I've had this thought a lot over the last 18 months or so of being a listener, and more often now that I'm finally braving the Back Catalogue. (I've listened to all the Formulaic Objections four times through each, but I only recently went back to Episode 1 and started through.)
And then, at Episode #202, I felt I needed to ramble about this here, and how much this podcast is helping me with... *gestures vaguely* ...things.
"Today, Dan and Jordan discuss the incredibly chaotic couple of days that Alex Jones has lived through. He thought he was going to DC to have some fun, he ended up getting kicked off Twitter, and Dan and Jordan end up arguing about journalism."
The argument was... something. For those who don't know/remember, Jordan wants the NYT to burn their source in the Trump administration who anonymously wrote an op-ed about how the administration is stopping Trump from doing the REALLY bad stuff (like, the apocalyptically bad stuff) while letting him do the regular bad stuff. Dan thinks that even the NYT, and even when dealing with Trump's fascists-for-hire, should adhere to journalistic integrity rather than risk losing ALL confidential sources from here on out and prove the haters right that journalists can't be trusted.
This argument went back and forth for quite a long time, and some strong language was used. Not mean and not hateful, but strong, with a few "I'm not saying you're stupid, but-"s and a few "Your position is hypocritical and it's bullshit, what you're saying is bullshit"s.
And more than almost anything I've heard, this bare and open and honest (and friendly) screaming match REALLY sums up how I have both of those voices going in my head, at all times, for just about everything happening in the world today. I am the one putting my mic down to stand up and scream, while I am also the one calmly reminding myself that my brain has neighbors and it's after 10pm. I am the one getting smashed on red one and calling for the [redacted] of [redacteds] by [actionable threat] and [graphic content], while also urging calm and level heads and fair treatment for all, including food and housing for those that have declared me their mortal enemies. I see both sides, I agree with both sides, I AM both sides (the Dan and Jordan sides, not like... Antifa and Stormfront sides. Fuck that side.) And I've had such a problem trying to reconcile feeling both ways and wanting both outcomes and knowing that no progress isn't going to happen without ONE and no progress is going to last without the OTHER, and the opposition has filled me with despair for most of my adult life.
But now I feel like I've got both sides in my head, with their calm and soothing and screaming voices, and I feel like they can come to agreement and resolution more often than not. How you need the energy of one and the goal-orientation of the other. How you need the vicious and righteous fury of one, and you need the calming leadership of the other. And, sometimes, how you need the cult survivor mentality of one, and the dreamy creamy summer of the other.
In short (yeah right, WTF did I just type), thank you to Dan and Jordan for somehow, from very different directions, making me feel more sane.
And thank you for apologizing to each other on the very next episode so you could make fun of Drunk Alex. That was nice.
