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Welcome back to episode 16 of To The Unknown Pod.

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My name is Jordan Bush.

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I am the executive director of TGFB Media.

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And today we are joined by two thirds of the Island Boys, who I will allow to introduce

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themselves before I introduce our guest.

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What's up, Jordan?

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I'm Oshawa Hawthorne.

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I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.

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uh eight kids happy dad and i lead a small organization called brilliance labs my name

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is matt purvis a pastor long time in hawaii on the big island hence the name island boys

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in the small village of pahoa a new age mecca and also run businesses and did other stuff

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and uh yeah so basically that that's kind of who we are we're missing ryan ryan is on a vacation

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with his family, which we allow him to do every so often. Again, we just tell him not to make a

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habit of it, and then we go from there. Today, I just want to introduce our guest. We are joined,

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we are super grateful to have with us Matthew Mastronardi, who will kind of unpack why he's

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here and what that is. But Matthew, for those maybe who don't know, you don't need to mention

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kind of your recent scandal, let's say, but just why don't you give a background to folks who don't

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know you and then kind of give us your Bitcoin bona fides maybe, including who you just interviewed

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a couple of days ago. Sure. Well, thanks for having me, Jordan. It's good to be with you all.

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Yeah. My name is Matthew Mastronardi. I live in Spokane, Washington, and I'm a former teacher

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and we'll get into that. I'm a former teacher, but yeah, I've been into Bitcoin for about four

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years now and lead a little organization here called Pacific Northwest Bitcoin. We teach free

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classes along with my brother, who you got to meet up in Moscow, Idaho. And I also have a podcast

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called The Great Reassessment. And the episode you're referring to is my episode of Jeff Booth.

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And it was really cool. I had to wait a long time because he's a very busy man,

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but my mind was nonetheless you know blown away just being able to talk to him it's really cool

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and so yeah I've been into Bitcoin and yeah I have family in Argentina and that country has

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you know suffered monetary oppression and you know you wake up one morning the banks are closed and

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so I kind of understand the symptoms of bad money from that perspective a little bit and

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yeah, it's just, it's a rabbit hole. Yeah. And so again, so Matt, Matt, uh, Matthew,

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we have that in common. Obviously I lived, spent about seven years in Uruguay, which is just across

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the, just across the river from, uh, from Argentina and just culturally those two places are super

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similar. Uh, they're cousins in a lot of ways. So, uh, so even, even just looking at you by heart,

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just like wells, because I just miss, miss being in Uruguay and miss our, our friends in the culture

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there and everything. So, okay. So we'll, we'll get into this a little bit. Why don't you kind

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of unpack for us? Obviously you, you're, you know, said that you were a teacher. Why don't

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you kind of start unpacking what the situation was that arose and how that affected you?

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Yeah. So I was a high school Spanish teacher in the public school system. And on April 17th,

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it was during sixth period, there was an incident that occurred that eventually got me fired, but

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I had taught my Spanish lesson and I was pacing around the room and students are working on an

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independent assignment. And I overhear this conversation between two girls and they're

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talking about the book to kill a mockingbird, which is a book that they're assigned to read

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in their English class. I want to be clear. I don't actually teach that book, but we were talking

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about how they have to skip over. Um, I'm not going to say the word here, but they had to skip

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over a word called the N-word. And I was just thinking that's weird because you're assigned

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to read this book. And as a Christian, we respect authorial intents, especially when we're reading

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the Bible, right? And we should do the same thing when we're reading novels. We really miss an

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opportunity to understand the context, to confront history head on. And we have to understand the

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difference between context and intent. And I just expressed my disagreement with these girls

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that they have to do that. And it led to a really spontaneous, teachable moment that I think these

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kids really needed. So I kind of went off script a little bit. I wasn't planning on spending the

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rest of the class period talking about this, but I thought it was a worthwhile side conversation

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because we live in a world where we're losing context.

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And I thought they needed that because in a couple of years,

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they're going to be functional citizens.

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And you can't have a society that doesn't have the capability

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to appreciate nuance and context.

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Well, anyways, a girl asked me straight up, she goes,

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well, if you were reading the book, would you read the word?

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And I laughed and I said, yes.

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If I was reading the book, I would read every word. And in that moment, a boy whipped out the book. He had the page ready to go. And he said, here, take it. Let's see it. Do it.

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and I felt like I was past the point of no return, and my integrity was on the line at this point,

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and I felt like I had to display for these students that they can engage with literature honestly.

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They don't have to be afraid. They don't have to be scared of being called a racist,

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or only be allowed to read the book on certain conditions. I think it's your duty and your right

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as a learner to read the text as written and without fear of consequences. And so I felt like

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I had to display that and I did, and it was secretly recorded. And that video got circulated

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around the school. It made its way up to the school board. And I eventually, the school board

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voted to let me go. Oh man. I just, I mean, it was crazy for me to hear this story because we

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had just been together i mean oh what was it a month and a half earlier uh we'd just been hanging

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out and then to hear this whole thing happen i mean so i mean were these students i don't know

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how much you want to get into this but like we're i mean this this wasn't this wasn't done maliciously

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by this student they just were going to get it on on video they weren't thinking like oh we we hate

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mr mr mastronardi we're trying to get him fired they weren't thinking necessarily any of that were

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they? No, you know, cell phones in schools has been a really big problem. And you have to think

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like teenagers these days, they're really just fighting for validation and they want to be

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accepted by their peers. And everything to them is an opportunity to be connected and to share.

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Everything's a post, right? I think she just wanted to capture the juicy moment to share with

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friends. And this, I mean, on my last day of school, when everybody found out what was happening,

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she actually apologized to me and with tears in her eyes. And it was a great opportunity for me

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to say, I'm not mad at you. And I believe God is sovereign. But it was a great lesson for them to

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think about second and third order consequences, because sometimes they make these decisions,

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not thinking that there could be a secondary consequence that your actions actually have

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effects. So how did the school board respond? Was it just pretty much, I mean, were they willing to

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kind of hear you out at all or did any of the context matter? Ironically, the context of you

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reading the book didn't matter. You know, the context of what you were doing, what was kind of

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their response. Yeah. So it started out, the principal gave me a verbal warning, like a

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reprimand saying, don't ever do this again. And I thought that was the end of it. But then two days

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later, human resources director reached out to me and she said, we want to have a conversation about

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your contract. And in that meeting, I was given an ultimatum that's in light of recent events,

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I can either voluntarily resign or face non-renewal. And I submitted a rebuttal because

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my conscience was clean. And two days after that, I was served papers of non-renewal.

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And so I kept quiet about it because I was trying to follow due process and

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meet with the superintendent, try to get him to reconsider. And they ultimately decided against

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that. So the last week of school was when the story went viral. You know, you saw in the New

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York Post, the Washington Times, the Daily Mail, libs of TikTok retweeted it. And it was just

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everywhere. And so it was Thursday and the last day of school was Friday. At noon, I was served

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papers that I had to vacate the campus and I didn't get to go to the last day of school and say

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goodbye. And my brother works at the same school where we were teachers at the same school and he

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worked across the hall. And he said that the next day was really sad because students were just

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flocking to my room. They wanted to see me and they wanted to say goodbye. And, you know,

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it was just a really sad situation. But then we had a school board meeting where that was my final

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appeal last week. And they unanimously voted to terminate my contract. And, you know, it was,

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it was crazy. We got there at eight in the morning. There was a huge crowd gathering

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outside the building. And we had two overflow rooms and an hour of public comment. And it was

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just really cool to see the community come together. And I'm really proud of my students for

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displaying courage. You know, some of these are 15, 16 year olds making a public comment to stand up

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for something they believe in. And so it was just really cool. But they, yeah, they made their

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decision really quickly after the public comment. They had already made their minds up and they

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voted unanimously to let me go. What do you think motivated, I mean, some of the, I mean,

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just the reluctance or refusal to consider your appeal? What do you kind of chalk that up to?

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I think that there's secular progressive forces that govern our public school systems that

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they can't have a teacher who tells the truth too often. So I think they maybe thought that I

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was going to be a loose cannon, right? If they let me get tenure, it's going to be a lot harder

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to get rid of me. And I'm not afraid to speak the truth. I'm not afraid that if the student

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comes to me with a genuine thought-provoking educational question, I'm not going to shut,

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I'm not going to slam the door in his face.

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And I think they saw me as a liability to where maybe he'll do this again.

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And that,

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I don't know if that's true,

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right?

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Every situation is a little different,

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but I think that they saw me.

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And you don't know if you would do it again.

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Like it would depend on the situation.

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Yeah,

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it would depend on the situation.

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Like I said,

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my conscience is clean.

