1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:02,960 Speaker 1: This is my legacy. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 2: In this week's Bonus Drop, Congressman Maxwell Frost sits down 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 2: with his father Patrick to reflect on the vinyl, the voices, 4 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 2: and the values that shaped him from the Beach Boys 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,799 Speaker 2: to Stevie Wonder to the activism and community building that 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 2: fuel his work today. 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:18,799 Speaker 1: Let's jump in. 8 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 3: Patrick Cuve had a decade long career as a musician, 9 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 3: playing still pan on stages around the world. And as 10 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 3: you mentioned, you gave a drum set to your son 11 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 3: in second grade. How are those moments of those love 12 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 3: of music together at that time you're listening and enjoying music. 13 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 3: How has that helped to really open doors to a 14 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 3: deeper conversation for the two of you. 15 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: Max and I shared music mostly on the way to school. 16 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 4: On the drive to school, I would developed a play 17 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 4: this on my iPod and it was basically my music 18 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 4: appreciation class for Maxwell, and I play him everything from 19 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 4: you know, Frank Zappa, John Coltrane, Igor Stravinsky. But I 20 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 4: planned it out and I can remember spending a lot 21 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 4: of time thinking about the playlist and playing in the music, 22 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 4: and he'd really listened to it, and we listened to 23 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 4: it in the car on the way to school or 24 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 4: on the way back to school or wherever we were going, 25 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 4: and that was the music appreciation class. It seemed to 26 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 4: me that it happened more in the car than anywhere else. 27 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 5: Yeah, I feel like in the car and in the studio. 28 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 5: I feel like A good example too, is recently I 29 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 5: was doing an interview and I get a text from 30 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 5: a dad. You know, you shouldn't really be looking at 31 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 5: your text during an interview, but I just got a 32 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 5: text from like my phone lit up and I look 33 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 5: and you sent me a text that said I'm speechless. 34 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 5: And I was like, okay, well I got to oh, 35 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 5: I got to open and see it. And I clicked it. 36 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 5: And it was the day Brian Wilson died. And you know, 37 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 5: growing up that we talked about this. My dad and 38 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 5: I would listen to there's like a few key people 39 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 5: Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson was one of them that we 40 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 5: would listen to all the time, and he'd use that 41 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 5: music to teach me about music. And we'd always talk 42 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 5: about hearing the intervals and hearing the emotion in that 43 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 5: story and and it it was obviously the death of 44 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 5: one of the great American songwriters. But not just that. 45 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,959 Speaker 5: It is a huge part of our relationship as of 46 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 5: you know, his father and son. 47 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 4: It was in two thousand and four Brian Wilson released 48 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 4: the Smile music that he had started in the sixties 49 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 4: and gave up. 50 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: And it was the. 51 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 4: First time we heard it and Max and Max I 52 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 4: played it for him and and the music is very 53 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 4: infectious and once you once it gets into you, it's 54 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 4: you have earworms. 55 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: You can't turn the music off. 56 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 4: And the tour came through and was in Melbourne here 57 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,519 Speaker 4: in Florida, and I took Maxwell. He was I think 58 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 4: like eight years old, yeah, eight or so like that. 59 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 4: We went to see Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys 60 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 4: and his band performed Smile and uh and and Max 61 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 4: was the youngest person and the darkest person in the 62 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 4: in the audience, and he knew every line of this. 63 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,519 Speaker 4: By that time, we knew the music inside and out. 64 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 4: And I had ever musician buddies that were there and 65 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 4: they were saying they were looking at Maxico and it 66 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 4: he knows he knows this music. 67 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:10,959 Speaker 1: And I go, yeah, he knows this music. He knows 68 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: it really well. 69 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 4: And it was and we had experiences like that with 70 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 4: different ever, different kinds of music we would just. 71 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: Turn on to. 72 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 4: I remember he took my uh A Love Supreme John 73 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 4: col Frane album and and he put it. 74 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: Into a frame and put it on the wall in 75 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:26,799 Speaker 1: his bedroom. 