WEBVTT - Steven Garza: How to Represent 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.720 Hi, Hi Stephen, Hi, Mr President, Good morning. How are you? 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:06.760 I'm good? My my mom just wanted to say hi 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:09.120 to you, Mr President. Let me give her the headphones 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:11.080 for a second and let you speak to her for 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:18.400 a little. Um. Yeah, hi, Mr President. Hello. How are 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.320 you good? And you? How are you? I'm doing great? 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:24.400 Are you guys weathering the storm? All right? If you 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:28.080 got power? Yeah, we have power right now. We're okay. 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:31.639 So and Stephen and the rest of the family. They 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.160 don't have a power and water for like four days, 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:38.239 so it would be safe. You're probably your son. Thank you, sir, 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.000 Thank you, sir. Hi to missus Hillary Clinton, I will 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:47.120 thank you. The summer of nineteen sixty three, between my 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:49.760 junior and senior years of high school, was one of 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.520 the most formative periods of my life. I was seriously 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.080 considering pursuing a life in public service at the time 0:00:57.120 --> 0:01:00.200 that I attended Boy State, a program sponsored by the 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.120 American Legion along with the American Legion Auxiliaries Girls State. 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.480 This program brings high school juniors together to learn how 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:11.440 government works and to experience for themselves what it takes 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:15.720 to run for office and then to serve. Attendees are 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:20.240 divided into two fictional political parties, then Nate draft platforms, 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.440 hold elections for local and state offices, and vote on 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.600 issues in legislative sessions. At the end of the week, 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:30.559 two senators are elected to represent their state at Boys Nation, 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.080 held later in the summer. I was lucky enough to 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:37.120 be one of the two from Arkansas by the nine, 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:40.559 giving me the chance to visit Washington for the first time, 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:44.520 meet fascinating people from all over the country, and even 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:48.920 shake hands with President Kennedy. So why am I telling 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:52.680 you this? Because Boys State and Boys Nation helped to 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:55.920 teach me from a young age that democracy requires us 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:59.760 to get off the sidelines and into the arena. In 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.440 perfect as it may be, we can't take this system 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:05.120 of ours for granted, and if we want to make 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.840 it better and make a difference in people's lives, we 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.600 need to stand up, show up, and speak up, day 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:15.120 after day and year after year. Today I'm joined by 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.720 a remarkable young man whose own experience at Boy State 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:23.200 is inspiring people across America. Stephen Garza is the breakout 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:26.000 star and in many ways, the hero, of the critically 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:30.200 acclaimed documentary Boy State, which follows a thousand boys from 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:33.760 across Texas in the summer of as they met to 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.640 learn how to build a representative democracy from the ground up. 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.560 In the film, Stephen shows us the value of believing 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:45.240 in yourself and your principles, the power of honest dialogue, 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:48.480 the bridge art divides, and how we can breathe new 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:52.800 life into our democracy. Stephen became the first high school 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:56.320 graduate in his family and is now a sophomore at 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.920 the University of Texas at Austin. He has the strongest 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:02.880 are to take what he's learned to serve as community 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:07.640 and to be an advocate for others. Stephen, thanks so 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:11.359 much for joining us today. Thank you so much for 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.320 that wonderful introduction, Mr President, and thank you for taking 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.320 some time to say hi to my mom, who's a 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:20.720 big fan. Perhaps we could start by telling us how 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:23.200 the storm has affected you and your family and how 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:26.400 you're doing, and what's your reaction to it all is 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:30.880 um Like many Texans, it was a very rough week 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.840 last week for some Texans. It was a deadly week. 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:38.360 Are power went out at about two o'clock in the 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:42.000 morning on Monday and didn't come back fully until about 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:47.480 Wednesday night. Our water went out Tuesday and when it 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:50.720 came back, we realized that about seven pipes in our 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:52.839 house had broken, one of them actually above my bed 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:55.560 and one of them in my closets. So it wasn't 0:03:55.640 --> 0:04:01.440 very um pleasant to deal with. And it's it's been, um, 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:03.120 I mean a rough few years to to you know, 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:07.760 especially being a Houstonian living through these climate events again. 