WEBVTT - MINISODE: How attending Boys State changed René Otero's views on politics

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<v Speaker 1>Hi. I'm Pete Buddh Judge, and this is the deciding decade.

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<v Speaker 1>As someone who became very politically engaged in college, I've

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<v Speaker 1>been thinking about how different it might be for young

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<v Speaker 1>people growing up in the Trump era who were interested

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<v Speaker 1>in civic engagement. I think about my own experience during

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<v Speaker 1>the Bush era. It didn't feel like the world was

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<v Speaker 1>on fire in the same way it does today, but

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<v Speaker 1>at the time I did viscerally feel what was going

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<v Speaker 1>on with our international relations, are economy, and worried about

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<v Speaker 1>what our future would look like. What does it look

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<v Speaker 1>like today for young people who are watching the profound

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<v Speaker 1>dysfunction in our highest office. I'm particularly curious about what

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<v Speaker 1>the landscape looks like to those who have participated in

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<v Speaker 1>or been shaped by the enormous wave of protests and

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<v Speaker 1>grassroots activism that's taken place over the last few months.

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<v Speaker 1>Does that push them towards or away from government? Or

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<v Speaker 1>do they think about it in a different way? Hireland

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<v Speaker 1>Today is the second of our sub series of brief

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<v Speaker 1>episodes where we are featuring young next generation leaders who

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<v Speaker 1>are not only going to play key roles in shaping

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<v Speaker 1>the decade ahead, but already making a big impact through

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<v Speaker 1>their activism today. Reneo Tero was featured in Boys State,

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<v Speaker 1>a documentary that follows the Texas teenagers who attend the

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<v Speaker 1>American Legions annual Boys State Conference, a program that teaches

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<v Speaker 1>young men about government through a week long simulation of

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<v Speaker 1>electoral politics. It was filmed in two thousand eighteen, when

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<v Speaker 1>Renee was in high school, and it's worth noting that

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<v Speaker 1>a year later, nineteen, he placed first in extemporaneous speaking

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<v Speaker 1>at the National Speech and Debate Association's National Tournament, becoming

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<v Speaker 1>his school district's first national champion and the first African

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<v Speaker 1>American to win the title. And the speech that got

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<v Speaker 1>him that title was entitled should political leaders focus first

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<v Speaker 1>on political empowerment or economic equality? Which is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things I'm looking forward to talking to him about.

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<v Speaker 1>Renee is now a student at the University of Texas Austin,

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<v Speaker 1>where he has double majoring in International relations and Black Studies.

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<v Speaker 1>He's an undergraduate research fellow at UT Center for the

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<v Speaker 1>Study of Racing Democracy and on UT Speech Team. Really

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<v Speaker 1>great to see you and thanks for taking time to

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<v Speaker 1>get together. Thank you so much. So, you know, like

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of Americans, I got to know you through

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<v Speaker 1>this film Boy State, which follows you and in a

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<v Speaker 1>number of other young men through this this leadership program

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<v Speaker 1>in Texas, and you stand out from the beginning. And

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<v Speaker 1>one of the reasons you stand out is you're clearly

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<v Speaker 1>different from a lot of the people around you, and

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<v Speaker 1>you own that and you live into that. But that

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<v Speaker 1>also makes it complicated. Can you just talk about what

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<v Speaker 1>it felt like? You're in this world of students from

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<v Speaker 1>all over Texas, pretty conservative group, overwhelmingly white group. You

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't be there if you were not a talented, ambitious

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<v Speaker 1>young man. What was going through your mind as you

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<v Speaker 1>first started getting to know the people who are going

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<v Speaker 1>to be your peers for that week. Well, I will

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<v Speaker 1>say that everything about the entire experience was just a

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<v Speaker 1>pleasant little surprise for me because I didn't do any

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<v Speaker 1>research at idea what was going on. I guess my

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<v Speaker 1>initial feelings were, of course, very anxious. Uh My mother

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<v Speaker 1>was very much, so vocal about the fact that I

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<v Speaker 1>was different and that they could possibly lead to some complications.

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<v Speaker 1>And I was a d percent prepare just you know,

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<v Speaker 1>shut up and you stick it throughout the entire week.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think it was by the time that I

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<v Speaker 1>realized that, you know, I couldn't couldn't stand to hear

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<v Speaker 1>somebody lies in the speeches, and um, there was a

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<v Speaker 1>camera that that kind of emboldened me to take the

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<v Speaker 1>step that I did to realize that, okay, cool, this

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<v Speaker 1>difference makes me, uh stand out, but now it's a

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<v Speaker 1>perfect opportunity for me to weaponize it. And what did

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<v Speaker 1>that mean in you're okay, So what do you mean

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<v Speaker 1>to weaponize your difference? And who are you weaponizing it against?

