WEBVTT - Our Shared Humanity 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.840 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to OOKF Daily with Meet 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:19.280 your Girl Danielle Moody. Pre recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:22.360 Whenever I have the opportunity, as I've said this week, 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:26.000 to bring on friends of mine, genuine friends of mine 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:28.920 to the show and friends of the show, I'm always 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:32.879 deeply honored and please because it gives me an opportunity 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:36.680 to go beyond the headlines and to frankly the heart 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:40.239 of the matter, which is, as you know, where I 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:44.400 actually want to be taking this show. Waha hot Ali 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:50.279 is a colleague, He is a friend, He is a 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:54.840 righteous warrior for justice, and he is also my co 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:59.200 host on Democracy Ish, which airs on Thursdays, Folks, and 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:01.520 if you're not checking out out you should wherever you 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:07.120 get your podcasts. And today's conversation with waj you know, 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:10.880 I didn't want to talk about what is trending in 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:15.080 the news, although we do bring it up. I wanted 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.039 to talk to him about what it means to be 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.640 a person of faith at a time when so many 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:26.480 people are feeling so dark, and to be a person 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:30.360 of faith in a faith and religion that is demonized, 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:35.679 even though it is billions strong what it means to 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:44.840 raise thoughtful, compassionate, empathetic global citizens. He has three kids, 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:50.720 and so today's conversation is about, you know, continuing the 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:54.240 work that we do that keeps us in the news, 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.040 in the acid rain every single day. But how do 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.400 we continue to hold on to our faith, our joy, 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:06.320 our purpose and not allow ourselves to become hardened and 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:11.080 distant and disconnected because of the despair and the grief 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:14.200 that we are seeing on our screens every single day. 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:19.000 So I hope that you take from this conversation some 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.560 tips and some tools to how to keep yourself spiritually 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:28.240 and emotionally and mentally well and how to continue to 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:31.760 want to be a part of the progress and the change, 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.720 because that's the kind of work that we need to 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:41.400 be doing, is recognizing our shared humanity. Coming up next 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:49.400 my conversation with my friend Waja hot Ali. Folks, I 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.560 am so excited whenever I get to do a crossover 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:58.120 mashup with this time of my favorite friends and Waja 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:02.160 hot Ali, author of Go Back to You to Go 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:06.120 Back to Where You Came from, Daily Bee's columnist and 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:11.200 my co host of one of my fifty eleven thousand podcasts, 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:15.840 Democracy Ish is in the Woke app house today and 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:20.400 I am grateful while we are pre recording this at 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:26.680 a time when there is just devastation, grief that is 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:32.480 raining down in our country, around the world, and people 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:37.720 are struggling, and because we happen to have decided to, 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:42.920 for whatever fucking reason, make a career out of analyzing, 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:48.800 out of analyzing chaos. I want to start off with 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:54.040 you as a human being, which is, you know, people 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.400 get some idea of what it's like to bathe in 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:00.440 acid rain on a regular basis, but that kind of 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:03.960 how I feel that this job has become and I 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:06.880 want to, you know, ask you from from whence you 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:10.680 came into this profession till now? 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.440 You know? How? 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:17.000 How how has how do you manage? How are you 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:20.240 managing through this chaos? 