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:13.120 And in seventeen we had Hurricane Harvey completely decimate the 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:17.600 city once in a thousand years storm. And now, you know, 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:19.680 two or three years later, now we have this once 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.919 in a generation winner storm. Uh. And these once in 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.960 a generation, once in the like time events are becoming, uh, 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:28.040 you know, once every couple of years, you know, in 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:31.320 Texas and all across the country. And addressing you know, 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:36.360 human activity in the climate, UH is instrumental in tackling that. 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.599 And there's just a good quote that I've seen going 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:44.760 around is that, um that you shouldn't place people who 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:48.280 don't believe in government in charge of government, otherwise you 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:50.440 end up with situations like we just had and people 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:53.520 don't believe that government can be used as a source 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:56.839 for good and and positive change in people's lives. Well, 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.240 I agree with that. I mean, it's just such an 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:04.839 easy I felt. We may have cultural differences, and we 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:08.120 may have, you know, factual arguments about whether this or 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:12.600 that policy would work or not, but hating the government 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:17.520 as a loser. I mean, I remember we it reached 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.000 a fever pitch in the United States when I served 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:24.240 in when the new Gingrich and his group, when the 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.719 House and the Senate, and then the fever broke a 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:32.120 little after the Oklahoma City bombing, and people realize, all 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:37.720 these people that got killed with his government protests, including 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:43.559 their children in preschool in the building, We're just like them. 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:45.720 They had jobs to do when they were helping, and 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:47.800 we needed their help. We needed them to do what 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:51.520 they were doing. So I agree with that. I think 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.720 that one of the things I'd like to see your 0:05:54.760 --> 0:06:00.160 generation do. We need to start asking people what the 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:03.599 government do. If you want to have a great nation, 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:07.400 if you want America to be great, and you wanted 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:11.640 to be a place of opportunity and growth, there are 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:17.080 no examples of that anywhere on Earth, in countries that 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:21.839 do not have strong effective governments to do certain things. 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:24.640 In other words, if you want a strong private sector, 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:28.560 or precondition of it as having a strong and effective government, 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:34.560 So how how much do you think what you experienced 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:38.440 that Boy State mirrored what you see going on in 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:40.920 the real world today, and how and how much of 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:46.560 it was different. My experiences at Boy State were I mean, 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:50.680 very very very positive ones. I mean I I went 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:53.720 into the program with a being in the racial and 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:58.800 political minority um and knowing that this is a conservative 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:02.400 white elector at that I have to to speak to 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:06.279 and to be elected from. And my strategy was to 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:10.720 appeal to their sense of of of service and their 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.240 sense of patriotism. Uh that we didn't want to see 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.880 this country go to the point that it inevitably ended 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:21.400 up going to on January six. We didn't want a 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:25.000 civil war, you know. When there was Toxic Succession of 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:27.480 Boys State, as much of a joke as it could 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:31.440 have been. To me, I found it very disrespectful of 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:37.200 the legionnaires. The American Legion hosts Texas Boys State. The 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:41.080 Legion is made up of veterans of armed armed services. 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:44.560 To succeed is to dishonor the memories and make their 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:53.680 sacrifices in vain. We have the opportunity to do something great. 