A Burden For The Times
A Burden For The Times
Election Season: Cultural Reflections on the Upcoming Presidential Race
It's Election Season....Why do politics stir up so much tension? We dive into this by exploring how personal identities are intimately tied to political beliefs. Anton offers insights on the significance of identity politics, while Aaron discusses the role of social media in amplifying divisiveness. Through personal stories and cultural observations, we highlight the pitfalls of focusing on personalities rather than issues. We also tackle the "us versus them" mentality in the two-party system, speculating on key issues that will shape the upcoming presidential campaigns, particularly those of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Join us as we question whether social media is truly the right platform for meaningful political discourse.
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Hey and welcome to another episode of the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us and I hope that you enjoyed last time that interview kind of a little bit of a throwback, going back to the time of 2020, when this podcast got its start. Now, today, we're gonna be talking about everybody's favorite time of year and, no, it's not Christmas, it's going to be the election season. If you hadn't noticed that, we're kind of, you know, pretty much two months or so away from this iconic time. With that being said, we're going to dive into it. I'm going to ask some very specific questions to my brothers about how we think we're doing as society as it relates to this election versus past elections and so much more. But before we get started, we always like to start with something light before we jump into something that is heavy. So the thing that we want to talk about that's light, even though it's light, but at the same time, though I still get excited about it because I watched this live Is this past year's USA basketball team.
Speaker 1:Now, I guess I would be a fair weather basketball fan. I can't say that. I'm from North Carolina, so therefore I'm a Charlotte Bobcat fan, or anything like that. I really find myself to be so fair weather that I really pick players and I follow the players throughout their career. So, like Kevin Durant, I'm not loving every one of his decisions he has made, but I'm just saying I like his style, like his play, and so, therefore, I have followed KB all pretty much throughout his career, hoping that Brooklyn wasn't working out, and if he had one shoe size smaller, I think he'd be even further in as far as cementing his legacy back in the day. So, with that being said, I don't want to get get into the all the sports analogies of all the different games, but usa basketball first off. Aaron anton. I'm sorry with you, aaron. Did you see it? Did you hear about it? Was it iconic or am I blowing it up?
Speaker 2:yeah, I saw it. I I don't think I've watched a full game, but I watched all the highlights of watching usa play whoa, whoa, whoa, seeing the highlights.
Speaker 1:now that's, that's good. That's good, but did the highlights because the final scores didn't seem to interpret the drama that ensued. Anton, did you watch any of it?
Speaker 3:No, I'm with Aaron. I watched the highlights, but I would like to say I am also a Fairweather fan. The Charlotte Hornets they haven't been the Bobcats in years.
Speaker 2:I was thinking that I was like wow, I'm really out of touch.
Speaker 3:I didn't want to say anything about it.
Speaker 1:You can tell how much of a fan that I am. Are y'all dead serious?
Speaker 3:Yes, they're the Hornets.
Speaker 2:I love.
Speaker 3:Charlotte bro, They've been the Hornets.
Speaker 2:I was like wait a second. I thought I was like, okay, maybe I'm a little out of touch, and then I thought I was like me in high school.
Speaker 1:All I think I care. I just know that when ball came over there I have so lost touch about it. So anyway, I guess I should be a Charlotte Hornets fan Apparently instead. You can tell how fair weather I am.
Speaker 2:I'm over here trying to Google it.
Speaker 1:Oh, actually, I'm well. No, I take your word for it because I think about the things I just because that was back during jordan of owned.
Speaker 3:It wasn't the podcast when jordan owned it yeah, but even even when he owned it, they turned back to the hornets like they were the bobcast, like a mecca ochre for it, something like it's been a while yeah it's a whole mecca all for right, whatever that is, but anyway.
Speaker 1:So anyway, I watched, watched the USA basketball because I mean, obviously they assembled the new dream team and it's several together, but both games leading up the gold medal game and also the game to get them into the semifinals, I mean into the finals, but Serbia, those are just iconic games. It was great Steph Curry you saw, I guess, seeing it live I was grilling and I told the family hey look, we got to put this grilling on the side right now because this is getting tense. And then when Perry came down and hit those three, four straight threes, it was just like I told my family which is a rare time that our whole family was watching basketball and I got done and I'm jumped up around the room. I'm like you don't like this basketball. You just don't like basketball because this, this is at its purest. This is absolute, just everything you want a game to be.
Speaker 1:But anyway, it was fantastic. Y'all saw the highlights. So y'all got a little bit of a glimpse of just how amazing that basketball season was. So I guess I'll just ask just a silly question In your estimation, aaron, which dream team is better, the original 92 dream team or this dream team which would win, just for argument's sake, since I don't know what the bobcats are which would win yeah oh the new one would win.
