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December 11, 2025 • 19 mins

On today's podcast we ask our listeners this question: would you rather know the truth or be happy?

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Still broadcasting from the Civic Cipher studios. This is the
QR code where we hear perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes.
The man you are about to hear from is an
actual songwriter, like real songs that you can hear people singing.
And I bet you didn't know that he is the
qu in the QR code goes by the name of
q Ward.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
The voice that you just heard gets way too excited.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Sometimes about the fact that his brother is a songwriter
and suggests, I think the wildest things for us to
do with that.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
But he is the wind in my cell almost all
the time.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
If I needed a rocket to propel me somewhere, I
would just call Ramses and he would figure it out.
He is the R in the QR code, and as
you heard, he goes by Ramses.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
JA, be sure to stick around. We're gonna be asking
each other would you rather know the truth? Would you
rather be happy? But right now we are going to
hear from q Ward himself talking to us during his
clap back about legal versus illegal immigration.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Q I think what we've learned over this last decade,
especially with regard to immigration. Uh, you know, DEI initiatives
and things of the sort. I remember a company that
I worked for. They had DEI and B, and the

(01:22):
B stood for belonging. And I think what we have
learned as they got rid of DEI is that they
never wanted us to belong, no matter how we went
about it. So it's time that we kind of accept
and digest a very painful truth, an obvious one to
anybody that's paying attention. The recent cancelation of citizenship ceremonies

(01:51):
proves that immigration in this company, in this country, I'm sorry,
has never really been about legals versus illegals, Because right
now we're seeing people who did everything right. Rams They
passed the background checks, they paid the money, they took
the test, they waited for years, they learned everything they
needed to, they followed every rule, and while literally standing

(02:16):
in line, ready to take the oath, ready to swear
allegiance to the United States, they got pulled out in line.
And no, not because they committed some crime, not because
they didn't do the paperwork right, not because of anything
they did. Actually, these people were pulled out of line

(02:38):
because of where they were born. Entire ceremonies canceled, families
told at the door, you're not becoming a citizen today.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Just picture that.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
They've done all the things, they've passed, all the tests
they take, all the steps they paid, all the money
they paid their taxes, because these people had to become
permanent residents first, they've been here legally. Picture of people crying, children, confused,

(03:19):
moments away from belonging, told to go home, some arrested,
detained and deported. An administration pausing and canceling citizenship hearings,
pretending that they're doing it to protect America when what

(03:41):
we know they're doing is protecting whiteness, power and their
toxic political identity, and we don't have to pretend that
it's something different. For years, they wanted us to believe
that they were not against immigration as a process, just

(04:03):
illegal immigration. So explain this to me, arouses, maybe you can.
If legal immigration is the idea, why are you canceling
the ceremonies of the people who did everything legally. These
people had to pass an FBI vetting process, They had
to live here for years, pass an exam, a civics

(04:28):
exam that most American adults, especially those who voted for
this administration, wouldn't pass, had to swear their loyalty to
this country.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
If it was about rules of law, they did that.
It was about doing it the right way, they did that.
Waiting their turn, literally waiting in line.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
They did that, and then they reached the finish line
and it just got moved further away, or better yet
canceled altogether. You made citizenship conditional, never about legality, but identity.

(05:11):
And this messaging is unmistakable. Canceling the swearing in ceremony
for people from very specific places Venezuela, Haiti, Somalia, Iran, Soudan,
and fourteen other countries all canceled, all at once. We

(05:36):
don't want people from those places to become Americans. And
the ever present objection to Mexicans become an American. And
this is not because of behavior or crime, but because
of where they're from, the color of their skin. This

(05:56):
is not immigration policy. This is straight up gatekeeping every
rule about it by no shortcuts, no privilege. And they
arrived at the courthouse rams because you have to imagine this.
You got your best suit on, you got your family

(06:20):
there to witness you taking this step, and you're canceled.
No explanation, no timeline, no appeal. And in some cases
again arrested, detained, and deported from the citizenship hearings. America

(06:42):
has a very easy time welcoming immigrants from Europe. I
think this administration chartered a flight for white immigrants from
South Africa, but now non white immigrants are a threat.
We know this is not a mistake, and you can

(07:05):
probably hear it in my tone and my voice. These
conversations are becoming harder and harder to have every day
because they hit closer and closer to home those countries
I described. If you took a picture of Ramses and
I and told people that we were from one of

(07:26):
those countries, they would not be able to argue you differently.
They're deciding who counts as American. When you cancel citizenship
ceremonies for people who did everything legally, you prove that
legality was never the issue. The issue is power, and

(07:49):
some people in this country believe America is only for them.
Everyone else is a guest, even when they've earned the
right to stay.