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:25.760 Some people bathe in acid rain. I play slip and slide. Uh, 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:28.520 you know that's I embrace it. I like, bring on 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:32.240 the toxicity, bring on the contaminated water. It's one of 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:36.360 It's a good question, and it's a question which really 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:38.680 I think it's a it's a question to ask many 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:40.200 of us because so many of us who do this, 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:45.600 what we do is like masochists. We voluntarily hurl ourselves 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:49.080 towards the bigots, and you kind of get and it's 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:53.039 it's important not to get numb, because you want to 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:58.680 recognize that, you know, ugliness and bigotry and hate should 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:00.839 not be just tolerated, right, Like you don't have to 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:02.760 just take it. And that's one of those things where 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:04.400 you have to realize that you know, I am a 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:07.640 human being, I have self worth. I realize that I've 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.680 created this type of implicit contract with the universe that 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:14.440 whenever you're a public figure, the universe will respond. Everyone's 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:17.680 a critic. But that doesn't mean that you have to 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.320 sit there and take people shit and abuse, right. And 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:23.640 that's something that like years ago as a writer, I 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:25.800 figured it out, like, yeah, you can give me your 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:28.920 unsolicited opinion, and sure you can come in and tell 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.240 me how to end my play and how I should 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:34.960 have started my article, even though you've never written anything before, 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.760 and you can think I've done. But I don't have 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.919 to sit there and indulge your ignorance, stupidity and hate. 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:42.280 I don't. 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:44.960 I can choose. 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:47.679 This is a choice, folks, to ignore. 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.559 And always the recommendation I give young journalists and writers, 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:53.760 especially those who ventured as social media. I'm like, ignoring 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.440 is a choice. You don't have to accept every fight 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:02.280 you're invited to. You can say, and you need that 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:04.800 for your mental health, and you need that for your 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:07.320 self worth. And there is not enough time in the day, Daniel. 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:10.240 The second thing is I think there is something to 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:15.200 be said about disposition. Some people like me, I think 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:19.000 are capable, not because I'm better than anyone of taking it. 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:19.720 I can take it. 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:23.120 I can take a lot more than most, and a 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.920 lot of stuff bounces off me, and I'm able to 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:30.120 respond in a way. I don't know if you've seen 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.760 my social media where I respond like Bugs Bunny and 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:35.600 not like Daffy Duck. Now what do I mean by that? 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:40.360 If you've ever seen the cartoons, folks, Bugs Bunny is 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.960 always chilling in his cubby hole. He's never bothering Yosemite 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:47.159 Sam or Elmer Fudd. He just like watching TV eating 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:50.200 his carrot. It's always Yousemite Sam and Elmer Fudd who 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.080 are messing up Bugs Bunny's date, right, And so what 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:56.520 Bugs Bunny does is he uses Elmer Fudd and Yusemite 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.720 Sam's traps against him. And he also has a little 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:02.880 fun while doing it. And so for me, Danielle, the 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.240 strategy that I've done and you could probably see in 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.240 my tweets and facebooks when I respond to some ignorant 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:10.840 comments is uh, I try to have a. 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:11.520 Little fun with it. 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.240 Now, people say, well, you're not going to change the 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:15.720 biggest opinion. 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:16.200 I won't. 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:20.360 But my audience is a global audience. And when I 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.160 want to show my audience is this is how you 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:24.200 can respond to hate. 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:24.400 Two. 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:29.920 This is how we can smile during the acid rain. 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.520 This is where I don't lose my joy. This is 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:34.320 where I don't lose my mind. This is where I 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.560 don't self hate. And I'll give you an example. Yesterday 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:40.120 someone forgot a comma, but I had a little fun. 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:43.760 He was trolling me because of course there's the hellish 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.880 chaos that's happening in Israel Gaza right now, and says 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:48.920 like what to do with Hamas w Jahat, But there 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.440 was no comma between Hamas and wa Ja Hut, And 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.080 so I said, I'm not Lamas w Jahat, I've never 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.440 met him. I'm American, overweight, left handed Jahat. Nice to 0:07:57.480 --> 0:07:59.440 meet you, and all these people just like had to 0:07:59.920 --> 0:08:02.960 like people are like man, I needed that laugh then yeah, yeah, 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:07.120 So that's how I respond. And also I will say 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:13.880 this is two things. I make sure I have a 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.440 space mental and spiritual where I cleave it off and 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.000 I lean into what gives me joy, you know, my kids, 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.360 my wife, food, whatever it is. And I recommend that 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.480 for everyone find spaces that give you joy. And the 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:30.960 second thing I will say is I forget sometimes, Danielle, 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:34.439 how you and I do is not for everyone. 