Earlier on Thursday, my colleague Susie Moore shared one of her audio commentaries for NewsTalkSTL, this time about abortion and how those of us who believe abortion is morally wrong (whatever the U.S. Supreme Court’s official decision on Roe v. Wade sifts out to be) can reach those who are still finding their footing on the controversial issue.
I think it matters more than people realize how we as children of God approach the persuadable, as Susie called those willing to listen to opposing views. The approach used is sometimes the spark that makes a difference. Let me give you an example of this, from what might seem like a rather unusual messenger of the pro-life message — podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan.
During his interview with comedian Doug Stanhope on the Wednesday episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, according to Newsweek, Rogan talked a great deal of common sense about the SCOTUS draft opinion leak, and really expressed where so many Americans are on the abortion issue.
How so? Even someone like Rogan, who says he is “100% for a woman’s right to choose,” knows there’s a line where it’s not actually “healthcare” but killing another human being–very different from what pro-abortion activists and their legacy media allies would like to portray as the majority opinion.
Watch and listen to this eye-opening clip:
Joe Rogan recognizes the extremely complex ethical and emotional issues surrounding the abortion debate.
“There’s a big difference between a little clump of cells and a fetus with eyeballs and a beating heart … but where do you draw the line? That’s the question.” pic.twitter.com/cSortwiMf8
— Mythinformed MKE (@MythinformedMKE) May 5, 2022
Remember, the host is staunchly pro-abortion. Newsweek captured the full context of Rogan’s comments, which I think is important. Stick with it to the end:
“What if you get raped? What if, anything like that. Someone, like a family member, molests you,” Rogan asked. “I don’t like people telling other people what they can and can’t do.”
[…]
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“It gets weird when the baby gets like six months old [gestation],” Rogan said. “I know that some states have late-term abortions and sometimes you need one for medical reasons, right? The woman could die if she gives birth. Like it’s a decision that people have to make.”
“I am 100% for a woman’s right to choose. But as a human being, just a person observing things, there’s a big difference between a little clump of cells and a fetus with the eyeball and the [sic] beating heart. And for anybody to pretend there’s not,” Rogan mused.
“Where do you draw the line?” his guest Stanhope asked.
“Right. Where do you draw the line? Yeah, that’s the question. It’s what I call a human issue. It’s a very complicated issue. It’s so fraught with emotion. And it’s so political,” Rogan said.
Indeed.
Now, why is the opinion of someone like Rogan important to bring up? There are many hot takes out there, floating around in the ether. How can one more, specifically from someone who isn’t a conservative or even pro-life, help our cause?
People like this–Rogan, Elon Musk, and Rogan’s entertainment world colleague, Dave Chappelle–are important in cultural conversations. As I’ve mentioned before, Andrew Breitbart’s edict on politics being less crucial to effecting change than culture still stands.
There’s also this important point about all three men: Joe Rogan claimed on the April 22 episode that not only had progressive activists’ efforts to get him kicked off the Spotify streaming platform proved futile, he gained millions more subscribers, as Sister Toldjah reported at the time. She wrote: (emphasis mine)
On his Friday podcast Rogan, who is also well-known in the MMA world and who has done interviews and color commentary on matches in the past, told listeners and viewers that his “subscriptions went up massively” in 2021 in the midst of his critics’ attacks, claiming “during the height of it all, I gained two million subscribers.”
To return to the beginning of this piece, it matters how we approach hard topics, including abortion. When we observe the way these kinds of conversations happen when culture is a part of it, we can only gain positive insights for the future of the movement. There’s no denying that comedy and entertainment open a door to people speaking reasonably, especially when those things are controversial and weaponized issues the Left would like to use to their advantage. It’s up to us to not let them get away with it.
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