$5,000, $5,000 is that what we're talking about now, $5,000 is supposed to ma...
forget everything I have watched happen over the last two years, $5,000 is supposed to
make me what, shut my mouth abandoned my principles, is the $5,000 going to allow me to just what, swallow my objections and suddenly pretend that none of this matters, no, absolutely not, my integrity is not for sale, and I know this is a hard thing for people in
Washington DC to fathom. If someone thinks five grand is enough to buy it, then they badly
“misunderstand who are you, and who I think a lot of Americans are, don't make them”
a stake of thinking we are that desperate. I know $5,000 matters, and other people who could desperately use $5,000, it can pay it, maybe a credit card bill, make a couple of those
mortgage payments, maybe fix your car, I don't know, buy some groceries, keep the
lights on a little longer, help your family breathe for just a little bit, but it's
“all the things that it can't do is what's really important, it can't buy back your”
character, once you sell it, it is gone forever. It can't restore your credibility, once you throw that away, it certainly won't erase your memory. I remember what I've seen, I remember what I've said about what I've seen. I remember what I have stood for. I'm not going to suddenly develop amnesia because someone starts waving a few bucks around. You can't buy my silence for $5,000, you can't, certainly can't buy my approval. You can't buy my
conscience. You can't put $5,000 on the table and expect me to say, well, I guess everything is fine now. And to think anyone will is extraordinarily insulting because there are some things in this world that are worth more than money. You're word, your principles, your reputation, your family, your country, your ability to look at yourself in the mirror and know that when you were tested, you did not fold. That matters to me a lot. And frankly,
I can't understand or imagine living any other way. I have built my entire life around the idea that when I tell people something, I mean it and it's factual, based in good faith,
“when I believe something is wrong, I say so. When I believe people are being lied to, when”
they're being manipulated and when they're being taken advantage of, I say so. Sometimes,
That cost me followers.
Again, I do not care. Sometimes it brings an avalanche of people screaming at me and comment
“at sections across the interwebs. So be it. It's part of the gig. You know, integrity is not”
integrity when it's convenient. Integrity is what you have when somebody finally offers
you something to abandon it. And you tell them to go to hell. That's the test. Anybody can have principles when there's nothing at stake. Anybody can talk tough when nobody is asking them to sacrifice anything. A lot of you folks may not realize this. But for
“me personally, 35 years in the oil and gas industry. Many of those years with big”
oil. If you think for a second that I haven't turned down significant opportunity, which
often comes in the form of a monetary payment, if you think I haven't turned down a lot of money to not talk about the things I talk about sometimes you would be badly mistaken. If you think what I do hasn't cost me a great deal personally, you would be badly mistaken.
“If you think I haven't been threatened and targeted, you would be badly mistaken. There”
is a cost for integrity. There is a cost to tell the truth. And I've paid those costs. $5,000 for my vote. Seriously? If $5,000 can change, everything you claim to believe,
then those were never principles. They were just merchandise. You were just waiting for someone
to make an offer. I don't live that way. I refuse to teach my son that your values are sacred right up until someone right to a check. What kind of lesson is that? Son, always stand up for what you believe in unless of course someone offers you five grand. No, that's not how this works. That's not a thing. That is not the lesson that I teach my kids. I want them to understand that there will be moments in life when taking the easy path
benefits you financially. There will be moments when keeping your mouth shut, make your life easier. There will be moments when going along with something you believe is wrong, will come with a reward. And those are exactly the moments when your character matters the most because money comes and money goes. And $5,000 disappears pretty fast these days.
Even if it didn't, it wouldn't matter.
your transmission will go out. Maybe your air conditioner will break. Maybe your property
taxes are due. I don't know. It's going to go quick. Life will consume that money faster than most people think. Probably within a week or two. The money will be gone. And the decision you made to get it, you will own forever. That does not disappear. Your children will remember who you were. Your audience remembers who you were. The people who trusted you remember who you were and remember you will remember who you were. That is the part
“people underestimate. You have to live with yourself afterwards. I spent decades building”
my name. My credibility, my reputation. With a singular goal in mind to not be like those other people who just make a fortune telling you the most fascinating lies you've ever heard. It's been a very slow and hard grind for me building what I have built because
I've chosen to stand on the truth and the truth isn't always flashy and the truth gets
you canceled sometimes. But that's what I've done. You can't put a price tag on that. There's no chance. My name, my word, my credibility, my conscience, my responsibility, all worth significantly more than that. I will never sell my ability to criticize something
“when I believe it deserves criticism. I will never sell my ability to support something”
when I believe it deserves support. And I will never sell my right to change my mind when
and if the facts prove I was wrong. But there's one thing for sure. And that is I will never change what I believe simply because there's money attached to that. That's not persuasion. That's purchasing obedience. I'm not for sale. I'm not available for purchase. So if someone wants to talk to me about policy, we can talk about policy. If someone wants to defend their
“record, let them defend their record. If somebody wants to convince me that I'm wrong,”
bring your facts and convince me, bring evidence, bring results, bring an argument that is strong enough to change my mind. But do not bring me $5,000. And think that settles any conversation because it does not. There is no check that you can write to make me stop asking questions. There is no check you can write to make me forget what I have witnessed. There is no dollar amount to make me surrender my independence and my freedom. And there's
damn sure. Not $5,000 worth of anything. That's going to make me sell the most valuable thing that I own. My integrity. Keep your $5,000. I'll keep my name. I'll keep my principles. I'll keep my voice. And when this is all over, I will look at myself in the mirror and know one thing for sure. And that is that nobody bought me. The idea that Americans would sell their votes
For $5,000 to me is an insult to the people of this country.
in it, the irony in the fact that the reason so many people need desperately that $5,000 is because of who is in charge. That's crazy. The American Parapodcast Apple Spotify, anywhere you can download. Thanks for your time.
