Shared Unity at SecDef’s Confirmation Hearing

Last January, during Operation Full Court Press—a grassroots, citizen-driven effort to secure our now-Secretary of Defense’s confirmation—there were countless transformative moments. But one, in particular, serves as a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we set aside our differences and come together for the greater good.

Expecting to encounter widespread opposition to Pete Hegseth’s confirmation, we instead found just a handful of individuals in the Senate room—dressed in pink, protesting the war in Gaza. What happened next was a testament to the power of choosing dialogue over division. Rather than dismissing them as the “opposition,” former Navy SEAL and pro-MMA fighter Mitch Aguiar took a different approach. He engaged. He listened. And he shared a poignant reflection on his IG about what unfolded when he met them with understanding instead of hostility.

Let this be a reminder to us all: choose kindness. Enjoy!

I went to this hearing today to support Pete Hegseth for Secretary Of Defense because I believe he feels the same way myself and many of my SEAL Brothers feel who have been to and experienced war.

War is Hell on Earth and should only be an option if absolutely necessary, because it comes at the highest of costs! We the war fighters and too often, innocent civilians are tragically the ones who pay the price of war, not the “leaders” aka politicians who can be so quick to campaign for it.

While waiting in line to get into the hearing this morning I met @tighebarry and his wife @medea.benjamin who were there to protest. These two obviously stood out like sore thumbs dressed in their pink uniforms lol and were more than likely viewed as “Opposition” to the group supporting Pete.

I started politely talking with them and asked them what their beliefs were and what their desired outcomes and hopes for our future were etc. We ended up having an amazing, genuine, polite, in depth, positive conversation and agreed on a ton of issues.

They ended up voicing to me that they didn’t necessarily have a problem with Pete and would in fact support him if he were to have a conversation with them, even if they disagreed on certain issues, simply for communicating with them, which I believe after communicating with them myself.

In my opinion it is hard for a lot of people to have effective communication when it comes to controversial topics because of emotion and like my friend @mritland says “When emotions run high, logic runs low”

If you can keep your emotions in check and actually listen to someone else’s views or perspective and they actually feel heard is when I believe some real progress or understanding can be made or the very least you can agree to disagree.

When people don’t feel heard, they tend to scream and when screaming starts the other person feels the only way to be heard is to scream louder.

Their biggest concern was with all the wars we are involved in one way or another around the world and bringing an end to all of the innocent people being killed in Gaza, which as a Violent Hippie myself is one of my biggest concerns as well.

I support peoples first amendment right and I respect when people boldly and fearlessly stand up and speak with conviction about what they believe in, even if I don’t agree with it, because you know damn well I’m always going to speak my mind lol.

I also think we need to acknowledge that a lot of these issues are not simply black and white, good or bad, there’s a lot of nuance and complexity and require a lot of clear communication to hopefully come up with the best approaches or solutions.

We also need to normalize saying “I don’t know enough about _______ to have a solid opinion about the subject or topic” instead of just trying to regurgitate some talking point we heard someone else say without putting any genuine thought or research of our own into it.

Anyways, today just reminded me how our government is designed to be divisive and make you think all of your problems are because of your neighbor and fellow Americans and not because of the corrupt politicians that actually yield all the decision making power. They want you focused on everything but them! Everything the Senators did today was simply theater, as it usually is. The sooner we all realize that and come together, the sooner all of our lives will  greatly improve!

I am not a Republican, I am certainly not a Democrat, I am a Violent Hippie and my motto is “Be kind, or else…”

Thank you for attending my Ted talk

As for me, expect to see more debate-style podcasts—dynamic conversations where I bring in opposing viewpoints and challenge ideas head-on. Take my recent episode, where two lawyers, fresh off a public clash over the military JAG firings, sat down as adversaries but left the discussion much more aligned. Imagine a world where legacy and emerging media prioritized unity over ratings and profits, fostering real dialogue instead of division.

Maybe that day will come. Until then, I’ll keep leading by example—because if we want change, we have to be the ones to create it!