Sept. 10, 2025
Combat Veteran Insight: Finding Purpose in a Divided Nation
Shoot me a message! A combat veteran shares his perspective on America's growing political division and makes an impassioned plea for unity following recent political violence. Drawing from military experience and personal sacrifice, he argues that service to others provides meaning in life while highlighting the dangers of forming opinions solely from social media. • Growing up as a military dependent with frequent moves and family challenges shaped his perspective on service • Joined the A...
A combat veteran shares his perspective on America's growing political division and makes an impassioned plea for unity following recent political violence. Drawing from military experience and personal sacrifice, he argues that service to others provides meaning in life while highlighting the dangers of forming opinions solely from social media.
• Growing up as a military dependent with frequent moves and family challenges shaped his perspective on service
• Joined the Army National Guard at 18, later commissioning as an officer during wartime
• Combat experience in Iraq provided perspective on real suffering compared to American complaints
• People with limited real-world experience often form strong opinions based solely on social media
• Being "uninvited to the table" by family and friends over political differences is damaging America
• Material success and wealth don't provide inner fulfillment without purpose
• The Bronze Star medal he earned belongs to his entire platoon – achievements are rarely individual
• Having seen war-torn countries provides perspective on America's relative prosperity
• Time is precious – a cord from an IED he narrowly survived serves as a daily reminder
• Americans need to invite estranged family members back to the Thanksgiving table
Check out Act Now Education, a non-profit helping military members transition to civilian life through certifications, coaching, and mentorship. We're working to reduce the "22 a day" veteran suicide rate by providing a softer landing spot for those leaving service.
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Episode Powered By Act Now Education
01:53 - A Life of Service Introduction
06:33 - Military Experience and Personal Sacrifice
11:40 - America's Division Problem
16:06 - Real Experience vs. Social Media Knowledge
20:32 - Finding Purpose Beyond Material Wealth
23:56 - Call for National Healing and Unity
27:07 - Final Thoughts and Act Now Education
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Warriors fall in it's time for formation.
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So today I'm in a lot of shock with what which I feel like is the final straw for what we've become.
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I want to acknowledge and give a prayer to the family of Charlie Kirk who, whether you agreed with what he had to say or not, did not deserve to be murdered in front of his followers, in front of his family.
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America is not built on these ideologies that have come up in the last few years.
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As a veteran myself, as a combat veteran myself, I can tell you that there are times where I have been uninvited to the dinner table by friends and by family.
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Because of my own beliefs, because I have different experiences.
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I am part of the less than 6% that serve this country.
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Even less than 6% served during a time of war.
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I chose to serve because I was raised to understand that a life of service is a life worth living.
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My dad spent 20 years in the army and me being a military dependent, I endured the life of a military brat, a military dependent, which wasn't easy.
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Every four years you move um.
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You know, if you're a family like I was, we had domestic issues um that we had to overcome.
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I had to overcome.
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My dad was drafted in 71, end up spending 20 years in the us army, and I grew up with him being my hero.
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A lot of my family looked at my dad as a hero because of his sacrifice to be in the military, to live that life, to not always choose where you want to reside, to not always choose what school you want to put your kids in.
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It wasn't an easy life at all.
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Being in the military and being a family in the military is not easy.
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It's tough, it's really tough.
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You are forced to meet new friends.
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You're forced to meet new people and that's how I grew up.
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I grew up attending so many different schools and my parents unfortunately did not have a good marriage For 13 years.
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I grew up in a domestically violent situation and I was forced to live in places I didn't want to live.
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I lived in a women's shelter, which was completely embarrassing, but it was humbling at the same time and it caused me to look at life in perspective and to hope that someday that I could also serve this country and that maybe I could make things better.
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I joined the military at 18 years old, army National Guard enlisted, because my father wanted me to get an education.
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He didn't want me to go active duty, so I followed his wishes and I did just that.
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Upon getting my undergraduate degree, I wanted to take it a step further.
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At the time, iraq and Afghanistan were going on and I wanted to do more, so I chose to commission in the United States Army, which, during a time of war, wasn't easy.
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I know a lot of men who chose not to go into the military during a time of war, given everyone has different circumstances and their own reasons.
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I thought that serving in the military and living a life of service would get me closer to making people proud of me.
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And maybe I did it for all the wrong reasons.
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I don't know.
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I really don't know at this point.
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For all the wrong reasons, I don't know.