76 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 4: And I said, hey, that's my Club Supreme out and 77 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 4: and he said, yeah, I like it. I want to 78 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 4: put And so anyway, I found it at a good 79 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 4: Will story. I found that Love Supreme cover was no 80 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 4: record in it. I bought it for fifty nine cents 81 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 4: and I went into his room and I took my record. 82 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: Out of the yempty one in the frame, and he 83 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: didn't even really. 84 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 6: Realize, Well, I didn't know that till now you it's 85 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 6: in your office, sons or if there's no record in it, 86 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 6: because I found it. I found just a cover, and 87 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 6: I snuck in there and put the cover in and 88 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 6: took my record with the vinyl in it and got 89 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 6: it back. 90 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: Patrick. 91 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 7: I call that ninja parenting. I'm a bit opponent of 92 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 7: ninja parenting. 93 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 4: It's a very hard record to find it because I 94 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 4: sell vinyl records online. I have a little online retail 95 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 4: store for and I sell I have I have six 96 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 4: thousand vinyl albums in my house I tell my wife. 97 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: We live in a record store. We really do. We 98 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: live in a record store. 99 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 7: We finally found the person that has more vinyl than 100 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 7: Mark my husband has. He has a storage full of vinyls. 101 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 7: I think, I think you top him, but we are. 102 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 7: We're in the one, two, three, We're in the five. 103 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 7: We're in the five digits as well. 104 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 5: Wow, those records at Atlanta. 105 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 7: Yes, yes, yes, and you also you know I love 106 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 7: music and playlists. In fact, every year I have at 107 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 7: the beginning of the year, I do a playlist for 108 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 7: the year with all kinds of genres on there. So 109 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 7: I do have two questions for you about this. Is 110 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 7: that for the playlist, how often did you make them 111 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 7: for the entire school year? Or like when did you 112 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 7: change them? And then secondly, how long did that because 113 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 7: after a while the kids start driving themselves, and so 114 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:02,479 Speaker 7: how long did that last? 115 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: And do you all just exchange them? Now, when he 116 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 1: was in elementary school, we would ride bikes. 117 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 4: He would ride his bike and I would ride my 118 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 4: bike and I would escort into elementary school. Then when 119 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 4: he went to the School for the Arts, that's when 120 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 4: I began to drive with him. And that's when the 121 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 4: playlist thing really kind of started, and that was very 122 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 4: close to the time I was just talking about in 123 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 4: two thousand and four when we got so involved in 124 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 4: in that Brian Wilson record. But I would change the 125 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 4: playlist based on what I was listening to or based 126 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 4: on things I would say, Oh. 127 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: Max needs to hear this, Max needs to hear this. 128 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 4: We went through, you know, I talked about the Stevie 129 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 4: Wonder record, starting from Music of My Mind and going 130 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 4: up through the five albums all the way through really 131 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 4: hotter than July. 132 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: But but really, you know, songs in the key of Life. 133 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 5: So do you. 134 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 7: Travel with your drumsticks at this point? Do you just 135 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 7: bring your drum sticks everywhere? 136 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 5: Because I do have a pair in DC. I had 137 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 5: to buy like a few pa to have in DC 138 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 5: for events up there. But even in the Commina campaign there, 139 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 5: I'm looking at my trip manifest for a trip in 140 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 5: Michigan and it said Flint Jazz fundraiser and they were like, yeah, 141 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 5: we want to go. We got some students. We want 142 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 5: you to play with these students and I was like, okay, 143 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 5: a high school jazz man, I can sit in with them. 144 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 5: I haven't played swing in a long time, but I 145 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 5: can sit in with them and I show up and 146 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 5: it's a master's program like jazz Combo. Like these guys 147 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 5: were killer, how they were