Deputy PM Explains How Extreme Vetting Has Prevented Terrorist Attacks in Poland

September 01, 2017

WRITER

Polish Deputy Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, joined Glenn on radio to discuss why Poland continues to refuse refugees from Islamic countries.

Poland and Hungary refused to cooperate with 2015 deal that proposed the allocation of 160,000 refugees to relieve several EU members including Greece and Italy and received heavy scrutiny for their decision.

“The European borders are not secure,” said Morawiecki. “Millions of refugees come every year to Europe and then you can see all those pictures of terror attacks all over the place, in particular, in France and Germany. Poland is safe. We don’t have it.”

Poland is one of the few European countries that have not experienced a terrorist attack since mass migration from Syria and North Africa began.

“This is because we treat security very seriously. We do not allow for the Islamic migrants and Islamic refugees to come without very thorough scrutiny … And this is the main reason,” said Morawiecki.

“And in many different ways, they are attacking our civilization. They hate Christianity. They hate Europe. So, I think that we have the right … We have the right and obligation to defend it for the next generations.”

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: So the alt-left, Antifa, is growing here in the United States in Philadelphia. They just had a big meeting. They're going to eradicate 21st century slavery. What is that?

Well, they want a revolutionary abolitionist movement. They're raising funds now for an underground railroad to help people escape the state because, quote, the Civil War was never resolved. And the system of slavery just transitioned into the prison industrial complex.

So they're going to help, I guess, prisoners escape in an underground railroad. And they are basing themselves in Philadelphia because of Philadelphia's rich revolutionary tradition. They are -- they're calling now -- they had workshops. They're calling the police our enemies in blue.

They're seeking to abolish all gender. They're calling on members of Antifa to steal tools and lands so they can build their own state independent of the United States. And they plan to build local defense teams and councils.

They also are extolling the revolutionary movement in Syria. They say that they are going to build a worldwide movement towards communism. They are -- they -- they're dressed up in all black. They're carrying machine guns. The video is absolutely astounding. It looks like an ISIS video.

That's what the press says is fine. Antifa. That's going to come back and backfire on them. America is not a place that looks at communists and says, "Well, they're better than the Nazis. Or the Nazis, they're better than the communists." No, we made this decision a long time ago. For 50 years, we fought this war. First against the Nazis, then against the communists. They're both bad. And it seems like you can't get that message anywhere in the United States.

Instead, where is that message coming from? Places like Poland. Poland is more United States than the United States is. You don't believe me? I have the deputy prime minister of Poland on with us. And we begin, right now.

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GLENN: Poland's deputy prime minister, Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki is with us.

Welcome, Prime Minister, how are you, sir? Do I call you Deputy Prime Minister? I'm not sure what the protocol is.

MATEUSZ: Both is okay. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. I'm very fine.

How are you?

GLENN: Very good. We're glad you're here in the United States. I know you've been talking to key business leaders and political leaders in the United States. And I appreciate you taking some time out and talking to me.

I am impressed with the former Soviet republics. Because they know what's happening in the world.

Can you tell me your view from across the water on the things that you're seeing happening here in America -- and I don't want to make this about politics -- but what do you see that is growing up within our ranks that concerns you?

MATEUSZ: Sure. Even these days, very big military exercise starting done by Mr. Putin, which is indicating how dangerous and how aggressive Russia may be. And we should not forget about this Russian hacks on emails and all what they are doing in the (inaudible) unconventional war. And Ukraine is indicating that they -- they -- this is still their main way, how they do politics.

Like today, Poland is a safe country. We are a strong country. But we -- we need very close cooperation, like we have -- we have historically all the way from (inaudible), we have fought during the War of Independence. And then in -- our soldiers are in Iraq and in Afghanistan, together hand in hand with American soldiers.

And there are all the idealists who think maybe we should not think about the defense policy too much because everybody wants to live in a peaceful world. It's great. But this is not true.

And this is -- this is one aspect, how I think that proximity to Russia, we can explain how -- how difficult it is. And, you know, the proximity is really like, if there was between New Jersey and New York, we can feel the hot breath of Russia there on our neck.

