WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 012222 How do I Become a Politician? ft. Leezah Sun (Part B) 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:05.040 And now vote my might back. 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:10.120 You're like that journal time, we just strikes with waters 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.480 from headquarters behind him and the border. 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:15.440 If you're just tuning into civic side around your host 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:19.599 Rams's job. Q Ward is out today, but he will 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:21.680 be back with us next week. Our sit in guest 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:26.119 is Lisa's Sun, and please stick around because we do 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.040 have a lot more to talk about. So far, we've 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:35.120 been discussing political party gatekeeping and really revisiting a topic 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:39.360 that we discussed last week, which is, you know why 0:00:39.680 --> 0:00:45.800 black people tend to vote Democratic rather than Republican. And 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:48.240 for those that didn't get a chance to tune into 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:52.120 that show, the answer was, effectively, it's the lesser of 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.160 two evils. And we were very critical of both parties, 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:57.800 of course, but the Democratic Party in particular, because we 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:02.160 had to illuminate that we understood that the Democrats have 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:07.720 not always been there for us. But today Lisa has 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:11.200 been helping us understand that there are even deeper, deeper 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:13.080 levels there and what we can do about it, which 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:18.280 effectively is to engage in the political process. Before we 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:23.400 continue that conversation, let's discuss how to become a better ally. 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:31.000 So today I got a story from Insider dot com, 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:39.240 and this highlights a guy named Timothy Walmsey Walmsley, that's 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:41.920 how I say it, and he is the judge who 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.720 sentenced the three men who were found guilty for Ahmud 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:50.280 Aubrey's murder. One thing that he did that Q and 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:53.280 I really liked this week is he made the courtroom 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:57.120 sit in silence for one minute before reading their sentences 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:03.520 to put into context how long they chased Aubrey. The 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:10.400 reason we thought this was important is because I think 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:22.240 that this act illuminates the thrust, the real gravity of 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:27.120 the statement black lives matter. We all know what a 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:31.280 black person looks like, and I do believe that most 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:38.440 human beings recognize that you know, a person matters. You know, 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:42.000 matter matters. Anything you can interact with in a physical 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:48.200 space matters. But it's that word life lives that I 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:50.120 think is lost on a lot of people. And I 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.280 think that him taking a moment and having the courtroom 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:56.359 pause for that one minute, what they had to do 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:01.040 was imagine the terror that a mode Aubrey needlessly went 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.840 through before he was executed. He was actually chased for 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:09.079 close to five minutes, but the judge only took one 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:13.799 and in that moment, everyone had to stop and they 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:18.000 could only think about his last moments. That was what 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.360 the order was, and then he handed down his sentince. 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:22.560 And I think that for all of us, just to 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.680 take a moment, you know, when we're angry, when we 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:32.000 lost sight whatever, to take a moment and to understand 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:35.040 what it is that we're dealing with human lives. I 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:36.920 think that could go a long way for all of us. 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:41.240 And so we wanted to shout out Judge Timothy Walmsley 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:44.360 for taking a moment in his courtroom, which we don't 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:49.560 find very often, to give a little bit of life 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:53.160 back to that black life. So once again shout out 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:56.320 to you all. Right back to the lecture at hand. 0:03:56.640 --> 0:04:05.880 As Snoop Dogg would say, you mentioned earlier, pack funding. 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.320 Or lobbyists, corporations, special interests. 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:14.080 All these things. I want to know what is pack funding? 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:16.200 What does that mean? 