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I really don't know at this point, um, but I can tell you that it's hard for me to stand by and every day have to see what I'm seeing, whether it's on social media or it's dealing in real life with family, um, and I can tell you I know.
00:05:07.035 --> 00:05:16.665
Or it's dealing in real life with family, and I can tell you I know what it's like to be uninvited, to be different when I came back from Iraq.
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I'll never forget.
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I sat across the table from my sister's then-husband and he proceeded to tell me about what was going on in Iraq, even though my boots were still dirty from being there.
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And in 2007, I knew, I knew back then.
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I knew this is how it's going to be for the rest of your life, kid.
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I knew back then.
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I knew this is how it's going to be for the rest of your life, kid.
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I knew that I was going to have to listen to people with strong opinions about things they know nothing about, because they sat back here in the safety of America and they watched the news.
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I knew back then that people, that people, were going to be limited to the size of their TV sets.
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But now, now we're limited to the size of our phones because a lot of you don't know much more than what's the size, whatever the size this phone is.
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This is how you draw your opinions on things right.
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I'm a very moderate person, very reasonable, but what I will not ever stand on is accepting the killing of someone simply because they have a different opinion than you.
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You don't have to like it, you don't have to like it.
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You don't have to like it.
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That's fine.
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That's the beauty about America is that we're all different.
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But I'm here to tell you right now, in my experience, my real world experience, because I can tell you right now, all these coins that are behind me right here, I put those there for a reason.
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It's not for decoration, it's because every single one of those coins that I have behind me right here, I put those there for a reason.
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It's not for decoration, it's because every single one of those coins that I have behind me represents a partnership that I had with another agency, another branch of the military at some point in my life, because we wanted to make the lives of others better.
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We cared about our community and I started this platform almost four years ago now because I wanted to give a voice to the voiceless.
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Most men that I know that have lived real lives don't have to show you what kind of car they're driving.
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They don't have to show you the fancy watch on their wrist, but what they do have is they have relics like this Real world relics.
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I earned a bronze star.
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This is the bronze star that I earned in Iraq.
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This is the bronze star that was pinned on my chest and I don't even talk about it.
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It's because I don't need to.
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I don't need to walk around wearing those kind of things, because the reality is I didn't earn this.
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I didn't earn this.
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My platoon and everyone that served with me earned this.
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This isn't mine.
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I could have never done it alone.
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I could have never done it alone.
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I could have never done it alone.
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I live every day listening to the opinions of people that don't care about what my experiences are.
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They don't care because they got this.
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They have a phone that has social media on it and it tells them everything they need to know, that has social media on it and it tells them everything they need to know.
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And I'm sure that I speak on behalf of first responders and our military veterans out there when I say what I'm saying right now, and I'm sick and tired of us being so divided.
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By no means do I want to turn this platform into a political platform.
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I don't, because I'm a very moderate person.
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I get accused of being both liberal and conservative all the time, and it's not that I'm liberal or conservative.
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It's about the issues that I care about.
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It's about my values.
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I don't care about parties and I don't care about sides and I don't care about politicians, because politicians, the only thing that politicians have in common is money.
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That's it.
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Americans are in this together.
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We have to drive to the gas station, we have to go to the grocery stores, we have to live in our communities and it's time for people to stop being so divided on all these issues.
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And another thing if you're young but you have access to social media, it doesn't mean that you know shit.
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It doesn't.
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There was a time when I was growing up where experience mattered.
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It doesn't mean that you know shit.
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It doesn't.
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There was a time when I was growing up where experience mattered.
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And if you pay attention, some of you guys are really into professional sports.
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Look at how professional sports players are.
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Look at the NBA.
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Look at how Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan and some of these old school guys are versus the new school guys.
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Some of the new school guys think they know everything about life and they don't know jack shit.
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Some of you guys that have never really left your own towns need to sit back and just absorb life.
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Absorb life just a little bit and start humbling yourselves to understand that you don't know shit about shit.
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You know nothing, because there was a time where I had to tell myself that as a young Lieutenant in Iraq, I didn't know anything, but fortunately, I had NCOs.
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I had NCOs that had 15 plus years experience under their belts and they knew more about life than I did.
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My job as a lieutenant in Iraq was to remove obstacles.
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My job was to try to save lives by supporting.
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That's my experience, that's my leadership experience, and I've sat back for all these years with the platform that I have not saying anything, listened to and have grown from all these conversations that I've had over the last few years, man, and that's why I do it.
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That's why I do it.
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I want to give a voice to some of the voiceless people.