GLENN: So tell me what that means. Talking to the deputy prime minister of Poland. Tell me what that means to you. Because here in America, we've been so isolated. And our universities have stopped teaching that -- well, I don't know if they ever did. But teaching that communism is bad and a -- a killer that is only surpassed by disease.

You lived through it. The people of Poland lived through it. Tell me what America should know about communists.

MATEUSZ: Of course, we lived through this. And, well, like I myself was imprisoned. And my father who was fighting in the solidarity times during the '80s, he was in prison for a long time.

And the transformation, which started in 1989, was by far not complete because the same -- I just give you an example. The same judges who have maybe passing sentences on the -- the fighters for freedom in the '80s, like my father or myself or many of my friends, the same judges are today judges in the Supreme Court.

This is what happens in -- if the -- if there is not real deep transformation in a system.

Which is -- which is -- which was okay because there was not any bloody revolution in 1989, 1990. But then I asked everybody to understand why we would like to have this second transformation today. And why we have the worst -- the worst judiciary system amongst all the 28 countries of the European Union, and we want to deeply reform this. And then the counterattack of all our enemies is -- is so visible. And who is among -- amongst those -- those attacking us? Of course, companies. And top companies are there because they feel very well in a system which is vague, which is not based on meritocracy, which is based on corporationism, as we call it in Poland. Lots of dependencies on different corporations, lawyers, judges, and so on.

And we don't like -- we want the system to be more republican, more democratic. And this is why we have so many incomprehensions around us and misunderstandings.

GLENN: Are you concerned at all, deputy prime minister of Poland, are you concerned at all about the rise of heritage groups, as they're calling themselves? You know, the Javax (phonetic) Party or Golden Dawn here in the United States, the Nazi Party? We've got extremists on both sides. And it's in some ways starting to look like the 1930s or 1920s in Europe all around the world. Are you concerned about the rise on both sides?

MATEUSZ: I am concerned about the rise on both sides. And in Europe, it's -- it's particularly visible on the left side. But there is also some examples on the right, like Marine Le Pen in France.

Therefore, first prerequisite for safe Poland, safe Europe, safe world is to prevent terrorist attacks and to really deal with the mass migration and policy like Australia did or like America did. Australia has managed to stop the flow by securing its own borders. And the European borders resident secure. Millions of refugees come every -- every year to -- to Europe. And then you can see all those pictures of terror attacks all over the place, particularly in France or Germany. Poland is safe. We don't have it.

GLENN: Right. Why is Poland -- if I'm not mistaken, you're the only main country in Europe that has not been hit by a terrorist attack. Why?

MATEUSZ: Yeah, yeah, that's correct. Absolutely. Recently in Spain, in Barcelona. Before that, in the UK in many places, in France, and in Italy, and Germany. So we are the only of the six countries, which did not experience terror.

GLENN: Why?

MATEUSZ: This is because we -- we treat security with -- very seriously. We do not allow for the Islamic migrants and Islamic refugees to come without very thorough scrutiny by our -- by our social security and so on. Sorry about -- secret service and our special services for those activities. And this is -- and this is the main reason: Germans and French, our friends and partners, they have allowed virtually millions of those refugees. And most of them, there are many decent people, good people. But unfortunately, there are many not-so-decent people, very bad people.

And they are -- they are attacking in all sorts -- in many different ways. They're attacking our civilization. They hate Christianity. They hate Europe.

So I think that we have the right -- we are the -- the heart of the Christian civilization. And we have the right and obligation to defend it for the next generation. So we can allow for -- for -- of course, for migrants. And, for instance, in Europe -- sorry, in Poland, we do our job too. Because we -- we have accommodated one and a half million Ukrainian population. Many of them are refugees from eastern part of Ukraine, where there is war. Because Ukraine was attacked by Russia. So we are doing our part. We contribute to calming down the situation. And we go the middle road. We try to persuade our partners in Brussels, that this -- the refugee policy is very dangerous for -- for the whole of Europe. And we have to preserve our borders. We have to have safe countries.

GLENN: I'm talking to the deputy prime minister of Poland. How concerned are you that if the world doesn't wake up, we are going to be reaping the seeds that are being sown right now. And perhaps that ends in yet another global conflict.

