Make America Relate Again

Things have gotten out of control in the best country in the world. But I beleive we can heal the divide and so does Samia. Please support her effort to get the conversation going between Red and Blue. We are all Americans! We are all human animals! We have more in common than what makes us different. Listen to these episodes, rate them, and talk to those who don't always agree with you. We can do this!

I'm only a few episodes in, and this podcast has already made me understand and appreciate 'the other side' so much better than before. If you're looking for an antidote to today's toxic political climate, have a listen to this podcast.

I want to listen to the guests and topics but cannot get past the vulgar language and self-focused style of the show’s host. She seems to decide when she want sit be polite and respectful: those virtues are not predictable in her conversations.

Necessary context: I have switched from NPR to podcasts so that I can choose what to listen to and the sound of the president's voice induces Tourette's syndrome profanity in me (I'm only half joking about this). I am a retired U.S. Navy Captain and spent 28 years in the Submarine Force, having safely commanded three submarines. I have had a career of working to get along with people in very tight circumstances and stressful situations. I share this not to brag, but to tell you who I am and where I'm coming from. I became aware of the "MARA" podcast and downloaded a few episodes to give it a try. The two I listened to, in their entirety, were about the Supreme Court and abortion. Weighty and related topics that we NEED to talk about in a factual way. I am very critical of the quality of podcasts that I listen to on my 25 minute commute and while I'm gardening on the weekends. With all the podcasts that are out there, I require my limited listening time to be informative, and I expect a good faith attempt complete and candid honesty from the hosts and guests. We have to deal with so much lying and deception in the federal government that I cannot stomach any more of it in the media that I personally choose to consume. This brings me to the Supreme Court podcast. The guest on the right quickly began to annoy me with his evasion of pointed, but factual, questions made by the guest on the left. And then the issue of the president making the claim that 3 million Americans voted illegally in 2016 came up, without any factual proof or verifiable reports that would validate his specious claim that his shortfall in the popular vote was somehow a consequence of voter fraud. The guest on the right laughed, several times, and never answered this assertion that the POTUS intentionally lied to the entire nation to instill doubt in the minds of his supporters that our national election process is not be trusted. This still remains an act so egregious in its audacity of intended deception of the American people, just to assuage his ego, that in my mind it set the tone for his entire tenure in office. Started off with a "big lie." We can talk plainly about this factual occurence in the public life of the most senior person in our government. That is not out of bounds on the basis of impropriety. In fact, quite the opposite is expected in a democracy. And it is exactly what I expect in a podcast. What happened next is what turned me off from this podcast. Specifically, nothing happened. No counter argument from the guest on the left, and no challenge from the host, when the guest on the right repeatedly laughed off this massive assault on the very concept of verifiable truth. They all just moved to the next topic, so as not to offend, or to push the point of conversation on an uncomfortable issue. What? Huh?? Just getting along nicely by NOT arguing in a respectful, professional, and factual way is not going to bridge the gap in America. I agree with dialogue, but I reject the idea of willingly ignoring facts while doing so just to "make nice." Charles Blow, NY Times editorial writer, recently remarked during a panel discussion on television, "How do I meet a bigot in the middle?" Great question. No one on the panel had an answer. My answer is: you don't. You respectfully identify where they are breaking broadly accepted norms of public decency. There are valid opinions on both sides of the social issues that are populating our national dialogue. I eagerly engage with people who make thoughtful and reasoned arguments based on their interpretation of commonly accepted facts. What I cannot stomach, and will not choose to listen to, are regurgitated partisan talking points that intentionally obfuscate facts, or willingly look past, or even deny, assertions that are easily proven lies. That way lies the death of democracy and any semblance of a thinking, rational society. I won't tolerate it in my thought life. Good intentions, as they say, pave the road to bad places. Accountability to facts matters more than ever, and is fundamentally necessary in the media we consume.