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I felt like it was an appropriate time to have a spontaneous teaching moment,

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which those are golden moments like every teacher dreams of hey look all the students

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have put their phones away and they I have their undivided attention they're actually listening to

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me it's a teacher's dream to have that and you know it and so every day is a little different but

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you know I didn't wake up that morning wanting to do that it just sort of happened and yeah I think

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it's a system that can't have too much truth telling or too much helping, uh, of helping

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students think critically when it goes against their orthodoxy.

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Have you had other like run-ins with, with like in the school at all, or was this kind of just

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your, it was like one strike you're out? Yeah. I've, I had been teaching there for three years.

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I've never had a disciplinary action before this. And to my knowledge, there's been no

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like formal grievances. I've had conversations with parents about their students, but like

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there's never, nobody's ever brought a complaint to me. Yeah. You know, and I passed every teaching

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evaluation, but this was like the first thing and it just like an avalanche that it just,

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it all sort of erupted. Yeah. So, I mean, you, as you, you mentioned, it might've been before we

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got on the call, like you're married, you have three kids. So what is the last, you know, few

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weeks looked like from that standpoint, just in terms of, I mean, you still got to provide for your

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wife and kids. You still got to put food on the table. You know, have you been able to find another

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job or are you still kind of looking or what does that look like? Yeah. Well, fortunately the

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teachers sign a contract, so I will thank God I'll still get paid for like two more months

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through the end of my contract because my contract goes through August and then it's

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terminated. But yeah, I'm looking for other opportunities. I have some entrepreneurial

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ideas that I'm thinking about. I'm trying to build my podcast and network and things like that.

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I'm really thankful that I have some Bitcoin

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but

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yeah I'm just sort of taking it one step at a time

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the last month and a half has been

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really stressful because

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you know with all the articles and the news

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you just spend a lot more time on your phone than you really want to

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because you're

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you're wondering what did the paper say

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and who's leaving these comments that are attacking me.

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And it just creates stress in a lot of unique ways.

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And my wife has had to bear a brunt of this stuff.

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And I've been busy talking to the press and things like that.

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And you have this big question mark about what's the future going to hold?

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And so we're relieved in a way that we have an answer so we can actually start planning and building our life again.

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Sure. Yeah.

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So in terms of your brother, I mean, that's, I'm sure on the one hand, I'm sure you have like mixed emotions about that, right?

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You've got your brother who, you know, stands out for you and quits, you know, and so you're, I'm sure you're proud of him and happy on one, on the one hand.

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And at the same time, is he married as well?

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Yes, he's married, has a stay-at-home wife with three kids as well.

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He still has two kids.

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So I'm sure that, has there been any mixed emotions from your standpoint on that as well?

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Yeah.

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Sometimes I wonder, like, was this the right decision?

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And ultimately, you know, he's the grown man.

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He's going to make his decision.

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Yeah.

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And, you know, we're praying that God opens new doors.

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And, you know, because, yeah, when you walk away from a teaching career, you know, you have a stable job, you have insurance, you have a 401k.

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And, you know, so we're just like, man, we hope that there's some redemption at the end of all of this that, you know, we can look back and say, you know, it was all for a God-glorifying reason.

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And we're already seeing some of that just with the students.

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Like, I want to say how proud I am of my students because, you know, they're showing up to a press event.

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They're showing up to the school board meeting.

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And like this lesson about context that I was trying to teach they actually learning it in a very practical applicable way because you know before all this maybe they hadn thought about

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our words, right? But now they see their teacher losing their job and they're actually forced to

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think, well, he wasn't saying it in a racist, pejorative way. He was reading in a book.

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And so they're having to like weigh it. Whereas maybe if none of this had happened,

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And, you know, they would have just read the book the way the teacher wants them to.

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And, you know, they wouldn't have thought about context and the use and intent of our words.

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But now they are.

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And I think that it's a lesson that it's going to carry with them.

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And they got to hear the gospel through this.

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And like my pastor came to the school board meeting and he led a beautiful prayer before the event.

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And, you know, there's a lot of non-believers who are there.

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And so some of those, hey, this happened for a reason. Some of that is already starting to reveal itself, but, you know, a man has to provide. And so we're hoping that a perfect God-ordained opportunity presents itself.

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it did like with as far as like the the just the principle of context being important like is this

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just something that just kind of came out of nowhere had you been like recently thinking about

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this more or like reading stuff about it or what where did that kind of come from was it was it

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just as simple as just happened to come up that day i mean in this particular yeah i mean personally

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I really believe this. I hold it with great conviction that a word is not inherently evil

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in and of itself. A word, it's the intent behind a word, right? And sometimes words are sharp

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and they're like tools. And if they're very sharp, maybe we should leave them away for the

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part. But you can conceive of a context where the only way to convey a message is using some of

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these words. And I've used the example, like in the movie about Jackie Robinson, the movie 42,

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there's a really hard scene where they're on the road, they're in another city,

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and they're playing a team where the coach is just dehumanizing Jackie. He's calling him,

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you know, every racial slur in the book. And like, think about it. If that's a movie,

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they're trying to convey what this man went through. If they redacted the words and said,

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inward, inward, inward, or beep, beep, beep, it would actually be a disservice to his story and

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what he went through. Right. And so in that context, pulling out that sharp tool is actually

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necessary to portray the correct history. And like, there's all sorts of consequences. I just

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tweeted about this. I mean, look what happens when we only read the parts of the Constitution

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or the Bible that we're comfortable with or that we like. There's all sorts of consequences

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downstream from that. And I mean, one of them is like, our society is forgetting what a boy and a

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girl is and that boys are competing. So the truth is at stake here when we alter and hide words

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and language shapes your perception about reality. And you can actually control somebody's thoughts

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when you control the language they're allowed to use. And so I see so many consequences downstream

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and I just hold those principles dearly

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and I want these students to be able to think for themselves

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and we don't protect them by banning words.

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We protect them by helping them actually understand what they mean.

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Yeah.

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And so all of that just came out in that moment

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and I kind of just instinctually felt I had to do that

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and I don't care if you disagree with me,

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but at least think critically about it.

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Powerful words.

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I'm just trying to think.

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So, I mean, what has been, I mean,

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I don't know what the legal recourse, you know,

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looks like with a situation like this.

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Is there still, does there remain any kind of legal recourse for you

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or not really?

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I mean, what does that look like?

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Because I mean, I'm just thinking, like, I've heard of a bunch of stories of you've got teachers who maybe not like sexually assault, but like they'll be accused of this and it'll go on or like it'll be known that this happened.

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And like it's known that teachers union is very difficult to fire a teacher for a teacher to lose their job, at least in some states.

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So the fact that they were able to so quickly get you out, you know, it's kind of surprising on one level.

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So, I mean, maybe just answering that question, like what is the, do you still have any recourse and what does that look like?

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Yeah, we still have some recourse.

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So the reason I think they wanted to get rid of me is because if they let me teach for one more year, I would have been granted tenure.

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And it's really hard to get rid of somebody who has tenure.

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Got you.

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So I didn't have the same rights to a formal hearing.

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And now the union still represents me.

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Yeah.

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I was a non-dues paying member, and I've been transparent about that.

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But I don't want my money going to some of the causes that these unions donate their money to.

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But they still have to represent me because they are still the sole bargaining agent on my behalf.

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And I had meetings with the union, and all I got was just, I was getting lectured about how what I did was wrong.

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I would have never done what you did, and I've been teaching way longer than you have.

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And like no meaningful help whatsoever.

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And I actually have that conversation on audio, and I'm probably going to release it soon.

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But yeah, there is legal recourse because even though I was not a tenured teacher,

255
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there's a case to be made that this is a viewpoint discrimination first amendment case

256
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that falls outside of the teaching policy and it's being looked at very closely i'll say that

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can i chime in something there do it uh you know having employed hundreds of people over the years

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you have to be aware not only of like, it's okay. You know, Hawaii is an at will work state. I don't

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know if Washington is. So you can terminate somebody anytime you want, but it doesn't mean

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you can discriminate against them. So if I say, um, you're no longer, I no longer need your

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services today. And they say, what for? I can say, felt like it, you know, but I can't terminate

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their services because sexual identity, religious racism, or anything like that. And so it's an

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interesting, I'm not sure if Washington's an at-will work state, and then even though it's

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an at-will state, you can terminate somebody anytime, anyplace. Not for any reason, though.

265
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You can terminate them for no reason, but you cannot terminate them for a bad reason. Does

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That makes sense. So it seems to me that in your case, your contract was, it's allowable to let you go because they just don't like the cut of your jib.

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But not because you bring a viewpoint that's essentially, the word you said, Jordan, you said it right. I can't remember the word you used.

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Basically religious discrimination or viewpoint discrimination.

269
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Yeah, that's exactly right.