MATEUSZ: Well, this is -- probably to your opening remarks, the situation is probably not that bad as it was in the '30s with Hitler and Stalin and the weak democracies and so on. But I am concerned that the situation might go in the wrong direction.

GLENN: Yeah.

MATEUSZ: Therefore, there is this old Latin saying (foreign language), which is, you know, we have to be well-armed and well-equipped. And we have to contribute to military spending. And, by the way, Poland is not amongst the five richest countries in NATO. But we make sure to be one of the five who comply with the two percentage points of GDP military spending rule, which was -- which was actually realized by President Trump when he was in Warsaw just two months ago. And we are a very, very reliable ally. And I think Article V of the Washington treaty is a very important element of the whole architecture of peace going forward.

Another one is also dealing with the security of our own borders, like America does, like Australia does.

But in Europe, many countries are not doing their part. So our advice to our European friends is to really concentrate on our own security and to eliminate all those extremes from the left and from the right.

Some of them, they have to be brought to the table. And persuaded in a civilized way. But some of them who are really extremists in France and in German, some Islamic parties and so on, they should be taken under a microscope and should be so -- we should be so vigilant about them as never before.

GLENN: Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate it.

MATEUSZ: If I could just add one sentence, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Poland, I would like to express my sincere condolences on the terrible tragedy caused by the Hurricane Harvey. So we are very sad about this. And if the government of Poland could do anything to help our American friends, our -- the people from America, we could -- we could do everything possible at our -- at our end.

GLENN: Gosh, that's nice to hear. Thank you so much. We appreciate that.

MATEUSZ: Thank you.

GLENN: We can tell that was heartfelt.

MATEUSZ: Thanks for having me.

PAT: He's a class act.

GLENN: Yeah. And I think you can hear, you know, why is he over here in America? What are they doing? Obviously, they are worried about the bear. Obviously, they are worried about what is coming on their own border. And they are looking to find some allies in America. They are more America today than we are. And they're looking for some allies in America who is going to say, "Hey, is anybody going to help us stand?" Because the big, bad wolf -- or in this case, the big, bad bear is coming back.

D-Day, the Bedford Boys, and earning it

Wikipedia

Today is the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in history.

The Allied invasion force included 5,000 ships and landing craft, 11,000 planes, and almost three million allied soldiers, airmen and sailors. Despite such numbers, the location and timing of the invasion was still an enormous gamble. The Nazis fully expected such an invasion, they just didn't know precisely when or where it would be.

Despite the enormous logistics involved, the gamble worked and by the end of June 6, 1944, 156,000 Allied troops were ashore in Normandy. The human cost was also enormous – over 4,900 American troops died on D-Day. That number doubled over the next month as they fought to establish a foothold in northern France.

There were five beach landing zones on the coast of northwestern France, divided among the Allies. They gave each landing zone a name. Canada was responsible for "Juno." Britain was responsible for "Gold" and "Sword." And the U.S. had "Utah" and "Omaha."

The Nazis were dug in with bunkers, machine guns, artillery, mines, barbed wire, and other obstacles to tangle any attempt to come ashore. Of the five beaches, Omaha was by far the most heavily defended. Over 2,500 U.S. soldiers were killed at Omaha – the beach so famously depicted in the opening battle sequence of the 1998 movie, Saving Private Ryan. The real-life assault on Omaha Beach included 34 men in that first wave of attack who came from the same small town of Bedford, Virginia. The first Americans to die on Omaha Beach were the men from Bedford.

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America has a national D-Day Memorial, but many people don't know about it.

America has a national D-Day Memorial, but many people don't know about it. Maybe that's because it wasn't a government project and it's not in Washington DC. It was initiated and financed by veterans and private citizens. It's tucked away in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the small town of Bedford, Virginia. Why is the memorial for one of the most famous days in modern world history in such a tiny town? Because, as a proportion of its population of just 3,200 at the time, no community in the U.S. sacrificed more men on D-Day than Bedford.