Speaker 2:I mean there's so many things the the current dream team would win, just because, again, people are have developed the game. It's like saying old olympians who worked a regular job and then went to the olympics. I'm not saying that michael jordan did that, but I'm just saying like when you look back at the old olympic people who had regular jobs and went to the olympic to compete, and now you have people who have like streamlined suits that are made of technology, like of course they would beat these guys. My man was just at work and now he can't to do the olympics. So I mean I believe, yes, there are a lot more uh players, the game today with Euro travels, I mean steps and all those kind of things, like it's a whole different ball game. So, yes, I believe the new one would win, but do I still prefer the old? Yes, I prefer the old dream dream team.
Speaker 2:But then me and my wife had this conversation. I just think it's kind of dumb anyway, because it's like you are the best in the world. Why is this even a thing Like you're that good, we all know, even when the other players are trying to get your autograph because you walked on the court. This is probably not a fair game, so I'm kind of a little bit against the dream teams in general. Other than just fun to watch all the players come together, but that's great, it's you to watch.
Speaker 1:You got to enjoy it, Antoine. What about you? Quickly, as we get ready to go to the podcast.
Speaker 3:I agree with Aaron. The only thing that I would say is I think it depends on the rules. Are we playing with 90s rules or are we playing with today's?
Speaker 2:rules Exactly.
Speaker 3:Because if you're taking that team and putting them back there, no, I don't think they'd win Because they're not physical enough. People are just going to run over Steph Curry. A couple hand checks. Steph Curry would be in the hospital.
Speaker 2:John.
Speaker 3:Stockton. That man wrapped up Exactly what I'm saying. So it depends on what rules we're talking about. In today's rules, yes, With the spacing in the game, the athleticism and just finesse of today's team would destroy that team. But if it ever came to this, brute force, fat Carl Malone ain't moving. It depends on what you're looking for. I suppose All right?
Speaker 1:Well, go ahead.
Speaker 2:I was going to say Shaq hit somebody.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, basketball, I think we've got that covered. Like I said, being a fair-weather basketball fan, I don't follow football as much, and so I know that this is probably like why are you talking about the football stats? I mean, the season's getting ready to get started and stuff, but Anton will be more the football fan, so I might talk about that later on. But anyway, this is not a sports podcast, but culture and race is the topic of the day, and so something that affects every single culture and race is the topic of the day, and so something that affects every single culture and every single nation across the world is when it comes down to election time, and so now what we're going to really highlight is how are you seeing things? Progress as a society, as United States culture, in this election prior to others?
Speaker 1:With that being said, donald Trump entered into the scene 2016, when Hillary Clinton and he were running against each other, and obviously our most recent election 2020, I think has sent reverberations across all counts, because it just seemed like, even though we come to each election when Obama's running for president, this is the most critical and this is going to be the one that's most dividing, in my little humble opinion. I think there was just something different about 2020. And not only about the, you know, the Capitol stuff and all the other things that were ensuing racially during that time. I think it really just was with the moons, the stars aligned, essentially, and it really became one of the hottest areas of debate that now elections and politics are so polarizing that we saw such an epic fail in our society concerning people having the right spirit during that time whether in the church world, whether in the political field, everywhere just seeing categorically it was a fail across the country that now politics are so incredibly touchy.
Speaker 1:With that being said, we're going to talk about this and how things are lining up for this year, but I want to go to a root question first. Before we start diving into the individual Swinging to you, anton, let me ask you this Just from a rudimentary aspect why are politics perpetually just so touchy Like sports? We were just talking sports. You know, usually we talk about our team, our favorite teams or whatever it is, and there can be banter and it can even get heated, and you can even talk about your favorite foods. I mean, I just can't think of any parallel that you can talk to a person on the street, whether or anything, that becomes so absolutely divisive in a matter of seconds than politics. Anton, help me unpack. Let us go through. Why is it perpetually touchy?
Speaker 3:So I think actually we had talked about this at another time and the answer I'm going to give that's why I won't go into detail, because I do think we've mentioned it before on the podcast I believe that it's just because it's tied to people's identities and I think that the thing like sports, to most people is not completely tied to identity.
Speaker 3:But I think when you start talking about, in our modern era, religion, sexuality, gender identity, when we start talking about things that are literally what a person sees themselves as because there are things that you do and then there's what you are and we start talking about what I am, for most people that's a subject that's off limits. You can talk about things that I might do, but not what I am innately, and I think whenever we get to something that people at a fundamental level believe that's who they are innately, that is something that no one will allow someone to criticize, and I think politics has kind of invaded that space, as well as a lot of other things that we've made innately who we are as opposed to. Again, when we get to a solution, it's making sure your identity is not in those things, but to me, that is the reason it's always going to be perpetually touchy.
Speaker 1:Okay, I want to double back to that in just a second. Aaron, we're not ignoring you, but, um, double back to that in just a second. Aaron, we're not ignoring you, but we're coming to you in just a second. I'm going to ask you the same question as anton, but doubling back.