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You can get rid of an at-will employee or a non-tenured teacher for no cause, right?

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You can do that.

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But if you let the cat out of the bag and you reveal what the real reason is,

273
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and that reason ends up being you're retaliating against this person

274
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because of a First Amendment viewpoint difference,

275
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that's where things get a little bit tricky and and no you're right you don't have the right to

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do that or you're violating the constitution at that point have you i mean i know you i mean you've

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done a number of of interviews like i've seen you on a number of different interviews um has there

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been i mean have any of those people i mean kind of reached out to try to offer more legal help or

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just to help you think through that kind of stuff?

280
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Or I guess who else has been in your corner

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other than these unions?

282
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Yeah, there's a few.

283
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I've had a lot of DMs

284
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trying to connect me with this person,

285
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with that person.

286
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And there's actually a pretty big,

287
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I'm drawing a blank on the name,

288
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but like the American Freedom Teachers Association,

289
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I think.

290
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They reached out.

291
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they're having a big conference in July and they have people I'm speaking with.

292
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Okay.

293
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Looking at options and,

294
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um,

295
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but it's also like,

296
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it's also so hard to like connect with people online and virtually.

297
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Like,

298
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so it's being looked at closely here locally as well.

299
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Yeah.

300
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So I'm,

301
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I only have a few more minutes,

302
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but I'm,

303
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I'm fascinated by all the different cultural,

304
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social,

305
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linguistic and theological just kind of overlapping issues in this conversation and obviously i think

306
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um yeah and i mean different people in in the moment right where you're yeah i i can just feel

307
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the the the tension of i've i've i've said these certain things i've i've tried to teach this to

308
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these students, this view that, that, um, that ideas and intent matters. And it's not just,

309
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there's not just taboo words and certain syllables form together that, that create this unforgivable

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sin. And then you're challenged with your idea. And so then you, you go for it. Right. Um, and I,

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can feel that that the the challenge of that moment and and um and it it it makes sense that

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you made that that decision um i wonder as i as i think through so there's a uh cr wiley has a

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great book on uh tom bombadil and he has a whole chapter on on words and their connection to magic

314
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and he uses even the linguistic connection of spelling as casting spells

315
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and the role of words and their power and that they indeed have power

316
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and humans infuse them with power and meaning

317
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and that those words, yes, there's authorial intent, right?

318
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the person speaking them. There's also etymological history. There's also semantic domain.

319
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How does this word get used in different contexts, in different use cases? My background is in

320
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linguistics and biblical languages. You read a whole ton about these different issues and you

321
00:29:23,527 --> 00:29:28,167
can't just say, well, this Greek word means these five things. So that's what it means in this

322
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context. You're like, no, that is called, that's an exegetical fallacy of the totality of the

323
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domain that you're transferring into this one use case. And so language is complex. There's theories

324
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around speech act and how speech is actually an act. And when God speaks, he creates when he speaks.

325
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And so the divine actor is actually doing things as he speaks.

326
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Words become reality when spoken by our triune God.

327
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And we're little, right, image bearers of this God.

328
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And the scriptures talk a lot about blessing and cursing and the power of words.

329
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And so I would, and I think this is a whole other conversation,

330
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and I'd be interested in engaging in it.

331
00:30:19,067 --> 00:30:29,007
I think it's a worthwhile conversation where we can say both there is authorial intent within historical texts that appear in their own historical context.

332
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And then you have present day context and the intent of a reader or someone in conversation or an actor on a movie set.

333
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Like acting out a historical moment or just a imaginary hypothetical story.

334
00:30:49,067 --> 00:30:58,207
Um, but I, I think there's also, I think words do get lives of their own that, that get created.

335
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And, and then there's also, again, within speech theory, encoding and decoding.

336
00:31:04,847 --> 00:31:18,907
Like if I'm, if I'm encoding a message to you in one language and you don't know that language or the word I'm using, it's the, the princess bride, uh, meme, you keep using this word.

337
00:31:18,907 --> 00:31:25,447
I don't think you know what it means. Right. Um, and so I can encode one meaning into the,

338
00:31:25,567 --> 00:31:30,607
into the vocalization that I'm giving, but my audience is decoding a different meaning.

339
00:31:31,107 --> 00:31:39,807
Um, that's called a failure of communication. Right. Um, and so I, I would say that there,

340
00:31:40,027 --> 00:31:46,887
there's so much burden on communicators to recognize even as a preacher. So I've over the

341
00:31:46,887 --> 00:31:53,967
years I've preached hundreds of times and and you you go through this long process of okay I here's

342
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my manuscript here's what I plan to say now what is my audience gonna hear and is this gonna be

343
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helpful and I err on the side of being more calm not confrontational like like oh this will get a

344
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rise out of people and I'm gonna so I'm gonna say this uh because I want to leave an impact I want

345
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to be memorable. And then I have those the next week conversations and I get the emails from

346
00:32:23,487 --> 00:32:29,047
congregants or people at the conference and they're like, what did you mean by that? And I remember

347
00:32:29,047 --> 00:32:39,667
saying a particularly vivid image about abortion. And I was really passionate about it. And I used

348
00:32:39,667 --> 00:32:46,107
this image and I communicated and I, I believe I told the truth about what abortion actually is.

349
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But then I, and having conversations afterwards with, with women in my congregation, either who

350
00:32:54,347 --> 00:33:00,907
work in the medical field or have been, have had abortions or like, and all of a sudden I realized,

351
00:33:00,907 --> 00:33:08,067
wow, the Sunday morning large group context was not the context to say what I said.

352
00:33:08,067 --> 00:33:14,327
and I did cause harm and not hypothetical, like you were politically incorrect. So I'm going to

353
00:33:14,327 --> 00:33:20,327
have manufactured outrage, which sounds like, I mean, I don't know all the specifics, but that

354
00:33:20,327 --> 00:33:27,867
sounds like a lot of manufactured outrage. Um, but I actually did cause like some stumbling

355
00:33:27,867 --> 00:33:33,407
to, to listeners and, and hurt. And I've, I had to process through that and would I have said it

356
00:33:33,407 --> 00:33:40,047
again. And so, um, yeah, that's just me, me rambling. And I don't feel like I have like a

357
00:33:40,047 --> 00:33:45,287
clear, like, I don't know enough in a number of situations to say, well, therefore I'm going to

358
00:33:45,287 --> 00:33:50,807
come to a conclusion about whether or not a thing should have been said in your context.

359
00:33:51,507 --> 00:33:56,927
But, but man, there are so many elements of truth and questions of meaning and language

360
00:33:56,927 --> 00:34:01,567
involved in this debate that I, I'm glad we're having it. And I'm glad there's a Christian

361
00:34:01,567 --> 00:34:07,607
brother trying to be faithful in the midst of it. And by God's grace, probably learning and

362
00:34:07,607 --> 00:34:16,287
growing through the process. Yeah. Well, thank you for sharing that. And I agree. The context

363
00:34:16,287 --> 00:34:36,675
in which we speak words is really important And I been reading Matthew 12 for the last month where Jesus is talking about you will give an account for every careless word you speak And you know I take that very seriously and I not perfect at

364
00:34:36,675 --> 00:34:44,295
it, but at the end of the day, I think like, what is a classroom, right? A classroom should be a

365
00:34:44,295 --> 00:34:54,875
place of guided exploration. And if a student needs to understand a word, a word used in context,

366
00:34:55,035 --> 00:35:01,555
like what other place is, is that lesson going to become, come across if it's not in a classroom

367
00:35:01,555 --> 00:35:10,075
and, you know, I know there's plenty of other areas where you can gain knowledge, right? But

368
00:35:10,075 --> 00:35:16,375
I think the classroom is an appropriate place for that to take place, especially if, you know,

369
00:35:16,995 --> 00:35:26,035
I was genuinely trying to serve students, and I made it very clear when and how this word should

370
00:35:26,035 --> 00:35:33,735
not be used. I said it about four times, and there's even students who have done interviews

371
00:35:33,735 --> 00:35:39,115
with the press who said, you know, Mr. Maschner, he was very clear. You don't call people this.

372
00:35:39,115 --> 00:35:54,535
You don't use this in a discriminatory way. He was trying to help us understand what it meant in context and that you can still engage with something honestly and you shouldn't feel bad for it.

373
00:35:54,535 --> 00:35:58,915
Because, again, understanding is key here.

374
00:35:59,475 --> 00:36:04,995
If you read every approved word, but you have no understanding of how we got here,

375
00:36:05,595 --> 00:36:10,675
that's fertile ground for the cycle that you're trying to prevent to just perpetuate.

376
00:36:12,355 --> 00:36:16,935
And I think rather than having the blind lead the blind,

377
00:36:17,415 --> 00:36:20,355
because these kids are going to be talking about it regardless.

