The Glenn Beck Program - Dennis Quaid: Playing Ronald Reagan Was the Scariest Role of My Life | Ep 225 | The Glenn Beck Podcast

Episode Date: August 31, 2024

When actor Dennis Quaid was approached to play Ronald Reagan in the new movie "Reagan," he almost didn’t take the role. "Fear went up my spine," he tells Glenn on a special episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast." "He’s probably my biggest hero, in a way." As the two sit surrounded by beautiful mountains at Glenn’s ranch in Idaho, Quaid explains how a visit to Reagan’s own ranch property was what finally convinced him to accept the part. "I GOT Reagan there. You can feel him." Quaid reveals what made Reagan such a formidable — yet loved — president and whether or not America will ever see a similar leader again. They dive into Quaid’s past struggles with addiction, the dangers of fame, and how he eventually developed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that pulled him through it all. Plus, Quaid provides hope for our nation’s future, from the ability of RFK Jr. to bridge Democrat and Republican Party lines and signs the world is "turning right side up again" to his belief that mending America starts with one small step at a time: "I think it starts at home, in our relationships with our friend [and] local community." They discuss how COVID replicated a kind of "spiritual revolution," the spread of communism, and how Quaid learned piano from Jerry Lee Lewis himself — which Quaid then demonstrates in an impromptu performance. So is Quaid concerned for the nation’s future? Or is he steadfast — like Reagan — in his belief in the American people? He tells Glenn that he’s an optimist and that "people are yearning for a return to common sense and decency."   Special thank-you to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for helping to provide footage of the 40th president.    Note: The new movie "Reagan" is a sponsor of "The Glenn Beck Program."   Sponsors:     Relief Factor    Relief Factor can help you live pain-free!    Visit https://www.relieffactor.com/ or call 800-4-RELIEF to save on your first order.      PreBorn   By introducing an expecting mother to her unborn baby through a free ultrasound, PreBorn doubles the chances that she will choose life. One lifesaving ultrasound is just $28. To donate securely, dial #250 and say the keyword “Baby,” or visit http://preborn.com/glenn.     Byrna  Byrna is the best alternative to deadly force. Visit https://byrna.com/pages/glenn-beck-landing for a 10% discount.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And now, a Blaze Media podcast. All right, Glenn. You know, I've been a fan of yours since CNN. Really. Today we're joined by actor Dennis Quaid, a man that not only brings Ronald Reagan to life on the silver screen in his new film, Reagan. Tear down this wall. But who also shares a personal journey of restoration.

You know, when I found myself in bad situations, it was all my own fault. We talk about everything from cocaine. It's fun, then it's fun with problems, and then it's just problems. To Christ. And I came to realize what a personal relationship with Jesus, Jesus Christ, is all about. But as we shoot the breeze here at my ranch, an old homestead brought back to life from the dust and echoes of the past, we're not just discussing a film, we're pondering whether the restoration Reagan believes, in can still happen today.

It was Morning in America, Reagan once told us, a time of renewal, hope, and boundless opportunity. Is it morning in America now, or are we just mourning for America? Morning for a spirit, a people, and a leadership that once defined us

but now seems like a distant memory. The love of country that he had and all of that seemed to be fading in popular culture. Communism is on the rise inside our country as well as all around the world. And it seems like we have to fight it all over again. Well, I think that's America. Are we just playing out a beautiful but ultimately futile melody on a piano, hoping the notes will somehow carry us back to a time that's long gone?

And speaking of pianos, Dennis Quaid, always the inner couldn't resist sitting down at a piano we have here and treating us to an impromptu performance. It was a moment that brought a smile, a bit of light in a conversation that at times feels like we're searching for something that might never be found again. The best is yet to come, Reagan once said. But is it? Or are we as Americans simply trying to find our way back to something we've lost forever? this is a special episode of the Glenn Beck podcast, a day at the ranch with Dennis Quaid. Ready? Yes, sir.

All right, Glenn. You know, I've been a fan of yours since CNN. Really. The war on Christmas has only been getting worse. First, it was the mangers, then it was the trees, and then the word itself. Yeah. That is crazy. Yeah.

I never think of people like you, actually. I don't know. You don't think of people like you doing normal stuff. Like watching TV? Yeah. Yeah. Or the news. You're supposed to be doing it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, well, you were like the brand new voice on CNN when you came on there. And I'm sure you had a radio show going on before that, right? But it was, yeah, watched you religiously, actually. And then all of a sudden you disappeared. Yeah. Just like that. Yeah.

