Good evening and welcome to live with dr. Andre
Jerry your trusted space for real conversations,
practical wisdom, and purpose -driven insight.
I'm your host, Dr. Andre Jerry, broadcasting
live from San Juan, Puerto Rico. This show is
heard in over 128 countries and has featured
artists, authors, entertainers, entrepreneurs,
and thought leaders from across the globe. So
wherever you're listening in to from tonight,
on behalf of myself and the Artists First Radio,
I want to thank you for being part of the conversation.
And I want to thank you for your continued support,
especially with all these shows getting canceled
lately. Have you guys heard about the Sherri
Shepherd show and the Kelly Clarkson show being
canceled? I caught wind of this earlier this
week, and it caught a lot of people off guard,
myself included, especially with these two shows,
because both of the hosts are very, very likable.
and they very much have their own lanes. You
know, Kelly has all the singing and the inspirational
quote energy that she brings to daytime television.
You know, sometimes when I watch her show and
I don't watch it often, I sometimes think that
I'm watching American Idol. I don't know if I'm
watching a karaoke show or a talk show, but she
has her own lane and a lot of people vibe with
that. Sherry, of course, she's a comedian. A
lot of people think she's funny. I don't particularly
think that she's that funny, but I'm always glad
to see one of us get their own show. And if you
remember back when they were transitioning Wendy
Williams out, they had all these different guest
hosts on rotation. Sherri Shepherd was one of
the top contenders along with Bill Bellamy. They
had him as a guest host and Michael Rapaport.
The white guy, I think he's a comedian or actor
or something, but he actually was really good
in that format, the daytime talk show format.
But clearly, Sheri brought in higher ratings.
And I think that's because of her familiarity
and her relatability from being a co -host on
The View for however long she was on there, six,
seven seasons, something like that. Now, speaking
of The View, If you're going to cancel a daytime
talk show, that's probably one you want to take
a look at. Because I get so tired of them on
it. Every single day it's the same thing. Trump
did this, Trump did that, Trump, Trump, Trump,
Trump, Trump. Is he a horrible person? Yes. Yes,
he is. But at what point do you say, OK, he's
terrible, but can we talk about something else?
You know what I mean? They bring on guests on
the show who also hate Trump. And so it just
turns into this nonstop hate fest. And I'm not
going to participate in that. And poor Alyssa,
that Republican girl that's on the panel, she's
pregnant. Now, I think she got pregnant on purpose
just so she can take a maternity leave break
from the rest of her co -hosts. I don't even
know if she's Republican anymore. They probably
converted her. But I just can't with the view.
Like I said, if you're gonna cancel a show that's
probably one you need to take a serious look
at not Sherry and not Kelly Yes, they both can
kind of be annoying in their own ways But really
if you pay attention to him, they both go out
of their way to stay out of politics And like
I said bring their own brand of positivity to
daytime television So, you know, even though
both of these shows are technically canceled
at the end of this fall, I couldn't help but
notice something very interesting. And it was
a difference in how Kelly's cancellation was
handled versus how Sherry's was handled. And
if you think I'm about to make this a racial
issue, I am, but just hear me out and then you
decide, okay? Okay, so both shows were canceled,
but. Kelly was given the opportunity to save
face. She got to break the news to her audience
herself. And they also allowed her to release
a statement saying that she was stepping down
at Host and she was prioritizing her kids and
she felt it was the necessary and right move
for the next chapter, all that stuff. You know,
which is fine. Sherry on the other hand. It felt
like Sherry found out her show was canceled the
same time we did. And if that's true, that's
really messed up. I mean, you can just tell with
the media rollout of this, you could tell she
was completely caught off guard because the very
next day after this news broke about her show,
she mysteriously caught COVID and she took a
few days off. Now, come on now. We can pretty
much all read between the lines and guess what
probably happened. They called her into the office
on a Monday, dropped this bomb in her lap that
her show was being canceled. I'm sure she was
probably devastated and confused, probably crying
and all of that, asking why. And that's a valid
question because the Sherry show was very well
received. It had really great guests. It won
an Emmy. It had decent ratings. I'm sure she
reminded them of all of this in the boardroom,
but None of that mattered because a lot of times
there's an agenda behind the scenes that drive
these types of decisions and that applies to
the Kelly show too, but in Sherry's case I just
I Would have appreciated her being given the
same courtesy that Kelly was given, you know
the chance to address her audience directly about
the cancellation instead of just releasing a
press release and having everybody found out
on the internet or on entertainment news about
her show being canceled, because the first thing
people are going to wonder, especially her supporters
and her viewers, is, is Sheri OK? What happened?