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:35.120 Like I had a. 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:39.320 Friend, yeah last week, tell me, he openly said he's like. 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.200 I got trolled by one person on Twitter, which led 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:45.600 to like six tweets. It unhinged me all day and 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:48.400 it made me realize, oh shit, this is what you 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:52.120 deal with all the time. And you asked me this question, 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:55.240 I'll answer it. It really started with me with nine 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.560 to eleven. The first time I got told to go 0:08:57.600 --> 0:08:59.600 back to where you came from was when I was 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.680 twenty one years old, yep, a student leader at MSA. 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.840 My email was on the cal Muslim Student Association website 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.199 and guess who got all the hate mail? And it's 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.959 been like that every day ever since. 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:18.680 I think that it is extraordinary one to be able 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.240 to slip and slide and acid rain. The imagery of 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.679 that we need to have somebody draw that cartoon and 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:28.400 you as bugs bunny just makes me. That brings me joy. 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:34.440 But being able to essentially have not like teflon down, 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:42.600 but to actually have like real thoughtfulness in how you 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.480 make a choice, a conscious decision not to take on 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:50.679 other people's shit, right that you can, because what I 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:55.600 feel happens with times that we are living in that 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:59.600 feel like you're just inundated everywhere you go, is that 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:03.200 you forget that you can turn it off. You forget 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:05.840 that you can walk away from the fights that are 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.800 beckoning you. You forget that you don't have to have 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:11.720 the news on for twenty four hours a day, seven 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:16.480 days a week, that you can choose something else. And 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:18.960 I think that you and I talked about this, you know, 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:23.120 last week on democracy issue, where we talked about choosing 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:28.320 humanity right, choosing humanity above all else. It seems like 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:31.160 a really old and kind of cliche thing to say, 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.079 but it's like when you look around and all things 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.720 are going to hell, like literally hell in a handbasket. 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:41.120 I don't think that you can choose anything other than 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:46.840 humanity because the darkness like will just take hold of you. So, 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.920 you know, for you, you talked about you know, finding 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:56.160 joy through your children, through your faith, and I want 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:59.080 to give you an opportunity to talk about that faith, 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:02.400 to talk about out you know, because you are a 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:07.360 very faithful Muslim. You are practicing Muslim that are raising 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:12.160 three children, you know, in a country that does not 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:17.320 love you, and and a in a world where there 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:21.160 are billions that practice. But it is a religion that 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.680 has been demonized. Yeah, so what does it mean to 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:28.080 hold on to to a faith and to be so 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:33.120 faithful with a religion that has been placed in being 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:36.679 synonymous right with terrorism and hate? 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:40.960 So some dark humor And there's a joke I do 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:42.600 with my Muslim friends and they just shake their head, 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.360 but they laugh. Anytime you hear about like someone converting 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:48.960 to Islam, especially after nine to eleven, I'm like, why 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:53.600 did you choose the losing team? Are you sure about this? 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:57.360 There are other world religions, you know, and they and 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:00.319 then I'm like, I'm very suspect, you know, like are 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:04.640 you really Muslim or are you representing some like law enforcement? 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:06.880 Because why would you want to join us, especially in 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:10.559 America after nine to eleven some dark humor exactly because 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:12.800 you're part of a I think you said it in. 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:22.240 One of your videos which I laughed. The Big Three, it's. 