It was funny. Clint Eastwood, who I've, he's on my bucket list, and I don't think I'm ever going to get that one checked off. He came into CNN on the day it was gone and they had a poster of me and he was walking with Larry King's people. Yeah. And he just stopped, that guy. I like that guy. Yeah. Nobody ever talked like to you. Yeah, that was kind of about the time. When you left, that really kind of pretty much coincided with this sort of real break. I mean, there had been Yeah, there'd been the team party. But like conservatives and liberals really lined up after that.

It was kind of like prisoner exchange or something. I know. And I really, I mean, I tried to use so much humor in the show and I really thought people would have a sense of humor. Common sense is what you've gone. Yeah. So watched your movie. Love it. Thank you.

Absolutely love it. Yeah. How frightening was it to take on Reagan? It was the scariest. role of my life, really. It's now my favorite movie that I've ever done before that was the right stuff. But I judged my movies by the time that I had while I was making them. It's a personal experience for me, you know? So after 40 years, Reagan is now my favorite. But when they asked me to do it, I didn't say yes and I didn't say no. And this fear went up my spine.

Because Reagan was my favorite president. I had to do it. I had to say yes. I didn't say no. And you know, this fear went up my spine. I bet. Because Reagan was my favorite president. I had voted for Jimmy Carter in 76. We all make a mistake. Yes. But, you know, at the time he was an outsider, it was post-Watergate and all that, you know, and what that was going to bring to Washington, which didn't get brought. Reagan was my favorite president. I voted for him, and I came home and I had a roommate at the time. It was back in 1980. He said, who did you vote for? I said, Reagan. He said, you were. kicked out of the hippies. That's really nice.

That's really nice. So I had to turn in my card and everything. Yeah. Yeah. That was, but, uh... Kicked out of the hippies. So, uh, you know, I, I really so admired him and he won the Cold War. And he was my dad's favorite president, too.

My dad had been talking about Ronald Reagan for president since back like 68, 64. He was fantastic. My first memory of Reagan. and outside of him being the guy who sold Barrackso soap on Death Valley days, was, you know, being in the car with my dad going down to Galveston, from Houston, which is where I'm from, and Reagan was giving the speech on the radio. Yeah.

Yeah. They have time of choosing. Yeah, time of choosing. And my dad was like on the dashboard. You know, like, go Ronnie and stuff. and that was my first memory of him as a political figure. Where then is the road to peace? Well, it's a simple answer after all.

You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, there is a price we will not pay. There is a point beyond which they must not advance. Inspiring. Yeah. It really is an incredible speech. Yeah, it is. And timely still today.

That was my first awareness of him as a political figure. And so, but, you know, he was to take the role, like I said, I had, you know, fear went up my spine because he's like Muhammad Ali, he's one of the, probably one of the most recognized people all over the world, period. It's like Trump. Has such an opinion about him. And I didn't want to do like an impersonation of him. he was my, I mean, he's, you know, probably my biggest hero in a way. What is it about him that? He won the Cold War.

We grew up getting under our desk at school. Terrified. You know, they were going to drop the bomb. I mean, it was going to happen. I know. And it came so close. The Cuban Missile Crisis, you know, we lived in Houston and we were in that circle that they had where, you know, those missiles could reach.

And, you know, we were Space City. of course they were going to hit us. And we got kept home from school for that. You know, nobody had been able to make any progress with that until Reagan. At the time, everybody, you know, the left, everybody, to the left, everyone is a monster. Yeah, he was called a war monger. War monger. He was going to get us into a war for sure.

Yeah. But, you know, all we'd done with the Soviets was appease. I know. Kennedy, you know, and Khrushchev had, you know, they were communicating and that was, I thought that was handled well for the time that it was going to happen because it was going to happen. But then, you know, at the time that Reagan entered office, it was very much afraid that it was going to happen again and that it was predestined to happen. And the way, the Soviets under Carter really built their military way up. Carter was, you know, I thought he did a great job in the Middle East to bring in Egypt and Israel together. But, you know, we gave away the B-1 bomber.

We just kept conceding stuff to him. And it, you know, the more that we gave away, the more I think they just kind of laughed at us. Yeah. And we're as Americans, I think Jimmy Carter, the Jimmy Carter administration, exemplify. the way the American people are in their heart. That we were peaceful at our heart. We want to live in harmony with the rest of the world, in allies, friendships.

