WEBVTT - Getting Caught Up With Labels 0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:04.280 Everybody. It's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks, 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.680 and we bring to you today shop Talk number twenty eight. 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:14.440 No bell, but listener. Vita Scott is apparently mailing us one. 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:17.119 So Vita, if you're listening to us, I'm waiting on 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.279 my bell. As soon as I get it, I'll start 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:24.159 ringing it after I number our Shop Talk. It's not 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:30.040 a lot more grateful, Vita, thanks so much. Actually, I'm 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:34.440 really appreciative because Alex refuses to go get me a bell, 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:36.760 so the thoughtfulness of you to send me one is 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:41.360 unparalleled and very appreciated. How's that great? Actually mean it? Vita, 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:47.080 thank you. Shot Talk number twenty eight. We're going to 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:52.839 talk about an interesting story that just occurred in my 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.520 life two days ago when I was speaking to some 0:00:55.760 --> 0:01:02.640 senior students at the University of Memphis, and how semantics 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:08.880 got in the way of progress and the word tradition 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:16.120 was was misunderstood. And I want to end it with 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:19.600 a very traditional thing that I think we can all 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:23.399 subscribe to and do it with an open mind, the 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:27.760 Code of the West. So, right after these brief messages 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:31.479 from our generous sponsors, Shop Talk number twenty eight, Bell 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:36.600 to come from Beta Scott, understanding the importance of talking 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.720 to each other and not past each other, and the 0:01:39.720 --> 0:02:04.960 code of the West. Hey, everybody spell Courtney, welcome back 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:07.800 shop Talking number twenty eight. I was doing a speech 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:11.000 for a managerial leadership class that I do annually at 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:15.880 the University of Memphis, actually this week, and one of 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.640 the things I love to do is I put a 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:24.320 metric on the dry race board. I just want you 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:29.160 to think of a of a slide graph, and in 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:31.640 the middle, the very middle of that thing, I just 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:35.280 call the middle, and then I tick mark to the 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:41.440 right things that are typically politically right. So just to 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:46.800 the very right of the center, I might write small 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.799 government but socially open, and then at the very far 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.079 end of the right, I write Nazi, and then all 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:57.160 kinds of things along in between GOP and then MAGA 0:02:57.160 --> 0:03:03.560 and the whatever. And then on the left I put, 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:08.840 you know, just the left traditional blue dog democrat, and 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:12.240 then a little left of that is maybe belief in 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:18.799 big government programs, and then all the way down to socialism, 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.480 and then at the very end communism. So what I'm 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:26.200 doing is creating a range from the center of right 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:29.639 and left, and then ask everybody in the class to 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:32.799 raise their hands, and it doesn't matter if they are 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:36.600 a millimeter right, just barely right, all the way to 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.760 the far right, but if their political thinking is on 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:42.800 the right of the middle, to raise their hands. And 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:46.560 then I do the same for the left, and I 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:51.760 mean invariably it is almost fifty to fifty. I've done 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:56.040 this with numbers of college level courses across the country, 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.320 in all kinds of different places do the same thing. 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:03.000 And it is so interesting that even among college students 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:05.640 says they consider where they fall on that little slide 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:09.400 rule graph, it's almost always fifty to fifty, and most 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:11.960 are typically saying, well, I'm just a little right, so 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:13.800 I had to say right or I'm just a little left, 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.680 as very few that it's extremes, which is really a 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:22.159 microcosm of our society, isn't it. So anyway, what I 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:24.320 do then as I say, okay, everybody on the left, 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:27.360 raise your hand, and I make each of them give 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:32.320 me a word, one word that defines what makes them 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:37.760 say they're left. And on this particular day, someone said choice, 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:44.880 another said freedom, another said fairness, another said equity. And 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:49.440 then ask the people on the right name something you know, 0:04:49.760 --> 0:05:00.360 and one said responsibility, one said safety, another said traditional value. 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:02.960 Then it went on down like that. And then what 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.680 I do is I say to the people who are 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:08.960 on the left, do any of these things that the 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:17.719 right people identified themselves as bother you? And typically everybody's like, no, 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:23.000 I mean, I'm okay with believing in your country, I'm 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.040 okay with this, that and the other thing. And then 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:26.680 the people on the left, I say, does any of 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.320 us bother you, any of the people on the right 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:31.839 bothered by any of the characteristics that people on the 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:37.640 left self defied define themselves out, And typically there's always no. 