WEBVTT - Steve Schmidt Celebrates 2 Years of THE WARNING

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<v Speaker 1>Two years ago today. I started the Warning, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>grown into a vibrant community where tens of thousands of

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<v Speaker 1>people are engaged in what's happening to our country around

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<v Speaker 1>the world, understanding and orienting towards the events of the day,

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<v Speaker 1>making sense of them without having to wait for a

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<v Speaker 1>corrupted journalist book deal to find out the news you

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<v Speaker 1>needed yesterday, two years from now. I started the Warning

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<v Speaker 1>because there needs to be fearless voices who are not

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<v Speaker 1>intimidated by growing menace and fascism, who are indifferent to

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<v Speaker 1>being patted on the head in the green room, who

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<v Speaker 1>don't aspire to sit at the head table of the

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<v Speaker 1>White House correspondence dinner, who understand that the purpose of

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<v Speaker 1>political power is the public interest in public good. The

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<v Speaker 1>Warning is a place where you can find reality, truthfulness

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<v Speaker 1>as a first quality, as an essential virtue. This dangerous

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<v Speaker 1>moment has not arrived overnight. It is not a building

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<v Speaker 1>block of disconnected events, like a giant djenga game that

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<v Speaker 1>has sprawled up from the ground, spontaneously, generated from nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>We are on a river with a current, and we

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<v Speaker 1>have moved far down over these last nine years. Donald Trump,

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<v Speaker 1>for nearly a decade has been America's dominant political and

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<v Speaker 1>cultural figure. He is the biggest star there is. The

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<v Speaker 1>national media can't look away. The politicians who were appalled

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<v Speaker 1>by him now lay prostate at his feet. The Warning

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<v Speaker 1>is a place where I will try to make sense

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<v Speaker 1>of it all, for you, to lay it all out

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<v Speaker 1>in fearless and direct terms, to connect it to history,

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about what's coming, how to prepare for it,

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<v Speaker 1>and how to stop it while there's still time left.

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<v Speaker 1>But no matter what happens two years from now, the

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<v Speaker 1>Warning will be here, and it will be growing, and

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<v Speaker 1>it will be a voice in the constellation of American

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<v Speaker 1>voices that advocate for liberty, for justice for all people,

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<v Speaker 1>for all Americans. We live in a consequential time, and

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<v Speaker 1>during my adult life, the journey down that river has

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<v Speaker 1>been monumental. When I was a young man at twenty

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<v Speaker 1>one years of age, some of the greatest historians of

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<v Speaker 1>their time predicted history was at its end. The liberal

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<v Speaker 1>democracies had triumphed pluralism, humanism, equality, human rights had prevailed

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<v Speaker 1>against human slavery. It was a respite a season, but

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<v Speaker 1>it has not endured, whether it was squandered or whether

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<v Speaker 1>it was history's natural arc is a different debate. But

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<v Speaker 1>here we sit today, two years after the founding of

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<v Speaker 1>The Warning, in the middle of a profound political crisis

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<v Speaker 1>here at home and a growling, growing menace around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>The world is moving towards war for its conflict. Come

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<v Speaker 1>to the Warning. Join this community, raise your voice as

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<v Speaker 1>part of it. Become involved in your community at home.

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<v Speaker 1>Be a good citizen. It means being an informed citizen.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Warning community. I hope you'll stick around.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Steve Schmidt. This is the Warning, and I invite

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<v Speaker 1>you to join. Subscribe on our substack, on our YouTube channel,

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<v Speaker 1>follow us. Welcome to the community.