But that's not the way the rest of the world is. The rest of the world didn't grow up like we grew up. They grew up like in the Middle East. And they are a product, like we're a product. the way we grew up. Yeah. And we don't have a chance against brutes like that. We do if you're like Reagan.

Reagan was, I always wanted, you know, those old westerns where the cowboy kind of has a twitchy eye and you're like, I don't know, he might just kill us all right now. Yeah. We might be having a party in an hour. Yeah. that's what Reagan was. Reagan had that eye where he was fun,

he could be your best friend, but when he said something, you knew he meant it, and you were like he just... At least 80%. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, he was the guy who you've really thought

he just might do it. Even the people in our own country. Well, that's what the Sunni thought. Yes. You know. I love... Well, why do you think that the Iran hostage just released 20 minutes after he took office?

Yeah. I love the way that the movie portrays him and Gorbachev, and I know a lot of people that were in the room at the time with all of this stuff. And you nailed it. The story is accurate, the way it was told. Well, we've made sure about that. I mean, the only non-historical fact is that. My dog, Peaches, says the family dog in the movies.

You have a bulldog, but that's about where it is. Even down to his and Nancy's relationship, which is so central to the story, it's a love story as well. So let me ask you, because this is the one thing I thought about the movie. I don't know if people, let's say my son's age, 18 years old, 19 years old, is going to be able to relate to their relationship because that is so. odd for today's society, for the consuming society. You know what I mean? You don't see that kind of early. And that was real. Yeah, it was really real. Right. They were like that, but it seems so unrealistic in today's world. Well, you know, even back in the 60s, it was kind of unreal, unrealistic in a way, you know, because 50% of marriages were still breaking up. And they had, in fact,

even Reagan was, you know, divorce. He was married to Jane Wyner. And in fact, I think he was our first divorce president. In fact, but they had a special thing. And I disagree with you about that because I'm married to the, like, the greatest woman in the world. No, I am too. You know, and I've been, you know, I've been a dog into relationships before, too.

But I, you know, it's, it's great to be in one that, uh... Yeah, I agree. That I... But people don't see that. They don't see that anymore. They might see it in their personal lives or anything, but in culture, that is not the, the image. No.

And it should be. Yeah, well, we don't have, uh, the culture has changed so much. Yeah. You know, right, it's a consumer culture where everybody wants everything right now. Yeah. But just, I don't know, you go out into the middle of the country and I see a lot of really great examples of relationships that... I got this for my wife's...

My wife and our anniversary written by Reagan. It's a quote from Thomas Jefferson. Harmony is the... I should be able to read my own writing. Yeah. Harmony is the married state, right? Yeah. Married state with a very first object to be aimed at is harmony.

Harmony in the marriage. Harmony in the marriage state is the very first object to be aimed at. Amed at. Happiness by the... Gosh. I know, I can't. I don't have my glasses. We're both so horrible.

We got sharp. Happiness by the domestic something. Well, anyway. I figure, no, we're into this now, Glenn. We're going to finish. We're in too deep. By the domestic pressure. Pursuit?

Pursuit. Yes. Is the first boon of heaven. Isn't it great? Yes. He wrote her. Every day. Every day.

Every day. He wrote this for her. Even when he was in the hospital. I know. I know. He gave this to her. They were having dinner with Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Oh, really?

And on their anniversary and he slipped it across the table. Oh, wow. But they did write. And so have you read? What is it? Love you, Ronnie? Yeah. That's so great.

Yeah. So great. And Penelope Ann Miller. I mean, she's just channeling Nancy. And incredible. How many people love puppies, right? They're sweet. They're cuddly.

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So when you came over and you just hit the Steinway before we started, you were taught by Jerry Lee Lewis. Yeah. When you play a character like this and you're not a character, but a real person and you're really trying to nail them, you have to have a relationship with them, even if they're dead. You have a relationship with them. Well, it gets down to the point.

For me, what makes acting so fascinating is the psychology of it, what makes people tick and who are they? So that's what I, that's what I, you know, we were starting to talk about when I was offered Reagan. I didn't turn it down, but I didn't say yes, because I didn't want to do an impersonation. And then I didn't want to do a hero worship thing. It was about playing that person from their point of view.