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<v Speaker 1>And who you're weaponizing it for the best part about

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<v Speaker 1>difference is that you stick out like a sore thoumb

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<v Speaker 1>You're going to draw attention to you either way. So

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<v Speaker 1>you just depends on how you're going to draw that

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<v Speaker 1>attention to yourself. I always find that being a black

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<v Speaker 1>and queer person that you know, they always are gonna

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<v Speaker 1>watch you twice as hard, which means that they're listening

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<v Speaker 1>to what you're saying regardless. And so I get I

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<v Speaker 1>delivered a speech that was very true to my heart,

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<v Speaker 1>and I tried to I tried to weaponize my difference

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<v Speaker 1>in the sense that I argue for by pars and ship,

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<v Speaker 1>I argue for this desire to you know, follow the

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<v Speaker 1>other side, using kind of what they didn't expect out

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<v Speaker 1>of me to get the rise out of the audience.

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<v Speaker 1>Interesting and you can see, I mean, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>things that makes the film so dynamic is watching you

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<v Speaker 1>have this effect on your audience. I can see in

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<v Speaker 1>your eyes that you're realizing the effect that your power

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<v Speaker 1>is having on you write your ability to guide an

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<v Speaker 1>audience to a certain place. I'm wondering what you take

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<v Speaker 1>from that experience, you know, I'm almost thinking of some

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<v Speaker 1>of these like a sci fi plot where somebody lives,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a decade and an alternate reality, and then

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<v Speaker 1>they come right back to where they were, right Like,

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<v Speaker 1>all of this plays out over the course of a week,

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<v Speaker 1>this dramatic set of experiences. You become the state party chair,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a very important role in this simulation. I

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<v Speaker 1>gotta tell you, I'm watching you and your peers that

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<v Speaker 1>I feel is invested and you're simulated elections as I

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<v Speaker 1>did in real ones that I've been involved in, and

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<v Speaker 1>then a week later you back to your life. Did

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<v Speaker 1>it change you? Absolutely? Um? I walked into boys State

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to be a senator. I thought that was the

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<v Speaker 1>perfect you know, retirement plan. You know, I didn't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>have to go to school for a particular thing. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>And I hear the pension is great, um. And so

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<v Speaker 1>that was kind of what was motivating me when I

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<v Speaker 1>went to Boys State and I actually ran for the Senate.

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<v Speaker 1>I lost my very first few elections, and that's kind

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<v Speaker 1>of where I ended up in the position where I

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<v Speaker 1>was doing state party chair, and my entire plans changed.

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<v Speaker 1>My view of politics changed because I prepared to engage

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<v Speaker 1>it from Congress. Now I was dealing with the nitty

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<v Speaker 1>gritty electoral stuff. It was kind of humbling experience. I

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<v Speaker 1>really enjoyed the fact that I was responsible for so much,

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<v Speaker 1>but it also made me realize what that power could do.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a whole bunch of seventeen year old boys, and

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<v Speaker 1>I saw them replicate some of the same dirty electoral

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<v Speaker 1>and racist tactics that we have seen play out on

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<v Speaker 1>the screen for years. I mean, why wouldn't they the

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<v Speaker 1>seventeen they haven't had any other political experience, But now

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<v Speaker 1>that politics is frame from outside of this realm of respectability,

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<v Speaker 1>to this um one on one mud slinging show, they

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<v Speaker 1>were able to reproduce that, and I realized that is

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<v Speaker 1>the inevitable future I was going to face in politics.

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<v Speaker 1>So I had to find a way to engage politics

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<v Speaker 1>from a third party perspective, something separate from electoral politics,

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<v Speaker 1>but away that I could still act on my passion.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think a lot of people, especially people are

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<v Speaker 1>involved in politics, who see a leader of your capacity

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<v Speaker 1>emerging and being shaped, hope very much that you would

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<v Speaker 1>run for office. But you're saying no, that you walked

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<v Speaker 1>away with out of this program which is designed to

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<v Speaker 1>make you want to be more involved in politics. Right?