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:22.680 Pack funding is usually the case of an organization, a 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:25.320 political organization that has like a filing of a C 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:30.640 four where they can endorse political candidates as well as 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:38.480 providing independent expenditures or financial you know, donations. And these 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:46.200 packs can be corporate influenced or not, so it depending 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:51.080 on your social platform. If you are for women's pay, 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.279 you know, equal pay here what we say, and then 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:59.120 the pack is more supportive for women's issues, right, then 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:02.560 that will be a pack that will support a candidate 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:07.279 with that platform. But unfortunately a lot of these packs 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:12.080 are more influenced by special interests in corporations, so it 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:21.880 won't be really favorable for grassroots or social issues that 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:24.680 will benefit the communities unfortunately. 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:31.680 Okay, another term this is I believe this is necessary. 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:35.760 You use the term lobbyists and then you use the 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:39.040 term special interest Well we'll talk about both of those 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:41.240 in that order. So lobbyists, what is. 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:45.960 That a lobbyist? You had to like register with the 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:48.800 state Secretary office to say that you're a lobbyists so 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.840 that you have permission or access to talk to the 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:57.480 elective officials on behalf of you know, organizations like the 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:02.800 school or the union or whatever. But again, a lobbyist 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:06.760 can also come from the automobile industry. They can stand 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:10.440 lobbyists of their representative to talk. 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:12.760 To the is a lobbyist like a lawyer, then. 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:13.440 They can be. 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.480 They can be and they go and speak with an 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:21.960 elected representative and explain the interest of the group. 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:27.880 That they're representing. So again, these lobbyists can be corporate 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:33.719 influenced like industry of the poultry industry, the beef industry, 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.440 the agriculture industry, they all have lobbyists. 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:38.720 Now special interest. 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.400 Special interests you know, for me, I think special interests 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:45.919 or the lobbyists are very similar. But a special interest 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:49.760 group will again will be a nonprofit organization as well 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:56.839 as well as corporation that have a very particular focus, 0:06:56.880 --> 0:07:04.560 you know, special interest group that that benefits corporation very specifically. 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.240 They're a little bit more specific at least that's my interpretation. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:15.520 So they can be again any particular could be in academia, 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:20.400 like academia research, like they come out with something and 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:24.000 then corporation can come in and patent it and then 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:29.160 have special interests you know, promoting it through our elect 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:31.760 officials at the state capital or the federal mostly at 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:34.680 the federal level to convince them this is a good thing, 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:41.880 you know, or talking to the FDA are various, you know, 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:51.360 administration's departments to push laws that will favor them to 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:55.840 make this chemical or this product. And the laws. So 0:07:56.080 --> 0:08:01.080 I'll just give you example like Cosmetics and they have 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:08.560 over thirteen hundred ingredients that span thirteen hundred ingredients they 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:12.520 cannot use in their cosmetic But here in the United States, 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:17.040 guess how many ingredients that we are not allowed to use. 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:24.360 Many eleven because of powerful lobbyists. 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:30.360 Or exactly because they have heavily influenced are elected fish, 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:35.480 especially the FDA or other administration effects of food Drug 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:41.440 administration to say that this chemical is safe. All right, 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.959 this is dangerous and it's not that dangerous. Well, the 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:46.760 case may be, and of course the pollution. I mean, 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:49.679 the list can go on and on. These people that 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:55.760 represent corporation, they can be specialists, special interests, they can 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:58.920 be lobbyists, and they can also support a pack. 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:07.040 I have a question for you now. You seem to 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.440 know a lot about all of these terms that get 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:14.360 thrown around on news shows, and you know all these 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:18.240 sorts of things all the time. I mean, you also 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:23.960 know a lot about political party gatekeeping. And if this 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:26.600 is too personal, just say you don't want to talk 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:31.640 about it. But I have to ask, have you personally 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:35.960 experienced any political party gatekeeping? Have you personally come up 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:40.640 against these powerful interests yourself? And if so, what have 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:43.200 you done or what do you plan on doing to 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:47.959 change that. As an elective representative, what could you possibly do? 