And to do that is to find out what makes them tick. And I feel like I have a responsibility to do that. And there was a part of Reagan, and my research of it, people who knew him, that there was kind of the great communicator. There was this unreachable, very private place in him that I think even Nancy, felt to a certain extent, although she probably knew him the best. And I think that's where Reagan resided. I think it was his relationship with God. I think it was his most private thoughts and probably a shield of from the people around him.

Because he had so many people always, you know, around him, at least in his political, career, but I think this also went back to his childhood, where he could have that private place. It's almost Japanese in that, you know, that we're talking about having the privacy in the midst of so much going on. You know, I think part of that is what made him a great communicator. But getting to that is what I needed to get to, because I was the way. I'm I knew it was going to be really judged and stuff. And so I read several biographies, but I went to the Reagan ranch. I got invited up there.

That's, and that is, was the Western White House. That's where they lived. He bought that back after being governor of California. Do you have any idea? When I saw that scene, I thought, God heavens, at that time, how much did they pay for that? Yeah. Oh, I'm sure.

It was at the top of the hill, too. There's not a stream going through. But so I went there. A group of friends bought it after his passing, and they kept that exactly as it was. I mean, their clothes are in the closet. It's like you feel that they're going to come back any moment. But I went through the first you go up five miles

of the worst road in California to get to this place. There's a lot of bad roads in California. Yeah, this was bad. And went through the gate and come out and you see the place in the house, in the field, and the fences in the pond. And I got Reagan. Right there you can feel him. I realized that he was a humble man.

He was not a rich man. And go into the house. They had a king-sized bed. but it was two single beds that were zip tied together. Oh my God. All the appliances are GE. He used to be the sponsor for GE. Right.

And it's the house itself is maybe 1,100 square feet, you know. 1100 square feet. Yeah. And you could feel that he really did do all the work around that place. And I think that's like that's when I said, yeah. to the role was after that trip after that I think that's what I liked about Reagan he he was just real he he worked he could fit in on anything but he seemed more at home at the ranch and you know it just you see these pictures of him and he's I don't know he's just he's almost the Marlboro man without

the cigarette he really was you know he was like John Wayne yeah yeah yeah only you know in his movie career. Right. That role was taken by John Wayne. But I think he maybe studied John Wayne's walk a little bit. I never thought of that. They walked a little bit like the same. You know, they were all taught how to walk and talk and everything when he got,

when he got to Hollywood in the mid-30s. And that was another interesting thing about Reagan was that I look for things the way we all think of ourselves. He had to be that way, too. Humans. We all have varying levels of self-esteem during certain periods of our life and things that we go through that, you know, other people might think, oh, well, he's successful, he's powerful, he's this or that. But inside your own person, all that matters is the way you feel, you know. And I never thought, I think, I don't think Reagan ever got to the point of where he wanted to go as an actor.

Oh, yeah. you know he was relegated to beat movies you know jack warner and like I said you know John Wayne that role was already taken right and

then again he was married to Jane Wyman uh boy that that was ugly who was just coming up yeah as his career was going down going down and I mean she won an Academy Award

you know like that And I myself was in kind of in a similar situation like that with Meg. You know, my career was like that we meant. And hers kind of went like like that. You know, and, you know, you could be, you know, generous with yourself or whatever or say that doesn't hit you somewhere inside you, but it does. You're playing with that, you know, and where you have this feeling like you were disappearing

or whatever. And so that's something. I could understand about, you know, relate with him about. And his last job, he was doing like Vegas shows in, like, cheesy comic Vegas shows, you know, to just put food on the table. It's a weird game. Fame, I think, is fame and fortune is battery acid to the soul. Yeah.

You know, because it plays weird games with you. And if you don't know who you are, It takes time sometimes to know who you are. It does. It does. But if you don't in your business, even in my business, you'll lose your way because you'll feel, well, am I slipping a little bit? Am I not?

And it just messes with your head. And then you have to decide, is it worth? Are you going to do that? You're going to change? You're going to do that for that? Yeah. Or you know who you are. Yeah.

And if you're like if you're a kid, from Houston, you know, working class. You know, parents, there's not a whole lot of, you know, you really get raised to know what to do in those situations. You have to kind of learn it yourself. Yeah. I'm lucky enough to have been in those situations that I was in, you know, and also lucky enough to have gotten through a lot of those things.