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:57.960 Are we gonna make headlines for the wrong reasons? Are 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:01.240 we gonna dishonor the legion Paris who considered us to 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:06.040 be the best that Texas has to offer. Or will 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:12.040 we show the world what patriots are made of that 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:15.560 when things get tough, we pull ourselves by our bootstraps 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:20.600 like true Texans and get after it, leave Texas graver 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:24.520 than it was when we found it. Right, Well, we 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:27.920 aren't successing as damn it. We are nationalist, one Nason 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.679 under God, lover that the Constitution of the United States. 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:39.079 Let's do something great for Texas, animating for the country, goup, 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:41.480 let's every single one of you. And I think that 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.199 that that speech that I gave catapulted me to my 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:49.280 party's nomination for governor of Texas boys state, UH and 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:53.680 just seeing their united in the sense of this vision 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.680 for the United States, for the vision of America. Where 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:01.040 we can have these disagreements, we can have different opinions 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:04.400 and on some hills will die on defending some UH 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:09.800 policy positions, whether to be you know, immigration or abortion. 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:14.800 But because we don't agree on all these issues doesn't 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:16.360 mean that we can't at least come to the table 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:18.760 and have a discussion on maybe some areas within that 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:23.400 issue that we do agree upon. Our job at Boys 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:26.959 State was to show that those who are in government 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:29.200 that the younger generation could do it better than them, 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:33.320 because we actually want to have these conversations with each other, 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.920 and we want to have this debate and and work 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:41.119 together not as as Democrat, Republican, right left, liberal, conservative, 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:43.520 but as Americans who at the end of the day 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.120 want what's best for their country. And I think all 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:50.040 of us would have been very, very shocked, um, if 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:52.160 you told us in twenty team what would happen at 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:55.920 the end of the of the Trump presidency. And I 0:09:56.080 --> 0:10:00.480 think that those kids that were there in my generation 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:05.120 in general want to have a ah a country when 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.720 that they want to inherit a country not on its 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:12.400 last legs, but with the renewed spirit of reconciliation. Um. 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:21.280 It's it's just very disheartening to see at the same 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:25.839 time strengthening our resolved to make sure that you know, 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:29.079 our our democracy got rocked on January six, It stumbled it, 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:31.240 it took a shot to the to the chin, but 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:35.559 making sure that it's resolved is stronger than anything that 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:37.760 can be thrown at it. And making sure that we 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:41.199 play a part in ensuring that this country that we've 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:44.040 inherited is able to be inherited by those who come 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:47.959 after us. Well, obviously I agree, and I think I 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.120 think it's really important. The one thing that we have 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.920 to remember that I learned. I learned there's a great 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.559 difference between a poll of what do you support or 0:10:56.600 --> 0:11:01.559 oppose something and whether it's a voting issue for you, 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:07.040 And what I think your generation can do is on 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.040 a lot of these critical issues, make it a voting 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:14.520 issue so that even if the culture seems to be 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:19.840 tugging against you, you can prevail. When the school shooting 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:25.199 occurred at Columbine when I was president in Colorado, uh, 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:29.319 it was the one of the whole series that occurred 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:34.440 all the way from Oregon to my home state of Arkansas. 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:40.760 Columbine seemed to galvanize the nation, and there was a clear, uh, 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.760 a lot of support for closing the gun show loophole 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.080 because these guns have been bought at a gun sale. 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:51.679 And keep in mind, at the time the technology was 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:54.599 not as advanced as it is now. It's laughable. It 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:57.240 would be nothing to close the gun show loophole and 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:02.839 nothing to have instant background checks for online sales. There 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:08.680 were no online gun sales when I took office. So anyway, 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:19.360 the Republican governor of Colorado, a conservative, supported a referendum 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:22.920 to close the gun sholder whole. The rest random past 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:32.640 seventy to thirty, but Bush still defeated Gore one. Now, nationally, 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.040 if you look at what the Stoneman Douglas kids did, 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.240 what they did was what happened at column By twenty 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:43.679 years ago on steroids. They and their allies in Chicago 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:49.599 and elsewhere made gun safety of voting issue in And 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:51.520 that's what we have to do for all these issues. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:57.280 They have to be a voting issue. And you've one 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.600 of the things I hope you got out of your 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.160 boys I experience and all the stuff that's happened since 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.120 then as a result of it is it took me 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:08.480 a long time to figure out how to make decisions 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:12.920 with a strategy behind making an issue of voting issue. 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:18.640 I would take a fifty to forty nine issue if 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.280 a d percent of people on my side, we're going 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:24.240 to vote on the vices of it. Right. It's UM, 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.439 it's walking a tight rope. I mean I knew that. Um. Again, 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:33.319 it's a very tribal setting that you're in, and UM 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.880 a lot of the kids kind of me being the 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:38.719 dark horse in the race. All of the kids were 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.679 taller than me, more handsome, They looked like the the 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:48.280 ideal politician, and I was not UM. And I decided 0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:51.160 to knowing that as a you know, as as you know, 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:55.240 somebody who identified as the Democrat running in a sea 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:59.880 of of Republican um was not advantageous to me. And 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:04.079 I knew that I couldn't um go on stage and 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.760 list all these different policy positions that I held with 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:10.160 and expect to get that to get elected. UM. I 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:12.959 knew that what I had to do was appeal to 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:15.599 the again, to their better senses of of you know, 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:17.920 I get you know, we're here to have fun, but actually, 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:19.880 let's actually let's do something. Let's listen that's ever been 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:23.000 done before. Let's let's actually, uh not treat each other 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:26.000 like the enemy. Because I think the the fault in 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.640 the boy state system is that when you get there, 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:34.880 you're assigned a party of color, blue, yellow, nationalist, federalist, 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:37.400 and you're told that you hate this so outher party. 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:40.120 You're told that they're the opposition, that you need to 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:45.240 crush them, uh and and destroy them absolutely. In these elections, Uh, 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:49.120 and I think when you when you um said that 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.840 as what politics is, while it's not inaccurate to what 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.920 politics is in the real world. Uh, it's definitely not 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:57.680 that way we should be going about things. And so 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:01.280 running on a message at a guilty conservative voters to 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:05.320 vote for me, especially on the gun issue. UM. I ran, 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.480 you know, primarily as as a pro unity, pro America 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:12.040 candidate boys State, and I made it to the runoffs. UM. 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:16.000 In the fourteen a way primary, I got a third 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:19.120 of the vote and the second place person got eight 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:21.720 percent of the vote, and so we headed into a runoff. 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:26.880 And a wrench was thrown into my my strategy when uh, 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:29.960 people found pictures of me leading a March for Our 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:35.600 Lives demonstration in Houston, which I was a an executive 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:41.480 organizer of And so now I had to explain my 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:46.320 position to a group of conservative people. And when I 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:49.640 got up on the stage, man, they started uh booing 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.280 me and jeering me and heckling me. I am not 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:56.600 anti Second Amendment. I am pro guns, but I'm also 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:59.720 a common sense kind of person for the collective security 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.080 of the people. Someone should not be able to own 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:09.840 a rocket launcher, feel exactly, and listen. I'm using it 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:15.360 as a example. You know, I have this prepared speech. 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:16.920 I have to get rid of it. There's being I 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:18.520 can't use any of it now. I have to just 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:23.160 address this. But listen. Not too long ago, tennf a 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:25.000 high school shout up not far from where I live, 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:31.360 and that it hurts man, you know those seeing uh, 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.240 those people, these kids who shouldn't go through these things. 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:38.320 We can do something about it. We don't have to 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.040 just because we don't agree on everything, the saying that 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:41.800 we shouldn't come to the table and talk to each other. 