Speaker 1:But don't you find that here recently, am I making the wrong observation to say that with that in mind is tied to our identity? But has identity politics really been a new thing or just is? It just seems to me, and I guess I can only share it by sharing my perspective it seems to me that we've taken one leap forward. You know, as fast as technology has advanced, you know in our lifetime, I feel that the political identities have advanced just as quickly. Is it just because we're living in it? Is it you know that syndrome that when you're, you know living in it, versus people who are looking back at it, like, what do you feel? Do you feel this is true or do you feel no, I think you just dream it up because of where you are currently.
Speaker 3:No, I agree with you. I think that part of what's happening in our modern society and again you can blame to a certain extent, um, some modern psychology that has kind of just infiltrated everything in this need for everyone to note their differences instead of the similarities we kind of navigate the world currently in our modern era based on our differences, not on our similarities. So everyone is trying to look for a way in which they have a uniqueness and not just a uniqueness, a, a group identity uniqueness. And I think politics is the easiest form of that, because if you go get like to a younger generation, you know what they're voting. If you go to a conservative white church, you know how they're voting.
Speaker 3:That this has just become an easier blanket statement to show people what identity you belong with. You're either for these people I mean for the caring party or you're for the kick them out party. Like everyone knows what all these mean without ever saying the words, because we've really molded identity to things, that because some policies, especially like economic policies, are really not necessarily moral policies, but we've kind of infiltrated that any political affiliation has a very strong moral or immoral presupposition tied to it. And I think this is only in my opinion. I think it's going to get worse, just because we really are not in a place to separate our identities from some ideas that we have, because all ideas are not who you are, they're really not. Some of them are just curiosities, maybe preferences, but they're not really tied to who you are. But I don't think we've intellectually been able to untangle those two things.
Speaker 1:All right, aaron, add a little bit more Good thoughts. Anton, I'm going to come back to one of the things you said here in just a moment, but, aaron, you probably might be falling asleep over there on that side. And why are politics perpetually touchy? Because I think Anton gave a great answer about the identity politics side of it, which is, you know, obviously reflecting to other podcast episodes and stuff. But add a little bit more light to why you think that way.
Speaker 2:I really have nothing to add to Anton's the only thought that I was even thinking.
Speaker 2:That meant, even as he was saying it, like I was thinking of words and he was using the exact words I was thinking through with the identity. But the only part that I may add is that sometimes I do believe social media technology add to that um push because, like Anton saying, like you're looking for people with identity, your tribe or whatever, and sometimes social media and those things make it so easy to find a tribe and then it makes that tribe so much stronger because they're like oh man, see me and all these other people believe this. Anybody who doesn't is an idiot, and so that it just only solidifies a little stronger. And so I wonder if that's one of the reasons why we see a little stronger than what we used to. But I feel like it's always been a touchy thing, even when you read the uh, the old biographies and stuff. It's always been a touchy issue, but it's just now we have the ability to make our tribes stronger because of the different technologies that we have.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, that's what I was going to piggyback on, so I'll just give my thoughts here real quick on it, because you can go back to biblical times and realize that, hey, you got the tax collector. You know, being a disciple of Jesus Christ, like we're talking, guys that you know politically were just as diverse as you possibly can get, as they're coming to be followers of Christ. So, obviously, this political aspect, or, however you want to say, the government control thing, you know, with the taxes and stuff like these things were already aspects about a person's. You know just their character or whatever it is that was already alienating for them. So I can see, throughout history, that that's always been an issue or a touch point. But it doesn't seem, though, that when a person comes to like in our society, we care so much about the. You know the outward, you know what I mean Of. You know I come to somebody and I have the perfect smile, my kids look great. So we all want to put on this good front more than most cultures do. Right, you know, but we do. And so one of the things that just seemingly will go ahead and bust open that entire, not to call it a facade, but at least that shell that many times we placed over, is this matter of politics. So it's always been touchy. But now it seems that politics would usually crack it to some degree. But it seems now that it doesn't even take that it just takes a red and white hat and suddenly it's over that. It just takes a red and white hat and suddenly it's over. Like I don't like you. You know, all it takes is a Biden Harris sticker, or now I guess a Harris wall sticker or whatever it is on a car, and before it kind of might be like I don't know.
Speaker 1:So all these things really are causing me to kind of put it on the two party system idea, because when you look at the two party system it's almost like either you're with me or you're against me. Right, there's really no room whatsoever to even have, like most shows. When they like a Madam Secretary or something like that, like a political show, that's obviously meant for entertainment. Typically, if a person quote unquote is running for president, what will they run as An independent? Because it's the only way that they're going to continue. People are going to continue to watch the show because you to go forth. So I think we're we're in love with the idea of a three parties, or more than at least two party system.