How has she taken this? Is she going to be all
right? Was she fired? What's she's going to do
now? All these questions and then the speculation
that follows. And all of this could have been
avoided by allowing her the dignity of breaking
the news herself. So for me, it was like this
subtle reminder or something that black folks,
we know this all too well. You're still black,
honey. You're still black. No matter how high
we ascend or how many accolades we have, society
has its way, especially in this country, of putting
us in our place from their perspective of what
our place, our so -called place is. And so we
all know what it is. We see it. We might not
vocalize it or speak out about it, but we recognize
it when we see it, especially when we see it
happen to one of our own. We feel it. We internalize
it to an extent. As subtle as it may be, sometimes
we still clock it. Don't think because we put
a smile on our face and we kind of brave through
it that we don't feel it. So No, I don't think
Sherry had COVID at all. I think she was blindsided
and just needed a moment to herself to kind of
gather her thoughts, get her bearings before
she has to go back and face a live audience again.
And see, that's what can sort of happen when
you don't have your own platform, when you don't
have a production company or an ownership stake
like an Oprah or a Tyler Perry. Now to be fair
and and to play devil's advocate a little bit
Maybe this cancellation had been brewing for
a while Because if you remember her executive
producer John Murray The guy that used to walk
her up on stage and and all that type of stuff
every every morning They fired him last year
right before this latest season started season
four So really there's no telling what might
have happened with all of that But one thing
I noticed is that Sherri, you could kind of see
her sort of struggle a bit to find her footing
ever since John Murray left. Because she made
a few little minor tweaks to her format. She
started opening the show with these long comedic
monologues. Basically like five minutes of stand
-up. She would do five minutes of stand -up before
she would move to the chair and get to the hot
topics. And for me that just, it just didn't
work. Because Sherry is funny, but Sherry is
standing. She's sitcom funny. She's not stand
up funny. You know what I mean? So watching her
try to do stand up on daytime television was
kind of, it was kind of painful. And so between
that and you know, she's always was acting so
thirsty for every halfway decent man that came
on the show. I kind of stopped watching, you
know, I was always quietly rooting for her in
the background. And I certainly never expected
her show to be canceled, but yeah, I sort of
stopped watching. Now, she did okay with Hot
Topics. She did. She wasn't Wendy Williams level,
because nobody did Hot Topics like Wendy Williams.
I kind of miss Wendy. I wish she would come back
to media in some capacity, TV, radio, something.
But Sherri, she put her own spin on the show.
She put her own spin on Hot Topics. And it worked
pretty well for her. Like I said, the ratings
were good. She had great support. She won an
Emmy. You know, she did her thing. So, Cherry,
if you're listening, if you end up, you know,
getting a copy of this, you did an outstanding
job. You made a lot of people laugh and smile
in the mornings. That smile that you have, that
beautiful smile, it's going to continue to open
doors for you. So just keep your head up. All
right? And... You know what with all the things
that I'm pivoting now, but with all the stuff
that I had going on in the background Nothing
serious just you know things that come with building
and growing and juggling multiple projects. I
Was gonna run a rerun for tonight's episode But
I thought about my audience. I thought about
The platform having respect for my craft is black
history month People get canceled left and right.
I was like, you know what? No, I'm gonna show
up You know because the conversation that we
have on this show they matter and if I'm gonna
ask you to reflect and grow and Stay engaged
and accountable to yourself and to your vision
and I've got to hold myself to the same standard
So I'm on today. We're gonna get through it And
like I said, plus I'm not trying to get canceled
like Sherry and Kelly did At least let me make
it to the five year mark in broadcasting first.
