The phone rang late the other night and my little brother’s name flashed across the screen. I was conflicted as to whether or not to take the call for several reasons — primarily the knowledge that he was undoubtedly intoxicated coupled with his support of Trump. He moved a few years ago to rural Idaho, a haven for ultra-right evangelicals, and since then we’ve been totally no contact.
I took the call on the fourth ring.
He was calling to see if I was okay. He said he had been thinking lately about how much I had influenced his life, introducing him to literature and philosophy at a young age, saying I was more his mother our biological mother had been.He recounted several hysterical experiences we had shared. We shared numerous big belly laughs, the tears streaming down my cheeks. I felt bonded, loved, appreciated, joyous.
With all this talk of how much he owed me for what he considers the best parts of his life, I felt like saying “why don’t you listen to me now” — I felt like it was an ideal time to try to stage an intervention. Until he asked me if I listened to Joe Rogan and commented how liberating it was that we no longer had to rely on the media to get our news but could instead use Spotify and social media. This called to mind a picture I had seen a few months ago of his dogs in the living room with OAN on the tv in the background.
The name Rogan was familiar to me so the next day I did some Googling…
From his Wikipedia profile:
Rogan is described as "libertarian-leaning", supports same-sex marriage, gay rights, recreational drug use, universal health care, and universal basic income, while also advocating for gun rights and free speech, criticizing cancel culture and military adventurism. He has expressed political opinions such as supporting Ron DeSantis and criticizing Justin Trudeau and Vladimir Putin. Rogan has made controversial comments about COVID-19 vaccines, ivermectin, and hosted guests who spread misinformation, which led to public backlash and artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removing their music from Spotify in protest. Additionally, Rogan has sparked controversy with his views on transgender athletes, repeating discredited claims, and making remarks considered antisemitic and promoting AIDS misinformation.
My brother is very susceptible to disinformation. I can recall him calling me during the days when Pizzagate was very much in the headlines and suggesting we donate money to address sex trafficking among the Democrats.
About 15 minutes into the call, during an extended period of hysterical laughter about one of our childhood experiences, he suddenly said “I have to hang up now. I want to hang up while we’re laughing.” We both said good-by.
I had a hard time falling asleep that night. My little brother had once been the most important person in my life, there wasn’t anyone I loved more. We did everything together. When I moved to the west coast, he changed colleges so he could live out here near me. For years, we shared the same group of friends. The first rift in our relationship occurred when I quit drinking in 1983, the second in 1995, when I was prescribed antidepressants. He has never succeeded in dealing with his alcoholism and refuses to take any kind of medicine.
There was a feeling in the subsequent days following the call of connectedness. It was priceless.
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