Hi everybody, this is Gatsar. I wanted to begin by wishing the United States a wonderful 250th birthday. I still remember in 1976. It had only been less than a year since we'd moved from Lebanon when it was the 1976 200th anniversary. And I had a soccer magazine where

there was a soccer tournament in the United States to celebrate the 200th anniversary. And I wonder

if I still have it somewhere. And I'm not sure where it might be.

But in any case, now we're celebrating the World Cup and the 250th anniversary.

May the United States exist for another 250 years and infinitely more years and may it grow

from strength to strength.

I won't do a clip today on why the United States is the greatest country in the history

of the world, although it is for many reasons.

But rather what I'd like to do is discuss why it needs to be very careful in order for it to

be able to celebrate the next 250 years

with equal love of liberty and freedom and individual dignity and so on.

And I'm going to do that by first reading a passage from my latest book.

Please think about going and getting a copy, Suicidal Empathy.

On page 39 of the book, I start with a new section titled Unicornia,

the Enchanted Land of No Risks.

And so I'm going to read you pretty much the entire page.

And then I'm going to link it to something that I saw from a politician in the United States and how he perfectly embodies the dangers that the United States faces if it doesn't write its ship.

Fables are enduring because they communicate universal moral lessons that transcend time and place.

Two of my favorites are the Scorpion and the Frog and the Farmer and the viper, each of which teach a slightly

different lesson. In the former, a scorpion asks a frog if it can hitch a ride on its

back across the river. The frog is hesitant to do so given that it fears the scorpion's

sting. The frog's fear is assuaged by the scorpion who confirms that it would

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