Speaker 1:But I don't know, am I putting too much weight on this two party system as the reason why? And to quote you, anton, I want you to comment on this because I have seen, typically, the you know the voter guides, right? So if you vote for this, you vote for this candidate, here's what they're voting for and here is what this person believes in, or et cetera, right? So, as you have that kind of banter going on, I've never seen one of those little displays that show this is where they all agree on. This is where their economic policies actually happen to be okay with each other. This is where their immigration policies seem to at least have some type of the same language. You see what I'm saying. It's always based upon the stark differences, so it's either this side or it's over here on that side. Am I putting too much on the two parties' hips, anton, in your opinion?
Speaker 3:Yes, and it's probably not for the reason which we won't get down a big political rabbit hole. I'll just say I disagree that it's a two-party system. I think that part of the issue is when people like you brought up biblical times for most of human history. That's why, again, to try to take two different historical times and compare them directly is very difficult. Most people have not been political for most of history. Most people had no political power for most of human history.
Speaker 3:This idea that everything is political that's why it's a new idea, because it used to. Women could not vote. Lots of subgroups, even of white men, could not vote because they were either not landowners and or would not sign up for military conscription. So most people could never vote. So it would be silly to think that my neighbor had political animus towards me because he has no political power. This has only been and this is why, again, it's an experiment. Really it's never been a democracy of this level. We've always been more of a constitutional republic than a democracy.
Speaker 3:So the idea that everything is political is what drives this identity, because it could not have been part of your identity 100 years ago, because most people just did not have the political power to make these political statements. That's why I do think you are in somewhat uncharted territory whenever you try to compare it to almost anything that's ever existed, because for most individuals to have this political power at 18 years old, with really no responsibility, you don't really have to do anything. Again, you can say that men have to sign up for elective service. I get that. Women really don't have to do anything, they just have to turn 18. That's unprecedented. So it is a new part of a power dynamic that I think is unique to our modern era.
Speaker 1:Interesting, so you're looking at it more so of the every voice. There's so many voices now that have that like forgive man, I hate to say this, but like I hope that this can be not be clipped out and made some type of you know hate clip that Adrian said this, but like, so an 18 year old guy who is working at Chick-fil-A has the same vote as somebody who is a Fortune 500 company owner, right? Is that basically what you're saying? This is unprecedented, that this has been what's been happening, right?
Speaker 3:Because it's not simply that, it's that, with nothing else, because, again, for voting has always been tied to a responsibility. That young man would have had to have done something Again, because it's not simply money, it could be sacrifice. He could have given again five years of the military. There was something he had to do. That's what's genuinely different. Is that really? Any 18-year-old wields a especially in local elections a tremendous amount of power? That's just never been true, and he has to do nothing to earn it. He just exists, and that was what I'm saying is new, and that's why it becomes a entitlement identity and again, I'm not trying to be Candace Owens, but it does this breed into. We should do whatever I want to do, which that's why two parties it wouldn't matter, because you would have a party of all people who just want to do what they do. You could have a 30-party system in an open democracy and you'd end up with the same problem.
Speaker 1:I do see where Anton's coming from. Aaron, can you give any context of how you feel about this? I do place a lot on that two-party system aspect, you know, taking into account what anton has mentioned about there not being that this is unprecedented times, in the sense that you know there was usually some type of. Obviously your vote required a lot of sacrifice or whatever it is that was upon you. So, with that in mind, do you still lean a little bit that they're still curious to the fact that the two-party system has really caused? You are a villain or you're my friend, like it's really not a whole lot of in between?
Speaker 2:you see what I'm saying oh yeah, I see what you're saying and I'm here in anton and I'm just over here taking notes, listening, honestly, trying to put this through together because my original thought was going to be well, in the modern, in the old school times, I guess history we have people weren't so affected by politics to certain degrees, like the small parts of my life weren't. If I'm a farmer, yes, I'm concerned about politics if they're coming to take my thing, but most of the time I'm just trying to take care of me and my family, yeah, and so I don't know if it would have been like super political, like Anton said. But then Anton introduced something else in my mind. So I'm still processing it all and just trying to think through.
Speaker 2:I see the why a two-party? Because anytime you have an us versus them, it's going to get nasty on anything. And when you even talk about religion, me and my kids were just watching, literally at breakfast this morning, watching somebody preach against contemporary Christian music, and they were preaching it yesterday, so this message was yesterday and they're just going off and talking about this. Music is of the horror and revelation and all this, and I was like, huh, like this is, this is crazy. And so me and my kids are just having the conversation of like. Whenever you villainize somebody who's on the other side, they probably are a lot closer to you than you think, but then you want to villainize. So I think anytime you have a two party system or you make it us versus them, you're going to have a hard time. But I do see what Anton's saying.