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.000 We should choose something. You know, we're going to protect 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.680 our fellow teenagers and I just a teenagers. People going 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:48.760 out to a nightclub, man or a movie theater. We 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:52.920 should have end but just talking to them about the 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:58.360 fact that our generation, uh, you know, because Calum, most 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.440 of us were born in two thousand two and one, uh, 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:05.680 and all we ever known was school shooting drills. The 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:10.400 siren after Marjorie Stoneman Douglas happened. Um a few days later. 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.280 Uh in high school, we were all walking in the halls, 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:15.879 and I was walking with a friend, and as we're 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.439 all walking to our next class, the fire alarm goes off, 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:23.440 which has never happened before. It's always predetermined, it's always scheduled. Um, 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:26.520 and we all know that one's gonna happen. And so 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:31.480 everybody just stopped. Um, you know, hundreds of kids just 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:33.320 stop what they were doing and just kind of looked 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:37.680 at each other wondering what's going on? Is something happening, 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.639 and the teachers not also knowing what's going on, rushing 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:43.639 us out of the building into the parking lot and 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:45.399 just to get out of there. That this isn't planned. 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:48.040 You know, your your your your mind starts going to 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:51.720 that dark place of what could be happening. Uh, And 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.400 and and telling that to this conservative boy and saying 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:58.560 that no, you shouldn't be worried about going to school 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:01.560 and getting shot, going to a movie theater and getting shot, 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:05.200 going to a nightclub or a restaurant or a place 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:08.240 of worship and fear these things and some of these 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:10.760 things we're not going to agree on, but there are 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.119 so many things we can agree on that could prevent 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:17.320 such things from happening. And we need to get that done. 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:20.000 We need to show that, uh, the adults in the room, 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:21.440 that we can do it better than them. That we 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:25.080 could actually tackle these crises together because we've been through 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:27.000 it and we've seen it, and we're tired of all 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:31.680 this uh gridlock and partnership of things never getting done. 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:35.840 And by the end of that speech to them, they 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:39.320 gave me a standing ovation, and in that runoff election, 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:44.000 I won the vote in that room of of my 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:50.000 conservative boys against my candidate who was unabashedly pro Second Amendment. 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:54.520 Don't tread on me, come and take it. Well, I 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.240 think that's the only strategy that works. What you said, 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:03.520 you have to say, look, here's a problem, and your 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:07.000 fellow Americans in this case, or your fellow Texans, they 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:12.080 got this problem and we need your help. What I 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:14.840 used to do and pushing all this gun stuff, I'd say, look, 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.080 I'm not trying to interfere with your hunting, your sports, shooting, 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:22.560 even your right to protect your family and your home. 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:27.800 But I do want you to help us keep guns 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:29.680 out of the hands of people that even you think 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:35.320 shouldn't have them. And we can't do that unless we 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:39.320 can do comprehensive background checks of everybody. And I made 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:43.720 a similar argument on the assault weapon span, but I 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:47.160 was always saying, instead of calling them names, I would say, 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:50.920 we need your help, we need to call them out, 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:52.960 give him a chance to be bigger. That's what you 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:57.480 did when you want, I think. And then there was 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:01.040 a student to UM and and not gonna remember this, 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:04.960 but a few weeks after Parkland, Santa Fe High School 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:07.960 and in the Houston area was was shut up and 0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:12.520 and a number of students died, and UM I met 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:17.560 with a student who was there UM when the shooting 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:21.000 occurred at Boys State. His name was Riley Uh, and 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:25.640 we sat down after dinner. Riley was like many people 0:20:25.640 --> 0:20:27.720 in the Santa Fe community. I think that the reason 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:30.520 it didn't get as much attention is because that community 0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:35.760 