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:23.679 Like, we got the Jews, we got the Christians, We've 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:25.240 got the muslim like the Hindus, Like what do I mean? 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.720 Like no, not you on the bench, not you on 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:29.640 the bench right now? 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.800 Like how about five r heres? No, no, no. But 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:34.959 you know, the the interesting thing is, first and foremost, 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:38.400 I'm very cognizant as to why there is a rise 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:40.840 in the nuns n O n e s, not n 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:43.920 U n e s. It's because organized religion, the way 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:45.640 it has been practiced, in the way it has been 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:50.040 abused young generations, Danielle, even millennials, They're like, we don't 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.720 want this. Why do we want to bring in such 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:57.000 a toxic force that has brought us so much pain 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:01.320 and misogyny and racism and homophobia and cruel We're done 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:05.560 with it now. What's so fascinating is with the rise 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:07.760 of the nuns, which freaks out the Big Three. By 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:10.040 the way, I always tell the Big Three folks that 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:14.760 something my fellow believers. I'm like, first of all, understand 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:18.360 why people are leaving right. Secondly, when they're leaving this 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:21.840 what's fascinating. And then an answer to your question, people 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:26.280 are still surging, Daniel, it's not. People are so they'll 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.200 go to yoga, they'll go to cross fit, they'll go 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:32.000 to Coachella, they'll go to Burning Man. And when you 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.880 really like go like investigate, Look what's that root of this? 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:40.040 Human beings need connection. It's talking to a friend of 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:43.880 mine who who's a psychiatrist, very well educated in the 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.560 Bay Area, and I asked him recently, you know Boutuk's ago. 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.920 I said, what do most people come to you with? 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.240 He said, you know, there are people who have everything. 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:54.199 They have the money, they have the zip code, they 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:57.560 have the job, picture perfect family. They don't have contentment. 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:01.000 They have anxiety, unrest, depression. So I'm like, what's the 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:03.959 root cause of it? And he goes, people just need connection. 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:07.480 They need something firm, something to ground themselves with, something 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.880 you know, to feel something sincere with someone or something. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:13.880 And this is why for me, I do believe in God. 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.120 That's what's so funny. People are like, your politics are 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.440 very progressive, but you're like a traditional Pakistani uncle at home, 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:22.600 you know, like three kids, you're a teetotaler. You've gone 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:24.480 to hudge, you pray. I'm like, it is very funny 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:29.840 for me. It gives me a connection and rudedness to 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:35.120 something bigger than myself. It allows me to connect to 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:38.960 force that allows me to recognize that in the grand 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.160 scheme of things, I'm but what nothing. 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:43.280 It makes me. 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:47.560 Realize that if you take away the divisions and the externalities, 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:51.600 we're all part of one collective goop. You know, everyone 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:54.520 has a spirit, everyone has a soul. It likes to 0:14:54.640 --> 0:15:00.000 tap into a collective humanity. It allows me to think outside, 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:05.120 out of myself and that there's something greater Danielle than me. 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.920 There is a purpose to my life. There is limited time, 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:12.000 and what do I do with that time? How do 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:16.880 I choose to live my life and to exercise and 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:19.840 flex the privileges that I've been given right and then 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:21.920 the last thing it is it really deals with a 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:26.760 mindset for me, and so I can choose to be miserable, 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:28.600 or I can choose to invest in joy. I can 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.640 choose to see what the lack of everything, or I 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:33.600 could choose to see what's in front of me. I 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:35.920 could choose to be grateful, or I could choose to 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:40.920 be miserable. And for me, that's what that perspective, Danielle 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:45.320 is what has helped me navigate much of the you know, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.600 crazy shit that's happened in life that you know about 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.160 that for me, it's given me that peace of mind 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:53.880 and peace of soul. And at the end of the day, 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:55.760 what I'll end with this is, you know, I've never 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:58.840 proselytized because I think it's a very personal relationship between 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:00.600 a person and God. And that's why I don't care 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:02.320 if you will do what you do what you gotta do. 