But it was, you know, it was also when God closes the door and he opens another one. And I think with Reagan, it was a really, a lot of his life was based on finding God's purpose for his life. I mean, truly. And, you know, he became, when you're, when you're, when acting starts to kind of like fade, a lot of actors, you know, at Asner being one of them and several others, you become president of the screen actors guild. Right. And that was his entry into politics. there. And he was finding communist in that role as well. Because the

communist that was back during McCarthy era. They were trying to take over the unions. Right. You cover this a bit in the movie. And I've always heard that he was really torn on that. He didn't like the going in and turning people, having to give names. But he didn't have a problem if they were communist, if they were a problem. Yeah. And well his whole idea too about

about communism whereas we're trying to root it out of our system and when he went to testify that he testified saying that you know you ought to just allow

communism in here because our system can handle it that's what the American American system is all about you know the freedom to to form a political party. Isn't it weird that, I mean, when you started and you said, I said, why was it you're here?

Because he won the Cold War, and he did. But isn't it weird that we're kind of back to where we were, except the love of country that he had and all of that seems to be fading in popular culture. Communism is on the rise inside our country, as well as all around the world. And it seems like we have to fight it all over again. Well, I think that's America. And I think it's happened time and time again.

In fact, you know, right off the bat, it was after we formed as a country, you know, there was a whiskey rebellion that Washington had to go put down. Then we had the war of 1812. Then we had, you know, westward expansion and what was going to be a slave state or a free state, the Civil War solved that one,

then we went into another thing, you know. So are you an optimist? You feel like, are you? I believe in the American people. I do. And, you know, it's sometimes a big, great experiment that sometimes does, you know, goes flat. I like Churchill when he said,

trust the American people, you know, they'll get it wrong, but eventually, Right. They'll figure it out and get it right. You're right. Well, the last time that, you know, the most similar times to today are, I would say, the 60s and 70s. You know, that culminated. You know, the end of that was Ronald Reagan getting elected to office.

That was a big experiment. It was tumultuous. Would Reagan work today? Yeah, I think Reagan would work today. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it definitely would work today. I think that's what people are yearning for really as a return to really kind of common sense. And decency. I love the fact. I've been watching his speeches for a while now. And I just love the fact that he would always walk out and he'd be like, Republican and Democrat walk into a bar. And he's not, he's not tearing people down. He's just telling a simple joke. He always opened. I love that. But we also back at this time, we had liberal Republicans.

We had conservative Democrats. Yeah. And I pined for the Democrat of Joe Lieberman. Yeah. Yeah, that was. I love Joe. That was like the last. The closest we came is probably Joe Manchin recently.

Yeah. And the closest we came to that. Right. And there's a, I think there's a great distance between them, but it is at least recognizable. I think the great hope. for any of that would be r of k to tell you the truth as far as being able to reach cross party and or really not even be about party you know be about america and where we are and where we're going yeah i don't i don't agree with probably most of his ideas but i i know you know we can have we can have a conversation yeah i just had a conversation he called

when i was on cnn he said that i i said that i i i know we could have a conversation he said that I should be tried for treason and executed. Really? Yeah. Well, like I said, don't agree with most of his ideas, but, you know, I don't know the full story on that one. Yeah. But we had a great conversation, you know?

Yeah. Had a great conversation. Yeah. And he said, you know, I've revised some of my viewpoints on some of these things. It's enough of a struggle just to live our lives and try to keep tyranny at bay day after day without also having to deal with pain on a regular basis. If you're in constant pain or just occasional really bad pain, you can count yourself out. We need absolutely everybody in this fight. You're here for a reason.

Now, the biggest cause of our pain is inflammation in our joints. I know because I used to have it in my hands really badly. I couldn't butt my own shirt sometimes. I'd have to get my wife would get up in the morning and button my shirts. I couldn't do that. What changed in my life was my wife insisted that I try relief factor. I didn't think it would work for me. Well, I got my life back.

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Save on your first order. That's 800 the number four relief relief factor.com. It's something else here now. Something new. From exclusively on Paramount Plus, it's the series Stephen King calls Scarious Hell. Everything here is impossible, but it's also real. Sci-Fi Vision calls it the best show streaming right now.