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:42.120 And the point is that we define ourselves by the 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:45.320 right and the left. And while the media and the 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.039 political cric class want to tell us that if you're 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:50.200 on the right, the people on the left your enemy, 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.520 and you don't think anything like them, and if you're 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:54.200 on the left, the people on the right of your enemy, 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.360 you don't think anything like them. That if we actually 0:05:56.440 --> 0:06:01.520 sit down and discuss these things and actually talk about 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:05.120 what in our mind actually identifies what we call ourselves 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:08.400 this right or left, we're not at all put off 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:11.919 by what makes us right or left. And in fact, 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:16.560 many of those values are shared, and I make that 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:21.080 comparison with these students to try to convince them to 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:23.760 quit listening to the narrative that if you don't think 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.560 like me, look like me, believe like me, vote like me, 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:30.600 or love like me your manemy. You may have different values, 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:33.400 and you may have different thoughts about how to go 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:37.240 about achieving your goals in life, but at the end 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.280 of the day, we're really not that different, And at 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:43.000 the end of the day, we're really not that put 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:48.520 off by what we say defines us. And honestly, many 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:52.360 of those things have crossover sets of beliefs, and if 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:55.800 we go quit listening to the noise and start communicating 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:59.240 with each other, it's really not that hard to find 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:03.240 common ground. And I illustrated through this little exercise two 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:07.800 days ago when I asked the left if they were 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:11.840 offset by any of the characteristics self defined by the right. 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:18.120 A young man raised his hand. And this guy was smart. 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:21.360 Earlier in the conversation, asked him questions. He knew all 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:26.960 the answers. Historically he was. He was a smart kid. 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.400 Sat in the front of the class, sat up, listened, 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:34.920 was taking notes. You could tell he was there to 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:37.480 learn and you could also tell he had a bit 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:41.400 of confidence about himself when I really appreciated it. And 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:47.040 when I got to fundamentals or traditions actually was the 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:51.680 word which was a right defining tenant, he said I 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:53.840 have a problem with that one. And I said, you 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:59.200 have a problem with traditional values and he said yeah. 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.280 And I into the young lady who put it up there, 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.080 and I said, he has a problem traditional value. Does 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.880 that make him your enemy? And she looked at me like, 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:11.680 oh my gosh, I can't believe you just started an 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:13.480 argument with this guy in my class. And I looked 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:17.920 back at him. I said, what about traditional bother values? 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:21.280 Bothers you? And I said, write it down, don't say it, 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.520 just write it down. And he wrote it down, and 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:27.120 I asked the girl, I said, write down the traditional 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:31.400 value you're thinking about. So then I took him and 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.959 I read his and his said, when I played high 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:36.960 school football, my football coach wouldn't let me have drugs. 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:42.199 And that makes me angry because I think I should 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:44.079 be able to have druds. And just because it may 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:47.840 not be traditional and what older people think is neat 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:53.600 and tidy, it's cool and frankly, you know, for me, 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:59.880 it's ethnically appropriate. And I said, oh, so I read 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:03.240 the girls and I said traditional values. And her said 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.640 the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:10.360 others do under you. And so I looked at him 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:12.400 and I said, do you have a problem with the 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:14.640 golden rule? And he said absolutely not. He said that's 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:16.599 a great fundamental And I looked at the girl and 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:18.160 I said, do you have a problem with his dreads? 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:24.480 And she says no, I actually think he's kind of cute. See, 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:29.240 we get caught up in semantics. We get caught up 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:35.600 in what people say, or what the press or the 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:39.200 political class say. We are supposed to think about a 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:46.000 specific word or a specific topic, and instead of actually 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:51.560 having the temerity to define the way we really feel, 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:56.080 and instead of talking with each other, we often talk 0:09:56.240 --> 0:10:00.240 past each other. And him talking past each other miss 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:06.760 an opportunity every single day to grow. And at the 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.240 end of the class, that girl and that kid who'd 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:12.400 never spoken to each other all the way through the semester, 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:16.240 who at the beginning of the exercise actually thought they 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:23.760 were completely at odds. We're buddies. What an amazing lesson. 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:33.040 So as I think about traditional values. I'm reminded of 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:38.400 a text we got from a listener, Andrew maul m Aue. 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.400 I think I'm pronouncing it right, but I'm Andrew. If 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:47.440 I just butchered your name, I'm sorry. And he sent 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:55.200 He sent a list that's called the Code of the 0:10:55.240 --> 0:11:02.520 West and its Traditional Values that apparently is a code 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:07.120 to the West, a cowboy code. It's a code, as 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.720 he explained it, it's a standard by which ranchers and 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:14.880 farmers tend to live, and a culture that still respects 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:18.160 and honors each other. I think we would be a 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:24.760 lot better if people understood and employed these concepts. One 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.920 live each day with courage. Two take pride in your work. 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:33.760 Three always finish what you start. Four do what has 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:38.520 to be done. Five be tough but fair. Six When 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:43.439 you make a promise, keep it. Seven Ride for the brand. 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:48.520 I love that. Ride for the brand, the history of 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:53.440 the where branding comes from, like branding with companies, from 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:59.920 branding the cows or the bulls company. Branding well, which 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:03.040 means if you work for a company, ride for that brand, 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:06.640 work for it, work hard, ride for the brand, talk 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:12.080 less and say more good Lord. That one probably spoke 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:14.960 to me like opened up the clouds through the heavens. 