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:50.920 First question is has it happened? 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:54.600 Has any political party gatekeeping, anybody tried to sabotage your 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:56.840 bid anything like that that you're aware of. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.160 Any candidate that runs for public office under the Democratic 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:06.160 Party or the Republican Party or any party has experienced gatekeeping. 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:08.400 So the answer is yes, correct. 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:12.880 But I don't really see it as a victimization event, 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:17.439 but of a huge learning curve because when you're running 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:20.720 for the very first time, you don't have all the answers. 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:24.240 You don't have all the answers, so you're going into 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:29.000 this machine that's been around much longer than you have, 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:33.120 and it's far more powerful and has more money. So 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.600 you have to be very quick to learn what is 0:10:36.679 --> 0:10:41.280 going on. And the very first impact that I've received 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:46.679 was the fact that I wasn't endorsed and I wasn't 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.600 very well known because I was such a new face. 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:52.640 I wasn't a mayor, I wasn't a city council, I 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:56.200 wasn't even a school board. I just showed up and 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:59.280 ran for public office right and said here I am 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:04.560 like well more like an L and an S. But 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:08.440 it was just something that I was very grateful to 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:11.000 have because I won't be sitting here talking to you 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:14.360 about it. So one of the biggest gate keeping for 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:17.400 me personally, Again this is just my opinion. If you 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:20.520 spoke to another candidate, it will be a different story 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:24.200 or different experience. But for me, the biggest gatekeeping was 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:28.839 to run within a incumbent. When you're running against your 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:33.360 own party, that's where the gatekeeping is the most aggressive, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.079 because when you're running against a party, you're going to 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:40.120 get more support if you're not challenged, if you're not 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:45.719 challenged within your own district, like you're the only Democratic 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:47.319 candidate and there's no all. 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.160 The Democratic support exactly. 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:53.520 So for me, that is the gatekeeping that I personally experience, 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:57.440 and unfortunately for the community, that doesn't give you the 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:01.160 option to clean house within your part. Just like we 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:04.280 went back to say, the Republicans we call them racists, 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:08.880 and then the Democrats we call them polite racism, you know, racist, right, 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.120 because we don't have that option to clean house. And 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:15.920 that's not democracy because when they don't serve our community, 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:23.520 they shouldn't have a dominant presence because that power is 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:24.440 still with the people. 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:32.280 Well, sir Well said, okay, so how about this. What 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:41.000 is it that elected officials make as a salary? 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:44.119 So for me, the salary is another form of gatekeeping. 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:48.920 And let me explain please, for Arizona and for other states. 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:52.280 If you look at the base salary for a state 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:57.640 elected officials, it can range from the low twenties to 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:00.120 the high one hundred. 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:05.640 Utah, that's the range. Low twenty thousand, low twenty thousand, 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:09.400 like one twenty two thousand dollars per year yep. And 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:10.880 then you can go to a full time job. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.800 Yes, five months. You know when the session, you know 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:19.200 when you guys are in session from January through May. Yes, 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:20.440 and that's for the whole year. 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:23.280 WHOA. Okay, So if you. 