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I want to put a mic in front of people that actually have perspective and have real life experience.
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Today was just a straw that is breaking the camel's back for me, like this is.
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This is ridiculous, this is not what america stands for.
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And then I go in on some of these social media profiles and I see people making comments about oh well, you know, negative, negative, negative, negative actually confirming that they agree with what happened.
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What is wrong with you?
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What is fucking wrong with you?
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Why do you think that taking another person's life because they disagree with you or you don't agree with them, or whatever the case is, is okay?
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This is not a third world country.
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This is the United States of America, and if you want that shit, there are other countries for you to go to where you can get that kind of shit, but it's not America, it's not here.
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We all have a right To voice our opinions.
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We all have a right To live how we want to live.
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Some of you are privileged and you don't even realize it.
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Some of you have pools in your backyard and you have all these nice things and yet you complain about how shitty our country is.
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What is wrong with you?
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What is wrong with you?
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What makes you think that you're living such a terrible life here?
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And I'm a man of action.
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So, at the end of the day, if you feel that way, then put your words into action and go live somewhere else.
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Go live somewhere else and show us how it's done.
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Show us how great it is somewhere else, because the last time I checked, what we have here is not that bad.
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I've been to war-torn countries and I've looked into the eyes of children who are really suffering.
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You in America, you're not one of them at all.
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You're not.
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The message for my podcast is this A life of service is a life worth living.
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A life of service is a life worth living.
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You want the proof?
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Look at all these rich Hollywood actors.
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All these rich people right what happens to them?
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They make all this money and then inside, inside, there's something missing.
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There's something missing inside, so they're not whole.
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Maybe they haven't found religion, maybe they feel like I've just been doing this for the almighty dollar.
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I can point to a lot of different celebrities and and tell you that they're empty inside because they've been doing things for entertainment purposes, not things that fill their souls and enrich their souls.
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And I once had a Medal of Honor recipient.
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Tell me a job will pay you money, but a career will fill your soul, and I want you to think about that.
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Think about that when you go to work.
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Whatever it is that you do, does it fill your soul?
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How do you fill your soul?
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How do you help your community?
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How do you your fellow, your fellow neighbor?
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What have you done in your life?
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How do you humble yourself?
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Because I'll tell you what it is.
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It's not shooting a, a reel or a tiktok of you showing off your materialistic goods.
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I have a dd214 that I will take to my grave proudly.
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I was awarded medals in the military that I will take to my grave proudly, because I did it for the right reasons.
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It was about God and country and I had to say what I had to say today because I'm tired of it.
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A life of service is never an easy path.
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It never has been easy, but it's been the right one for me.
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I don't care how many tables I get uninvited to.
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I don't care how many friends and family unfriend me Doesn't matter to me.
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I don't care Because I know God put me on this earth and had me go through hell for a bigger purpose.
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I didn't grow up with a messed up childhood.
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I didn't go live in a women's shelter for a year and a half.
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I didn't have everybody go to bat for me that went to bat for me, for me just to do nothing.
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And that's what this is all about and that's what my podcast is about.
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That's what I'm about.
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That's what I stand for.
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It's not about the clicks, it's not about the followers.
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It's about my country and my community.
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That's what it's always been about for me.
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I've been doing this shit on my own for the last four years.
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I've had, fortunately, some friends and family support me.
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I've had some that have completely laughed at me.
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I don't care.
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I have never been a follower.
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I did not go to basic training with my battle buddy.
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I did not need the acceptance from anyone, like when I went to the military or when I have been serving as a first responder.
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It doesn't matter to me what you think, because he talks to me and he tells me that I was put on this earth for a greater purpose, and I think you were too, and I think that, at the end of the day, our country is better than this.
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If you are guilty of uninviting your family members to the Thanksgiving table, it's time to bring them back.
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It's time to listen, it's time to grow and it's time to heal, because I am deathly worried about the direction that we're headed right now.
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Time is something you can never buy back.
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Every day, every day, I'm reminded of this.
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Every day, I'm reminded of this because I have.
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What I have here is I have this cord.
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This cord right here, this rubber cord that I still have with me today was part of an improvised explosive device that I pulled off my tire after I ran it over near the Syrian border.
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This cord was the most responsible for me not being here today.
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This is my reminder that life is short and if you're here, you're here for a purpose.
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You only have one chance at this.
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Make your time worthwhile, because in combat, I can tell you, this man, fate of just something so small and insignificant could have taken me out.