But in all seriousness, sometimes episodes like
this where we're just sort of bristing and the
episodes almost don't happen, those end up being
some of the ones that hit the hardest. So we're
just gonna see what it does, all right? With
all of that said, happy Black History Month.
I meant to lead with that, but I ended up going
on a tangent about Sherry. But y 'all know how
I am. So I'm going to be honest about something
that a lot of black people would not say out
loud, even among ourselves. For most of my life,
I've been somewhat, I guess you could say I've
been somewhat indifferent about Black History
Month. And it's not because I don't value our
history or the accomplishments of black people.
I absolutely do. But I don't know. It's like
I live in my black skin every single day. And
society makes sure I never forget in its advertisements,
in its politics, its policing, just in everyday
interactions. Not so much here in Puerto Rico
because in Puerto Rico everybody's basically
melanated. So you're not going to get that same
type of racial crap that goes on in the States.
But pretty much every day when I was in the States,
I was constantly reminded that I'm different,
you know? And how, not only that I'm different,
how society as a collective feels about that
difference. You know what I mean? So for me,
there's no novelty in carving out one month to
quote unquote celebrate black history. It always
leaves me kind of wondering, okay, is this month
meant for us to celebrate ourselves, or is this
for the collective us to acknowledge a history
that should have never been ignored in the first
place? And that's where it can start to feel
a little disingenuous. Because if we're going
to be serious about honoring black history, not
just symbolically, but substantively, then This
conversation shouldn't stop at just tributes
and hashtags and, you know, all the different
corporate marketing campaigns that we're seeing.
Maybe it should include more honest conversations
about formal monetary redress for this country's
documented involvement and participation and
economic benefit that it got from the transatlantic
slave trade. and all of the centuries of chattel
slavery and the long stretch of legally enforced
segregation and Jim Crow laws and all the systemic
racism that followed. And yes, I'm talking about
reparations, okay? Before anyone rolls their
eyes and starts talking about, oh, here go black
folks talking about begging and stuff for reparations,
before you even go there. I just want to remind
you that there are multiple and well -documented
examples where governments have provided financial
redress or reparations to groups that were wronged.
I'm going to give you a few examples because
a lot of people don't know this stuff. The Luxembourg
Reparations Agreement. This was for Jewish victims
of Nazi persecution. It was signed into law back
in September of 1952. And it was worth about
three billion Dutch marks that was paid to Israel
over the course of 14 years. And it included
an additional 450 million Dutch marks to the
claims conference. This was for individual Jewish
compensation. Okay, so that's one example. Another
one was Swiss banks settlement. This was a major
Holocaust era financial redress case. Okay, so
they've reached a settlement on this in 1998
not 1888 1998 And it was formalized in 1999.
It was worth about a hundred and twenty five
I'm sorry one point twenty five billion. It was
a class -action settlement fund and like I said
they they formally Settle on this in 1999 and
so again this was in response to Holocaust victims,
it was assets litigation, it was the whole nine
yards. So those are two prominent examples that
were foreign, foreign -based. So if your argument
is that, hey, that was in another country, we
don't really do reparations in the United States,
I'm gonna give you a couple of more examples
that are surrounding the United States, okay?
The first one is the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
And this one I just learned about today during
some research, but this was where they redressed
Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during
World War II. And again, that's called the Civil
Liberties Act of 1988. They paid approximately
$20 ,000 to each surviving eligible internee.
Internee is just another word for a political
or military prisoner. So this included $20 ,000.
per eligible person, included a formal apology,
and there were tens of thousands of recipients.
Payments began in 1990, okay? One more I'll mention
was called the Aleutian and Privileve Islands
Restitution. It's also called Aleut Restitution
Act. This was for indigenous people who were
displaced or forced to relocate during World
War II. This was $12 ,000 per eligible individual.
And on top of that, they created a restitution
fund that included various community benefits.