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:04.760 But for me, I always tell people this, like, how 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:06.760 do you know of God existsingly? I don't know. But 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:08.280 what I do know is I have a limited time 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.800 on this earth, and with the time that I have, 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:12.520 this makes me. 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:13.160 A better person. 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:18.200 Yeah. Yeah, And I you know, I respect that so 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:20.920 much as somebody who was not brought up in the church. 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.360 I opted out of church when I was ten. My 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:27.160 grandparents were taking my sister and I. They were Protestants. 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.080 They were taking my sister and I and I said 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:31.960 to my mother, you know, it just doesn't feel And 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:34.480 I was ten, and I'm like, it just doesn't feel right. 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:36.080 And I don't really want to go, but I don't 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:38.840 want to upset grandma and grandpa. And she said, I'll 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:42.920 talk to them. And what I have found is that 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:48.920 for me, organized religion has always been very dogmatic in 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:51.760 the things that you couldn't do right. And I think that, 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.880 you know, it was always like, you know, if you're 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:56.760 a woman, you have to act like this. You know, 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:58.640 you have to have babies, you have to wear a skirt, 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:01.280 you have to be docile to and it was always 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:05.480 very prescriptive. And I thought, you know, this universe, this 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:08.440 this world that we're living in, is so massive, right, 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:12.119 Like the God that I believe in, which I do, 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:17.040 doesn't believe in in in restriction, right, Like like like 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.639 why would you create a universe that is so boundless 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.439 and so beautiful to tell people don't smell that flower, 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:25.440 smell this one, don't talk, you know, don't pet that dog, 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.720 pet this one? Right? And so what I have come 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:32.439 to understand is that it is it's it's man is 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.760 the problem, you know, Like, it isn't. It isn't the 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.760 it isn't spirit, it isn't God, it isn't the universe. 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:42.919 It is it's the way that I view politics, right, Like, 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:47.080 I believe in government for and by the people. I 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:51.160 believe that there is a way to build a society 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:56.440 that has humanness at the center of it, right, not privilege, 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:59.959 not greed. And so when you look, when you detact, 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:05.080 like the the the dogma from like what the belief 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:07.840 structure is that all people should be able to exist 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:12.280 free of harm, you know, and be able to like 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:16.240 enjoy the bounty uh in their in their lives. It's 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:21.440 just like, what does what stops that from happening? Right? 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:21.679 Like? 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:25.400 And and so for me, the friction has always been 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:31.840 with the manipulation of scripture what I mean, plug in 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:37.040 whatever religion you want versus the actual source. Because there 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:39.479 was some there's some guy who I think his name 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:43.040 is Matthew Cook, and he's a writer and a director 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:45.080 and he's you know, all over social media and he 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:48.399 did this you know, beautiful video where he was just like, 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:52.640 if you look at everyone's text, it all formulated from 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:56.679 this same literally the same place, but literally the same ideas, 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:00.720 right of fasting for clarity of one to center the 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:04.720 least among us. Right, So it isn't it wasn't the 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:08.720 idea that was that you know that the ideas are 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:13.080 the same, it's the interpretation that has been contorted. And 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:15.960 so I always, you know, I find myself and I'll 0:19:15.960 --> 0:19:18.679 ask you this now, even though you are a traditional 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:25.280 Pakistani Buslam uncle, which is you know, how has your 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:29.800 faith and the way that you are also raising your children, 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.560 if it has that all changed shifted over the last 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:35.240 few years. 