ringers, that they were a 148 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 5: rings They were crazy good and I was so I 149 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 5: was like, wait, I can't hang with these guys. But 150 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 5: I played with them a little bit. 151 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: They were you know, we played like. 152 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 5: A blues or something. I don't know, understanding music on 153 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 5: that on a little bit of it, on that level, 154 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 5: a very emotional level, I think is something I learned 155 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 5: from my dad that you know, I'll have for me 156 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 5: with me the rest of my life. That you don't 157 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 5: really get that from even reading music, you know, you 158 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 5: you get that from learning how to listen. It's like 159 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 5: learning how to learn, which I think is really important. 160 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 8: We're building something real here, one episode at a time. 161 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 8: If you want to be part of it, subscribe, it's free, 162 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 8: it matters, and we're just getting started. 163 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 4: Now. 164 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 7: Back to my legacy, what would you say to a 165 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 7: young person now, because I think that and our daughter 166 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 7: has run into this a little bit. Sometimes kids now 167 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 7: can be almost apathetic. But if there's a young listener 168 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 7: that's listening, that really wants to organize how you did 169 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 7: when you were young, Like what type of like just 170 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 7: small advice would you would you give to a young person. 171 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 5: You know what I always tell people. You know, the 172 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 5: really cool thing about my generation is gen z is 173 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 5: very entrepreneurial. We love starting new stuff, and I think 174 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 5: that's a good thing. But something I learned quickly when 175 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 5: I got back from Sandy Hook or when I got 176 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 5: back from DC from the vidual. The first thing I 177 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 5: did is a friend and I started a group called 178 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 5: Fight a Florida Youth Takes Action against Gun Violence, and 179 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 5: we had a logo made and we were trying. We're like, 180 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 5: we're going to do this thing, and we quickly found out, wait, 181 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 5: there's a lot of people doing this work already in 182 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 5: the community who have their own collaboratives and organizations, and 183 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 5: we click quickly found out that we should just join 184 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 5: with them because we have a lot to learn, and 185 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 5: we have a lot to learn, we have a lot 186 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 5: to give, and we're better when we joined together. So 187 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 5: Fido was a very short lived project. I think the 188 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 5: Facebook page is a lot there. But that's what I 189 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 5: always tell people, because I think we have an inkling 190 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 5: to like start something new, which look if you're in 191 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 5: a community and you don't like what's going on there, 192 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 5: you can start your own thing. But I always encourage 193 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 5: people if there's something already going on around you join them, because, 194 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 5: to be honest, the way, a lot of people ask me, 195 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:48,719 Speaker 5: you know, how do you do this work in Congress 196 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 5: with everything going on? Because I've spent ten years in 197 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 5: the gun violence prevention movement as a kid, where the 198 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 5: days were the most people cared about our issue were 199 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 5: connected to the days where most people were dying, you know. 200 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 5: And it's a traumatic thing to kind of a movement 201 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 5: to grow up in because most of the people I 202 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 5: would meet when I'd go to vigils, you know, and 203 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 5: different events like that, were people who just lost someone 204 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 5: of the gun violence. And it became very normal for 205 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 5: me to be friends and be in community with all 206 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 5: these people who have lost loved ones. And I remember 207 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 5: when I was running for Congress, I went to my 208 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 5: mom and I was like, can you help me find 209 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 5: pictures or this and that. I'm trying to figure out 210 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 5: how many vigels I've been to that I can prove right, 211 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 5: And I went through all my texts. My mom sent 212 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 5: me some photos at different ones and I realized that 213 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 5: between the ages of fifteen and twenty four, I've been 214 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 5: to sixty memorials or vigels of people I've never met 215 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 5: in my life who were done down due to gun violence. Wow, 216 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 5: it's sixty that I could find proof of right could 217 