The real problem here is: We used to look for honesty. That's what we were looking for. Honesty.
Strength in leadership was way back. Honesty. Then somebody who shared my values. That's what we were looking for.
Now we're looking for strength. Be careful on what you wish for, strength doesn't come from a president or the Oval Office. Strength comes from its people. Strength comes from the character of a country's people.
A president could launch a war, but it's the people that are going to win it. A president could do something that would cause just economic chaos, a president could destroy what was the greatest health care system in the world. But a president nor Congress can fix it again.
It's going to have to come from the people. What we decide to do with our day every day.
That's what's going to save our families. That's what we get up to do every single day.
There's a phrase that I read when I was, oh, in my 30s and I was sobering up and I was trying to find answers. And it was, 'that which you gaze upon, you shall become.' What are we gazing upon? What are we spending all of our time and our energy on?
I was a bad dad last night. I think I'm at the top of my stress level and I'm so tired when I get home. I've been getting home at about seven or 8 o'clock at night and my kids need my attention. And my wife needs attention.
And I put my hand on the doorknob, and I think, "All I want to do is go to bed." I am so tired. And my family wants my attention and needs my attention. And what makes it, I guess, better, but in some ways worse, that's all I want to do is give them my attention. I just want the energy to be able to give them my full attention and to be with them.
My son, his voice changed this summer. I just thought like eight months ago, he had the perfect Charlie Brown voice. He always has. He sounds like Charlie Brown, or used to. And I wanted to record him reading some Charlie Brown. And I just thought of it this spring. And I thought, "I've got to do it before his voice changes."
His voice changed.
This is my first son. That has thrown me for a loop. It's not -- it's like he's changed. It's not like talking to my son anymore. My little boy anymore.
I don't want to miss anymore of their childhood. Last night, I came home. We were so tired. I tried to do what little I could with everything. And then everybody was like, "Brush your teeth. Do this. Do that."
"I'm not going to argue with you anymore. Get up to bed."
And I just couldn't take it. And I snapped.
Is this really what we're spending our time on? What little time we have, we're arguing. Get your ass upstairs and brush your damn teeth, or I'll take the braces off of your teeth myself.
You've been sick all day. Your mother has asked you to go to bed. Get your ass in bed.
What little time we have, we're spending it arguing with each other. I'll bet you that's happening in your family as well. And it's happening in our family -- our country. Instead of doing something great, instead of doing something worthwhile, instead of building something that makes people stand back and go, damn, look at those people, we're wasting all of our time arguing with each other.
You want to talk about North Korea. Good, then let's talk about North Korea. Let's talk about the millions that could die and the -- and the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, that are being tortured. And definitely, the millions that are being starved to death. And we've not cared.
What have we done about it? Nothing. And now we -- now we're all so damn convinced that it's time to go to war. Why? Why? Why?
Because the press has decided we have to pick this up now? Because the president has said something and we can't go back on his word, we can't look weak? I don't care how we look anymore. Can we do the right thing for once? Can we do the right thing because it is the right thing? Not because we have to.
But we're never going to get there, until those who know they have to brush their teeth. Go upstairs and brush their freaking teeth. And those who have got to put the video game down because you're not supposed to be playing video games at this time. Put the damn video game down. And we stop wasting what little time we have arguing and we actually come together and try to do something positive with our time.