Speaker 1:Do see what Anton's saying and that's an introduction to something in my mind, so I'm trying to process it, yeah, and I think what Anton has said, like the whole idea about voting and different things, that is. You know, I don't want to call it a rabbit hole, but that's a fair conversation to be able to have. You know, I'm not sure if this, as we discussed the election season, the dynamics of it, is a place, but that is an interesting conversation. So let's then go into discussing, then, what will be the mainline, touchiest issues surrounding this election. And the reason is because I realize that, typically, foreign policy, as it relates to immigration, the economy, social issues, abortion these obviously will always, always, at least in our society be some of the top line things that are asked at any debate, asked at any type of forum. So I'm wondering, though, in y'all's opinion, though, what will be this election Like?
Speaker 1:I would say that, for example, I would say that the issue of race and immigration, kind of bowled up in one, was a huge factor. Huge factor you take that away from the 2020 election. This could have been a different world, right? This would have been different society. When I say that so is, I mean as far as how the elections played out, but I'm just saying is what do you think will be the one for this one? Aaron, do you have any thoughts?
Speaker 2:And again, we are just speculating, but I'm just at least trying to make cultural observations and within our speculation, Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and admit my political ignorance here, but I'm going to say I try to stay out of almost everything politics we can call it. What do you call it when?
Speaker 2:you retreatism or whatever. But I do look at as the photographer in lots of little different networks and the thing to me is it's funny I honestly don't see the issues as much as I see the personalities that are being debated and, like the people who are debating these things aren't even talking about issues. So when these things do come across my path, like in the photographer world, like all of a sudden it's like what I can't believe. There's so many MAGA supporters on this thread. I can't believe there's so many. And it's like they're not even talking about issues, they're not even talking about what they're for or against, they're just talking about.
Speaker 2:And then another thread will be like, oh man, I, how in the world could somebody support Kamala? And just going down these rabbit holes of again, nothing of any consequence, but just the personalities of the two people pitted against each other. And so for me I, at least from my perspective it doesn't even feel like there's an issue, as much as we don't want them to win and they don't want us to win and so we're just going to go fight it out. And so in my small sphere of influence I don't even see any big issues as much as I just see.
Speaker 1:I want our side to win.
Speaker 3:Yeah, which would even speak to that fact of, you know, the us versus them mentality now swinging over to anton, I think, um, both campaigns are going to try to put out narratives, so I guess I would break it into two. I think if you have someone like kamala, I think if kamala wins the election, it'll be driven primarily by abortion and misogyny and running a campaign that is focused really on those two issues. There will be a slight, probably tend to race, but I think for her to win, I'm pretty sure that's the narrative her campaign has to paint and I think if Trump has any shot at winning this election, it has to be really strictly economic policy and immigration. I think on both sides you're going to probably see false equivalencies and a lot of, let's say, statements that I don't believe to be completely accurate about the other candidate, but say statements that I don't believe to be completely accurate about the other candidate, but I would say those are going to have to be the focal points for either of those campaigns to be successful.
Speaker 1:Interesting. I wasn't expecting you to be able to for this one here. I am tempted to go down and not call it another rabbit hole, but I am going to probably just bring it up, just if it's a something that we discussed and catches fire, great. If not, we'll just put it to bed in just a second. But I was surprised. You said the economy for Trump's campaign. But what about you? Don't think the Harris campaign? That that's misogyny? Yes, totally. Get abortion. You know absolutely, women's rights is going to be very huge in this. Women's rights is going to be very huge in this. But you don't really see economy entering into that equation because typically there's going to be, you know, the voter that can kind of go red, blue, purple any old day, but it's really going to be driven by the fact of their wallet being so impacted, right? So any commentary there? I mean I don't disagree. I mean, again, we're just speculating. I'm just from our sort of news and news stories, but I'm just wondering if that was intentionally left out.
Speaker 3:Do you mean the economy from Kamala's point of view? Yeah, I think she can't win that argument, so, again, I don't think that. Okay, yeah, so I don't know how she would make that debate. She's been vice president for the last four years, so either you're going to have to take down the ads that say you're an excellent vice president, or you're going to have to directly engage with the fact that you don't like Joe Biden, which is a very difficult political maneuver, and I also don't believe that most people and I think she's well aware of this because, again, she's an intelligent woman Most people do not vote based on the economy anymore.
Speaker 3:That is a 30 years ago piece of advice. That's Clinton, the last time that's been really true. A lot of young voters, and especially female voters, are going to vote on social issues, and she knows that that's again, that's what she's. I mean, she gave her first interview last week. She's running for president united states. I think she's well aware that what you really do is that brian reagan joke of letting the person who can't speak speak. Um, just let down trump, keep talking, stay away from the economy, because it's a a nightmare issue, and really play up the the ends of positivity, something like and I think aaron was actually saying this and again, sorry, this is going to be another callback for another podcast, because I don't remember sorry, I don't remember if we were talking about this on or off mic.
