As usual, thought provoking and lots of room for debate, both on politics and movie choices. On the movie choices, you seem to have an affinity for B films. And I'm not convinced that's a good thing but it is a choice.
As for politics, I am not convinced that we should engage with fringe ideas like Project 2025. The real problem is that we didn't engage effectively on mainstream issues like immigration, the economy and the federal government. It is really frustrating to now hear all of the anti-Trump folks saying how they, for example, really do agree that immigration policies needed to be strengthened, that the price of groceries is too expensive, and the government is wasteful. The problem is that they didn't say that when they were campaigning to beat Trump. Instead, it was all anti-Trump without any content, while Trump was all about content. To reword a well known bromide: it's the content, stupid! (not pointing at you Jonathan, but there are many I am pointing to).
Have to say thanks for as always for bringing up interesting ideas to ponder, great research to dive into, and fantastic, sometimes obscure, culture references. The movie recs are always spot on. The AI image was just what I needed this morning as well.
I always appreciate your perspective and ability to articulate complex issues with humor and self-reflection. Approaching incredibly dangerous and flawed policies & ideals that are being executed within our own community must always be approached from a “we” perspective and not a “them” perspective, even if “we” didn’t vote for the ringleader.
Many years ago NPR reported an interesting study about how, when we fail to understand, we progressively view people with opposing beliefs, first as ignorant, and then at the other end of the spectrum, as evil. I’ll admit that I increasingly see many of the decisions being made as “evil,” but have also shied away from digging deeper into the fringe issues out of information overload & overwhelm. This is a good reminder to stay engaged, not just informed.
Hi Bridget, Thanks for reading the newsletter! I really enjoy putting it together each month, and the positive feedback has been energizing. Your comment about involvement vs. engagement are well-taken. I read something about a year ago that talked about how Americans have never been more involved in politics, policy, civics, etc., but they've also never been less engaged. We're consuming tons of political and policy content but not serving on the parks and rec commission, attending school board and town council meetings, etc. The lack of engagement makes involvement problematic, because engagement is what helps us identify misinformation and reduce polarization.
As usual, thought provoking and lots of room for debate, both on politics and movie choices. On the movie choices, you seem to have an affinity for B films. And I'm not convinced that's a good thing but it is a choice.
As for politics, I am not convinced that we should engage with fringe ideas like Project 2025. The real problem is that we didn't engage effectively on mainstream issues like immigration, the economy and the federal government. It is really frustrating to now hear all of the anti-Trump folks saying how they, for example, really do agree that immigration policies needed to be strengthened, that the price of groceries is too expensive, and the government is wasteful. The problem is that they didn't say that when they were campaigning to beat Trump. Instead, it was all anti-Trump without any content, while Trump was all about content. To reword a well known bromide: it's the content, stupid! (not pointing at you Jonathan, but there are many I am pointing to).
The rest for another day.
Have to say thanks for as always for bringing up interesting ideas to ponder, great research to dive into, and fantastic, sometimes obscure, culture references. The movie recs are always spot on. The AI image was just what I needed this morning as well.
I always appreciate your perspective and ability to articulate complex issues with humor and self-reflection. Approaching incredibly dangerous and flawed policies & ideals that are being executed within our own community must always be approached from a “we” perspective and not a “them” perspective, even if “we” didn’t vote for the ringleader.
Many years ago NPR reported an interesting study about how, when we fail to understand, we progressively view people with opposing beliefs, first as ignorant, and then at the other end of the spectrum, as evil. I’ll admit that I increasingly see many of the decisions being made as “evil,” but have also shied away from digging deeper into the fringe issues out of information overload & overwhelm. This is a good reminder to stay engaged, not just informed.
Hi Bridget, Thanks for reading the newsletter! I really enjoy putting it together each month, and the positive feedback has been energizing. Your comment about involvement vs. engagement are well-taken. I read something about a year ago that talked about how Americans have never been more involved in politics, policy, civics, etc., but they've also never been less engaged. We're consuming tons of political and policy content but not serving on the parks and rec commission, attending school board and town council meetings, etc. The lack of engagement makes involvement problematic, because engagement is what helps us identify misinformation and reduce polarization.
What? someone else likes a d rewatches The Accountant??????
A classic!