We're running out of time and we still don't know the rules. Don't miss what the movie blog calls something you need to watch. Saving those children is how we all go home. From Binge All Episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Can I go into the downfall in your life for a while? Yeah, sure. Because I want to talk about what you're doing now with music and everything else. And I don't know. How important is a real downfall to really finding yourself and

God and having that deep connection? I don't think one should go looking for it. Right. You know, like we all wanted to be James Dean back then, you know, to have that anxious. But I don't think, But I think it steals yourself as a person, and I think that's where you really find about what you're made of and who you are. There are maybe there are some people that are lucky in life to know who they are or whatever. But, you know, I went through a few periods in my life that were, that's just a deepening. Yeah. You know, I sometimes feel this like God's pruning. And, you know, when I found myself in bad situations, it was all my own fault.

So, you know, it was all that stuff of my mother's sad. You know, I've found myself, oh, wait a minute, you know. So you get to a point of surrender, you know. I was back in the 70s and 80s, I was, you know, I got into cocaine, you know, back there. Is that Jerry Lee Lewis? That culminated in Jerry Lee Lewis. I mean, cocaine when it came along in the 70s, I remember a cover story of cocaine. You know, it was like they just discovered it or something.

And they were saying it was non-addictive and all that. You know, that all worked until John Belushi. Yeah. But there are three phases of that, just like with any addiction, really, where it's fun. Then it's fun with problems. then it's just problems, you know, and the rest of your life just doesn't work. And, you know, I was, you know, I think I got to that point, I guess, I, you know, I know I got to that point, but I went into rehab like 1990 and I was, I was lucky enough to get it the first time

and get that out of my life. Good for you. You know, and that really began kind of a second, because the, program that you go through, the addiction is a spiritual program. That's what they say it's a spiritual problem. And indeed it is because you're you're using whatever you're using or, you know, whatever your addiction is to fill that hole inside you, which works for quite a while. Yeah. And then it doesn't. Until it doesn't, you know, that, you know, that needs to be like an eternal thing in order to be a real thing. Right.

And that's what I, I've read the Bible now like five times through different parts of my life. And I got, I got disillusioned with what I call churchianity. I grew up in the Baptist church. And I got disillusioned with the churchy energy back in the 70s. And I read Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, which opened Buddhism to me. And, you know, when I went around the world, I, I read the Quran, I read the Damapata, I read the Bhagavagita, and then I came back, I read the Bible again, and when I got out of rehab, I did that, and I was really struck by the red words of Jesus, which that was what really hit me, more than any of the other books. And I came to realize what a personal relationship with Jesus, Jesus Christ, is all about or started to know what that was all about.

Because it is a relationship that grows and that ebbs, you know, according to the attention that's paid to it, just like any other relationship. Yeah. And but is always there. And how real that is to me. It's about a personal relationship. And that is the thing that really runs through all religions, I think, is the search for that. Right. Right.

I'm an alcoholic. I don't know if you know that, but I'm an alcoholic. And our journey is very similar. I think most people with addictions would say that. And I didn't know what a personal relationship was like. And there are times, and it would always be this way, if I were, you know, always. in the right place, but there are times he is my absolute best friend. Yeah.

And when you're in that space and you could, when you're in that space, anything can happen to you and you'll be like, it doesn't matter. Right. Doesn't matter. Right. I'm cool. You just got it. A lot of people who are not believers or whatever, it's hard to understand that.

Yeah. It's always been hard for me to understand that too. but you know because hell that's a crutch or it's like it's some fairy tale about heaven or this or that but jesus the way i in the way i read it and feel it and experience that jesus came in the red words of jesus he came here to teach us about heaven afterwards but more importantly how to have heaven on earth correct that was the main message in fact yeah was about how to experience heaven on earth love god love yourself, love your neighbor.

The kingdom of heaven is spread it out upon the earth and man cannot see it. Because it's about looking inward and it's about just asking. Yeah. And you know, it's also incredibly simple. It's exactly what it said. You know, but that's what I've come to know and cultivate. You know, everybody gets all wrapped up in sin and stuff like that. And Jesus took away our sins.

I think what Jesus was actually saying to us is that we, ourselves, just like heaven exists here on earth, and here's how to get to it. But we live, as we go along, out of our kid phase, and we live in hell inside of ourselves. We either have guilt or the things that we should have or think we should have that really kind of tear us up inside. and it was Jesus came along and it's about giving up on that it's you know

as much as being forgiven of sin it's more about just throwing it away inside yourself I think that's the secret of heaven is being able to accept okay I did that but it doesn't

it's not it's in my past and it doesn't matter and I know who I am. And that doesn't be necessarily, it's going to be poof. No, no, no, no, no. But you can start to cultivate every single day. You can start to cultivate a voice inside your head. Yes. That, that will get you there.