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The guys that I ran over this with, we all survived my memorial bracelet that I wear on my wrist Lieutenant Aaron Season.
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He had a job in Iraq clearing my routes for me.
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I've wore this bracelet for more than 20 years now and it's a reminder of sacrifice and it's a reminder that those who go to bat for you, you owe them something.
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You owe them to live a great life.
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Stop being so divided, stop being so divided, stop being so divided.
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This isn't the America that I chose to serve.
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This is headed in the wrong direction.
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I hope that this message today and I hope that the death of Charlie Kirk and what we had to witness on video helps a lot of you, no matter if you're on the left or the right.
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I hope it helps you.
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Come back to the table.
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On video helps a lot of you, no matter if you're on the left or the right.
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I hope it helps you.
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Come back to the table and think about what's important.
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Think about your family.
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Think about the people who made sacrifices for you, because you only get one chance at this life.
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Talk to anyone that's retired and aged.
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You can't turn back the hands of time and make up for the wrongs that you did.
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All you can do is grow and try to get better.
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I am not the perfect person never have been.
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Don't claim to be, but I have never given up.
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I am not the perfect person never have been.
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Don't claim to be, but I have never given up, and we should neither.
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As Americans, we should not accept the divide, we should not accept politicians, we should not accept celebrities or any of these people to separate us, because, at the end of the day, I shop at the same grocery store that you do.
00:23:24.531 --> 00:23:28.940
I go to the same gas stations as you do Most of these people that get online and have these big followings.
00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:31.588
They don't have to worry about what we worry about.
00:23:31.588 --> 00:24:11.727
We need to get back to the basics and I just felt like I've been meaning to do a solo podcast because there's so many things that I want to talk about, but part of it is getting the courage to do so, and I think today kind of just put it together for me where, like, I just thought, man, I really need to say something, I really need to do a podcast because we are getting so veered off the path of who we are.
00:24:15.650 --> 00:24:17.070
I hope this message finds you well.
00:24:17.070 --> 00:24:20.512
If you listen to this podcast, you listen to my podcast, you subscribe.
00:24:20.512 --> 00:24:22.173
I just want to say thank you for supporting me.
00:24:22.173 --> 00:24:24.795
I don't get paid anything to do this.
00:24:24.795 --> 00:24:25.335
I haven't.
00:24:25.335 --> 00:24:27.636
I'm the worst when it comes to monetization.
00:24:27.636 --> 00:24:42.501
I'm the worst when it comes to the money is not important to me, but I don't want any of my experiences and I don't want the people who have gone to bat for me I don't want any of that to ever go in vain.
00:24:42.501 --> 00:24:46.410
I want to share my experiences.
00:24:46.410 --> 00:24:47.231
I want to help others.
00:24:47.231 --> 00:24:49.844
I want to help you grow however I can.
00:24:52.911 --> 00:25:06.962
Before I get off here, I just want to give a shout out to the non-profit that I've been a part of for the last three years Act Now Education, ran by their founder, jay Salters, who is a serviceman himself.
00:25:06.962 --> 00:25:18.442
A lot of selfless service, a lot of sacrifice that man puts up the board members for Act Now Education.
00:25:18.442 --> 00:25:21.292
Anyone that's ever helped Act Now Education on a project, thank you.
00:25:21.292 --> 00:25:25.327
Act Now Education is a great non-profit that helps our military community.
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Act Now Education.
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We go out and we raise money to help our military community transition into the civilian world, because everyone talks about the 22 a day and no one ever talks about a solution to it.
00:25:45.353 --> 00:25:49.912
Our solution is to help our military members.
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Our military families have a softer landing spot when it's their time to get out of the military.
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So we go out and we raise money and we turn around and we get those meaningful certifications.
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We do coaching, mentorship, so many different things.
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And everyone on the board is either a current service member or a veteran or a military spouse.
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So shout out to them for believing in me early on.
00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:19.690
Shout out to Jay Salters from Act Now Education.
00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:23.042
Found me on Clubhouse when we first met.
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It was just voice to voice.
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Didn't even know what the man looked like.
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He didn't know what I looked like.
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He just heard me talk and I've been so blessed over the years I told a buddy of mine the other day.
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I said you know, I've been blessed to have worked with some of the best in the world, whether it be military, whether it be law enforcement, whether it be non-profit work.
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I have been so blessed and I'm so grateful and I thank God for that.
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Thank you for giving me this life.
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I want you guys to reflect on everything, everything you've done.
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It's never too late to turn around.
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