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<v Speaker 1>Can you walk us through that distinction? What's the difference

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<v Speaker 1>between walking away from the world walking away from involvement,

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<v Speaker 1>which I think it sounds like you're not doing. But

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<v Speaker 1>how can how can you walk away from a political

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<v Speaker 1>process that's such an important part of how the world

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<v Speaker 1>is shaped? You know? For one, I think we do

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<v Speaker 1>this unfair thing where reframe civic engagement through just getting

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<v Speaker 1>out to the polls politics, and that completely ignores another

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<v Speaker 1>very important part of the functioning system. I call it

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<v Speaker 1>the knowledge gap, because you can't ask me to advocate

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<v Speaker 1>for people to get out to the polls when we

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<v Speaker 1>have long waiting lines. Are you're asking me to tell

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<v Speaker 1>the single mother of multiple children, that she shouldn't work

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<v Speaker 1>and that she shouldn't be voting and that she's wrong

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<v Speaker 1>for not doing so. And that was something that I

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<v Speaker 1>was trying to, you know, conflict I was trying to

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<v Speaker 1>I was trying to understand. I was like, did I

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<v Speaker 1>have to stay within this voting realm? And so for me,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know what it would look like to be

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<v Speaker 1>involved without engaging in electoral politics until about a few

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<v Speaker 1>months ago. I've been engaging with protests, you know, and actively.

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<v Speaker 1>I've seen that protest turnover to some resolutions within our

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<v Speaker 1>city to defund the police, a necessary step. So for me,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like involvement now is taking a look at

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<v Speaker 1>the system, understanding what is fundamentally flawed with it, and

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<v Speaker 1>then protesting, engaging in some form of civic responsibility because

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<v Speaker 1>now you have the responsibility and the power to fix it.

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<v Speaker 1>But how do you get that power if it's not

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<v Speaker 1>through the polls? Well, what's your kind of theory of change?

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<v Speaker 1>My theory of change right now is uh, I guess

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<v Speaker 1>shock at all when these demonstrations for major change is

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<v Speaker 1>happening every single time, you know, we're telling you what

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<v Speaker 1>needs to happen. And so I'm just trying to figure

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<v Speaker 1>out what kind of demonstrations are visceral enough for the

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<v Speaker 1>public to recognize that. H So you're an undergraduate. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>teaching undergraduates right now for the first time, and it

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<v Speaker 1>is fascinating for me, although it entails something I don't

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<v Speaker 1>like doing, which is acknowledging that I'm no longer the

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<v Speaker 1>same generation as college students. But there's almost exactly twenty

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<v Speaker 1>years between me and you and most of the students

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<v Speaker 1>that I encounter. And so I think back to when

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<v Speaker 1>I was in college, and at the time, especially pre

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<v Speaker 1>nine eleven, the dominant mood for my generation of young people,

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<v Speaker 1>I think was irony. We we built up irony as

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<v Speaker 1>a kind of defense because if you seem totally sincere

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<v Speaker 1>and committed to anything, whether it was a political agenda

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<v Speaker 1>or just a belief or an idea, it made you

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<v Speaker 1>vulnerable to being made fun of or to being disappointed,

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<v Speaker 1>and so people developed these layers of irony. Maybe that's

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<v Speaker 1>just also part of being young. But what I sense

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<v Speaker 1>in your generation of students is that there's a kind

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<v Speaker 1>of earnestness compared to when I was a student, and

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<v Speaker 1>also at the same time, a kind of cynicism, And

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<v Speaker 1>you write in this very powerful New York Times op

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<v Speaker 1>ed about your experience, you describe yourself as as cynical

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<v Speaker 1>in many ways. You said, I've own increasingly cynical about

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<v Speaker 1>this system itself. And yet what you're describing is definitely

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<v Speaker 1>not walking away from from everything. So how do you

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<v Speaker 1>make sure the cynicism doesn't mean just giving up on

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<v Speaker 1>the systems that that clearly need to change and won't

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<v Speaker 1>change on their own. I will that feelings say that

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<v Speaker 1>our generation is more cynical and definitely much more earnest

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<v Speaker 1>because we're now inheriting a country at a very strange time.

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<v Speaker 1>We are not like previous generations where we have twenty

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<v Speaker 1>forty years before behind us that allows us to understand

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<v Speaker 1>that this system, you know, could work for us. We

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<v Speaker 1>don't have that. We've only seen failure. Additionally, I do

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<v Speaker 1>believe that my cynicism is what fuels me, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's because we have a toxic view of the

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<v Speaker 1>word cynic. We believe that cynic stops just in the

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<v Speaker 1>thought space. I think negatively about something, so I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to do nothing about it. That's completely wrong. You just

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<v Speaker 1>need to have I guess enough criticism built up within

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<v Speaker 1>you to realize that's what's going to motivate me to

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<v Speaker 1>actually makes them real change. And so I kind of

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<v Speaker 1>see this thing where we believe that patriotism and cynicism

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<v Speaker 1>have to be devoid from one another. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>know that this great thing that you love so much has,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a fatal flaw, wouldn't you raise a stink

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<v Speaker 1>enough to make people want to fix it. So cynicism

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<v Speaker 1>is nothing to be scared at all. Interesting, It's just

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<v Speaker 1>a very natural first step to the consciousness of the public.