I mean, I myself, I experienced actually in the last eight years, you know, what I, I would say the equivalent of a kind of a nervous breakdown. tell you the truth because i was i was turning 60 it would freak me out but there were a lot of things going on in my life that i wasn't being authentic to myself you know i i i think i was showing one thing to the world but you know i was yeah inside that didn't mean a terrible person or anything but it was like uh just things in me that needed realignment yeah it needed realignment and i drew upon that personal relationship to get there and it's a voice that in one's head you know the voice that you're not good enough you know they're not smart enough people don't like you know the Saturday

tonight life's good that you know we all have that voice inside our head and sometimes that voice could take over and it keeps you from yes it keeps you from being who you are and And funny enough, it, you know, along with Jesus, with Yoko Ono, who really kind of like gave me a little, you get your hit bit. You get your hippie card back. Tit bit to get out of it. She said after John, she just practiced.

She went six months. She was a wreck, and she just started like smiling at herself in the mirror or trying to. And she didn't believe it for six months. But she had actually turned into genuine. And it's about really looking into yourself and really seeing yourself and nurturing yourself. And wanting to. I mean, I know I looked at myself in a mirror for a long time and saying you're worthless, you're, you know, you're weak. How can this happen?

And my dad said, start saying things that you want to believe. about yourself and look yourself in the eye boy there's a long time you look yourself from Yoko O'Noff yeah I didn't even like Yoko O'No before I'd say the truth you know the Beatles thing going way back there but you know

they've realized you know that happiness is a choice or that way I'd say the word happiness because it's such a blanket thing but it's a what can I say it's a feeling of wholeness inside the peace

yeah feeling of authenticity and once you kind of like you know they say confess your sins or this or that what it is it's a throwing off of it and then you're free

yeah you're free of all that and so that was you know that was a deepening and I feel that you know like I say God's pruning or you know I'm still enjoying

the lessons. I thought, you know, by the time I got to be 60 or by the time I got to be 70, I would have, you know, figured it all out, been through all those like phases of my life. But then again, I didn't realize that I never knew what it was like to be 16. I never knew what it was like to be 70. Why would you have things figured out? I'm listening to your, um, your album. And it's amazing to hear, I think there's a huge difference between you see the Johnny Cash movie yeah sure so so remember the time when he walks into sam phillips studio and he gets the audition and he's playing and he's like i don't believe you i don't believe you you you have the same kind of feeling i think that uh johnny cash had where um

you can tell you earned that You know, you can tell you mean that. Yeah, you're talking about my gospel record. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, because that was, that was, it was very personal. Yeah, the please don't give up on me is, is really. In fact, well, the, the, uh, half the musicians that are on that record were Johnny Cash's last studio band, in fact, yeah. Wow. And, uh, but, um, um, yeah, it's, it was very personal.

I know what you're talking about is they, you can feel that I'd been through what I was singing about. It turned out, it was very obvious, my spiritual journey through life. Yeah. That's what it was. So what's next on that? On that, with music. I'm kind of working on a kid's record, right?

Really? Yeah. Yeah, there aren't enough of them anymore, you know? I think. It's like what's a kid's... Well, like, you know, songs like, does your chewing gum lose its flavor with a bedpost overnight? Or remember when you ran away and I got on my knees?

And that was a kid song. Come on. You know, and I got this song called The Jungle, which I wrote when I was 21 actually put on there. And, you know, it's a little bit more secular. But kid songs. There's a whole market out there that nobody starts. Most self-defense situations can be handled with a gun, but that doesn't mean they all should be handled with a gun.

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on website. Let's just talk about where are we as a world right now?

What is you tell me? Yeah, I really, nobody knows I know. It's weird because we've been through all of this before over and over again.

I mean, like some of it is almost exactly what we've been through before. But for some reason, we don't look to history to figure out, okay, well, don't do that. Yeah, it seemed like before, when we went through it before, there were actually leaders. Adults.

To the, like, leaders on our ally's side and on their side. And on their side, or even in the domestic, situation, you know, you had leaders within that. We had Mark Luther King, you had Madanx, you had SDS leaders, Abby Hoffman, blah, blah, blah.

People actually kind of like spoke up for everybody in a sense, you know? And where when it comes to like Islamic terrorism, who speaks for that?