378
00:36:20,995 --> 00:36:23,115
Are they going to be doing it behind closed doors

379
00:36:23,115 --> 00:36:24,935
when they're laughing with their friends

380
00:36:24,935 --> 00:36:26,875
and then they end up making jokes about it?

381
00:36:27,175 --> 00:36:30,315
Or can they learn about it from a teacher

382
00:36:30,315 --> 00:36:31,635
who loves and cares about them

383
00:36:31,635 --> 00:36:35,175
and who has more life experience?

384
00:36:36,475 --> 00:36:38,815
And so there's a lot at play.

385
00:36:38,894 --> 00:36:39,695
And so I agree with that.

386
00:36:40,115 --> 00:36:41,975
It's kind of like the sex talk with kids.

387
00:36:42,055 --> 00:36:43,955
Do you want them to learn about the sex talk

388
00:36:43,955 --> 00:36:46,255
from their porn-watching 11-year-old friend?

389
00:36:46,815 --> 00:36:49,955
Or do you want to hear it from mom and dad

390
00:36:49,955 --> 00:36:51,635
that it's from mommies and daddies

391
00:36:51,635 --> 00:36:54,535
and God, it's good and blah, blah, blah, you know?

392
00:36:56,195 --> 00:36:58,595
And, you know, I have a little beam of light,

393
00:36:58,655 --> 00:36:59,515
I think, to throw in here.

394
00:36:59,615 --> 00:37:02,055
Like based on your testimony just now,

395
00:37:02,575 --> 00:37:04,535
I feel like your students got the lesson,

396
00:37:04,975 --> 00:37:06,355
if that makes sense.

397
00:37:07,075 --> 00:37:11,635
And somehow your overseers didn't get the lesson

398
00:37:11,635 --> 00:37:12,394
at this point.

399
00:37:12,955 --> 00:37:15,475
And I don't know if it was their uplines

400
00:37:15,475 --> 00:37:17,075
that, you know, because you had apparently

401
00:37:17,075 --> 00:37:19,375
a conversation initially, which was like,

402
00:37:19,415 --> 00:37:20,275
hey, don't do that again.

403
00:37:20,275 --> 00:37:24,735
and then you have the opportunity to say, okay, that's not part of, that's not okay here. Okay,

404
00:37:24,775 --> 00:37:30,255
I won't, you know? And then next thing you know, it's this surprise. So who knows behind the scenes

405
00:37:30,255 --> 00:37:35,035
if there's like the bigger upline is like, nah, we're not going to have this guy around. I'm not

406
00:37:35,035 --> 00:37:40,455
speculating. I'm just saying it sounds a little like that. And then your students saying, hey,

407
00:37:40,475 --> 00:37:44,495
we're so sorry. We didn't know this would happen. Actually, they didn't really do anything wrong.

408
00:37:44,495 --> 00:38:12,935
I mean, maybe it was a little bit inappropriate to film it, but they're kids. This is what the adult world is for, is for you as an adult to go back to the other adults and say, okay, tell me what our mission is here and set me some parameters. And here's what I was trying to do. And has anyone else come forward saying that I'm racist? You know, has there any other accusations against me? And it seems like that's the adult conversation that should have been happening.

409
00:38:14,495 --> 00:38:17,375
And even if it's a reprimand, okay, fine, it's a reprimand.

410
00:38:17,715 --> 00:38:24,195
But I think that by actions, they taught the kids something that's not true.

411
00:38:25,575 --> 00:38:27,595
Whereas you taught them something that was true,

412
00:38:27,675 --> 00:38:29,815
whether or not you stepped over the line.

413
00:38:32,215 --> 00:38:33,175
Does that make sense?

414
00:38:33,335 --> 00:38:36,375
So that's my little ray of sunshine is it seems like the students got it.

415
00:38:36,375 --> 00:38:40,815
And I wonder if any of their families have expressed anything towards you

416
00:38:40,815 --> 00:38:41,755
or anything like that.

417
00:38:41,755 --> 00:38:51,795
all the families besides maybe one are in my, you know, in my courts. Um,

418
00:38:52,595 --> 00:38:57,555
especially the families that were represented in that classroom. Um, I've,

419
00:38:57,815 --> 00:39:04,535
I've received nothing but support from like 98% of students and families.

420
00:39:04,875 --> 00:39:10,375
I've seen people making comments on Facebook on like local news articles that,

421
00:39:10,375 --> 00:39:18,875
you know they're critical but you know there's you can't please everybody yeah um so yeah

422
00:39:18,875 --> 00:39:23,615
and then it's like woe to you when all men speak well of you so like there's like that's a whole

423
00:39:23,615 --> 00:39:28,475
other thing too is like you know it's not you don't want to be approved of by everybody there's

424
00:39:28,475 --> 00:39:32,675
people who like who you should want them to disapprove of you because of who they are and

425
00:39:32,675 --> 00:39:37,515
because of the things that they you know the type of things that they give approval to um i think one

426
00:39:37,515 --> 00:39:41,894
of the other things that you mentioned, we don't know, I can't remember what the context was, but

427
00:39:41,894 --> 00:39:46,735
you mentioned like there, we just have a culture, especially in the Pacific Northwest, uh, where,

428
00:39:46,835 --> 00:39:50,335
you know, we don't know what anything, we don't know what it means to be a boy. We don't know

429
00:39:50,335 --> 00:39:54,295
what it means to be a girl. And I would say the same thing goes just language more broadly. We

430
00:39:54,295 --> 00:40:00,394
don't know why it exists. And we, we don't really like where it, there's a lot of it that language

431
00:40:00,394 --> 00:40:05,455
is just, and it's even just discussed at this, at, at higher educational levels, like language is

432
00:40:05,455 --> 00:40:12,295
violence and you know in that like basically it's a tool of manipulation it's a it's a it's a weapon

433
00:40:12,295 --> 00:40:18,835
uh that that meanwhile meanwhile violence is language yeah that only violence is free speech

434
00:40:18,835 --> 00:40:26,915
yeah that that only exists to basically uh you know further certain ends uh in all these things

435
00:40:26,915 --> 00:40:31,935
and it's just like and then to look at that from a christian perspective like to look at and think

436
00:40:31,935 --> 00:40:35,335
about language from a christian perspective language exists for the same reason that everything

437
00:40:35,335 --> 00:40:41,175
exists, which is for the good of people in the glory of God. And so you're sitting there trying

438
00:40:41,175 --> 00:40:47,155
to act and trying to serve your students by, you know, by communicating to them, hey, this is the

439
00:40:47,155 --> 00:40:50,894
way that language works. And then you get, you were presented with one example and you use that

440
00:40:50,894 --> 00:40:55,555
one example. But again, a lot of the, it seems like, you know, based on what you kind of you're

441
00:40:55,555 --> 00:41:02,235
saying, like there is so much politicization. There is, you know, you have these people who

442
00:41:02,235 --> 00:41:07,155
in the, you know, potential, potentially in the school board who are, you know, they tell you one

443
00:41:07,155 --> 00:41:12,995
thing, don't do this again. And, and then again, the next day, somebody who's a higher above them,

444
00:41:12,995 --> 00:41:18,775
who's afraid of getting in trouble or afraid of looking like they're not harsh enough on, uh,

445
00:41:18,775 --> 00:41:23,495
somebody who's potentially a racist, you know, all this kind of stuff. Like there's, it's two

446
00:41:23,495 --> 00:41:28,915
completely different ways of operating, right? You can operate from like a fear, uh, from like a

447
00:41:28,915 --> 00:41:32,055
a position of fear and of self-preservation,

448
00:41:32,055 --> 00:41:35,115
or you can operate from a perspective of love

449
00:41:35,115 --> 00:41:41,075
and of self-sacrifice and of a desire to help people grow.

450
00:41:41,595 --> 00:41:44,095
And so again, to kind of put the negative spin

451
00:41:44,095 --> 00:41:45,095
on what Matt was saying,

452
00:41:45,095 --> 00:41:49,075
it's very interesting what your students are taking away

453
00:41:49,075 --> 00:41:52,975
from the school board, which is you make one mistake,

454
00:41:53,175 --> 00:41:55,035
you do one thing that we don't like,

455
00:41:55,095 --> 00:41:56,635
and you're canceled, you're done with.

456
00:41:56,635 --> 00:42:14,495
You know, we're going to get rid of you. And so, again, it's just very humorous to think about the very purportedly secular Pacific Northwest who's being so puritanical when it comes to language. It's just, you know, it's very interesting.

