Radical Civility

There is something even more conservative than voting conservative: Upholding the peaceful transition of power.  If you are a conservative who is planning to vote for the incumbent, I disagree with you. I find him insufficiently conservative.  But I hope you'll join me in this: if the president wins, I'll do all I can to protect his legal right to serve as president. And if he loses, I'l...

I hesitate to post this one, but I have decided it's important to discuss.   Most of the people I know who are involved in large-scale social movements are good people who care a lot about making the world better. But there are bad actors out there who are trying to radicalize and stir the pot.

Hi world, We're finally moved in enough that I got back to podcasting. Still having a blast. (Also, we now have a yard, a kitchen table, and a WASHER AND DRYER!! *sings exultantly*) (But really, our washer and dryer is a highlight of this new life of ours.) Anywho, I made another thing--it's a conversation about the conversation: why is everything politicizied? Why is the whole world angry about e...

I've been excited about this one: My friend Chance Hammock wants to tell you about state flags, and Utah's seal-on-a-bedsheet in particular.    He's an amateur vexillologist who wants people to know that the Utah State Flag is great--as a state seal.  Flags are meant to be something different--easy to recognize, easy to fly, and easy to show off.   Warning: this episode is...

I'm at ten episodes, so now it's time to reflect on what I really want this podcast to be about. I'm not sure what I want it to be. But I know I don't want it to be Upworthy. No intention of offending, but I do want to be honest about what I see them doing that I want to avoid, and how we want to be different.

There are three things to think about here: 1) Monetize your Anger. 2) Deal with the rest in a healthy way. 3) Don't excuse yourself on small things.   The link to Professor Caplan's "Monetize Your Anger" blog post: https://www.econlib.org/monetize-your-anger/ Apologies that there is a bit of hiss. I'll try to figure out what's going on later.

Two content warnings today:  1) I'm not a therapist. You probably shouldn't listen to any of my advice.  You've been warned. 2) I talk about grief, including loss, in this episode.  Why still discuss? Because everything I do is aimed at starting helpful conversations. I hardly think that I'm the one with the answers, but I'm always better off when people tell me what some good answe...

Is it possible to save money during a crisis?    Yes--and we'll talk about how. My friend Justin Garritt is starting up a new firm www.garrittfinancialsolutions.com all about helping service-industry folks get high-quality, high-integrity, high-transparency help on financial decision-making. We also talk about working together,  old stories of students, and how not all  financi...

You know that viral video of Jennifer Lawrence? A friend asked me for my take on it. Here it is. Note: You might want to watch this on youtube, as there's a lot of graphics here. If not, you'll still get a broad sense of what's going on. You should also watch both ads before listening if you want to have some context. Gil Fulbright ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz_V4lRdtjo Jennifer Lawrence...

Commandment 2: Above all, Grace. Grace as Triage. After publishing, the thought occurred to me of another quote that I should have left in. I'm using grace in a non-religious way here, so forgive me for muddying the waters with a religious quote, but it still applies quite nicely: "It is by grace that we are saved after all we can do." This episode is about doing all that is in your power, and bei...

What kills thousands of Americans each year, has a powerful lobby defending it, and is something that has a long history of political controversy around being banned? I'm not talking about guns.  Today's episode is about being a social moderate: a societal libertarian, and a personal conservative. Take a listen, and let me know what you think by joining the facebook group: https://www.faceboo...

Grace is a pretty big concept, so I'm trying to break it down: today's episode is about having good will and assuming good will from others.  

A fun game: what would it take for you to vote for someone that you really, really don't like? I did it for Senator Sanders, and the President deserves a turn. Fun times: I tried to keep this one short. Still made it to 20 minutes.  *shrugs*

What's the first commandment of radical civility? Radical civility.  Obviously. Civility is about engaging. That's what it is built for. This podcast is about how.

So a friend asked a question, and all of a sudden this episode happened.  *ashamed face* Also, it's 20 minutes, which is four times longer than I want these to be.  Alas.  But the question is a good one: why won't I consider voting for Sanders given that I so deeply oppose Trump? Rather than respond directly, I consider what it would take for Sanders to convince me to vote for him....

In my first nickelodeon,  I talk about coining a new term: motivated scrutiny.  Have you ever had people compare two identical resumes but fault-find with one and leave the other alone?   The ask: find something that you disagree with, and comment about it. On Facebook, YouTube, wherever you feel like it. Do it civilly (obvs) but engage in something that I say that you'd like to cor...

Why start a podcast? Why Civility? What is civility? Why does it matter?   A Micro-cast on the topic with a free Sister Act reference. :)