There were 34 men in Company A from Bedford. Of those thirty-four, 23 died in the first wave of attacks. Six weeks after D-Day, the town's young telegraph operator was overwhelmed when news of many of the first deaths clattered across the Western Union line on the same day. Name after name of men and families that she knew well. There were so many at once that she had to enlist the help of customers in the pharmacy's soda shop to help deliver them all.

Among those killed in action were brothers Bedford and Raymond Hoback. Bedford was the rambunctious older brother with a fiancée back home that he couldn't wait to return to. Raymond was the quieter, more disciplined younger brother who could often be found reading his Bible. He fell in love with a British woman during his two years in England training for D-Day. Like in that opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, Bedford and Raymond barely made it down the ramp of their Higgins Boat in the swarm of bullets and hot steel before they were cut down in the wet sand.

Bedford and Raymond Hoback's mother, Macie, learned of both their deaths from two separate telegrams, the first on a Sunday morning, the second the following day. Their younger sister, Lucille, remembered her mother's devastation, and her father walking out to the barn to cry.

The day after D-Day, the killing field of Omaha Beach was already transforming into the massive supply port that would help fuel the American drive all the way to Berlin over the next year. A soldier from West Virginia was walking along the beach when he saw something jutting out of the sand. He reached down and pulled it out. He was surprised to find it was a Bible. The inside cover was inscribed with: "Raymond S. Hoback, from mother, Christmas, 1938." The soldier wrote a letter and mailed it with the Bible to Raymond's mother. That Bible, which likely tumbled from Raymond's pack when he fell on D-Day, became Macie Hoback's most cherished possession – the only personal belonging of her son that was ever returned.

Of the 23 Bedford men who died on Omaha Beach, eleven were laid to rest in the American cemetery in Normandy.

These men, many of them barely out of their teens, didn't sign up to march to the slaughter of course. They had hopes and dreams just like you and I. Many of them signed up for adventure, or because of peer pressure, and yes, a sense of honor and duty. Many of the Bedford Boys first signed up for the National Guard just to make a few extra bucks per month, get to hang out with their buddies, and enjoy target practice. But someone had to be first at Omaha Beach and that responsibility fell to the men from Bedford.

Over the last several years, the D-Day anniversary gets increasingly sad. Because each year, there are fewer and fewer men alive who were actually in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The last of the surviving Bedford Boys died in 2009. Most of the remaining D-Day veterans who are still with us are too frail to make the pilgrimage to France for the anniversary ceremonies like they used to.

It's difficult to think about losing these World War II veterans, because once they're all gone, we'll lose that tether to a time when the nation figured out how to be a better version of itself.

Not that they were saints and did everything right. They were as human as we are, with all the fallibility that entails. But in some respects, they were better. Because they went, and they toughed it out, and they accomplished an incredibly daunting mission, with sickening hardship, heartbreak, and terror along the way.

So, what does the anniversary of D-Day mean in 2019?

In one sense, this anniversary is a reprimand that we've failed to tell our own story well enough.

In one sense, this anniversary is a reprimand that we've failed to tell our own story well enough. You can't learn about the logistics of the operation and above all, the human cost, and not be humbled. But as a society, we have not emphasized well enough the story of D-Day and all that it represents. How can I say that? Because of an example just last weekend, when common sense got booed by Democratic Socialists at the California Democrats' State Convention. When Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper said during his speech that "socialism is not the answer," the crowd booed loudly. When did telling the truth about socialism become controversial?

Sure, socialists, and communists and other anti-American factions have always been around. America certainly had socialists in 1944. But the current socialists trying to take over the Democratic Party like a virus don't believe in the D-Day sacrifices to preserve America, because they don't believe America is worth preserving. They are agitating to reform America using the authoritarian playbook that has only ended in death and destruction everywhere it is followed.

Ask a Venezuelan citizen, or an Iraqi Christian, or a North Korean peasant why D-Day still matters in 2019.

The further we move away from caring about pivotal events like June 6, 1944, the less chance of survival we have as a nation.

At the same time, the D-Day anniversary is a reminder that we're not done yet. It's an opportunity for us to remember and let that inform how we live.