457
00:42:14,495 --> 00:42:19,655
Uh, but yeah, I, I think that this is, this is just something we're going to see more and more,

458
00:42:19,655 --> 00:42:27,335
uh, as, as people come to the end, like there's been so much in, in the United States, uh, just

459
00:42:27,335 --> 00:42:33,295
culture where we've, we've like kind of, there's been like, uh, like parasitic relationship between

460
00:42:33,295 --> 00:42:40,075
culture and Christianity. Uh, there, like much of our culture has, has reaped the benefits of,

461
00:42:40,075 --> 00:42:45,295
being largely Christianized and they've been like able to kind of do whatever they want to,

462
00:42:45,415 --> 00:42:49,935
because they're still, you know, they can, they can, there's still like a small enough percentage

463
00:42:49,935 --> 00:42:56,135
that it really doesn't affect and degrade the whole. But I think as we continue to get, you

464
00:42:56,135 --> 00:43:02,195
know, critical mass and a higher, higher percentage of people who, again, for whatever reason have

465
00:43:02,195 --> 00:43:07,394
gotten to the point where they just don't see the value of, you know, of the Christian faith anymore.

466
00:43:07,394 --> 00:43:12,374
and they've replaced it with other things that are with other dogmas that aren't in line with

467
00:43:12,374 --> 00:43:17,655
reality and that are far more oppressive when it comes to dealing with people who step out of line.

468
00:43:17,835 --> 00:43:23,235
I think you're just going to see this in different levels, different parts of culture. So

469
00:43:23,235 --> 00:43:29,295
yeah, again, I think it's, I'm just super encouraged, you know, by you, just by the way

470
00:43:29,295 --> 00:43:34,595
you've handled it. You know, you haven't screamed and freaked out on people and, you know, and you

471
00:43:34,595 --> 00:43:36,874
You haven't kind of backed down from what you did.

472
00:43:38,015 --> 00:43:45,255
Again, I just think it's encouraging to other people who are potentially going to go through this.

473
00:43:45,615 --> 00:43:46,915
I do want to ask you this.

474
00:43:46,975 --> 00:43:49,295
You did mention you're thankful to have Bitcoin.

475
00:43:50,615 --> 00:43:53,435
Again, we have the vast majority of people who listen to this podcast are Bitcoiners,

476
00:43:53,435 --> 00:44:00,575
but there might be a couple who find this somehow who are confused as to why you would bring up Bitcoin in this context.

477
00:44:00,715 --> 00:44:02,755
Like, what does Bitcoin have to do with you getting fired?

478
00:44:04,595 --> 00:44:23,215
Yeah, no, that's a great point. And it's cool. Thank God for Bitcoin podcast where you can talk about Bitcoin. I think I'm thankful that I have some Bitcoin in this circumstance because, man, what if you only had money that just faces continual monetary debasement?

479
00:44:23,215 --> 00:44:32,195
and I don't know I'm just I'm thankful for the how Bitcoin has shaped my mind over the last four

480
00:44:32,195 --> 00:44:39,874
years because for the last four years I've been stacking Bitcoin because of what I believe it to

481
00:44:39,874 --> 00:44:47,695
be and the principles and you know how it shaped my view of money and so it's helped me become a

482
00:44:47,695 --> 00:44:51,155
cultivate better habits when it comes to money.

483
00:44:52,135 --> 00:44:56,015
And so I'm not looking at this situation thinking like,

484
00:44:56,575 --> 00:44:59,475
oh my gosh, what have I been doing the last four years?

485
00:44:59,855 --> 00:45:06,255
I have $4 in my bank account and I'm not prepared, right?

486
00:45:06,255 --> 00:45:10,535
So it's not just Bitcoin as money,

487
00:45:10,675 --> 00:45:15,755
but it's Bitcoin as a way of looking at money,

488
00:45:15,755 --> 00:45:23,455
a way of saving and for the last four years you know praise praise the lord that i've been in a

489
00:45:23,455 --> 00:45:31,295
position where i've been able to stack some sats every month and you know if god forbid i don't

490
00:45:31,295 --> 00:45:39,355
find a job but like hey i have something to live on for for you know a little while and it's not a

491
00:45:39,355 --> 00:45:46,555
money that will bleed its value. It's a money that will increase in value. And, you know,

492
00:45:46,615 --> 00:45:54,075
imagine if you were in a, imagine if we were in a place where the cancellation is a little bit

493
00:45:54,075 --> 00:45:58,755
further, right? Then where the regime is a little bit more oppressive and they don't just cancel

494
00:45:58,755 --> 00:46:04,835
your job or terminate your job. They actually find you money or they put you in prison or they

495
00:46:04,835 --> 00:46:09,215
seize your assets. Like I'm thankful the United States hasn't gotten to that point yet, but

496
00:46:09,215 --> 00:46:14,775
But man, we're not guaranteed that we couldn't go down a road like that.

497
00:46:14,835 --> 00:46:19,675
But to have the money that is, it's really hard to confiscate.

498
00:46:20,435 --> 00:46:23,795
And so I just feel freedom.

499
00:46:24,095 --> 00:46:25,515
Like it's just another layer of freedom.

500
00:46:25,635 --> 00:46:28,735
Like now that we're on this podcast, I can talk about things

501
00:46:28,735 --> 00:46:31,135
that I wouldn't have normally been able to talk about.

502
00:46:32,095 --> 00:46:36,735
And Bitcoin allows you to, you know, it gives you more freedom.

503
00:46:36,735 --> 00:46:39,155
And so it's a whole mindset really.

504
00:46:39,215 --> 00:46:47,535
yeah yeah go ahead ash you have a little less time yeah did you guys see the uh the scotus

505
00:46:47,535 --> 00:46:56,795
decision about uh against that the school board related to uh gender curriculum stuff i don't know

506
00:46:56,795 --> 00:47:04,115
so it's only yeah so the al moeller his briefing i think from today or yesterday uh went over it

507
00:47:04,115 --> 00:47:12,115
uh super helpful but basically the um supreme court ruled in favor of a of a parent who wanted

508
00:47:12,115 --> 00:47:21,955
to wanted advanced notice to take their their children out of specifically lgbtq uh like gender

509
00:47:22,675 --> 00:47:28,195
uh curriculums and then it was literally like drag queen story hour type of things

510
00:47:28,835 --> 00:47:33,635
uh and the the school board or the the school had said hey we don't need to give you advanced

511
00:47:33,635 --> 00:47:39,835
notice. You drop off your kids, there are responsibility and we have authority to teach

512
00:47:39,835 --> 00:47:48,655
them what we think we need to teach them. So sorry. And so the majority decision that Amy

513
00:47:48,655 --> 00:47:56,915
Coney Barrett wrote was essentially no, parents have this prerogative and schools need to notify

514
00:47:56,915 --> 00:48:02,355
them. But what was really telling and Moeller brought this out is the dissenting decision.

515
00:48:02,355 --> 00:48:21,075
So the minority liberal justices, one of the lines in their opinion was essentially, if you allow this to happen and you give parents authority to choose what the state's allowed to teach them, you put the very structure of public education at risk.

516
00:48:21,075 --> 00:48:28,935
right if you if you put authority in the hands of the parents and not in the state then all of

517
00:48:28,935 --> 00:48:37,115
state education is at risk and will crumble and fall apart which i found so i mean like what an

518
00:48:37,115 --> 00:48:46,135
insight into what this is actually really about yeah right is is it the state's job to uh indoctrinate

519
00:48:46,135 --> 00:49:00,495
and create little perfect factory workers and like yes men to follow the state governing kind of regime?

520
00:49:00,495 --> 00:49:28,655
Or are we trying to create sovereign families that live under the authority of God, that are citizens of a free republic and contribute to that republic and need an education in the arts and the sciences so as to be free and moral individuals, right?

521
00:49:28,655 --> 00:49:33,255
And it's entirely different view of who has authority and what education even is.

522
00:49:33,935 --> 00:49:58,495
But I mean, the Northwest is kind of, we're like the testing ground of this very kind of late stage democracy slash like Marxist idea that the state owns and should have full prerogative on the teaching of the next generation.

523
00:49:58,495 --> 00:50:00,235
because they're not having kids themselves.

524
00:50:00,615 --> 00:50:02,795
And so they need the mechanism

525
00:50:02,795 --> 00:50:05,795
to indoctrinate the next generation, right?

526
00:50:06,035 --> 00:50:09,155
Us Christian families, we have kids and we teach our kids.

527
00:50:09,835 --> 00:50:16,075
If you're in this other secular ideological viewpoint,

528
00:50:16,555 --> 00:50:19,315
all you have is the state education system.

529
00:50:20,475 --> 00:50:23,035
And so they're gonna fight tooth and nail for that.

530
00:50:23,135 --> 00:50:24,755
And I think, I mean, in your experience,

531
00:50:25,335 --> 00:50:27,155
that's probably what a lot of this is about.