So there are a couple of more examples I can
go into, but in essence of time, I'm just going
to leave it at those two. So I like to bring
those up because a lot of people, they try to
frame reparations as some type of radical, unprecedented
demand. And it's not that. It's just history
simply does not support that argument at all.
Because if you think about the examples that
I just brought out from overseas and also here
in the country, our government as well, they
have acknowledged wrongdoing and they provided
financial compensation when harm was clearly
documented. Okay. So the fair question to ask
is if Redress has been considered for other communities
who suffered injustices. And why is it a different
conversation when we start talking about Black
Americans getting reparations? I thought a lot
about that today when I was preparing for this
show, because if you think about it, we were
never really considered humans in the first place.
According to the Constitution, we were chattel.
We were property. So even if you think about
the post from our current president who recently
put that thing down on the Obamas, making them
look like primates and all of that, even as a
former president and first lady of the United
States, they're not even immune to this type
of stuff. So there's always going to be people
who try to seek to put black people in their
so -called place. But as hurtful as that was
to see, it says more about him than it does about
the Obamas, who to me are the epitome of grace
and class. And that's something that I don't
think his family could ever aspire to. So I just
kind of think that this country has a long way
to go in terms of fully reconciling the sordid
past that we have. with Black America. I think
it's always going to be a blight on this country
and sort of this unhealed wound unless there's
some type of proper redress along the lines of
a formal apology or financial reparations. I
know it's likely not going to happen under this
current administration. It's probably never going
to happen at this point. But we just have to
sit back and see how things evolve or devolve
in this country. And, you know, I'll say this
too, and I was thinking a lot about this earlier
today. If we actually were to receive reparations
or financial redress, it's not as simple as people
think it is. Because the reality is that a significant
portion of that money, I think, would likely
circulate right back into mainstream institutions
and other businesses that aren't black owned.
there are relatively few Black -owned banks or
large -scale financial institutions. And we also
don't consistently support Black -owned businesses,
not at the rate that we need to to keep wealth
circulating within our own communities. I'm trying
to walk a delicate tightrope here because I don't
want to make it seem like I'm maligning my brothers
and sisters. It's just that Many other cultural
groups have had stronger internal economic ecosystems,
you know, where their dollars recirculate multiple
times before leaving their communities. And like
I said, so that's not about blaming us. It's
just about understanding our history. But a lot
of generations now, many of our ancestors were
just so focused on surviving. And they were intentionally
denied access to things like financial education
and land ownership opportunities, fair lending
practices, the whole nine yard equitable tax
systems, and wealth building tools that were
available to other groups, we were restricted
from those through policy and intimidation and
a lot of times outright violence. So when we
see those gaps exist today in areas like financial
literacy and investments, estate planning. A
lot of us are getting more knowledgeable about
these things. In fact, my good friend Renata,
she had two guests on her show this past Monday
where they were giving everyone financial literacy
information. So a lot of us are starting to get
more acclimated to making sure that our wealth
is being preserved. But those gaps didn't just
appear out of nowhere. was a long engineered
process that happened over the centuries. So
I'm just acknowledging the reality of the long
-term generational trauma that occurred as a
result of chattel slavery and segregation and
all of the systemic disparities that are in banking
and education, healthcare, the whole nine yards.
And so when you think about that history, it
shapes how the black community sort of trust
each other. That's why a lot of us don't patronize
other black businesses. All of that history,
it shapes how we collectively handle our money.
It shapes how we build or struggle to build a
collective economic strength in numbers. So yeah,
sometimes I even found myself thinking that maybe
it's a blessing that we haven't received reparations
yet. Because unless there's gonna be like a widespread
economic re -education or infrastructure put
in place that teaches us about community investment
strategies and all the things, financial literacy.
I think a large share of their wealth would just
disappear and not do its intended job of creating
generational wealth and stability. So it doesn't
mean that reparations shouldn't happen. It means
that if it does happen, it should be paired with
education. and policies that will help sustain
wealth and not just distribute the wealth. And
so that brings me back to Black History Month.