Near the end of Saving Private Ryan, the fictional Captain Miller lays dying, and he gives one last instruction to Private Ryan, the young man that he and his unit have sacrificed their lives to rescue in Normandy. He says, "Earn it."

In other words, don't waste the sacrifices that were made so that your life could be saved. Live it well. The message to "earn it" extends to the viewer and the nation as well – can we say we're earning the sacrifices that were made by Americans on D-Day? I cringe to think how our few remaining World War II veterans might answer that.

Honor. Duty. Sacrifice. Gratitude. Personal responsibility. These used to mean a lot more.

Honor. Duty. Sacrifice. Gratitude. Personal responsibility. These used to mean a lot more. I don't want to believe it's too late for us to rediscover those traits as a nation. I want to believe we can still earn it.

The challenge to "earn it" is a lot of pressure. Frankly, it's impossible. We can't fully earn the liberty that we inherited. But we can certainly try to earn it. Not trying is arrogant and immoral. And to tout socialism as the catch-all solution is naïve, and insulting to the men like those from Bedford who volunteered to go defend freedom. In truly striving to earn it, we help keep the flame of liberty aglow for future generations. It is necessary, honorable work if freedom is to survive.

The end of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is remarkably relevant for every anniversary of June 6, 1944. This is what D-Day still means in 2019:

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Letter from Corporal H.W. Crayton to Mr. and Mrs. Hoback – parents of Bedford and Raymond Hoback who were both killed in action on June 6, 1944

Álvaro Serrano/Unsplash

July 9, 1944 Somewhere in France

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Hoback:

I really don't know how to start this letter to you folks, but will attempt to do something in words of writing. I will try to explain in the letter what this is all about.

While walking along the Beach D-day Plus One, I came upon this Bible and as most any person would do I picked it up from the sand to keep it from being destroyed. I knew that most all Bibles have names & addresses within the cover so I made it my business to thumb through the pages until I came upon the name above. Knowing that you no doubt would want the Book returned I am sending it knowing that most Bibles are a book to be cherished. I would have sent it sooner but have been quite busy and thought it best if a short period of time elapsed before returning it.

You have by now received a letter from your son saying he is well. I sincerely hope so.

I imagine what has happened is that your son dropped the Book without any notice. Most everybody who landed on the Beach D-Day lost something. I for one as others did lost most of my personal belongings, so you see how easy it was to have dropped the book and not know about it.

Everything was in such a turmoil that we didn't have a chance until a day or so later to try and locate our belongings.

Since I have arrived here in France I have had occasion to see a little of the country and find it quite like parts of the U.S.A. It is a very beautiful country, more so in peace time. War does change everything as it has this country. One would hardly think there was a war going on today. Everything is peaceful & quiet. The birds have begun their daily practice, all the flowers and trees are in bloom, especially the poppies & tulips which are very beautiful at this time of the year.

Time goes by so quickly as it has today. I must close hoping to hear that you receive the Bible in good shape.

Yours very truly,

Cpl. H.W. Crayton

After boycotting Georgia over 'heartbeat' bill, Disney finds new production home

Travis Gergen/Unsplash

It's not as easy as it used to be for billion-dollar entertainment empires like The Walt Disney Company. It would be more streamlined for Disney to produce its major motion pictures in its own backyard. After all, abortion in California is readily available, as well as a protected, cherished right. And since abortion access is critical for movie production, right up there with lighting equipment and craft services, you would think California would be the common-sense choice for location shooting. Alas, even billion-dollar studios must pinch pennies these days. So, in recent years, Disney, among other major Hollywood studios, has been farming out production to backwater Southern lands like Georgia, and even Louisiana. Those states offer more generous tax breaks than Disney's native California. As a result, Georgia for example, played host to much of the shooting for the recent worldwide box office smash Avengers: Endgame.

But now it looks like it's Georgia's endgame. The state recently passed what is known as a "heartbeat" bill – a vicious, anti-woman law that would try to make pregnant women allow their babies to be born and actually live. It's a bridge too far for a major studio like Disney, which was largely built on creating family entertainment. How can Disney possibly go about making quality movies, often aimed at children, without access to unfettered abortion? It's unconscionable. Lack of abortion access makes it nearly impossible to shoot movies. So, what's a major studio to do? Disney might have considered migrating its business to Louisiana, but that state too has now signed a heartbeat bill into law. It's utter madness.