532
00:50:28,495 --> 00:50:49,995
I think the question that's happening here with what happened with you, Matthew, is not even whether you did the exactly perfect thing. It's about, is this a conversation that can be had or is it not a conversation that can be had? Because it's not even about the specific, because in a lot of ways, like what Ash was saying earlier, you weren't even trying, you're not like the N-word guy.

533
00:50:49,995 --> 00:50:56,815
and you're not like the, you're not, you're like, you were having, you were actually having a moment

534
00:50:56,815 --> 00:51:01,735
with the students and you were responding to a challenge that they issued you. Like, will you

535
00:51:01,735 --> 00:51:08,975
stand up for what you just said? And, you know, you could have chosen to say, I prefer not to say

536
00:51:08,975 --> 00:51:12,335
it out loud or whatever, but you chose this path. But that's not even the point. The point is,

537
00:51:12,675 --> 00:51:18,115
is this a conversation? And if it isn't a conversation, then they learn about that word

538
00:51:18,115 --> 00:51:21,055
through gangster rap, or they learn about that word

539
00:51:21,055 --> 00:51:24,115
through whatever is taught in the schools.

540
00:51:24,915 --> 00:51:29,255
And what they find out is that what they're going to probably

541
00:51:29,255 --> 00:51:32,394
end up learning is so-and-so's a racist

542
00:51:32,394 --> 00:51:36,435
because they have 10 employees and none of them are brown-skinned.

543
00:51:36,575 --> 00:51:47,842
And it like well what the demographic of where they do their business Or what the demographic of or how is their hiring process Are they actually a racist And you need to be exposed in a positive way

544
00:51:48,202 --> 00:51:51,482
let's just say in a real learning way, to actual racism.

545
00:51:51,862 --> 00:51:55,862
So that you don't say to what actual racism looks like, is what I mean.

546
00:51:55,902 --> 00:51:59,262
And that's through great literature, as well as through history and stuff like that.

547
00:51:59,262 --> 00:52:01,882
And if they understand that, as they grow into adults,

548
00:52:01,962 --> 00:52:05,082
they also come to understand, okay, this is the real thing.

549
00:52:05,082 --> 00:52:12,062
this doesn't quite qualify. Now what's the great danger in that for people as they grow up

550
00:52:12,062 --> 00:52:20,662
is they equate real victims of racism who we should all care about, who are actually excluded,

551
00:52:20,802 --> 00:52:25,302
who are actually even lynched in history and things like that. And they equate that to someone

552
00:52:25,302 --> 00:52:30,582
who feels slightly uncomfortable because they have to code switch in an environment at work

553
00:52:30,582 --> 00:52:34,862
or at school or whatever. And those two things are not the same. Those two things are not the

554
00:52:34,862 --> 00:52:39,602
same at all. And, uh, and, and now they miss out on that experience of saying, I'm going to be

555
00:52:39,602 --> 00:52:46,622
exposed in a helpful way to understanding like Huckleberry Finn or whatever, um, to kill a

556
00:52:46,622 --> 00:52:51,582
mockingbird. And these authors were not writing because they were racist, you know, and again,

557
00:52:51,702 --> 00:52:55,642
as Ash pointed out, this could be like five conversations, not just one, but, but if you

558
00:52:55,642 --> 00:53:01,062
don't learn it, if you don't learn it that way, you're going to learn it the other way. And your,

559
00:53:01,062 --> 00:53:05,462
your Overton window or whatever, maybe that's the wrong term, but you know, your, your blinds

560
00:53:05,462 --> 00:53:09,242
start getting closer and closer and closer and you can't even understand what people are talking

561
00:53:09,242 --> 00:53:17,182
about and you don't understand, um, the degrees. Yeah. I think, um, I think you're exactly right.

562
00:53:17,222 --> 00:53:23,382
I think it is an Overton window issue and these kids, these students, they need to have the skill

563
00:53:23,382 --> 00:53:30,882
to differentiate, like you're saying, without falling into an emotional collapse and falling

564
00:53:30,882 --> 00:53:37,142
into some hysteria. Like you see a lot of 20 year olds who these social justice warrior types,

565
00:53:37,142 --> 00:53:44,722
they go into complete hysteria and their mental faculties are not actually governing their body.

566
00:53:44,862 --> 00:53:50,982
It's actually something more akin to like animals. So like you're actually abandoning what it is to

567
00:53:50,982 --> 00:54:00,842
be human to exercise rationality, nuance, and reason. Like your reason is completely abandoned.

568
00:54:01,362 --> 00:54:07,182
And do we want students to graduate from high school and they're going to not have that skill

569
00:54:07,182 --> 00:54:13,682
to differentiate between those two things? Yeah. I mean, we didn't even get into just

570
00:54:13,682 --> 00:54:21,422
the hypocrisy of you've got songs by Cardi B and songs by all of these artists who repeatedly,

571
00:54:21,422 --> 00:54:25,862
I guarantee you, if you go to this public school, you're going to find hundreds of examples,

572
00:54:26,142 --> 00:54:30,622
thousands of examples over the course of the year of people of like these songs being played with

573
00:54:30,622 --> 00:54:37,682
this exact word repeated over and over again. And again, there's much less pushback. I would be

574
00:54:37,682 --> 00:54:43,062
willing to wager a good amount of Bitcoin that there's not anywhere near the same pushback against

575
00:54:43,062 --> 00:54:47,882
these things as there is against, you know, you reading a piece of classic literature. So again,

576
00:54:47,882 --> 00:54:54,842
just the intellectual dishonesty is, it just boggles the mind. But again, it shouldn't surprise

577
00:54:54,842 --> 00:55:00,422
us. And so again, that's why we can, and again, I think this is a big part of what I'm taking away

578
00:55:00,422 --> 00:55:07,782
from you. Just hearing you talk is, you know, there's a confidence in the Lord and not this,

579
00:55:07,782 --> 00:55:13,802
again, to what you just were describing, not freaking out and flying off the handle and

580
00:55:13,802 --> 00:55:20,142
screaming at these people. I haven't seen any of that. And so again, it's just testifying that

581
00:55:20,142 --> 00:55:25,162
you have confidence in an authority that is above all of these other authorities,

582
00:55:25,642 --> 00:55:36,222
who sees and knows and will give recompense to you and handle these things. And so you don't need

583
00:55:36,222 --> 00:55:41,622
to take these things, these matters into your own hands, uh, in, in, you know, God dishonoring

584
00:55:41,622 --> 00:55:46,522
ways. So I think, yeah, you're just, you're illustrating, uh, the superiority of the God

585
00:55:46,522 --> 00:55:52,562
that you serve compared to the God that they serve. Um, let's see, we've got, we've been going

586
00:55:52,562 --> 00:55:57,882
for almost an hour. Uh, Ashwa, I know you got to run here, so I'll give you, if you have any other

587
00:55:57,882 --> 00:56:04,262
last questions and Matt, if you have any other questions. No, man, I really appreciate this and,

588
00:56:04,262 --> 00:56:07,722
And I'll be praying that God gives you grace.

589
00:56:08,022 --> 00:56:10,162
And things like this,

590
00:56:10,202 --> 00:56:13,582
when all of a sudden your life decisions

591
00:56:13,582 --> 00:56:15,882
are posted on national media,

592
00:56:16,342 --> 00:56:18,802
we don't usually sign up for that type of experience.

593
00:56:20,942 --> 00:56:23,302
And everyone, of course, has opinions about it.

594
00:56:23,302 --> 00:56:26,262
And so I just pray that God gives you grace

595
00:56:26,262 --> 00:56:27,582
in the midst of that

596
00:56:27,582 --> 00:56:29,882
and that any platform that he gives you

597
00:56:29,882 --> 00:56:31,742
would be used for his glory.

598
00:56:31,742 --> 00:56:38,362
thank you amen and uh is there ways people are supporting like uh are you guys doing any

599
00:56:38,362 --> 00:56:43,842
fundraising or thinking yeah is there like a go send me or something go fund me yeah so well thank

600
00:56:43,842 --> 00:56:51,082
you for the prayers that's that's really most important um there is a give send go that's um

601
00:56:51,082 --> 00:56:56,982
is out there if people want to support me financially as i as i navigate this transition

602
00:56:56,982 --> 00:57:01,602
And so that's givesendgo.com slash Mastronardi.

603
00:57:01,822 --> 00:57:06,662
If you just type in my last name, givesendgo.com Mastronardi.

604
00:57:07,402 --> 00:57:09,822
And you can follow the story.

605
00:57:10,362 --> 00:57:13,962
If you want to follow me on X, I'll be posting updates.

606
00:57:14,562 --> 00:57:21,222
I'm looking at announcing something pretty soon that is kind of big news.