Speaker 3:So if this is confusing, the fact is, I think when we talk about identity, when we talked about being a good plumber, do you remember this conversation, yes, yes, about whether a bad man could be a good plumber? This is the idea that I'm talking about when it comes to voting and identity that in reality, the issue that someone can look at Aaron and say he's a bad photographer because he's a MAGA supporter is exactly the same concept that I was trying to get across in that podcast, which is we've lost the ability to say he's a good photographer that I disagree with, or he's a bad man but a good plumber. Like we can't separate intellectually these two ideas we somehow have as a country. If you have a flaw that I cannot get over, that flaw overwhelms every aspect of your life. You can't be a good mathematician and a bad husband. Of course you can. That makes no sense. They have nothing to do with each other but we've lost that ability as a society.
Speaker 1:Which is interesting, because obviously I remember that conversation independently.
Speaker 1:I think it was about when we talked about Trump and one of those things that, now that I was surprised, was absent from your list for at least what Trump has to win the battle, because I don't know you take like, right now, trump's recent things about the Florida ban I mean, that's where we're living right now, at least timeframe wise and his position about, basically, abortion, because, with his position being the way that it is, with his position being the way that it is, if he won the election, it would seem to be that it would be a great win for the Republican Party need to be able to bring it within range that is palatable for both sides, whether that's six weeks or whatever it is, to be able to then that a child, an unborn child, can be killed.
Speaker 1:So, with that being said, I thought that that would be more of his playing card, because I guess, frankly, what I'm saying is can Donald Trump win without this vote of those who last time voted him through because of his pro-life stance and you didn't have that on your list Purposefully or do you think that's going to be something that's not going to, you know, stigmatize that as much?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't think this matters at all. Actually, I think it helps. I'm saying, if you're talking personally or politically, politically politically yes, Personally or politically.
Speaker 3:Politically, yes, politically, no. I don't think it hurts him at all. I think he's aware of this. He's not going to lose pro-life people because Kamala is the antithesis. He has to be better than her, which is not a high bar. On the other end, you're going to gain a few people by being more liberal. I think that's a calculated risk. You'll get a couple more center votes because of that Rabbit hole.
Speaker 1:Rabbit hole. Do we go down the? No, we are not going to go down the. I have some thoughts, but we're just going to leave it right there, about the two sides and about the mainline touchiest issues going through so categorically. We've been saying that the politics being so touchy, obviously because identity has fallen into this aspect of politics and creating a very touchy political season that we're entering into. And then the touchy issues. Obviously, we have different, varying opinions about what those touchy issues are. With that being said, before we get to this last one how to be grounded and maintain a testimony that honors the Lord we always want to have a biblical perspective upon these conversations.
Speaker 1:The question I have, though, that y'all both disagree, and I even asked a friend of mine as well, who's a pastor, and I said hey, look, am I just seeing things wrong? I feel we're doing better as a society right now than we were back in 2020. I still do, but y'all seem to vehemently disagree. Can you just either buckle down and tell me yes, adrian, it's not as good as you think it is, because, granted, I came when I during 2020, it became so politically diverse and so identity politics that it just became. It just was nauseating to even enter into the social media space that I went from 5,000 friends that I had and different things on Facebook and I narrowed it down to like 1,000, right? Basically, I decided, look, just because somebody can be an acquaintance doesn't mean they can speak into your life.
Speaker 1:And a lot of times what's happening, I post something and I'm like these are my friends and I realized, wait a second, some people I barely know, right, so I, that was my way of being able to then have that, and maybe I did such a good job of hiding and unfollowing that now I'm like man, my, my, my Facebook is like candy land right now. You know, it's pretty good. I mean, there's an occasional, you know little something that I'm like ah, whatever you know, but I know that person. So it's kind of like eh, it's fine, it's just fill in the blank person or whatever it is. So I feel we're doing better. Is it because I'm living in my work, little world, anton, or is it truly gotten better, like in this time of grief, as in comparison of the very low bar of 2020.
Speaker 3:uh, no, I think it's significantly worse, and I am living in canada land apparently wow, um, because I do think that what you are describing is what a lot of people are experiencing, and I think I've mentioned this where I think it's far more dangerous, because I think, in 2020, because we were blindsided or I would say a lot of people were blindsided by how politically divisive the world became racially, politically a very bizarre time everyone kind of literally created an echo chamber so many people that it's like at least in 2020 you were hearing the opposite side to a certain degree and I would say this about a lot of people you were actually engaging, and then everyone got just so exhausted from that engagement that they create an echo chamber that they now live in, where now no ideas are being challenged.
Speaker 3:It's, in my opinion, I said, when you think of even the israel, palestine situation, all these other places where these things just didn't occur before, it's because so many people are living in literally the most echo chamber of echo chambers and now ideas are not challenged.