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:20.200 Remember some things aren't for sale. I love that know 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:24.520 where to draw the line the Code of the West. Now, 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:32.160 I will say, if you go into certain I would 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:38.880 bet if you went into certain parts of our country 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:42.360 in urban areas and said, how do you feel about 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:44.800 the Code of the West, the old traditional code of 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:48.360 the West, they would either not know what you're talking 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:51.360 about or tell you they don't bind all that stuff. 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:55.120 But I bet if you said, do you believe we 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:57.360 should live each day with courage, take pride in our work. 0:12:57.400 --> 0:12:59.520 Always finish what you start. Do it has to be done. 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:01.880 Be tough, but fair. When you make a promise, keep 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:04.120 it ride for the brand, talk less and say more. 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:06.160 Remember some things aren't for sale. Nowhere to draw the 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:12.840 line it would all be agreed to. Conversely, I imagine there's 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.560 some things from urban areas that a lot of the 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:19.680 people that don't live in urban areas don't understand. And 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.920 when they hear it, they bristle, but they haven't taken 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:26.120 the time to actually understand it, where it comes from, 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:31.080 the basis of it and why. And so oftentimes we're 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:34.200 talking past each other, at each other, and not with 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:39.959 each other. So traditional values go both ways. I love 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:43.040 the Code of the West, but my time at Manassas 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:45.880 tells me there's a lot about the Code of the 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:50.079 Hood I appreciate too. And the only reason I appreciate 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:51.520 both the Code of the Hood and the Code of 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:56.679 the West is because I've been in both places. We 0:13:57.679 --> 0:13:59.600 got to quit talking past each other and talk with 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:04.840 each other. We've got to explore and understand. There are 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:08.520 traditional values that exist all around us that can benefit 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:12.840 us all. But until we truly understand them and explore 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:16.440 them and have conversations about them, we are oftentimes just 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:20.360 going to continue to misunderstand each other. So it here 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:22.480 to the Code of the West. It here to the 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.640 Code of the Hood. Listen to one another, talk to 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:28.560 one another, and maybe the next time there's a guy 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:32.080 with dreads sit next to a traditional valued girl who 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:35.040 don't understand one another and think they're enemies, and the 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.960 odds maybe if they have a chat, they can end 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:41.720 up friends. Wouldn't it be beautiful if we had an 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:46.000 army of normal folks that did that across our country. 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.000 I'm Bill Courtney that shop talk number twenty eight. Before 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:53.760 we sign off, guys, send me ideas. I mean, the 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.560 last couple of shop talks have been about stuff you've 0:14:56.600 --> 0:15:01.160 sent me, and uh, heck bell coming from one of you. 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:06.040 So send me ideas email only any time at Bill 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.600 at normal folks dot us. If you have some ideas 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.320 to talk about, I will discuss them if I think 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:18.640 there's any value to add. Lastly, we're hosting our second 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:21.920 live interview in Memphis and I I've told you about 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:23.800 this a few times, but I'm gonna say it again. 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:28.400 It's on November seventh with Todd Carbaniki, who is the 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:32.600 director of Elf, which is my favorite Christmas movie. He's 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:35.560 the writer of Sully, which is awesome that Tom Hanks 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:40.680 land the plane in the Hudson movie, and now, most recently, 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:48.520 the director of Angels Studios upcoming film. Bonhoffer Pastor Spy Assassin, y'all, 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:52.520 Dietrich Bonhaffer was a German pastor who tried to rally 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:55.600 the church to stop Hitler. He was involved in Operation 0:15:55.760 --> 0:16:00.800 seven to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland and ultimately joined 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:05.160 the famous Valkri to assassinate Hitler, and he was executed 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:09.400 in concentration camp. I recently watched the movie they sent 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:13.200 me an invest screener of it, and it's incredible, and 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:19.320 the research done to make this movie correctly had to 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:23.720 have been extensive. And the guy who directed It's gonna 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:28.720 be with us live on November seventh in Memphis. We're 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.400 gonna record it. It's gonna be one of our next 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:35.120 Army of Normal Folks episodes. It will be about a 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:41.400 forty five minute interview and then the audience will open 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:45.080 for questions, which will also be part of the podcast. 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.080 The audience questions will be just as much part of 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:55.280 the podcast as my questions. We've already got two hundred 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.240 and sixty six RSVPs, but we can seat six hundred, 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.640 so y'all please come. It'll be a great night, be 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:03.760 an opportunity to meet a dude who's worked with some 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:07.600 cool people and been involved some cool projects. And it 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.600 should be informative. It should be a celebration of a 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.000 guy named Dietrich Bonhoffer, who is the epitome of what 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.800 it is to be a member of the Army of 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.679 Normal Folks, somebody we can learn a lot from. So 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:24.919 that's it. Thanks for joining sh Op Talk. Thanks to 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.640 our producer, Iron Light Labs. I'm Bill Courtney. We'll see 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:28.160 you next week.