607
00:57:21,222 --> 00:57:25,862
and I also have a podcast myself

608
00:57:25,862 --> 00:57:27,982
which is called The Great Reassessment.

609
00:57:29,022 --> 00:57:30,322
And yeah, so there's my family

610
00:57:30,322 --> 00:57:32,042
and the picture of the game that I go.

611
00:57:33,982 --> 00:57:34,822
Yeah, there we are.

612
00:57:35,042 --> 00:57:36,842
My boy's a little bigger now.

613
00:57:36,982 --> 00:57:38,542
That was about five months ago.

614
00:57:39,102 --> 00:57:40,222
What a beautiful family, man.

615
00:57:40,462 --> 00:57:40,982
Thank you.

616
00:57:41,762 --> 00:57:44,622
And so yeah, I never expected

617
00:57:44,622 --> 00:57:46,062
but certainly appreciated.

618
00:57:47,262 --> 00:57:49,202
So thank you to anybody who donates

619
00:57:49,202 --> 00:57:56,062
and yeah I think we just need to be courageous during this time like yeah we are so deprived of

620
00:57:56,062 --> 00:58:02,682
courage in our society there's you know the last 10 years like can I don't know how many people you

621
00:58:02,682 --> 00:58:07,402
can think of like who have I mean there's plenty of people displaying courage but just like it's

622
00:58:07,402 --> 00:58:16,982
it's rare you know and that's what I'm trying to do to the best of my ability yeah to me the 2016

623
00:58:16,982 --> 00:58:21,942
I think it was 2016 Jordan Peterson moment was an example where it,

624
00:58:22,062 --> 00:58:23,182
and you know,

625
00:58:23,222 --> 00:58:26,022
maybe he needs to take a break and come to Hawaii now for a little while,

626
00:58:26,142 --> 00:58:28,062
but back that,

627
00:58:28,202 --> 00:58:32,882
what the way he answered about the transgender issue was so thoughtful,

628
00:58:33,262 --> 00:58:34,322
unbelievably thoughtful,

629
00:58:34,562 --> 00:58:37,582
unbelievably talking about the same things as words.

630
00:58:37,742 --> 00:58:38,702
How do you use words?

631
00:58:38,702 --> 00:58:39,982
And in his case,

632
00:58:39,982 --> 00:58:43,882
he was actually being forced to say words rather than to not say words.

633
00:58:43,882 --> 00:58:47,762
and I see this as an echo of that

634
00:58:47,762 --> 00:58:50,142
and I just wonder and I hope

635
00:58:50,142 --> 00:58:51,642
that this type of behavior

636
00:58:51,642 --> 00:58:54,922
the light is shown on it

637
00:58:54,922 --> 00:58:56,062
to where the students see it

638
00:58:56,062 --> 00:58:57,242
to where the public sees it

639
00:58:57,242 --> 00:59:00,202
this idea that power is everything

640
00:59:00,202 --> 00:59:01,962
they have the power to get rid of you

641
00:59:01,962 --> 00:59:03,822
and they utilize the power

642
00:59:03,822 --> 00:59:06,042
and that's their story

643
00:59:06,042 --> 00:59:06,622
period

644
00:59:06,622 --> 00:59:09,902
and by the way

645
00:59:09,902 --> 00:59:11,062
that's the story of the left

646
00:59:11,062 --> 00:59:12,162
everything is power

647
00:59:12,162 --> 00:59:13,282
if we don't have power

648
00:59:13,282 --> 00:59:18,562
we need to take it from people so that we have the power and in the scripture in the god's way

649
00:59:18,562 --> 00:59:24,222
of looking at things power is one thing and you're responsible for your power and then there's are you

650
00:59:24,222 --> 00:59:28,622
living righteously and then there's justice and then there's all these other factors that you can

651
00:59:28,622 --> 00:59:33,582
put into a matrix and say if i want to walk with god i put all these things together and if they

652
00:59:33,582 --> 00:59:40,522
had cared about the students learning it wouldn't have gone this way and um i thought when you said

653
00:59:40,522 --> 00:59:45,242
courage. That was the word that kept coming up in my mind. And when I'm working with someone as a

654
00:59:45,242 --> 00:59:50,722
partner or with my own children or with anyone I'm teaching in church or with my employees,

655
00:59:51,162 --> 01:00:00,142
I'm like looking for people who've got that spark. And it's so rare. It's rare in adults.

656
01:00:00,582 --> 01:00:08,202
And I want to foster that courage. And I've had people who I disagree with or who challenge me.

657
01:00:08,202 --> 01:00:10,662
and I'm like, yes, bring it, bring it, give it to me

658
01:00:10,662 --> 01:00:12,802
because most people are sleepwalking.

659
01:00:13,462 --> 01:00:14,422
Does that make sense?

660
01:00:14,902 --> 01:00:16,942
And so I would love to see my children

661
01:00:16,942 --> 01:00:20,242
or anyone else I have the opportunity to influence

662
01:00:20,242 --> 01:00:23,402
become courageous in their life

663
01:00:23,402 --> 01:00:24,642
because there's so few

664
01:00:24,642 --> 01:00:26,882
and there's a little metric I've been using on myself

665
01:00:26,882 --> 01:00:27,982
like the last year or so.

666
01:00:28,662 --> 01:00:32,782
Would 15-year-old Matt and would 95-year-old Matt

667
01:00:32,782 --> 01:00:36,142
be happy with the decision I made in my middle age?

668
01:00:36,142 --> 01:00:39,382
because middle age is the age of,

669
01:00:39,502 --> 01:00:41,442
you got to provide for your family.

670
01:00:41,622 --> 01:00:43,222
You've got to be worried about finances.

671
01:00:43,222 --> 01:00:45,562
You got to be worried about all these things.

672
01:00:45,822 --> 01:00:48,022
And the tendency towards sin,

673
01:00:48,082 --> 01:00:49,022
I think in middle age,

674
01:00:49,042 --> 01:00:50,122
and I'm stealing this from,

675
01:00:50,262 --> 01:00:52,522
what's that guy's name?

676
01:00:52,622 --> 01:00:53,662
The abolitionist, actually.

677
01:00:53,722 --> 01:00:54,802
What's the abolitionist guy?

678
01:00:55,302 --> 01:00:56,122
Amazing Grace.

679
01:00:56,582 --> 01:00:57,062
Wilberforce.

680
01:00:57,602 --> 01:00:58,722
Yeah, Wilberforce.

681
01:00:58,802 --> 01:00:59,862
I'm stealing it from his book.

682
01:01:00,242 --> 01:01:01,062
He talks about this.

683
01:01:01,062 --> 01:01:03,822
We face different sins in different ages of life

684
01:01:03,822 --> 01:01:06,082
and middle age, the sin is fear of provision.

685
01:01:06,142 --> 01:01:12,602
you know and we're and uh and so i'm always asking myself am i making decisions just based on

686
01:01:12,602 --> 01:01:19,502
what i perceive will will do well for me and my family and provide or going back to my little

687
01:01:19,502 --> 01:01:24,822
mantra or whatever is is my teenage self proud of the decision i made because it was made with

688
01:01:24,822 --> 01:01:29,942
conviction and courage and is my 95 year old self looking back proud that i made that decision

689
01:01:29,942 --> 01:01:38,722
not out of fear. And it seems to me that you're setting an example in that. And hopefully it looks

690
01:01:38,722 --> 01:01:43,442
like the kids see that. Hopefully the public sees that. And however long your little moment

691
01:01:43,442 --> 01:01:48,822
is where people are looking at you, that you're just what Ash said, that you're using that to

692
01:01:48,822 --> 01:01:55,602
the glory of God. And I say words, you know, responding a little to Ash, again, this is another

693
01:01:55,602 --> 01:02:00,942
two-hour conversation, but just a little snippet is like, words are made by great literature. They

694
01:02:00,942 --> 01:02:07,362
don't have meanings on their own. And even Christians get wrong, what does agape mean?

695
01:02:07,682 --> 01:02:12,182
Well, agape doesn't actually even mean one thing. It depends on if you're reading John or if you're

696
01:02:12,182 --> 01:02:20,782
reading Peter or whatever. And you need to sit under the author. You need to sit under the teacher

697
01:02:20,782 --> 01:02:23,262
and say, Peter, what are you trying to say?

698
01:02:24,362 --> 01:02:25,682
Jesus, what are you trying to say?

699
01:02:26,042 --> 01:02:27,322
John, what are you trying to say?

700
01:02:27,962 --> 01:02:32,002
And I had a very similar situation

701
01:02:32,002 --> 01:02:34,482
with someone I'm trying to partner with right now in business

702
01:02:34,482 --> 01:02:38,002
where we were hashing it out about the Christian faith

703
01:02:38,002 --> 01:02:41,042
yesterday, believe it or not.