When I've said in the past that, you know, sometimes
it feels sort of performative, this is part of
what I'm talking about. Because too often we
highlight the achievements, but we don't fully
confront the systems that block our progress
for so many years. We celebrate the culture,
but we don't really address the economic and
historical realities that sort of shaped the
way things are now. So I'll say this, I recently
found myself taking Black History Month a lot
more seriously than I have in the past because
we're living in a time where a lot of American
history, not just black history, a lot of American
history is kind of being softened and rewritten
and reconstructed or just quietly erased from
classrooms, from public discourse. You can't
hardly talk about anything now without someone
being offended. Or, you know, if you try to tell
parts of history that make people uncomfortable,
it's a problem. You know, stories that challenge
the national myths that a lot of people have
and stories that force us to confront who benefited
from things like chattel slavery and who paid
the cost, that type of stuff. And that type of
erasure, it isn't just about the past. It shapes
how future generations understand things like
justice and cultural identity and truth. So for
me, Black History Month isn't so much about celebration
as it is about preservation and accountability.
And it's about making sure that history, the
whole history, doesn't get buried because it
makes some people uncomfortable. So something
I've been quietly working in the background,
I've been spending a lot of time sort of digging
into history, not just surface level stuff, sort
of the deeper layers, the stories behind the
stories, so to speak. And what I kept noticing,
and this was over and over again, I kept noticing
how many people help shape the moments that we
all celebrate, but somehow their names don't
always travel with those big moments. Like, we'll
hear about the march on Washington, but we don't
always hear the names of the strategists who
helped to organize it. Or we'll hear about the
movement, but not always the minds and the people
who built the infrastructure in the background
that made that movement possible. And we always
talk about cultural shifts and all of that, but
there are myriads of people, artists and thinkers,
activists, who collectively help to push those
agendas forward, sometimes at great personal
cost. And so the more I started paying attention
to that type of thing, especially in a time when
parts of history start to feel like they're being
softened or repackaged and edited out, I started
feeling the weight of a responsibility. not in
a heavy or a preachy way, but in a more personal
way to hold on to these stories just a little
bit tighter. And that's something that I've been
calling unforgotten. It's not a big flashy production
or anything like that. It's really just me taking
some intentional time to highlight some of those
overlooked figures, those architects behind all
the applause, so to speak. And just try to put...
their stories back into the broader conversation
that we have about black history and cultural
awareness and things like that. Because the truth
is black history isn't something that begins
on February 1st and then on March 1st we just
kind of wrap everything up on a nice little bow
and move on. It's very layered and it's very
ongoing. We're still making history now. And
a lot of our old history is still being uncovered,
still being reexamined. We're learning some things
that we did learn growing up in our history lessons.
So a lot of this stuff is still being understood
through a more fuller and a more honest lens.
So I've been working on these stories all Black
History Month. For me, it feels less like a celebration
window and more like a Sort of just a reminder
that preservation black history preservation
is an everyday responsibility that Should not
just fall on a few people's shoulders So I've
been sharing some of these stories online just
little short storytelling pieces here and there
posted some of my LinkedIn I've devoted an entire
YouTube channel to it So if you ever feel like
examining some of that stuff, you can find it
on YouTube. Just look for hashtag unforgotten
UN, the number four, G -O -T -T -E -N, hashtag
unforgotten. Okay, and you'll see the posts I've
done in the short -term story pieces that I've
posted so far. But, you know, honestly, the bigger
purpose with this is not about promotion. Like
I said, it's about preservation because once
those stories disappear, the context around them
disappears as well. And when the context disappears,
it's going to become a lot easier for the truth
to disappear right along with it. And you'll
have all this revisionist history stuff going
on that is in complete contrast to what really
and actually happened. So among all the many
hats that I wear, I guess we can now add cultural
archivists to the list, okay? And speaking of
preservation and storytelling, My other channels
are Continuing to grow. I have a couple of other
YouTube channels that I've been working on live
with dr. Andre Jerry that's where I post, you
know recaps of the show and All types of stuff
dealing with with cultural media and social media
and celebrities and things like that We recently
crossed 2 ,500 subscribers and we have well over
500 videos now So it's growing is doing this
thing my other channel reality of truth That
shares Bible based content is pushing toward
2 ,000 subscribers. We also have 500 plus videos
and that and You know, I've talked about this
on the show before but if you guys haven't started
building your own YouTube channel yet Or you
you have started one and you haven't posted on
a while consider this your sign to get back busy
with that and especially if you have a product
or a service a message, even just a perspective
that deserves to be heard. You could be leaving
a lot of exposure and opportunity on the table.