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 5: be a little bit more. Organizing is so much about culture, 218 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 5: and you create this culture and this family and this 219 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 5: collaborative with people around you and people you've never met before, 220 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 5: and that really, in of itself, is what keeps you 221 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 5: going in this work, especially when it's very traumatic work. 222 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 5: And so I always tell people, you know, we're in 223 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 5: this age of authoritarianism and the rise of fascism, and 224 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 5: the authoritarians thrive when the opposition works in silos, when 225 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 5: the opposition is not in community, when the opposition is 226 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 5: not together, And so I always encourage people get together, like, 227 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 5: get with people who want to do this work with you, 228 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 5: and even if you don't have all the answers on 229 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 5: what to do next, you'll figure it out or someone 230 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 5: will tell you, or something will be happening in your community. 231 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 5: And so that's what I always ask me all the time. 232 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 5: You know, I'm traveling the country, people are like, what 233 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 5: can we do now. I always tell them I can 234 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 5: rattle off a million different tactics to you, but the 235 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 5: most important thing I'll tell you is get involved in 236 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 5: a group that'll answer this question for you every day 237 00:10:58,320 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 5: right here in your community. 238 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:06,199 Speaker 7: Where do we go from here? Chaos or community? Congressman Frost, 239 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 7: you recently joined speaking of going out into community. Senator 240 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 7: Chris Murphy for town halls all across the country, and 241 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,679 Speaker 7: many were in or not many, I think they all 242 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 7: were in Republican districts. 243 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 5: Yeah, it's been great to be on the road with 244 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 5: Senator Murphy, and I think, you know, for us, we're 245 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 5: trying to get it out of the partisan conversation here 246 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 5: because there's something deeper happening in this nation. And I 247 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 5: feel like we're getting to the place point where we 248 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 5: could be a country that just has one term presidents 249 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 5: for one hundred years. Why because the situation is so 250 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,959 Speaker 5: bad that whoever's in power will be viewed upon negatively. 251 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 5: And we see this happen in South America as well. 252 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 5: I spent you know, I went to El Salvador on 253 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 5: the Kilmwar Abregio, Garcia case, and I was speaking there 254 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 5: with people locally, you know, this president there. Bukelli enjoys 255 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 5: a very high favorability rating. He was elected with what 256 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 5: was it like, eighty percent of the v or something, 257 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 5: but eighty percent of the people don't agree with him. 258 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:07,439 Speaker 5: But it just got so dangerous in Alsalvador that people 259 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 5: suspended their beliefs on a whole host of issues to 260 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 5: vote for the person who gave kind of the most 261 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 5: radical solution to fixing a very prevalent problem. I think 262 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 5: we're in this place in this nation in terms of 263 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 5: our economy and people's livelihood, and it's really dangerous place. 264 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,080 Speaker 5: Authoritarians like Trump don't come to power when everyone's doing well, 265 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 5: you know, So I just I'm worried about that part 266 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:33,559 Speaker 5: of things, and I think we have to go out 267 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 5: and meet people where they're at to explain, you know, 268 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 5: how they've been lied to, and then what we're going 269 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 5: to do better. I really believe that part of what 270 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 5: we have to do in this moment is bridge that 271 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 5: gap between cool and consciousness. 272 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: What do I mean by that? 273 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,960 Speaker 5: I'm always figuring out ways to bring We talk a 274 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 5: lot about the arts, the arts and advocacy together because 275 00:12:55,320 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 5: the most successful mass social movements have one thing in common, 276 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:06,080 Speaker 5: and it's when the culture becomes morphed with the advocacy 277 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 5: and it becomes one thing. And I think a lot 278 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 5: about March for Our Lives just because I was a 279 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,319 Speaker 5: part of that. I remember being at the March of 280 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 5: Our Lives here in Orlando and walking around, you know, 281 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 5: tens of thousands of people, and I run into a 282 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 5: group of friends that I knew from like elementary school. 