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:25.559 Want to be an elect official and in the state 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:30.679 of Arizona, you will get paid twenty four thousand dollars. Now, 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.920 the question is why is it so low? Because we 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:37.360 were in a red state for so long they kept 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:39.880 it low because if you think about it, if you 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:45.560 just think about it, you have a poor teacher salary 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:50.000 that wants to be in elect officials to change our 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.360 school system and put more funding to interms. 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.640 I think teachers make more than that, but if. 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:58.439 They take this job, they can't be a teacher. They 0:13:58.480 --> 0:13:59.920 had to give up their jobs. 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:06.360 You're gonna make less money than a teacher would to 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:12.360 do work that has a much greater impact and far more, 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:14.880 far wider reaching effects. 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:17.760 Bingo. So going back to. 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:22.680 So you're saying teachers are not interested as much as 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:25.640 they perhaps could be because the salary being so low 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:30.200 as a deterrent. You're thinking that's artificially So that's artificially 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:30.640 the case. 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:32.360 It was designed this way. 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:33.280 Wow. Okay. 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:38.360 And in addition, if you were to be elected, okay, 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:41.200 and you still making twenty four thousand dollars. 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:43.360 I ain't gonna make that, right. 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:45.960 So what are your chances of staying clean? 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:51.480 Oh? Okay? I see, So now there's a wide open 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:52.920 for corporate that's right. 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:57.160 So again going back to the lesser too evil. I 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.720 don't care what you call yourself. I don't care if 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:03.640 you're Republican or Democrat. But if you have the strength 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:08.560 to hold off temptation and you really want to do 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:13.640 right by the people your community, then please run for 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:19.800 public office. You are the perfect candidate, perfect candidate. I 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:24.360 implore you, those who are listening, to consider running for 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:27.680 even something small like a school board, because if you 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:31.840 really care about your family and your community, you will 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:35.400 be prepared to know what is coming. And the gatekeeping 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:40.800 discussion needs to be talked more, especially, you know, at 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:45.800 a larger level, like the visual level in the mainstream media. 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:50.640 But it's almost like a elephant in the room, and 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.720 being Lisa's son, that's all I go after. That's the 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:56.760 only thing I like to talk about is the elephant 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:01.000 in the room. And there are things that are in 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:08.320 place in our political party where once you are elected, 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.080 you can also be voted out by a majority of 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:17.040 your seat mates, and that is pretty much implemented at 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:20.800 all state levels in the federal levels, like they can 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:25.680 vote each other out, you know, if you cross a 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:27.720 certain line. 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:31.560 You know, I think it's interesting that you mentioned running 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:37.160 for a you know, school board, a position on the 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.200 school board. I'm assuming that's what. I don't know the 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:39.800 actual name. 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.760 Yes, So for colleges, community colleges, they have a board. 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.000 Boards as well, and those are elected. 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:47.720 Positions exactly that you can run. 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:51.560 Well, you know, obviously on this show, Q and I 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.440 and then doctor Westernberg whenever she's available, will come and 0:16:55.520 --> 0:17:00.520 will have these conversations about critical race theory, and we 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.920 try to share exactly what critical race theory is with 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.760 our listeners so that our listeners can then take it 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:10.440 out and have informed conversations with the folks that they 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:15.160 interact with. The marketing of the fear over a critical 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:21.240 race theory is masterful. And if we stop and think 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:30.840 about how education can somehow be a bad thing, and 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:34.240 they've sold it so well to let's be honest, the 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.440 majority of Americans. You know, polling shown that most people 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.239 are afraid of it, not for what it is, but 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:46.320 for what it's marketed as. And you know, just while 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:53.199 we're here, the idea that, okay, if anybody's going to 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:55.840 be ashamed of their past, right, this is the way 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:58.399 it's marketed. I'm going to get my little rant off here. 