These monstrous anti-abortion bills, coupled with having to live under President Trump, has led Disney to seek a new home for its legendary movie magic. Last week, Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, announced that all future Disney movies will now be filmed on location in the Sub-Saharan African nation of Wakanda.

"Disney and Wakanda are a match made in heaven," Iger told reporters. "Wakanda was, until recently, a secret kingdom, much like our own Magic Kingdom. With this new partnership, we'll not only get to continue our legacy of making movies that parents and children everywhere enjoy together, but we'll get to do so in a safe space that reveres abortion as much as we do."

Wakanda is one of only four African countries (out of 55) that allow unrestricted abortion.

As home to the most advanced technology in the world – and with the planet's highest per-capita concentration of wokeness – Wakanda offers women painless, hassle-free abortion on demand. As the Wakandan health ministry website explains, the complete absence of any white-patriarchal-Judeo-Christian influence allows women in Wakanda to have complete control of their own bodies (with the exception of females who are still fetuses). As winner of the U.N.'s 2018 Golden Forceps award (the U.N.'s highest abortion honor) Wakanda continues its glowing record on abortion. That makes it an ideal location for Disney's next round of live-action remakes of its own animated movies in which the company plans to remove all male characters.

Iger says he hopes to convince Wakandan leadership to share their top-secret vibranium-based abortion procedure technology so that American women can enjoy the same convenient, spa-like abortion treatment that Wakandan women have enjoyed for years.

Wakanda is one of only four African countries (out of 55) that allow unrestricted abortion. Disney plans to boycott and/or retaliate against the other 51 African nations, as well as any U.S. states, that restrict abortion. Specific plans are being kept under wraps, but sources say Disney's potential retaliation may include beaming Beverly Hills Chihuahua into the offending territories on a continuous, indefinite loop.

When asked how Wakanda's futuristic capital city and distinctly African landscape would be able to double for American movie locations, Iger said, "I guess America will just have to look more like Wakanda from now on."

One potential wrinkle for the Left-leaning studio is the fact that Wakanda has an impenetrable border wall-shield-thing designed to keep out foreign invaders as well as illegal immigrants. Iger said he understands Wakanda's policy of exclusivity, adding, "After all, not everyone gets into Disneyland. You have to have a ticket to get in. Anyone is welcome, but you have to go through the process of getting a ticket." When one reporter pointed out that Iger's answer sounded like the conservative argument for legal immigration under the rule of law, Iger insisted that the reporter was "a moronic fascist."

What if the unthinkable happens and Florida also enacts its own "heartbeat" law? That would be problematic since Walt Disney World is located in Florida. Iger responded that Disney would "cross that bridge if we get to it" but that the most likely scenario would entail "dismantling Disney World piece-by-piece and relocating it to the actual happiest place on earth – Wakanda." As for whether Disney would ever open character-themed abortion clinics inside its theme parks, Iger remained coy, but said, "Well, it is the place where dreams come true."

With the Wakanda solution, Disney may have found a place where Minnie Mouse can finally follow her heart and have true freedom of choice.

When pressed about the cost of ramping up production in a secretive African kingdom that has no existing moviemaking infrastructure (which could easily end up being much more expensive than simply shooting in California) Iger said, "You can't put a price tag on abortion freedom. Wakanda Forever and Abortion Forever!"

With the Wakanda solution, Disney may have found a place where Minnie Mouse can finally follow her heart and have true freedom of choice. And that will be welcome relief to traditional families all over the world who keep the Walt Disney Company in business.

*Disclaimer: The preceding story is a parody. Bob Iger did not actually say any of the quotes in the story. Neither is Wakanda an actual nation on planet Earth.

Understanding the cry for mercy: I share my 'Journey of Faith' with Paula Faris

"Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris," is a podcast featuring conversations about how faith has guided newsmakers and celebrities through their best and worst times. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a much maligned religion so Glenn joined the podcast and took the time to explain what it means to him and how it changed his life.