Because like I mentioned in one of my previous
episodes, YouTube is digital real estate. And
just like physical real estate, it's going to
take early investment and consistency before
you start to see things pay off over time. So
get out there. Carve out your own lane carve
out your own niche your own corner of the market
using your your ideas your voice your unique
personal brand and while we're talking about
building and evolving don't be afraid of AI or
all of these rapid Advancements and technology
and stuff that's happening around us because
the world is just changing and it's changing
fast and if we want to remain relevant and adaptable,
we have to evolve alongside all these changes.
We got to start moving deeper into this digital
age and not get left behind. Can't afford to
stay locked in this outdated analog way of operating.
We're in a digital age right now. And if AI feels
overwhelming for you at this stage where we're
at, just start simple. Pick one AI tool, something
easy like ChatGPT. That's the one I started with.
It's very approachable. You can use it the same
way that you use any type of search engine. Just
query it, ask it questions. Learn this new terminology
that's coming with all this AI stuff. Use ChatGPT
to help you understand other AI tools and applications.
Because sometimes just learning the language
of this new technology and some of the jargon
that's being used, that alone will help remove
a lot of the fear and suspicion that can creep
in when things start to feel like they're moving
too fast and changing too fast and all of that.
Okay? And once you get comfortable, just branch
out and try different AI tools. You got things
like Grammarly. That's been around for a while.
MetaAI is one of the more newer ones. Gemini.
There are a couple of them, but just take advantage
of as many free versions as you can and these
trial periods that last 30 days, 60 days. The
goal isn't to master every single tool. You just
want to gain some familiarity with these AI tools
and learn how to use them a little bit. It's
about adaptability and just keeping your mind
engaged with where the world is heading. Now,
in terms of building a YouTube channel, or on
any platform, it's gonna take some time. It's
gonna take patience. It's definitely gonna take
some consistency. Sometimes you post something
and it'll just unexpectedly take off. And then
you find yourself scrambling, trying to keep
up with the momentum of it all. But most of the
time, your growth, especially on YouTube, is
gonna be very steady. And honestly, that's where
the real learning happens. And you start to understand
and analyze trends, and you start noticing how
people think, what they respond to, what holds
their attention. And you start to learn how marketing
really works. And not from a textbook standpoint,
but we're talking about real world application.
And over time, you can learn how to shape whatever
your message is in a way that will deepen your
impact and expand your reach. Because whether
you realize it or not, we're living in what many
people now call an attention economy. So that
gives a whole new meaning to the phrase pay attention.
People are literally building careers and businesses
and entire industries based on people's ability
to capture and hold attention. And honestly,
part of the reason why I feel like I've been
able to stay on the air for nearly five years
is because I've been blessed with a gift to engage
and connect with and hold space for meaningful
conversation. Not because I'm special, that's
just a part of the package God gave me. We all
came here with something. None of us came here
empty -handed. We were all given different gifts
and unique talents and perspectives and abilities.
And whatever God graced us with, It's designed
to help us navigate this earth, navigate our
journey, and hopefully help someone else navigate
their journey. Some people realize their gifts
very early on in life. That wasn't necessarily
my walk. I always knew I was a great writer,
but some of the other gifts I discovered later
in life. So some people never... Find out what
they're calling years or they go their whole
lives searching for what their purpose is or
what their gifts are and what I believe part
of my assignment is Both on this platform and
outside of this platform is helping people To
recognize the gifts that are inside them and
helping people unlock the best version of their
lives Whatever that looks like for them Okay,
so it took me a while to get to that point I
got caught up in career. I got caught up in,
you know, salaries and all these different things.