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:39.280 You know? So I always tell people, why are you 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:41.639 exactly what you said? Why are you so surprised that 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:46.520 people are leaving when all they've witnessed is abuse and 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:50.399 prescriptions that pretty much tell them don't do anything, and 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:53.080 if you do it, you'll go to help. Are you 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:57.080 shocked if you are teaching religion as a way that 0:19:57.160 --> 0:19:59.760 instead of being a shield that protects the most marginalized, 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:04.560 it sword in particular attack women and the marginalized, and 0:20:04.600 --> 0:20:08.720 it unleashes nothing but cruelty and makes people miserable. There's 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:10.960 no joy, there's no benefit of it. There's no joy, 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:13.720 like what's your cell? Your cell is do this or 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:16.400 you'll go to hell. And it doesn't stick with people, Danielle. 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:16.600 And I've seen. 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:19.879 What I've seen is when religion is promoted and pushed 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:21.840 that way, and it is in the Big Three oftentimes 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:25.199 a lot of my friends, you know, and when they 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.080 get older in their thirties and forties, and their soul. 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:29.000 Needs to be nourished. 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:35.159 Yeah, they need hope, they need joy, they need something esoteric. 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.280 Simply saying don't do this or else it just doesn't 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:42.560 fill the void. The void, the emptiness. And what we're 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:47.719 seeing now is this crisis of emptiness, of apathy, of nihilism, 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:52.720 of cynicism, of lack of connectedness. And I think this 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:54.840 is where, like you said, the source of it all 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:58.480 is a profound spiritual source where, if you really think 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:01.919 about it, all of us literally come like even the 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:04.160 primordial suit, we all came like we all got star 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:07.679 stuff in us, right, Yeah, And this is where I 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:10.239 think the core of it is is how do you 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:14.439 maintain the particularities of your religion, but don't let that 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:18.080 get in the way of appreciating and indulging and investing 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:21.119 in our shared humanity. Yeah, our shared humanity. And what 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:25.040 you're what you're articulating is where religion actually, instead of 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:28.520 allowing us to expand ourselves and to be generous and 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:31.040 to invest in our shared humanity, it puts the walls. 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:36.080 That's a coper, disbeliever, fassic, mushrik, aggressor, pervert. You know 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:40.080 me me me, me, me here, and let me construct 0:21:40.080 --> 0:21:42.560 a small cocoon and live in that cocoon forever, which 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:43.840 is what we're seeing more and more in the United 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.560 States of America, especially with disinformation. So for my children, 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:48.960 what me and my wife do very deliberately is we 0:21:49.000 --> 0:21:52.800 live in a very diverse neighborhood. Our neighbors they're best friends, 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:57.440 are Ethiopian Americans. They're other best friends. Are I just 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:01.800 found out yesterday actually conservative, never Trumper, Republicans who are 0:22:01.840 --> 0:22:05.040 Evangelical Christians white. My kids are the brown kids. You've 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:07.080 heard my home before every time we recorded like eight 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:10.359 hundred children in our home. Our home is that like 0:22:10.400 --> 0:22:13.760 neighborhood home like yesterday, Like like's like from six to 0:22:13.760 --> 0:22:15.639 eight thirty. I look at my house, there's like seven 0:22:15.760 --> 0:22:18.320 kids just going wild, and I'm like, all right, that's great. 0:22:18.600 --> 0:22:21.639 And so what we tell our kids is we are 0:22:21.720 --> 0:22:25.000 raising you musclim but know that not everyone is Muslim. 0:22:25.240 --> 0:22:28.720 You are Pakistani, not everyone is Pakistani. Your job is 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:31.080 to be the best version of yourself, but also be 0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:35.000 respectful to everyone else. Right, don't look down on people. 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:37.119 You know that my son went to a preschool and 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:40.800 there were two moms, and we've talked about this. We're 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:44.760 now like all these religious communities like LGBT, the butt, sex, 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:48.199 the trans what's happening? And then what we did. My 0:22:48.280 --> 0:22:50.199 son was four and now he's nine. But like we 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:53.879 literally said, hey, Abraham, you know that your friend who 0:22:53.960 --> 0:22:57.320 came over and his two moms. You know, every family 0:22:57.400 --> 0:23:00.680 is different. Some people have two moms, some people one month, 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:04.280 some people are biracial, but you know, you just be 0:23:04.400 --> 0:23:06.399 respectful to people and you understand that the world is 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:08.000 big that way. And you know what my four year 0:23:08.000 --> 0:23:13.480 old son goes, Yeah, okay. Kids have this capacity of 0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:17.440 innocence and generosity that we get hardened, Danielle as we 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:22.119