I Worked in Political Talk Radio for 20 Years. I Was Wrong.

Welcome to the Jeff Adams show. You know what? Politics won't ever save us. You know, I had something happen on Facebook just the other day that reminded me why I exactly don't do political posts or political affiliations anymore. Just don't. And here is a main example why I don't. So I basically did a post That I was bringing the Jeff Adams show back. Back, baby. That's why I'm here right now. I don't know why I brought it back. It's just something I do. Trying to one last time to see where it goes. So anyways, this guy, he comments on this post that I did. And immediately, I didn't know how to take it. So apparently, I had been on his show in the past. Years ago. And I don't remember him too well. I kind of looked at his profile. I was like, I kind of remember. And that's not an insult because I just did thousands and thousands of hours of radio, live streaming and podcasting over 20 years. So when someone hits me up and goes, hey, do you remember? And I don't keep in contact with them. It's kind of hard for me to remember. I don't even remember sometimes my PIN code to my ATM. So nevertheless, I digress. But suddenly... This guy goes off about President Trump. Now, some background. In the past, I was an executive producer co-host for a political talk show host named Shannon Burke. And he had very strong political beliefs. And at the time, I thought I did too. But I want you to hear me out about where I'm going with this. So he basically, because of my political background, because I have supported Trump in the past, he tells me he hopes my show will crashes and burns. Are you kidding me? Seriously? I mean, think about that for a second. Just let that marinate. That was uncalled for. Listen, you disagree with somebody politically, you want their livelihood to fail. You don't know if they're ever going to change or if they will change. But people just want to know you of how you voted. And that's enough. Listen, I didn't argue with him. I didn't write a 90, 100 word Facebook response. I just didn't. I didn't have it in me. I just don't do that anymore. It's just a black hole of going nowhere. So I blocked them. And most of the time, I know this guy was real, but most of the time, there are bots out there that like to argue with you to start controversy on these social media platforms. And the reason I know that is because I worked inside the political system. Seen a lot, my friends, seen a lot. Because in the past, I have done a lot of political fighting on Facebook. And I'm here to tell you today, I apologize. I was wrong. I've worked in talk radio. I've worked in political broadcasting. I sat behind the microphone and talked about what the left was doing, what the right was doing, and how the right was doing everything right, the left was doing everything wrong, who was destroying each other, the right's destroying America, the left's destroying America, the middle's destroying America. And supposedly, we thought we were going to save America of how we voted and how we thought and what we projected. on social media or through the airwaves. And you know what? I'm done with it. I'm done with it all. I'm just done with the nonsense. Oh, if a church leader wants to rebuke me and say, well, you're wrong about this, go ahead and say I'm wrong, but I'm just done with it. Not because I don't have political beliefs anymore, because I do. And I'm going to keep those silent. from now on. And here's why. It's not because elections don't matter, because clearly they do. They really do. At least I think they do. That's a whole nother podcast for a whole different day. I mean, I could really dive into that and tell you what I really think, but I'm not going to do that right now. But because I have come to believe we're asking politics to solve a problem. Politics was never capable of solving anything. It's just not. Oh man, you know, a lot of us are frustrated where this country's going right now and politics are not going to change it. Politics can change laws. It can change the human heart. At least that's what people were telling us. Oh, it can change your heart. No, it can't. It cannot change your heart. It cannot change the human heart. Politics is humanly impossible to change your heart. Now, you could get bitter and get angry. And if the heart doesn't change, eventually we're right back where we started. Your heart can become callous and angry and bitter and harbor unforgiveness. That's what it can do. That's what politics can do when you hold grudges. You know, it's sad. But if we take a really big look, over the years, over how this country was founded, and just history in general. We look at history. For most of the European history, ordinary people weren't going down to a polling station every four years. They just weren't. It was for the elites, the chosen people that were chosen to elect these officials, these leaders. They didn't have the right to vote. The common folks like us back in the day in history, outside of this country, did not have the right to vote. There were kings. emperors, nobility, political elites. Man, that sounds really familiar. The elites? That's a different podcast for a different day again. Oh boy. There were certainly forms of representation and voting in different places and periods, but nothing resembling modern universal democracy for most people. Think about that. When we rebuke things as a Christian and say voting in D.C. is going to change the heartbeat of this country. Think about what you're saying. Dive into history and look about voting. This country is great. We have freedoms. We have democracy. Or so do we think we do. And yet Christianity is the only thing that ever transformed European civilization. Because Christians ran a better political campaign. What? They did? It's because ideas spread from person to person. And you know what that is? It is Jesus Christ. The early Christians didn't control Rome. They didn't have a Christian voting block. They just didn't. They didn't have the cable news. They didn't have Facebook. They didn't have X. They didn't have Instagram. They didn't have TikTok. They didn't even have phones. They didn't even have TVs. They didn't have broadcasts. They didn't understand the airwaves that were there yet. They didn't have a political action or committee. They just had the gospel, the gospel, the B-I-B-L-E. What you say? The Bible, the gospel. And somehow this little movement that started with Jesus and a handful of followers eventually reached across an empire. Think about that. It wasn't a president. It wasn't a king. It was a movement of one person, this God called Jesus. That's just mind blowing to me. Over the course of history that this message, the gospel message of Jesus breaks down barriers, breaks down cultures, breaks down language barriers and changes culture. Go look through history. Study the movements and you will see that the gospel message changes people's hearts. Now let's bring that into America 2025. We're convinced that if we could just get the right person into the White