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:02.080 If I can thank you, I appreciate it. But the 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:10.200 idea that anybody could be ashamed of their past, that's 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:15.360 asinine of their inherited past. Let's call it that that 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:19.159 a little white child would learn about their history and 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:23.200 be ashamed of the country that they live in. When 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:29.560 I myself know my past that I came from actual slaves, 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:36.480 that's nothing to be proud of. And yet all my life. 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:39.440 It just was what it was. I've never not been 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:42.080 proud of it. I've never been proud of it. Just 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:44.840 is what it is. I'm here now. I'm glad that 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:47.240 I know it. It gives me context. It informs me 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:49.760 about the world in which I live, It informs my 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:52.640 steps moving forward. It allows me to raise my children 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:57.000 appropriately so that they're aware that they're being raised in 0:18:57.000 --> 0:19:00.879 a hostile environment. Not that that's bad or good. I 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:04.119 mean it's bad. Inherently it's bad, but you know, not 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:06.240 that we're picking on this country or anything like that. 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:08.280 We just have to understand where we came from. But 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:14.280 it's marketed as though somehow it's going to adversely affect 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:18.000 white children to learn about the history of this country, 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:21.440 right And I think that you hit the nail right 0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:25.680 on the head. If you listening to our voices right now, 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:29.119 are as outraged over that as I am, perhaps in 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:33.040 your communities, if you're listening to us in Oregon, if 0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:35.359 you're listening to us in Florida, if you're listening to 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:39.720 us in California, Alaska, Alaska, even you know, we don't 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:41.879 have any stations in Alaska yet, but I'm working on it. 0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:47.960 That's where I'm going. But perhaps even a position on 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:51.119 your school board, your local school board, being involved in 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:56.080 your community to the degree that most Republican folks are 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:02.360 at the minimum, could perhaps challenge the narrative. We could 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:07.360 offset the fear mongering that exists. White supremacy is a beast, 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:09.760 and it loves to hold on to power, and it 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:14.280 loves to scare everyone exactly, and it's it's up to 0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:18.520 you listening to us, to help us change that. Bit 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:21.359 by bit, we'll get there together. Hey, we love you, 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:22.440 all right, Please go ahead. 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:25.480 I just want to add on to what you're what 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:29.000 you just said about, you know, running for school board, 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:34.639 because here in Arizona, our own Maricopa County Democrat Party 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:38.880 has a program for those who are interested for running 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:42.560 school board. I don't have the contact information, but if 0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:45.960 you just go look up for a Maricopa County Democratic 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:50.920 Party website, they have something there about training for school 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:57.320 board positions. Because critical race theory, the right did an 0:20:57.359 --> 0:21:04.880 amazing job and and exposing and marketing that you know, scarcity, 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:09.200 you know, and fear mongol, because it does work, it's 0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:16.920 very effective. But if the truth be told, fear scarcity 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:23.920 does not have enduring, lasting effect. I know that people 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:26.560 think that, well, those emotions are real. Yes it is, 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:32.600 but they're not endearing. What really lasts, what's the most 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:35.000 powerful emotion is peace. 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:39.280 Talk to them, say that, go ahead, keep on because 0:21:39.320 --> 0:21:39.879 if you look. 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:45.240 At the whistleblower for Facebook, she testified at a congressional 0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:49.960 here at the federal level, stating that Facebook used fear 0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:55.440 to get more likes and more responses with social media 0:21:55.560 --> 0:22:00.760 in general, but what they didn't tell you is that yes, 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:05.280 people were pressing like more, but they also fail to 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:09.439 say that people also respond to peace. That's what draws 0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:12.960 people back over the long run. If you want to 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:16.880 do a long distant race and you want to choose 0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:19.399 your weapon, is it going to be fear or peace? 