283 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 5: I'd kept up with them on Facebook, but I knew 284 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 5: they didn't care about politics. Actually, in fact, I knew 285 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 5: two of them hated politics. And I asked them, why'd 286 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 5: you come? I'm just curious, and like one of them says, uh, 287 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 5: you know, I just felt like I needed to be here. 288 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 5: My friends came, I came with my friends. Beyonce told 289 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,440 Speaker 5: me to cough, and I don't know, I can't quite 290 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,839 Speaker 5: explain it. I just felt like I needed to be here. 291 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 5: And what all those answers indicate is that that movement 292 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 5: became part of the culture of this nation. And my 293 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 5: favorite answer was actually a last one. I don't know 294 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 5: why I am here, but I just felt like I 295 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 5: needed to be here. And I feel like all too 296 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,559 Speaker 5: opt in, like we're we get we're very preachy towards 297 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 5: not derogatory term towards preachers, but like we're we talk 298 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,199 Speaker 5: at people about what they need to do instead of 299 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 5: figuring out a ways to sometimes just connect the dots 300 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 5: for folks. I mean, maybe I'm a little too optimistic, 301 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 5: but I we all have different calls to action, right, 302 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 5: And I don't put all this pressure on myself to say, well, 303 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 5: when Maxwell Frost speaks to people he disagrees with, they're 304 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 5: all gonna say, you're right, I'm wrong, you change my life. 305 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 5: I don't think that you know that that's gonna happen. 306 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 5: But I see that conversation as a part of a 307 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 5: longer thing for them, and like I'm very honored to 308 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 5: play that part. And that's the job of an organizer. 309 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 5: You know, when we stay it at that crossroads, when 310 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 5: something happens in somebody's life or they witness something or 311 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 5: they see something or hear something and they make that decision, 312 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 5: they're gonna go one of two ways. It can actually 313 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 5: drive people further into apathy or they can get driven 314 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 5: into action. And we have to stand there and help 315 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 5: people find a political home. And it might be with 316 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 5: my campaign, it might not be. It might be with 317 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 5: a different organization, right, And what I try to do 318 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 5: locally is build those coalitions with different groups who do 319 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 5: a lot of different work. I have a music festival 320 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 5: every year here. We're gonna invite you guys to come. 321 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 5: It's called Mad Soul, And the whole purpose of the 322 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 5: festival is it is a music festival. Right. We have 323 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 5: artists that come that are local, but in between the sets, 324 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 5: we have community leaders that speak about the work we're doing. 325 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 5: And instead of like booths to buy stuff, we have 326 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 5: thirty organizations there that you get to go hear from. 327 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 5: And I don't think people will get involved with thirty, 328 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 5: but I hope people will get involved with one, and 329 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 5: the cool thing is they'll be able to pick the one. 330 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 5: It's an event that I raise money for that my 331 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 5: team puts together. But I'm not so obsessed with people 332 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 5: just doing stuff for me that it's just about me. 333 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 5: It's about Central Florida. It's about like this ecosystem. That's 334 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 5: obviously something that your father deeply understood, that there were 335 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 5: so many different parts of this big puzzle, and that 336 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:14,200 Speaker 5: he was always looking for a fight that was local 337 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 5: in scope but national and impact. And I think of 338 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 5: the work that we do here in here in Florida 339 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 5: and in the South generally as very similar, you know, 340 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 5: and it's just the honor to be be a small 341 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 5: part of this bigger work that we're doing. 342 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us. 343 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 2: If you enjoy today's conversation, subscribe, share, and follow us 344 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 2: on at my Legacy Movement on social media and YouTube. 345 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 2: New episodes drop every Tuesday, with bonus content every Thursday. 346 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: At its core, this podcast. 347 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 2: Honors doctor King's vision of the beloved community and the 348 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 2: power of connection. A Legacy Plus Studio production distributed by 349 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 2: iHeartMedia creator and executive producer Suzanne Hayward Come executive producer 350 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 2: Lisa Lyle. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you 351 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 2: get your podcasts.