House, everything would change for the better. Everything would look brighter. Everything would look great. A lot of people thought that President Trump was that person. A lot of people thought Biden was that person. A lot of people thought Obama was that person. A lot of people thought Bush was that person. The left believes it. The right believes it. The middle believes it. And every election is supposedly the most important election of our lifetime. How many times have you heard that? This is the most important election. Go out there and vote. If we don't vote, this country's going to hell in a hand, bastard. And, you know, we think, oh, every opponent is evil. He's evil. bad. Every disagreement becomes a moral emergency. And then at Thanksgiving, Christmas time, holidays, birthdays, families stop talking. They block each other for no apparent reason because who sits in the White House and what they believe. Friendships and people, they just end. They end. And that's sad. People that have known each other for 20 plus years suddenly hate each other because someone voted for the wrong person. Think about that. My gosh, that's horrible. That's horrible way to live. your life. And here's the irony with all of it. We're trying to save the country while we're destroying each other. That's when I realized something. Maybe, just maybe, I've been looking in the wrong direction all along. Jesus didn't say you are the political majority of the world. He said you are the light of the world. Now that hits different. Because light doesn't scream at darkness. Light doesn't insult darkness. And light doesn't spend six hours arguing with darkness on Facebook. It doesn't. But light just shines on. bright. It casts out darkness. Light just shines. Maybe that's our assignment. Live differently with our neighbors, our family members, people that we come in contact with that don't believe what we believe. Maybe we just love people. Maybe we just tell the truth, forgive people, and just help somebody. Be there. Be a good father. Be a good mother. Be a good cousin. Be a good neighbor. Be a good friend. Be a good broadcaster. Be a good podcaster. Be a good artist. Whatever you do, do good at it. Maybe feed somebody who is hungry, that doesn't have a place to lay their head. Maybe call somebody that's lonely, that just lost somebody. And when someone asks you why you're different, tell them where your hope comes from. And it's one word, Jesus. I lived long enough to know to watch political power change. It changed hands over and over again through the years. Republicans come back. Democrats come back. And every time half the country thinks America has been saved or the other half thinks America's finished, four years later, we do it again. Maybe that's because we're expecting government to accomplish something it was never really set out to accomplish in the first place. It was never designed to do that. You know, folks, government can restrain evil. Government can protect your rights. Government can even create good laws and, quite frankly, terrible laws, for that matter. Politics absolutely has consequences. But here is the big news. Washington, D.C. cannot give you a new heart. Congress cannot heal your bitterness. And newsflash, you heard it here first, the Supreme Court cannot repair your marriage. A president cannot make you forgive your father. And no political party can reconcile you to God. And this is why I don't believe America's greatest need is political revival. I believe, quite frankly, It's a spiritual revival. This world that we live in is a spiritual war. Historically, some of our greatest cultural changes didn't begin in government buildings. They began with ordinary people. One person changes everything. Then a family changes. Then a community changes. Then A culture begins to change. And eventually, yes, that can even change politics. But politics is downstream. The heart, the heart, that comes first. So am I telling you not to vote? No. Go vote. Pay attention to what's going on. I just decided I just don't have my nose in it all the time, like I used to. It's not my job. I don't get paid for it anymore. So I just don't do it. And my life has been so much better. But you have to pay attention. Know what you believe. Absolutely. Stand up for what is right. Please, please don't make your politics your religion. Just don't do it. You're going to be disappointed. Highly disappointed. And don't make a politician... your savior. Don't ever think that he is going to fix everything and change the culture. It's impossible for him to do that because the laws are already placed in the United States. Because politicians will disappoint you every single time. There's people disappointed in Trump. Heck, I'm even disappointed in Trump right now. I was disappointed in Biden. It seems like I'm more disappointed in our politicians than most people would admit. But institutions will disappoint you. And if your identity becomes Republican or Democrat before you become a follower of Jesus, something has gotten out of order in your life. Heck, I've been there. And sometimes I have to reroute and get back on course with Jesus. You know, to bring it all back in, maybe that's what that Facebook comment reminded me of. Somebody wanted to see me crash and burn because of political beliefs or political systems that I once based my whole career on. And there was probably a time in my life when I would have fought him, pulled out the good old Facebook pocket knife, And start on the keyboard and go, oh, well, I'm going to show him. I'm going to show him the facts. Heck, maybe I would have even turned it into content. Like I'm doing right now. Bad content. The clickbait kind that make you want to click and comment and everybody goes back and forth. You know the type of content I'm talking about. And maybe I would have destroyed him on the air. Quite frankly, I did that a lot. Not proud of it. But today, I'm a new man. Block. Move on. How does blocking change anything? Well, I just don't have time for it. I'm not going to argue about politics. I'm not going to tell you what's right from wrong. I've got better things to do with what God has given me to do on this earth. I know what my purpose is. I'm trying to learn how to love people better. my surroundings, seeing people, loving people, trying to build community with people. That's what I'm trying to be and do better. I'm trying to become a better man. And I'm just trying to follow Jesus. I'm trying to be some light in a world that has plenty of darkness already. And maybe enough of us did that. We discovered something we've forgotten. You don't defeat darkness by becoming better at fighting in the dark. You just turn on the light. I'm Jeff Adams. Thank you for listening to me. Hit that like and subscribe button if you like this type of content. And remember, hey, also go to jeffadamshow.tv and get the latest and greatest news that I'm covering or whatever is on my mind. You break it down. Faith, culture, and media. Until next time, see you real soon. What the hell? When Jeff is buying the prime ribs frying