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.439 Choose peace because there's endurance. Endurance wins. 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:26.480 I'm glad you said that. That's such a beautiful thing. 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:29.240 That's a little nugget man that belongs that can stand 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:31.520 on your own. Thank you for peace. 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:34.600 Yeah. And I think as an elected official, I think 0:22:34.640 --> 0:22:39.240 it's very very important to run a campaign on peace, 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:43.480 on unity, because that's where the strength will come from. 0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:46.720 And don't ever be afraid to tackle the elephant in 0:22:46.760 --> 0:22:47.160 the room. 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:54.600 Okay, so we've explained why people should get involved in 0:22:54.640 --> 0:23:02.600 the political process. One thing that we haven't really peeled 0:23:02.600 --> 0:23:06.000 away as much as I'd like to before we finish 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:11.520 this part of the segment. How are elections funded. Let's 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:14.200 say I just decide that I want to be a 0:23:14.240 --> 0:23:19.479 politician of some sort. Where do I and I go 0:23:19.520 --> 0:23:21.760 and register put my name to have my name on 0:23:21.800 --> 0:23:23.160 the ballot? Or how do I even do that? Does 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:24.240 it take money to do that? 0:23:25.560 --> 0:23:27.879 So every state we have a not every state, but 0:23:27.920 --> 0:23:33.000 most of the state has a commissioner the assist and 0:23:33.080 --> 0:23:37.240 clean election. And our state has a very very low 0:23:37.280 --> 0:23:39.439 budget compared to the one in New York, which is 0:23:39.440 --> 0:23:42.560 like over one hundred thousand. We get like maybe seventeen 0:23:42.640 --> 0:23:46.440 thousand in the primary and then additional funding for the general. 0:23:47.200 --> 0:23:49.359 So I think overall, I think that comes out to 0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:52.120 be like forty five thousand. Again, this is just an estimate, 0:23:52.480 --> 0:23:57.359 and I'm only speaking for Arizona. But running clean you 0:23:57.520 --> 0:24:05.160 rely on more of a grassroot platform. Therefore community volunteering, 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:08.720 so they're not paid, they're not paid, they come out 0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:12.919 for you. And if you have someone that's an incumbent, 0:24:13.480 --> 0:24:18.800 because they have so many relationship with special interests in 0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:24.360 packs and corporation. They can pay a campaign manager, they 0:24:24.359 --> 0:24:29.359 can pay a field director, they can pay volunteers to 0:24:29.640 --> 0:24:33.280 get signatures for you. They can pay you twelve, fifteen, 0:24:33.400 --> 0:24:37.000 twenty dollars per signature because you need a certain amount 0:24:37.000 --> 0:24:41.440 of signature to get onto the ballot, so the amount 0:24:41.520 --> 0:24:45.280 can be enormous for incumbent and if you're a newcomer, 0:24:46.080 --> 0:24:50.360 the best bet right now is a grassroot movement on 0:24:50.480 --> 0:24:54.560 a clean slate so that you don't rely on corporate money. 0:24:54.720 --> 0:24:58.320 So those are the options under the Democratic Party and 0:24:58.359 --> 0:25:02.040 the Republican they have something similar, but they get more funding. 0:25:02.320 --> 0:25:06.000 Okay, all right, well, thank you for that. Now it's 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:07.400 time for us to move on. 0:25:07.280 --> 0:25:14.680 To that way. Black History Fact today. This has come 0:25:14.720 --> 0:25:17.000 up a couple of times for me in the past 0:25:17.359 --> 0:25:21.159 couple of weeks. But we're going to be reading an 0:25:21.200 --> 0:25:25.320 excerpt from a letter from doctor Martin Luther King. We're 0:25:25.440 --> 0:25:29.080 spending this time, as we do, celebrating the life and 0:25:29.080 --> 0:25:33.399 the legacy of a doctor King, and I just pulled 0:25:33.960 --> 0:25:36.679 a small piece from the letter, but I wanted to 0:25:36.680 --> 0:25:41.040 share it with you today because the roots of this 0:25:41.240 --> 0:25:43.520 very program that you're listening to right now can be 0:25:43.640 --> 0:25:48.320 found in this letter, in this excerpt, and so without 0:25:48.320 --> 0:25:54.200 further delay, we'll start. Of course, there is nothing new 0:25:54.240 --> 0:25:59.160 about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely 0:25:59.280 --> 0:26:03.399 in the refusal of Shadrack, me Shack and Abednego to 0:26:03.520 --> 0:26:06.840 obey the laws of Nebeknezzer on the ground that a 0:26:06.960 --> 0:26:10.440 higher moral law was at stake. That's from the Bible, Shadrack, 0:26:10.520 --> 0:26:13.560 Nushach and Abednego. If you don't know, it was practiced 0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:17.280 superbly by the early Christians who were willing to face 0:26:17.359 --> 0:26:22.000 hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather 0:26:22.040 --> 0:26:24.960 than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. 0:26:25.680 --> 0:26:31.800 To a degree, academic freedom is reality because Socrates practiced 0:26:31.840 --> 0:26:36.000 civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party 0:26:36.400 --> 0:26:40.760 represented a massive act of civil disobedience. This is doctor 0:26:40.800 --> 0:26:44.800 King talking about his protests, his marches, and so forth. 0:26:45.800 --> 0:26:49.720 He goes on, We should never forget that everything Adolph 0:26:49.800 --> 0:26:53.800 Hitler did in Germany was quote legal end quote, and 0:26:53.960 --> 0:26:58.040 everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was quote 0:26:58.359 --> 0:27:03.240 illegal end quote. It was illegal to aid and comfort 0:27:03.359 --> 0:27:07.800 a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure 0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:11.399 that had I lived in Germany at that time, I 0:27:11.440 --> 0:27:14.600 would have aided it and comforted my Jewish brothers. Don't 0:27:14.600 --> 0:27:20.760 forget doctor King was a Christian minister. If today I 0:27:20.800 --> 0:27:23.840 lived in a communist country where certain principles dear to 0:27:23.880 --> 0:27:28.520 the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying 0:27:29.000 --> 0:27:35.080 that country's anti religious laws. I must make too honest 0:27:35.119 --> 0:27:39.879 confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I 0:27:39.960 --> 0:27:42.960 must confess that over the past few years I have 0:27:43.080 --> 0:27:48.800