vance is is a an advocate of, that Peter Thiel, who is another fellow South African, just like Elon Musk, a racist, a bigot,
Joseph: A beneficiary of apartheid, certainly.
Malcolm Guidry: And a beneficiary of apartheid. And by the way, a gay man, which I find very ironic. But anyway, yeah. I mean, they advocate this dark enlightenment. No, we're not going back.
Malcolm Guidry: We're not going back. So anyway, um yeah, ah these are things that we wanted to talk about today. We've been doing this for what now? About over over an hour. I don't know. Yeah.
Joseph: Yes, ah Simone usually helps rein us in from going on too long about politics.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: As you can see, that's a very important role.
Malcolm Guidry: oh
Malcolm Guidry: a Yeah, but we just, we had so much we wanted to talk about, especially since the fiasco in the Oval Office Friday. We
Joseph: Which we're going to see the repercussions of over the coming months.
Malcolm Guidry: we won't.
Joseph: It may seem like a small thing, but you have to remember, this is not me saying that World War III is going to start, but World War I started because of an assassination attempt.
Malcolm Guidry: We won't.
Joseph: That was successful. That was it. And it's spiraled out from there.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Right.
Joseph: This could very well lead to, ah as you said, a geopolitical realignment, an independent EU from NATO, the rise of China as a true global superpower, not just regional, and so many other things, because now countries know they can't trust us.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Right.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah.
Joseph: you know we Quite frankly, we're no longer the leaders of the free world. i I'd say that's Ukraine.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Can you imagine? I just, yeah, that's a good point. i I can't imagine, i never thought I would see it in my lifetime. Never expected this, but things have happened so quickly since 2016, since Donald Trump ah walked his fat ass down that that escalator.
Joseph: Freaking escalator, yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: And it's just gotten worse and worse. I will say this though, and I say this to All people out there, if you're watching and you still support Donald Trump, we have you to thank for all this.
Malcolm Guidry: And if you are any of my family members, you're watching this and you still support Donald Trump, please stop.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: Please stop.
Joseph: Please stop because while you may be to blame for this, you're also the only people that can fix this. We need your support, us who do not like Trump, who do not support Trump.
Malcolm Guidry: Yeah. Yeah.
Joseph: We don't have enough numbers to do to speak for the whole country by ourselves. But if those of you who don't like what's happened after your vote speak with us, then we have a majority. We have a huge majority.
Malcolm Guidry: Right. Yeah. Yeah. If you care for.
Joseph: You got lied to. Every Trump supporter who voted for Trump, you were lied to.
Malcolm Guidry: They were lied to. They were absolutely lied to.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: They were duped. And that shouldn't happen.
Joseph: That's not not any way to treat any any Americans.
Malcolm Guidry: But anyway. No, I think this is a good place to end it.
Joseph: Yeah.
Malcolm Guidry: um So anyway, that's it, folks. um And we thank you very much for watching, for listening. And if you like what you've heard, give us a thumbs up.
Malcolm Guidry: Share the podcast um and subscribe if you haven't already. Again, we're grateful for your your attention and long live democracy, please.
Joseph: Absolutely. Wherever it may be.
Malcolm Guidry: All right, Joe. Thanks, dude.
Joseph: Yeah, absolutely.
Malcolm Guidry: Great to see you. I'm glad to have you on this.
Joseph: Anytime.
Malcolm Guidry: All right. See folks. Take care.
Joseph: real