Speaker 4 (08:04):
You know the I know we have to move on.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
But for people that want to know more about this,
there's a People magazine article. The title is Immigrants approved
for citizenship plucked out of line moments before pledging allegiance from.

Speaker 4 (08:23):
A couple of days ago. So yeah, uh.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
It's it's really sad and cruel what this administration is doing.
And there's no other word. It's racist, all right. Normally
we'd like to have fun at this time of the

(08:49):
you know, the show. We get to ask a question
and learn a little bit more about each other as
human beings, still try to have fun. But have you
than I expected today's program? But Q, would you rather
know the truth or be happy?

Speaker 2 (09:11):
What a question?

Speaker 4 (09:12):
What a question? Right?

Speaker 3 (09:14):
And it's funny how many different things pop into my
head when you asked it.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
Tell me, well, one of.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
The most immediate was, unfortunately, more about awareness, Like what
I they say, ignorance is bliss. Would I rather be
less informed, less locked in as we are with this
career that we've chosen or that chose us, less in
the know of what's going on around us? Thus a

(09:46):
happier citizen of this country, just kind of walking around
with my head in a kloud's thinking everything's going to
be all right. Like some of the people that I
encounter in the public, who you know, used to tell
us after black people got shot by law enforcement, you know,
if they just comply, they be okay.

Speaker 2 (10:04):
That type of ignorance.

Speaker 3 (10:06):
I wonder if I'd prefer that, And it's hard to say,
because now we know, so it's hard to imagine being
ignorant of these very very what seemed to be very
obvious truths. Now, another thing that popped into my head
immediately was the idea that what you don't know won't
hurt you. That's typically something people say about romantic relationships.

(10:31):
If you could be completely oblivious to the things that
other people say would hurt you, but you were actually
happy because you were fulfilled and treated right and taken
care of and provided for. If you could be ignorant
of the things that might hurt your feelings but that
don't actually impact your life, which choice would you make?

(10:53):
And it's a hard choice to pose to people because
once there's an idea of if I choose happiness, am
I choosing to not know what's going on? You're longing
for the truth at that point, even if it would
destroy you, even if not knowing the truth wouldn't harm

(11:16):
you at all.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
So it just kind of like that question needs like
some expansion.

Speaker 4 (11:25):
To a practical application.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
What yeah, and what way do you mean that you know?
I saw this movie.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
I think it was called Closer, and it might be
the most heartbreaking movie I've ever seen. But there's a
scene at the end of it when he's begging his
partner to tell him the truth. I just want to

(11:52):
know the truth, even if it breaks my heart.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
I want to know.

Speaker 3 (11:58):
And she's saying to him, there's no reason for you
to know. You and I can be happy forever together,
and he's like, no, listen, tell me the truth. I
won't get mad, will be fine anyway. And she tells
him the truth and it's heartbreaking, and he's like, Okay,

(12:24):
now I know we can be happy, and she says, no,
now that you know, I can't be happy, and she
leaves him.

Speaker 4 (12:33):
I gotta watch this movie.

Speaker 3 (12:36):
And imagine that if you don't make me tell you this,
we can beat together, forever happy. But he has to know,
and telling him breaks her heart. She can't live with
him knowing this truth about her, and she leaves him,

(12:58):
and you wonder in that moment that she's gone because
she actually gave you the ultimatum. Yeah, and you insisted otherwise,
and that heartbreaking thing she told you, it did not
hurt you so much that you wanted to lose her,
But you lost her because you had to have the truth.

