Citizens Prerogative

Episode discussion topics

• A tale of two republics that are fused together under law as a means of containing a ceaseless war of cultures. One republic was built upon the ideals of aristocracy and one was built on the ideals of equality. What they had in common was a common enemy in that neither of the republics wanted to bear the cost of living back under the rule of a king.
  
• The new south has boundaries drawn by cultural lines and is not reliably in specific states but rather among all of the states. This has actually been true throughout most of United States history as racism and misogyny never fit inside of map lines. The lines were simply easier to draw back when laws told the story, specifically where slavery was legal.
  
• Follow the ideas where old rules reign today and there you will find the confederacy echoing from yesterday. A potent combination of white supremacy and misogyny that is justified in many cases through religion. 
• Modern science has proven all humans are the same species. History has proven that race was invented and gender was used for sowing division and creating classes where none truly existed in reality. This provided huge amounts of free labor to feed the aristocratic economies of the south and maintain their order through oppression. One more chapter in the age of civilizations: The long history of the haves balancing their power, riches, and glory on the backs of the have-nots.
  
• Why reconstruction was left unfinished is something we touch on in this episode, but if you are looking for something with more information, please check out Reconstruction: America After the Civil War by PBS.
• Calls to Action:
  • Realize that every human is their own entity with inalienable rights according to our founding documents - no race or gender is inherently superior nor should wield power over another - this is egalitarianism, this is the freedom promised under the laws of our republic.
  • Maps are being redrawn and representation matters. It is up to all of us to make sure our voice is heard. "Unity maps" shall show the way to more equal representation across more competitive districts! These maps have been proposed as highlighted in this San Jose Spotlight OpeEd piece; a map inspired by The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and are providing an example to model. After all, we love that old motto, "no taxation without representation!"
  • Review CPP Episode 6 The Politics of Party when we discussed the dangers of conducting politics via parties and how parties are one of the things the U.S. founders feared most; something bad for the health of any republic.
  • Voting is being restricted in new ways, find out how to get out the vote in your community. Check with your local county elections officer, sometimes part of the clerk or recorder offices.
  • Get interested in new tactics to combat inequality in voter access and campaign funding. Your community needs solutions and democracy vouchers may be a new way to begin leveling the playing field if we cannot get HR1 - For the People Act to pass the U.S. Senate. Seattle has made some progress on this front recently by implementing democracy vouchers to manage campaign finance and allow more citizens to run for office. Here's a related opinion piece from CommonDreams.org for more information.
  • Get involved and use your agency to help make noise and march on the ideas that are important to our personal health, the climate within which we live, and our collective health as a species.

Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr.

More info

• If you want to understand more about the various cultures that colonized and propagated the United States, then check out the book American Nations by Colin Woodard (2011). The link is Wikipedia, but the book is available for purchase via the usual methods if you want to read it.
• We have transcripts located at the end of each podcast episode's  page on our site. Check it out, but know this: It's all AI. It's not us. So thank you in advance for forgiving any and all errors.
  
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• Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this podcast are for listener consideration and are not necessarily those of the show or its sponsors.

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