From his suicidal days and his battle with drugs and alcohol, it was his wife Tania and his faith that saved him. All his ups and downs have given him the gift of empathy and he says he now understands the "cry for mercy" — something he wishes he'd given out more of over the years.

You can catch the whole podcast on any of the platforms listed below.

- Apple Podcasts
- Google Podcasts
- TuneIn
- Spotify
- Stitcher
- ABC News app

Mending fences: Yes, being good neighbors requires building a wall

Patrick Baum/Unsplash

One of these times I'm going to go on vacation, and I'm just not going to come back. I learn so much on a farm.

You want to know how things work, go spend a summer on a farm. You're having problems with your son or daughter, go spend a summer on a farm.

My son changed. Over two weeks.

Getting him out of bed, getting him to do anything, is like insane. He's a 15-year-old kid. Going all through the normal 15-year-old boy stuff. Getting him on the farm, where he was getting up and actually accomplishing stuff, having to build or mend fences, was amazing. And it changed him.

Our society does not allow our kids to grow up, ever. I am convinced that our 15-year-olds could be fixing all kinds of stuff. Could be actually really making an impact in a positive way in our society. And what's wrong with our society is, we have gotten away from how things actually work. We're living in this theoretical world. When you're out on a farm, there's no theory here. If it rains, the crops will grow. If it rains too much, the crops won't grow.

If there's no sun, they won't grow. If there's too much sun, they'll shrivel up and die. There's no theory. We were out mending fences. Now, when I say the phrase to you, mending fences, what does that mean? When you think of mending fences, you think of, what?

Coming together. Bringing people together. Repairing arguments.

I've never mended a fence before until I started stringing a fence and I was like, "I ain't doing this anymore! Where is it broken? Can't we just tie a piece of barbed wire together?"

Let's stop talking about building a wall. Because that has all kinds of negative imagery. Mending fences is what we need to do.

That's called mending fences.

And why do you mend fences? So your animals don't get out and start to graze on somebody else's land. When your fence goes down, your cow is now on somebody else's land. And your cow is now eating their food.

We look at the phrase, mending fences as saying, hey. You know, we were both wrong. Mending fences has nothing to do with that.

Mending fences means build a wall. My neighbors and I, we're going to get along fine, as long as my cows don't go and steal their food, or their cows don't come over and steal my cow's food.

We're perfectly neighborly with each other, until one of us needs to mend a fence, because, dude, you got to mend that, because your cows keep coming over and eating my food.

You know what we need to do with Mexico? Mend fences.

Now, that's a phrase. You hear build a wall. That's horrible.

No, no, no. We need to mend fences.

In a farming community, that means putting up an electric fence. That means putting up barbed wire.

So the cows — because the cows will — they'll stick their head through barbed wire. And they'll eat the grass close to the road. Or eat the grass close to the other side of the fence. And they'll get their heads in between those fences. And they can't get out sometimes. Because the grass is always greener on the other side. You look at these damn cows and say turn around, cow — there's plenty of stuff over here.

No. They want the grass on the other side of the fence.

So you mend it.

And if it's really bad, you do what we do. We had to put an electric fence up. Now, imagine putting an electric fence up. That seems pretty radical and expensive.

Does it really work? Does it shock them? What does that feel like to a cow?

The cows hit it once, and then they don't hit it again. They can actually hear the buzz of the electric fence. There's a warning. Don't do it. Don't do it. They hear the current and they hit it once and they're like, "I'm not going to do that again."

So you mend fences, which means, keep your stuff on your side. I like you. We're good neighbors. You keep your stuff on your side and I'll keep my stuff on my side and we'll get together at the town hall and we'll see each other at the grocery store. Because we're good neighbors. But what stops us from fighting is knowing that there is a fence there.

This is my stuff. That's your stuff. But we can still trade and we'll help each other. But let's stop talking about building a wall. Because that has all kinds of negative imagery. Mending fences is what we need to do.

You can have a tough fence. It could be a giant wall. It could be an electric fence. But you need one. And that's how you come together.

The side that's having the problem, mends the fence.

Glenn's Show Prep