Speaker 3:Even the annoying people that we would say were in everyone's feed. They did actually create at least some dissidence, so that everyone's ideas at least I'm not going to say were heard, but at least were challenged, even if annoyingly, so that now in the world we live in is just it's substantially worse and that we see the results. I would say a lot of these situations, like these protests, you see the results, but you do not actually see the facebook comments, which now I don't know what. I think the facebook comments were a better thing than the result of this, everyone pretending that everyone just agrees with them. Now it's like no, you just got rid of 3 000 friends like they don't disagree, they don't agree. Now it's not like everyone's, like yes, I'm on board. It's just that we've really cut down on any outside noise which I think again, in the long run, may be far more dangerous.
Speaker 1:Well, if you come to my Facebook man and you think it's an echo chamber, just go hello, hello, hello. I'm not talking about you personally. I'm like again.
Speaker 3:Even if you look at the studies, it's like to me that's what's happened, like it isn't that everyone changed their mind, it's just that we really just segregate, which is why, like I said, in my opinion a two-party system isn't the problem, because we've seen the segregation. We can segregate to like 50 different places and I don't think anything would actually be better. I would actually argue that again, so much separation is our problem. That unity and I'm not trying to be a politician unity is part of being a country and I'm not trying to be a politician unity is part of being a country, a state, a community. You have to have some unity.
Speaker 1:We have to agree on some fundamental value. That sounds like a great political speech right there, actually, because if we could actually have a check mark of where you agree with your opponent, then actually I think it would boost a person who is willing to put that out to be able to then say like at least there's a desiring to be able to move from there to be unity. Now speaking to the social media part.
Speaker 3:That's a great point by the way.
Speaker 1:I think that's excellent, that what you're making, and even though I was joking about the echo chamber, I mean that truly is the case and probably the reason why I do feel the way that I feel. I mean, I do feel there has to be a better platform than social media to be able to figure out where those opposing views are coming from. But I do feel, like you know, these are good areas and specific things to have to somebody say something against what your normal narrative is. Aaron, any thoughts about that? Are you think it's better or do you think it's about the?
Speaker 2:same. Oh, I think just uh anton said, I think there's just a lot of people have hidden the people that they know they don't want. So again, as I told you guys before, my search terms on a lot of areas are blocked. Certain names, certain situations are all blocked on all my social media. So I don't even get those posts. So I know that the world's a dangerous place out there, but I tend to just come inside my little house, lock, lock the door on social media and continue to share pictures of my flowers and live my life.
Speaker 2:Wow, but I know that it's probably not the best way, so I'm going to tell you. But sometimes but I will say I'll add this, not even trying to be funny I have learned what Anton was talking about a little bit ago to look for journalists and not personalities. And I think that was a game changer for me. Like when you're saying where to get things, like I'm looking for the trusted source and then I just want to hear the things, so I'm going to versus having things pushed to me, and I think that has helped me a little bit. And I'm not even trying to be funny about going to my little house and gated community of my social media, but I will say looking for the journalists and people who have. I'm trying to remember what story it was that came up and I remember going to like Anton's thing about journalists came up and I went to look oh, I know exactly what it was. It was about the um, and I'm not trying to take us down a different rabbit hole, but it was just where that political thing all the people in the political right were talking about that young lady who was the boxer oh yes during the olympics and I remember seeing the first post and I was like hmm,
Speaker 2:I need to go find out the real information. I remember going to journalists and, like anton said, there are certain things that journalists would not say whereas personalities said freely, and that was one of the first times where it helped me see, like, oh wait a second, there is a level here of people who I'm not losing my job and just proclaiming stupid stuff. I got to look for the facts and then give those facts out. So that's where I'm trying to be.
Speaker 1:That's great. I think we should really double back to that story at some point and do a podcast on that, because that really was eye openingopening and it was just a quick proof point of just how quickly you know, like I don't know. There's just so many things that can just be said and I think that making that delineation is a huge step in trying to be able to digest the news in a healthy way, um, and even even breed to that idea of unity. You know, how can we promote? Unity is making being informed people, and being informed people would then be responsible people which would then pursue after truth and not just after what is just the low-hanging fruit.
Speaker 1:Um, because sometimes you know, people respond so viscerally to viciously, to certain aspects. It's like wait a second, you don't know, you don't know what's going on, and yet you already have this vicious opinion ripping somebody to shreds about said thing. So I think that's very interesting. So let's close this up. We want to be grounded to maintain testimony for the Lord that honor, maintain testimony that honors the Lord. Let's just go around. This will be kind of even if it's a tip tool way to be able to be involved in this question. Let's just go around the room. Start with you, anton, how to be grounded and maintain a testament for the Lord during this election season as a believer.
Speaker 3:I'm going to keep it simple and just say we are in Christ. So that is where we find our identity. I think some Christians, especially during election season, you lose your identity in the Republican Party, and for people who lose their identity in the Democratic Party, that's no better. But our identity is not in any of these things and our identity is not of this world. And yes, I'm aware that again, this is where you get into the semantics of, yes, I'm still black and yes, I still love America. I understand all those semantics.
