6 Comments

First, thanks for being honest. Second, you do make a difference. You provide us such amazing ways to look at issues from another point of view. Lastly, I’ll do my part tonight by working with a group of college students who are our future. When I’m around them the world looks good.

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I hear you, Joshua, and I care. I’m glad that you’re honest with us all; it’s Important and only reinforces why we’re following along on your journey. I don’t have the answers and I don’t know anyone who does, but I do see sparks of hope here and there. I’m so happy to see the wheels of Justice moving against those who stormed the Capital on Jan 6. And I credit Justice and those Consequences for keeping the Indictment Protests small and peaceful. There are more signs of hope if only we have eyes to see. And there are plenty of people with Integrity trying to right the ship. Mr Rodgers said to “look for the helpers”. When I do, you are one of the helpers I see. Thank you!

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Please don't despair! I hear you, for sure. This is a difficult time. And I too am finding myself in a professional transition so I empathize with the open-endedness of it all.

Here's a link that may be of interest. We are not alone!

https://citizenuniversity.us/about/

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Hmmmm, so much to say.

I'll start with Men in Black: do you remember after Tommy Lee Jones shows Will Smith the MIB HQ, they go on the street and Smith is obviously shocked, asking why don't we just tell people, that people are rational.

Jones says individuals are rational, groups are nuts (paraphrasing).

I think about that alot: you can talk to an individual, you can rationalize with an individual. That is what you have emphasized: your listeners talking to friends, family, coworkers on a one-on-one basis, listening to them, hearing their concerns and countering them.

During COVID, alot of doctors said they got many vax resistant people to take shots after just listening to the patients concerns one by one, telling them the truth about each point.

There are some that will never come back, this hysteria is their religion replacement, their drug without the drugs, fulfilling something they need inside themselves. As I said in an email, I think the MAGA crowd is very vocal but not the actual majority (Trump lost the popular vote TWICE, only the EC saved him the first time). No amount of rationalizing with them will fix that BUT that doesn't mean you give up on the rest.

A cliche is "you can't change the world but you can change the world for one person" and its straight truth. So many people have the ego-driven idea that they will change/save the world but the more realistic and better focus is changing the world for one person. And then another person and on and on... those changed lives will also change others.

Rest, take a trip to Valley of Fire, drive or hike, it's a beautiful escape.

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Heather Cox Richardson has a massive Substack following and FB page, speaks and writes about democracy. I find her work helpful to understand the historical perspectives and to engage with others concerned about protecting democracy. If you are not already following her, possibly it would be helpful for you to see her audience engagement.

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Hang in there Joshua, things will work out. Have you thought about doing some "short", not sure about the topic, but something you could turn into syndicated series type things that you could sell to local TV stations? Not sure if you've ever heard of Rossen Reports, but this guy does consumer-based reports. https://rossenreports.tv/ Not suggesting you do something like him, but I think his model is neat. Have seen him on many channels, and his reports are a couple of minutes each. Somehow, I could see you doing something similar, but in a different area of interest......good luck!

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