I’ve never hosted a podcast before now.
So when I first had the idea for the POP Podcast, my thought was to create a place where we could discuss the Constitution. Learn what it meant as it was written, the precedents for it, and the different viewpoints on what it means to us now. I did a quick Google search and found a few others out there, but I knew my approach would be different. However, I’ve been putting it off for several years now. New things are hard, and learning new things takes time and energy sometimes. Time and energy I haven’t had lately.
However, I also know that doing new things isn’t consuming when I’m inspired. Despite my frequent emotional overwhelm at the lack of true leadership in our government, I didn’t feel inspired by my idea enough to jump in with both feet. Additionally, it felt daunting. Trying to figure out the experts to come on as guests, contacting them, setting up a time for conversation, and learning how to edit audio. And then, trying to determine how to ensure I was getting an impartial viewpoint on history and precedent.
I was stuck in figuring out what the right and the left felt without anger and division. I just wanted a simple discussion. It didn’t feel like I had a purpose to the podcast unless I could find a common ground between the two sides. I think you can see how it felt impossible.
A Recent Shift
A few days ago, I was meeting with a friend and we were talking about a few moments where we’d witnessed turnarounds in the public. We had been specifically speaking about examples of people who went to a political hearing to speak out against certain issues and topics, who, once they heard the personal stories of how it affected others, became compassionate, they shifted their perspectives. Considering the name of my business and my podcast, this friend suggested that I consider doing my podcast on this. And um, YES!
I got so jazzed up. “HECK YES,” I said. I loved this idea.
But that wasn’t the whole story.
I still saw a place for the first idea, and it still felt like something else was missing, too. That same week, I had several conversations about the emotional burden and heaviness that many of my friends were experiencing when it came to the political world. I also still struggled with how to make the perspective shifting impartial, and I realized I couldn’t. I can’t make my podcast impartial because, as someone who has spent the last 21 years studying the brain, behavior, communication, leadership skills, and additional aspects of sociology and humanity, I realized that I cannot be impartial. The world is on fire, the American government is being turned into a fascist state, and SOMEONE needs to do SOMETHING.
Perspective Shifting is needed for Americans.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am open to perspective shifting. In fact, I seek out other people’s input and opinions about different views than my own. Admittedly, I have not found anyone willing to come to the table of conversation advocating for things that far-right republicans are advocating for, who is willing to have a true debate. Most people I engage with are not willing to entertain thoughts other than their own. Some of them can’t even give me information that explains their beliefs or truly challenge my own. This leaves me in a pickle when it comes to my podcast.
My beliefs about perspective shifting and what it does for people emphasize humanity, kindness, and compassion to the forefront of what we do as humans. My entire advocacy is around curiosity and teaching people that if we just spend some time TRYING to understand those around us, we can find humanity and common ground with people.
How can I possibly start an impartial podcast knowing that this stance, these beliefs of the power of asking questions and trying to understand others, stands perfectly misaligned with the anti-woke, anti-DEI messages of the most senior leadership in our government?
So, what does that mean for the podcast?
Well, it has become evident to me that the approach around compassion and kindness is more important than ever. Reflecting on our values as Americans, what it means for us and what it means for our country. To be determined to align on kindness and compassion, on HUMANITY, is wildly imperative. We have lost something in our community; we’ve lost connection to our values.
The values of our collective country, of the principles that founded our government – those were taught to all of us in school. Whether you’re a boomer or a Gen Alpha, we’re all taught about the values and principles that people have died for in the last 250 years.
The Pledge, the Songs, the Declaration of Independence.
Every single one of us said the Pledge of Allegiance DAILY. We were indoctrinated with our values. Someone, somewhere, decided that every kid should recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning before our classes. That every morning we should remember the values of our country, as Americans. We stared down our flag and the freedoms and community for which it stands – Seering it into our hearts and minds. The Republic under our higher powers (beyond our government) is supposed to stand undivided for liberty and justice FOR ALL.
These words were repeated and drilled into us regardless of how we felt that day. We all stood, placed our hands over our hearts, and swore allegiance. (I won’t get into how fucked up it is that we were required to do this as children. HOWEVER, the fact remains that we were.) So, what I struggle to understand is how we’ve grown so far apart on values.
Liberty for everyone – Justice for everyone
No matter your skin color, the size of your pocketbook, your gender, your ethnicity, your cultural or religious background, your sexuality, or your neurodiversity or mobility…
Maybe that’s where we’ve gone wrong. Once we leave high school (or elementary school in some places), we forget the pledge. We forget about Liberty and Justice. Because once we graduate, it’s about college or working, and to hell with our allegiance.
Liberty and Justice for all
For liberty and justice for all continues to ring through in my anger around our government’s actions – especially today. So, what does liberty mean? The Google machine says that it means the “state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.”
But what does it mean to you? Maybe drop it in the comments.
Justice – what does Justice mean?
Well, for that, the Google machine says that it means – the quality of being fair and reasonable. But what does it mean to you?
And for all?
For ALL! I think this is the part that people take with their own meaning. For all doesn’t mean for all white male Americans, it means for ALL.
The problems in America
I know we have fundamental problems with our constitution and our systems of law all around our country. Discriminatory issues that infringe on the rights of people because our constitution wasn’t even set up to make everyone equal. (Despite the claim by Thomas Jefferson that all men should be created equal, this descrimination still exists.) And that’s the next big problem we have. Our government is run by people – people we elect. Representatives for our republic, and their job is to make laws that ensure our rights are protected, that justice is for all.
I am not naive, and I know that our governmental representatives are a crap shoot right now. They all spend more time fundraising for their parties than they spend doing the jobs we pay them for. They spend more time shmoozing large donors than legislating and passing laws. BUT that’s what makes me ANGRY!
We do NOT elect our officials to fundraise for their parties. Speaking of parties, we do not elect our officials to go to fancy parties. We elect these other people to do their damned jobs and deliver on liberty and justice for all! The parties we have, and the leadership’s self-serving ego trips, have created a problem in our country. Prior to now, we could simply talk about it and roll our eyes at, but now it’s do or die for our country.
Now what?
Well, short of running for office, I can’t imagine a way for me to protest this atrocity more aggressively than by doing everything I can to bridge the divide. Maybe I can remind people of our compassion, empathy, humanity, and to talk directly to liberty and justice for all.
I can’t know if what I will do with this podcast will make a difference. I can’t know whether or not anyone will listen to it, or if they’ll feel a spark of inspiration that they can carry forward. But I have to trust that I am consistently driven to do this for some reason that’s bigger than myself. I have to trust that my writing, my audio, my videos, that the things I’m doing to speak out – will, at the very least, live on after I’m gone. Hopefully people will know – my kids and maybe some day grandkids – will know that I did SOMETHING. That I didn’t just stand by to watch our government fall to fascism or authoritarianism.
It might be too late, but I’m still alive, and I’m still free, and somewhere, I believe, people are still connected to the idea of liberty and justice for all. We we can’t give up now.
Stay tuned for the first season to debut soon. September 30th!
So, if you want to be alerted to updates, join the mailing list on the website.
0 Comments