But once I started operating in my purpose, everything
sort of shifted and changed for me. And so I
really want to use my platform to help enlighten
as many other people as possible and help them
get on the road to finding their true passion,
their true purpose so that they can make their
own imprint on this earth. Okay, I want to pause
right here and take a quick commercial break,
but don't go anywhere because when we come back
I'm going to share a little bit about what's
been going on on my end lately Okay, and we'll
talk about some other things too. You're listening
to a lot with dr. Andre Jerry stay right there
We'll be back in just a moment That's right at
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the future today. Welcome to another broadcast
of Spiritual Concerns, the Deborah Ruffini show
on Artists First Radio Network. We're live from
England on Saturdays and Sundays, 3pm New York,
8pm London. All past shows or podcasts, find
them at artistsfirst .com. I'll be your host
where issues relating to the spiritual matters
of concern will be largely examined and discussed.
Enjoy the show. And if you're just joining us
tonight, we've been having a thoughtful conversation
about recognition, redress, or reparations, and
how Black History Month lands a little differently
for some of us, especially in a time when history
itself feels like it's being softened, reframed,
or selectively remembered. We also talked about
preservation a little bit and about telling the
stories behind the stories. and about building
platforms that help keep those narratives in
circulation. Now before the break, I mentioned
I wanted to give you a brief update on what's
been happening in my world lately. Nothing crazy,
just life evolving, responsibilities shifting
a little bit, and a very full calendar that's
keeping me on my toes. And you know, sometimes
it's in those seasons of movement and change
that clarity really starts to crystallize. I
mentioned on last month's show that I'm going
dry this year. And honestly, it hasn't, I told
you this before on another episode, but it hasn't
been as difficult as I expected it was gonna
be. In fact, it hasn't been difficult at all.
What it has done is increase my clarity. I've
dropped a little bit of weight. I don't think
people realize how many calories that we drink,
but I've lost a little weight. I have a lot more
energy, but most notably, I have more money staying
in my wallet. I had no clue how much I was just
casually spending on alcohol. Even last year,
after I cut back to just weekends, when you break
it down, $20, $25 a week, it doesn't sound like
much. But if you stretch it out over a year and
you're looking at 12 months of spending on just
alcohol, and you see where it's 1 ,200, 1 ,300,
then that's a different type of feeling when
you see those numbers. Now, imagine what I was
spending before I cut back. I don't even want
to think about it. But I'm going to have to think
about it because I'm in the middle of doing my
taxes right now. As I start combing through the
bank statements and credit card statements, I'll
be getting a very clear picture on where my money
was going. And yeah, I can't say I'm looking
forward to seeing what those numbers are, but
we'll just leave it at that. But either way you
slice it, that's a lot of money going out the
door toward something that doesn't even improve
your health. In many cases, it does exactly the
opposite. You know, so that same money, and maybe
once I have the tally, I'll share it on another
episode, but that money could have been invested
or saved or redirected towards something that
actually is gonna grow and benefit my future.
But the biggest takeaway, like I said, for me
is that I feel good. I feel really good. I've
got more clarity, more energy. And honestly,
just a stronger sense of discipline. And of course,
having supportive people around you, that makes
all the difference. So I'm truly blessed in that
regard. Now here's something I genuinely did
not know. Did you know they make non -alcoholic
red wine? I know you're probably thinking, uh,
yeah, Andre, where have you been? I really did
not know they made non -alcoholic wine. I knew
about non -alcoholic beer. And I knew about sparkling
wine, but I did not know that there was a red
wine with the alcohol removed. That's what caught
me off guard. But a friend introduced me to this
brand called Ariel. They sell premium alcohol
-removed wine. So far I've tried the Cabernet.
It's really interesting. It tastes like wine,
just softer, less sharp, has a less sharp taste
to it. We use it to make sangria over here. And,
you know, of course they sell sparkling and white
wine versions too. This isn't a paid advertisement
or anything. Not yet anyway. I'll pursue it.