(13:19):
It is a very, very tumultuous question to have to
try to process and reconcile. Knowing that there is a
truth that you don't know kinda takes away from your happiness.
A complex question. Man, what are your thoughts?

Speaker 1 (13:36):
No, man, well you I think you kind of nailed it.
You need to have it needs to be specific, like
would you rather know the truth or be happy?

Speaker 4 (13:47):
That that question needs to be applied.

Speaker 1 (13:48):
To a specific circumstance or a specific situation or whatever
in your life in order to answer it accurately. But
I think as a general approach, I would adopt. I

(14:09):
believe I would adopt knowing the truth. And here's why
I say that. I think that I've read I've been
fascinated by psychology, you know, human psychology when I was
in college to take a bunch of human psychology classes,
and you know, women's studies, and you know all this

(14:29):
sort of stuff, And I was my brain was nurtured
by all these different artists from all these different walks
of life. These are the authors. I mean, just to
get a sense of how people work, and I recognize
there are some people that are like, look, man, happiness

(14:51):
is elusive.

Speaker 4 (14:55):
You know, no matter.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
What, I can be happy, but I'll never be as
happy as some other people. I just don't really vibrate
that high. And then there's some people where no matter
what you do, they will never be They will never
like succumb to their own darkest thoughts about hurting themselves. Right,
some people just don't dip that low, right, And everybody

(15:22):
kind of has their range right understanding that, I believe
that I've been a person that's always kind of vibrated
kind of high. You know, I tend to I'm one
of the happy ones. I do get sad. I cry
all the time on this show. And you're very kind

(15:44):
to you for you've always been very kind, just because
I've always been a person that feels things. I know
that you do too, but for me, it just comes
out differently.

Speaker 4 (15:58):
But I always get back mysel. It's always right around
the corner. It's ever too far.

Speaker 1 (16:03):
So that's why I can be the person that's like,
all right, let me take care of social media so
you don't have to do it. I'm not super super
good at it, but you know it'll get done. But
because I think that about myself, I think I'm a
happy person. I think that I can actually handle the
truth because no matter what the truth is, eventually I

(16:27):
will end up back in my normal range of happiness.

Speaker 2 (16:33):
Right.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
And I have a brain I think that loves to
solve problems. You know, a running joke that we said
recently on the show is that I'm a maniac or
maniacal or whatever, and it doesn't really matter what the
problem is. I just I'll figure it out, or we'll
figure it out. It doesn't matter, We'll just if we
want it, let's just make it happen. And so knowing

(16:57):
the truth, with all of the weight of the truth,
the problems that come with the truth, with all the
challenges that come with the truth, with all the heartbreak
that comes with the truth, I can make more informed
decisions and maybe I can create happiness for other people
that is based in a shared reality, that is valid

(17:19):
even for myself, because you know, you don't want to
be vulnerable, and you are vulnerable if your happiness is
based on a falsehood, and someone can just pull back
the curtain and then your whole world is sort of crushed.
You want to static, well founded happiness that is rigid

(17:40):
and everlasting. And I think that you know, people deserve
that people deserve to have their faith for the duration
of their life, and in order for that to be true,
I think that you need at least some truth, and
so I volunteer as tribute to be the person that
takes the truth on the chin.

Speaker 4 (18:01):
So that's what I got.

Speaker 1 (18:05):
And that's gonna do it for us here at the
QR Code. We made it through Man, Good Show, Heavy Show,
Good Show. Hopefully we did our job. Today's show, as always,
was produced by Chris Thompson. Shout out to Chris. If
you have any thought you'd like to share, please use
the red microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app, and

(18:25):
while you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download
all of our episodes. Also, be sure to check us
out on our social media at Civic Cipher. Again, your
support goes a long way. We're doing it for you
and that's our next frontier. So your support there and
your visibility there does mean a lot to us, particularly
on YouTube and Instagram. At Civic Cipher civ I c

(18:48):
C I p h E R you can find me
on all platforms at ramses jah.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
I am Qboard on all social media as well, and

Speaker 1 (18:55):
Join us next time as we share our news with
our voice from our perspective right here on the QR
code
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