No Work for Liberty is Lost
We had a celebrity on our podcast! Sharon McMahon, America's favorite government teacher and bestselling author of "The Small and the Mighty", joined us to discuss how she went from a classroom government teacher to a social media success with over a million followers on Instagram. Once you hear this episode you will understand why Shaon’s nonpartisan videos on the electoral college and other political processes have captured the hearts and attention of her followers and mass media.
Did you know there is currently a lack of standardized civic education across the United States? Each state decides how much time to allocate within their schools to teach about US Government and Civics. Yes, read that again and stop for a minute to consider the consequences of inconsistent and insufficient government education for American students. If students are not taught how to make change locally, statewide or nationally, or that their vote and participation matters, perhaps that explains why so many of us complain that the system is not representing us?
We talk about Sharon’s brilliant book, “The Small and the Mighty," which profiles twelve unsung American heroes who made extraordinary impacts on history.
We also discuss the current election and why the majority of Americans feel they are not represented by either candidate. Sharon offers suggestions for electoral reforms and a multi-party system that could drastically change election outcomes. Do not miss this episode that will challenge you to think critically about your role in democracy and we guarantee will inspire you to get politically engaged in what matters most to you.
Keep scrolling so we can share some of the things we have been reading and listening to this week.
Things we read and loved in the last two weeks:
Israel
Add this to your podcast queue —> Scott Galloway and Dan Senor.
There is a bad peace. And Israel, in my opinion, is engaging in a good war and cauterizing and reducing the likelihood we have a much bigger war further down the road. - Scott Galloway
We loved the conversation between Bari Weiss and Gal Saad. Intensely logical , researched and so important at this moment in time.
“If there is no objective truth, who are you to say that cutting off the clitorises of little girls is a bad thing, right?” - Gal Saad
Van Jones and Jonah Platt’s podcast was AMAZING. So much here to digest and discuss. This is a must listen.
“That’s been true for a hundred plus years. Jewish folks and black folks. These are the two groups in America that deepened and defended democracy the most.
At a moment when democracy is under threat here and around the world, surprise, surprise, we’re going to split up. That’s not natural. That’s a part of a much bigger thing to drive a wedge.
This one has been tricky because the way that this conflict gets presented, and frankly just the level of pain and destruction and cry from the Palestinian people is so loud that the justice for all gene in black people has switched on. Now Israel looks more like Goliath and David. And you have to know a lot to understand that that’s a more complicated, it might look that way for the past 15 seconds.
Right. But 15 seconds from now and 15 seconds earlier, this wheel is in a different place.” -Van Jones
Another fascinating conversation with Professor Gal Saad.
Mental Health
From Sharon McMahon’s Newsletter:
"Conspiratorial thinking is strongly related to delusion-proneness, which is defined by a propensity to engage in intuitive and irrational thinking, rather than thinking based in reason. Researchers who have studied more than 158,000 people in multiple countries say that people who are likely to engage in this “the government is creating hurricanes to rig the election” thinking are likely to eschew complex and effortful thinking in favor of effortless thinking.
This explains why it seems to be so difficult to talk people out of conspiratorial belief systems: they often lack an ability or desire to engage in effortful thinking, which abandoning their currently held beliefs would require.”
Parenting
this is a good one to show your girls!