Speaker 3:My point is that that is never first. I will be a christian first, before I am anything else. That is my identity in its truest form and I think we have to get away from finding our identity anything outside of that. And I I mean that's why I said even patriotic I mean that literally in anything that I'm still in a christian before I'm an american. I'm a christian far before. I'm not even a Republican, but if I were, I was a Christian before that too. And I think when we start doing that, I think some of this, what I consider just nonsense stuff, can just go out of the way, Because I do think it comes from believing that, first and foremost, that God created this country for and God created the Republican Party to save it, and I think this is this is all nonsense, and I think once you get to the point where our identity is not in things of this world, that will help a lot of these problems go away.
Speaker 1:Aaron, what about you? Great thoughts, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I guess for me, the one thing I want to do is I want to listen more than I speak. I want to be swift to hear and slow to speak. And so for me, politically, even as I look, I know what I believe is right and wrong. I think I know my values, I know my convictions, and so those aren't going to change. But just because someone doesn't share those same things and I am even like starting leadership is a different thing from the podcast about the plumber, like a good plumber, bad plumber. But I am even challenging my own thoughts on this and just kind of think through. Like, like Anton said, just because someone has a different take than me, I do not have to they're not my enemy just because they have a different take on things to me. Are there certain things that are evil?
Speaker 2:Yes, but again, like there's a whole, it's a lot more complicated than sometimes the us versus them makes it makes us feel, and so I need to be, so to speak I mean no, yeah, so to speak uh and quick to listen yeah, great thoughts.
Speaker 1:Uh, I think again the test, the entire question being how to maintain testimony for the lord that honors the lord through this. And these are great facts. And then I'll say mine in closing, and I think of a venn diagram. You know where you have the circle and then two intersecting circles, and then there's a part on one side, then there's a part that intersects, and I have on one of my sides, um, that I love people like that. That is the greatest commitment. I shall love the Lord. I got all my heart, all that more, and I love my neighbor as myself, right? So, obviously, loving people.
Speaker 1:And then on the other part of the David diagram is a song going this world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. So it's like it really is that in between, because it's like this is not my home, like I love this place, I love people that invest my life in that which will last for eternity the word of God and the souls of men. So that in between spot, because what happens is I can make this to be my home that everything is hinging on this, everything is hinging on that or whatever it is. Everything is hinging on that or whatever it is as much as I cannot stand how much my groceries cost right now. I am aware that God in heaven is not looking down and going oh my bad, I forgot that Froot Loops were going to be that expensive. He does know what is taking place and he is aware and I say it even on a serious note even concerning Israel, gaza, like, basically, it's yet, man, this world is not my home.
Speaker 1:I say that in one aspect, because I can't figure it out, I can't solve it Right, but at the same time, there is going to be a love for people that God. Please bring justice. Lord, let your kingdom come, let your will be done, lord. What you want done in heaven, lord, is perfection. Let it be done on earth. Let there be repentance upon the sides and like to be able to unpack that there might be peace during this season for these people.
Speaker 1:You care about the widow, you care about the orphan, and right now, it seems like the widow and the orphan and those who are vulnerable are being punished.
Speaker 1:Like, basically, you can pray fervently and still, at the same time, try our best to be like. This is not, this is not my final destination, and so if it blows up and this, this great experiment, comes to an end, I will be heartbroken, I will cry more tears, and probably most people that are listening, but I will have inside, by God's grace, a victor's like a victor's. You know that, that whale that they let out after, after so much work, after so much things, that, even though this is hard, even though this is tough, that I have a heavenly inheritance on this other side and it just really points to that my life would be something that would glorify God in the midst of all the nonsense that happens inside of our world. Yeah, because the only stability that I have in my life is the immutability of God, that he is good that he is righteous and that he is just in what he does.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I just want to have a testament of honor to the Lord this season and hopefully the podcast episodes leading up to it. Even though sometimes say hard things, we do hope that it's said in a spirit to which it's like number one to have a biblical perspective, to have an alternate perspective, but also a perspective that we believe honors the Lord. Well, I think that should call it a wrap. Are all hearts and minds clear, gentlemen?
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, yes, sir, all right. Are all hearts and minds clear, gentlemen?
Speaker 1:Yes, sir yes sir, All right, hey well, we thank you so much for joining us. Questions, comments or aka snotty remarks at times, you go ahead and send that to our way.
Speaker 1:Somebody asked me, said hey, is my remark seeming snotty? Dude, you're fine man. We appreciate the commentary and stuff that is asked of us and so, anyway, with that being said, a burden for the times at, gmailcom is where you can contact us or go to our website, and we thank you so much for listening to this episode and we hope that you join us next time.