704
01:02:41,742 --> 01:02:44,102
And we have to say,

705
01:02:44,102 --> 01:02:48,302
I believe the right Christian way to try to live is to say,

706
01:02:48,762 --> 01:02:50,682
in most things, I don't cause a hassle.

707
01:02:50,782 --> 01:02:52,362
In most things, I'm soft.

708
01:02:52,682 --> 01:02:53,482
I'm listening.

709
01:02:53,642 --> 01:02:54,982
I'm ready to learn myself.

710
01:02:56,062 --> 01:03:01,302
To the point where you should be surprised when I stiffen my spine and say, I won't budge an inch.

711
01:03:01,742 --> 01:03:02,582
You know what I mean?

712
01:03:03,042 --> 01:03:10,742
And so if you're a Christian and you love rage or you love controversy, Paul tells Timothy, don't be that guy.

713
01:03:11,902 --> 01:03:13,242
False teachers love controversy.

714
01:03:13,242 --> 01:03:16,502
You need to be gentle with your opponents, gentle in everything.

715
01:03:16,982 --> 01:03:19,982
Who knows, God may perhaps lead them to knowledge of the truth.

716
01:03:19,982 --> 01:03:27,622
and and so I love to see believers where you are soft you are um you listen more than you than you

717
01:03:27,622 --> 01:03:34,682
preach I guess and therefore it's a little bit like why did he stand up for that one thing

718
01:03:34,682 --> 01:03:41,262
because that's not the kind of life he lives and and uh does that make sense and so I think

719
01:03:41,262 --> 01:03:45,782
based on my short knowledge of your situation that's something you're displaying and I encourage

720
01:03:45,782 --> 01:03:50,522
other Christians to be the same way, be soft and surprise people when there's something you won't

721
01:03:50,522 --> 01:03:58,842
budge an inch on. It really, it's like the saying that the, like the stars shine bright, like the

722
01:03:58,842 --> 01:04:04,882
stars are there 24 seven, but they shine more brightly at night because of the contrast. And so

723
01:04:04,882 --> 01:04:08,402
I think that, you know, like that, that is what God is looking for, right? He wants there to be

724
01:04:08,402 --> 01:04:14,862
contrast so that when, when there is, you know, in these occasional times where we are, you know,

725
01:04:14,862 --> 01:04:19,802
face like Flint facing towards Jerusalem. Like we're, we're not turning, we're not Job's wifing.

726
01:04:20,042 --> 01:04:25,222
Like we're, we're just like, we're not budging, uh, that, that should provide some, some good,

727
01:04:25,282 --> 01:04:29,882
uh, you know, contrast to the rest of, of how we're living. I think that, and again, that will,

728
01:04:30,662 --> 01:04:35,582
um, yeah, it will be, it'll accomplish the work that, that God intends it to have.

729
01:04:36,062 --> 01:04:39,682
Um, Matthew really appreciate you, brother. Oh, do you want to add one more thing? Go for it.

730
01:04:39,762 --> 01:04:44,062
Yeah. Well, I just want to say thank you to Matt because I really, you know, it's in all of you

731
01:04:44,062 --> 01:04:49,022
guys. It's been really good to, it's been good for my soul just to like, these are all the things I

732
01:04:49,022 --> 01:04:59,022
love, right? Visa, you know, Bitcoin and just truth really. And so thank you, Matt, for what

733
01:04:59,022 --> 01:05:03,602
you were saying. And one thing that just kind of popped in my head as we were just finishing up

734
01:05:03,602 --> 01:05:08,802
about courage is, you know, a lot of people have read John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress,

735
01:05:08,802 --> 01:05:13,282
and he has a lesser known allegory that he wrote,

736
01:05:13,382 --> 01:05:14,582
which is called the Holy War.

737
01:05:15,682 --> 01:05:17,842
And not a lot of people know about it,

738
01:05:17,902 --> 01:05:19,762
but it's called the Holy War,

739
01:05:19,882 --> 01:05:21,522
the battle for Mansoul.

740
01:05:22,302 --> 01:05:24,922
And there's a town called Mansoul

741
01:05:24,922 --> 01:05:28,602
and it's protected and there's a gate around it

742
01:05:28,602 --> 01:05:30,782
and it comes under attack.

743
01:05:31,942 --> 01:05:35,282
And each person, you know how in John Bunyan,

744
01:05:35,282 --> 01:05:39,742
And he gives everybody like the name of the trait they represent kind of.

745
01:05:40,102 --> 01:05:40,202
Yeah.

746
01:05:40,342 --> 01:05:47,242
And the first person that the enemy attacks from outside the walls, his name was Courage.

747
01:05:48,622 --> 01:05:56,902
And I just think that that's really telling because Courage is the virtue upon which all other virtues rest.

748
01:05:56,902 --> 01:05:59,642
It's like Jenga block on the very bottom.

749
01:05:59,802 --> 01:06:04,142
Like you pull out Courage, everything else comes tumbling down with it.

750
01:06:04,142 --> 01:06:33,482
And I think we're in a time where like, we just need more of that. And I hope my students who I'm, who I'm really proud of, I could not be more proud of them. And I want to give them credit for, you know, starting the petition, making public comments at the school board meeting and addressing people who are older than them and speaking the truth. And, um, it's just, yeah, that's just kind of something that was, um, I was thinking about as, as right as you finished speaking.

751
01:06:33,482 --> 01:06:35,062
and yeah, courage.

752
01:06:35,422 --> 01:06:37,342
So it's really good that Christians

753
01:06:37,342 --> 01:06:40,862
not budge on some of these important things.

754
01:06:41,542 --> 01:06:42,722
Yeah, man, amen.

755
01:06:43,542 --> 01:06:44,862
I just wanna thank you, Matt,

756
01:06:45,002 --> 01:06:47,762
for spending the time with us.

757
01:06:47,842 --> 01:06:48,882
And again, we'll be praying for you

758
01:06:48,882 --> 01:06:50,702
and thinking of you and your family

759
01:06:50,702 --> 01:06:52,262
here in the days and weeks to come.

760
01:06:53,062 --> 01:06:55,282
To close, hello, to close,

761
01:06:55,422 --> 01:06:56,942
I want to just remind everybody,

762
01:06:57,082 --> 01:06:58,622
we have one thing going on here

763
01:06:58,622 --> 01:06:59,662
and actually it's very,

764
01:06:59,962 --> 01:07:01,442
the topic of courage is very,

765
01:07:01,442 --> 01:07:10,262
a very central part of what we have going on in the Orange Umbrella Kickstarter. This is

766
01:07:10,262 --> 01:07:16,482
the Orange Umbrella Man, who's one of our characters. He embodies a lot of what Matt

767
01:07:16,482 --> 01:07:22,762
embodies and a lot of what we've described here. And so this is a kid's book that myself and one

768
01:07:22,762 --> 01:07:28,682
of my other friends named JD wrote over the course of two years. It's being illustrated as we speak.

769
01:07:28,682 --> 01:07:35,222
we're getting close to having it done and we are we are over the 80 percent mark in terms of getting

770
01:07:35,222 --> 01:07:41,382
this thing funded so we've got about two weeks left if you guys want to help bring a bitcoin

771
01:07:41,382 --> 01:07:48,082
kids book into the world we don't use the word bitcoin we only kind of infer it so again it's a

772
01:07:48,082 --> 01:07:53,862
good good gift to give to your friends and their kids maybe who don't care about bitcoin at this

773
01:07:53,862 --> 01:07:58,242
point we also have if you're a geyser campaign if you're interested in funding in bitcoin so

774
01:07:58,242 --> 01:08:04,722
again, your kids need courage. They need to, to see it. They need to, to, uh, you know,

775
01:08:05,122 --> 01:08:11,502
see you carry it out. And, and so reading about it is one way to do that. So, um, so go grab your,

776
01:08:11,502 --> 01:08:16,202
your copy or copies. We have like some, some, you know, 10 copy bundles and stuff like that for

777
01:08:16,202 --> 01:08:21,202
people want to give them away as gifts and stuff. So, um, Matt, I would, uh, Matthew, I'd love to

778
01:08:21,202 --> 01:08:25,442
shoot one your way. So, uh, we'll, we'll get the, we'll get the address offline. I'd love to give

779
01:08:25,442 --> 01:08:31,482
one to you and your kids. So again, thank you for joining us for another episode of To the Unknown

780
01:08:31,482 --> 01:08:36,922
Pod. And we'll be back on Thursday with the Mountain Presby's. Looking forward to that.

781
01:08:36,982 --> 01:08:42,702
We got a bunch to talk to them about. So we'll talk to you soon. Thank you. God bless.

782
01:08:55,442 --> 01:09:25,422
Thank you.