But I'm just sharing what I've been sort of experimenting
with in this dry season that I'm in. And, you
know, it actually would make a thoughtful gift
if you're, say you're invited to someone's house
and you're gonna bring something. that would
be the perfect gift to bring. Because there's
always someone at a party or a gathering who
doesn't drink. And I never thought I would be
that person, but yeah, I'm that person. Oh, I
don't drink, so I'm the weirdo that's gonna be
ordering mocktails and non -alcoholic drinks
and stuff like that. So yeah, it's called Ariel.
If you try it, let me know what you think. I'm
very curious to hear your perspective about how
you think it tastes. You can always reach me
at my email. It's live with Dr .AndreJerry at
gmail .com. Okay? Okay, it's a little later than
I thought it was. Okay, look, so before we wrap
up tonight, I want to share something a little
different. Now, on the surface, this is going
to feel like it's a left turn from everything
that we talked about tonight. We talked about
history. We talked about... recognition, we talked
about reparations, personal growth, discipline,
the preservation of stories, that's really important
to me right now. But in many ways, what I'm about
to share is actually connected to all of it in
a weird way. Because at the end of the day, so
much of what we experience in the world is shaped
by perception, okay? What we carry internally,
it's how we interpret the people and situations
that show up in our lives. And so I've been doing
a lot of meditating and reflecting lately, not
just on history, but a whole bunch of stuff,
human behavior, including my own behavior. And
that reflection inspired this poem that I was
working on yesterday and today. I want to share
this poem with you. And don't laugh at the title,
just... Absorb it and send me an email about
what you think the title of this poem is called
the bitch the bastard and the dog Okay All right,
the bitch the bastard and the dog It's about
that one family that lives among us all You could
say they're loud obnoxious. Maybe even rude One
encounter with them is enough to shape your mood
It's like they live in their own world or somewhere
deep in the woods. Being thoughtful neighbors
was never quite understood. Every morning, while
the sun is still rising, they stage their daily
parade. Bouncing balls, barking dogs, sharp commands
that ricochet. The dog barks at nothing. The
bastard yells at the dog. The bitch shouts at
the bastard. And the noise hangs heavy in the
fog. Windows rattle. Coffee spills. Patients
stings and tempers flare. You whisper to yourself,
how do people live like this without a single
care? You rehearse speeches in your head. You
draft complaints you'll never send. You judge.
You sigh. You shake your head. You hope the madness
ends. But then something shifts. acquired a thought
begins to rise above the barking above the blame
a whisper that feels almost cruel because it
says their name and yours in the very same sentence
what if they're not random not accidents in your
space what if every irritation is a reflection
wearing a different face The noise you claim
you cannot stand, the chaos you despise, what
if it's the echo of the unrest you've internalized?
The dog that won't stop barking, is that the
voice inside your mind? The bastard always shouting,
is that the anger left unrefined? The bitch who
stirs the conflict, is that judgment you disguise
as righteous indignation behind civilized replies?
And suddenly, The volume lowers. Because when
you recognize that every person you encounter
is a projection of your own interior skies, aspects
of your thinking, fragments of your view, you
lose the need to battle what is merely mirroring
you. The bitch, the bastard, and the dog are
not just a family across the lawn. They are the
noise in your awareness, the habits you outgrew,
the shadow you've been fighting. without realizing
it was you. They are us, they are me, and they
are you. And once you truly see it, the anger
dissolves, the frustration softens, the war quietly
resolves, because you cannot be at war with reflection
and expect to win. Oral, thank you for spending
time with me tonight. If you heard something,
That made you think, reflect, question, or even
see something in yourself a little differently
than tonight's conversation that almost didn't
happen, did exactly what it was supposed to do.
Remember, growth isn't always comfortable. Awareness
isn't always convenient. But both are necessary
if we're going to be serious about becoming better
people, individually and collectively. I'm Dr.
Andre Jerry. You've been listening to Live with
Dr. Andre Jerry. Thank you so much for spending
time with me this evening. Good night, everybody.