I don't know. Yeah. You know? Even Black Lives matter was like who were the leaders of that right that were like up front speaking for that right it just seemed like their movement you know and yeah uh even all the this political correctness and uh and uh it just where you know in in that sense it we there's some way to have a conversation about it instead of just this kind of which no wonder people are saying you know that the the the that there's a dark government you know the other but with facely of these faceless people that

are are controlling everything yeah and get the feeling of that i i don't know but i also do feel that it's like i said it's a cycle that all of us are working out as individuals and as the American people and I think the world feels right now like it's been turned upside down but I'm actually starting to see signs of it turning right by side up yeah common sense seems to be we lost it entirely for a while yeah it seems to be I think people are tired of supposedly having to hate their neighbor and people who vote. I don't, I don't care how you vote. I really don't. Can we agree on some certain principles, you know, we don't. Right. Exactly. I'm of the same. Yeah. At least can we make like individual

decisions. Oh yeah. Yeah. On our own instead of just taking right, you know, some mandate that's been had, correct, told that we have to, it's mandatory that we have to think this way, say these things. And I'm talking about on both sides. Oh, I know, I know, really. I know. You know, you feel like you can't cross that line or you're going to be, you know, a traitor. Right. And what happened to the individual, the rugged individual, that was the American ideal, that you would, look, buddy, I don't agree with you on everything. Yeah.

But good luck. Good luck. And I mean that sincerely. And, hey, let's go have a beer or whatever. Right. Well, Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan did have that. That was one of the things. They also had certain principles in common.

That was the main thing about Reagan is that he had principles in his life, and he governed by those principles. Right. And if you have principles, then it doesn't matter. Political party goes out the window. Correct. Because if you have those principles, you're going to make an unpopular decision with whoever voted you in because it's the best thing to do for the whole. and Reagan definitely had that going on. That's how he won the Cold War.

It gives you patience, too, with other people and for allowing something to unfold. So how do we get back there? I guess one little step at a time. I think it starts at home in our relationships with our friends, local community. You know, it really got to the point where people have, You know, you find out if they're Democrats or you find out they're a Republican. Gee, you would just, there's this just a label that goes up on them. And, you know, they're out, they're out the door.

And, you know, on both sides, too. You know, we've got to break that down. We pass each other on the street every day. We're in each other's shops. You know, we go to school with people, you know, on the other side. And, you know, we find out there. either a Democrat or Republican or this or that and all of a sudden, you know. They're horrible people.

What's changed? You know? Yeah. Us. Yes. It's we have to look inside ourselves. Yeah. Really.

In order to find that. Are the churches doing their part? I feel actually that the churches are people who go to church or religiously minded was going down for so long. ever since I guess at the end of World War II but I think it's coming back I think I think COVID

as horrible as COVID was I think it was also in a way that's what a spiritual revolution looks like or revival is what it looks like because it forced people to get out of their routines that they were obsessed

about in the way we live brought them home. The kids were home. We were all together. We had to like get through this together. And there was a lot of death going on. Made you think about what's important. What is important.

Yeah. You know. And a lot of people go running to God when things are bad. Yeah, that's okay. That's fine too, right? Right. But, uh, it, um, it, um, it forced you to look inwardly, you know, and that's, I think we've, I mean, it's not full bloom yet, but

the seeds are planted. Yeah, the seeds are planted. I really do think that. I really do believe that. I agree. I have faith. Yeah. That's where Reagan and I, I guess, we're the same.

We're both actors, and I think we both have a sunny disposition down at the bottom of it. Yeah. show you just a couple of Reagan things. George Washington's glasses. Where? Right here? Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah.

This is what was held down at his side on the inauguration day, 1980. So he could do his lines. Yeah. That amazing? It's kind of a combination of different errors. It is. Actually. Yeah. It is.

It's kind of like the very beginning of his presidency, presidency and it's also kind of a little bit of his Hollywood stuff. Yeah, yeah. You have a good time for you just? That's good. Good. Have a good time? Good.

As he began his song and sang the heartfelt words, May God smile down on you. I couldn't help but feel the strength of his faith and the warmth of his optimism. Friends, don't mourn for the death of the morning in America. Sure, it's shaping up to be a nasty day. But like Reagan, Dennis Quaid understands that faith isn't a denial of reality. It's the courage to face it with the God in whom we trust. Just a reminder, I'd love you to rate and subscribe to the podcast and pass this on to a friend so it can be discovered by other people.