was more conservative on guns and didn't place the fault 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.520 of gun reform as the issue. They made it more 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:44.119 mental health, the traditional way people conservatives talk about UM 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:48.480 gun rights. And here I am somebody who's never experienced 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:51.399 being into school shooting and he has, and I as 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:53.040 somebody who have who has my views on it. I 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:54.639 need to listen to him and hear what he has 0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:57.040 to say, because he's somebody who lived through it. And 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.960 it was a very proactive conversation and we disagreed on 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:02.720 a few things, but Uh, you know, I explained the 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:07.680 the loopholes, uh, that universal background checks would close, and 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:10.000 you know, we wouldn't want somebody to have a gun 0:21:10.119 --> 0:21:13.080 who uh you can't trust, right, you wouldn't give any 0:21:13.119 --> 0:21:15.200 just anybody a gun, would you? And he said no, 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:18.480 and he's you know, we walked away, uh with a 0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:21.320 better understanding of each other and an agreement on an 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:24.159 issue that he hadn't thought about before and and agreed with. 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:28.680 And we were on opposite sides of the political spectrum. 0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:31.040 And I think that's what's missing in today's politics, is 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:37.040 that that personal conversation, that personal connection with people, rather 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:42.600 than um, you know, calling each other out on social media, 0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:46.000 calling each other the enemy, trying to score political points 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:51.679 or your favor with the media. By starting by starting something, UM. 0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:54.760 I think that that's you know, I think the film 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:58.080 Boy State is about how can we bridge that divide 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:01.040 in our country. Let's take a look at how some 0:22:01.240 --> 0:22:05.159 of UM America's youth is trying to tackle it. And 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:09.439 it is very hard. I mean, ultimately I don't win 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:12.720 the governor's race, I I and I do lose, and 0:22:15.040 --> 0:22:19.520 but taking that that loss as UM a point of pride, 0:22:19.920 --> 0:22:24.040 knowing that I was able to unite these people was very, 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:29.040 very UM. They gave me hope for the future. The 0:22:29.160 --> 0:22:31.240 thing I liked about you is, boy, you were hard 0:22:31.320 --> 0:22:35.280 over on what you believe, but you you've found a 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:37.760 way to talk to people about it and to listen 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:41.920 to them. Now things have gotten so polarized in America 0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:46.639 that your suspect if you listen to somebody who disagrees 0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:49.000 with you, and you give them a forum, and you 0:22:49.080 --> 0:22:51.000 give them a hearing, and you look for a way 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:54.200 where you might find common ground, Uh, it's it's definitely 0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:58.040 not easy. And as much as I preach about the 0:22:58.119 --> 0:23:00.720 needs to talk to one another, I've also I'll convictim 0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:06.159 to that sense of of tribalism and of of UM. 0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:09.680 You know, there are some things that I think about tweeting, 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:12.800 and I either don't tweet it out or deleted as 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:15.600 soon as they tweeted, just knowing that this isn't the 0:23:15.760 --> 0:23:17.320 right way to go on about doing the things that 0:23:17.960 --> 0:23:23.920 UM I want to help accomplish. That that need for UM, 0:23:25.680 --> 0:23:30.600 for unity is is UM. So it's so important that UM. 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:35.480 I think that this country will tear itself apart if 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:40.840 we don't, we'll be back with more of my conversation 0:23:40.960 --> 0:23:49.960 with Steven Garza. After this, I got on out of 0:23:50.040 --> 0:23:55.080 boy State, including a lot lifetime friends. But I think 0:23:55.280 --> 0:24:00.159 it's more important than ever that people like you who 0:24:00.280 --> 0:24:09.119 believe in inclusive governments, inclusive societies, inclusive communities, do stuff 0:24:09.560 --> 0:24:13.680 that gives you the practical skills and the rhetorical insight 0:24:15.920 --> 0:24:20.680 to prevail. And like you've proved an election, you don't 0:24:20.720 --> 0:24:25.440 have to win everyone. Heck, I've lost two elections for 0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:29.440 ran for president, but I think this is important. We've 0:24:29.520 --> 0:24:32.600 got to get young people to get off the sidelines 0:24:32.680 --> 0:24:36.200 and into the arena. And and even myself had to. 0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:39.560 You know, when I first voted, I um, I turned 0:24:39.600 --> 0:24:43.240 eighteen the day before the midterm election in eighteen. I 0:24:43.359 --> 0:24:46.120 was born to Member five and the election was November six, 0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:49.360 and I registered to vote in September. Uh, you're able 0:24:49.400 --> 0:24:53.640 to register seventeen years, ten months. And um the day 0:24:53.680 --> 0:24:56.080 of I I don't see my registration online and that 0:24:56.160 --> 0:24:59.119 keep checking every day, and I assume they'll put it 0:24:59.160 --> 0:25:01.440 in on my birthday, because you know, on my e team. 0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:03.800 Yet uh and the day of I don't see it. 0:25:03.920 --> 0:25:07.320 So I call the the elections office in Houston and 0:25:07.359 --> 0:25:11.120 it's run by a Republican and I asked them where, 0:25:11.400 --> 0:25:14.399 you know where my registration was, and they said, we 0:25:14.440 --> 0:25:16.040 don't have it. I don't We don't have you in 0:25:16.080 --> 0:25:18.840