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<v Speaker 1>So now this makes me curious about what you mean

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<v Speaker 1>when you say patriotism. It sounds like you're not talking

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<v Speaker 1>about nationalism. You're talking about something you might identify with,

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<v Speaker 1>even though you're very clear eyed about the weaknesses and

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<v Speaker 1>the flaws of the system. So what does it mean

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<v Speaker 1>to you to be patriotic? Oh, to be a patriot

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<v Speaker 1>means to love the country, and with love comes accountability.

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<v Speaker 1>Patriotism was reframed after nine eleven to being that the

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<v Speaker 1>United States is some actor that isn't culpable for any

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<v Speaker 1>of its actions because it's always actively defending us. But

0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:04.160
<v Speaker 1>with that kind of toxic mentality. You never understand the

0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:07.679
<v Speaker 1>ways that America can hurt people, and therefore we kind

0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.440
<v Speaker 1>of get stuck up in our own enamored relationship with

0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:14.120
<v Speaker 1>this country that we don't wish to see it any better.

0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:20.640
<v Speaker 1>Patriotism also requires civic engagement and people over country. For

0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:24.760
<v Speaker 1>you to love something so much but never act upon

0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:29.760
<v Speaker 1>that love makes me wonder is that actual love. It's

0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.960
<v Speaker 1>kind of like what my mama always said. If it's not,

0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:36.240
<v Speaker 1>love is lust, and patriotism is like a lust for

0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:39.880
<v Speaker 1>this country, and cynicism is a love for it. So

0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:44.640
<v Speaker 1>how hopeful are you about the possibility of people to change?

0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.120
<v Speaker 1>This isn't just about beating people, but there's also some

0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:48.719
<v Speaker 1>folks you're never going to reach. I think about this

0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.560
<v Speaker 1>when I go on Fox News rightly, So, so, how

0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:53.360
<v Speaker 1>do your debat or right? And part of debate is

0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.880
<v Speaker 1>about winning, but part of real debate it's about persuasion.

0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:57.960
<v Speaker 1>How do you square that in your account of where

0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:01.360
<v Speaker 1>we're heading? So I think the best way I think

0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:04.600
<v Speaker 1>that I can incorporate this idea where you know, people

0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:08.679
<v Speaker 1>who aren't necessarily as progressive existing in a space where

0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:12.560
<v Speaker 1>we desperately need some major change, because like we have

0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:14.280
<v Speaker 1>to remember that people change and it's up to the

0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.280
<v Speaker 1>institution to react and in order to do that. I

0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.160
<v Speaker 1>think elections, if for this one, is like pretty interesting

0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:22.679
<v Speaker 1>because it's kind of like this idea that we are

0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.760
<v Speaker 1>choosing who we want to pressure, and an election allows

0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.960
<v Speaker 1>for the democratic process for everyone to first have that opinion.

0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.080
<v Speaker 1>And then when you allow the pressure to uh to

0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:37.079
<v Speaker 1>enter in for you know, necessary change, um like abolished

0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.960
<v Speaker 1>eyes or to protect black and brown bodies in the

0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:43.240
<v Speaker 1>streets from police executions, is when we start to see

0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:46.440
<v Speaker 1>the special interests of the community play through. And it's

0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.360
<v Speaker 1>kind of this this concept of the beloved community. You're right,

0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:52.280
<v Speaker 1>maybe it's not so much about defeating one another or

0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:57.520
<v Speaker 1>reaching one another, but rather protecting and nurturing your ideology.

0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:00.960
<v Speaker 1>I believe that it's up to communities of color, where

0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.200
<v Speaker 1>they oftentimes you know, are having are being gaslighted about

0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:06.400
<v Speaker 1>the situation that they are in. It is up to

0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.160
<v Speaker 1>them to you know, advocate into and too and have

0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:13.600
<v Speaker 1>a voice. In doing so, they are creating community connections

0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.960
<v Speaker 1>within one another, which ultimately is just better for the

0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:20.520
<v Speaker 1>future of the advocacy of that space. And then they're

0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.560
<v Speaker 1>also humanizing the struggle and I think a lot of

0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:25.800
<v Speaker 1>a lot of this idea of what we need to

0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:28.000
<v Speaker 1>change and what we need to fix, we keep so

0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:31.120
<v Speaker 1>much in this abstract thought space that we forget that

0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:33.520
<v Speaker 1>there's a very human need for it at the end

0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:37.480
<v Speaker 1>of the day. So ultimately we just need to amplify

0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:56.440
<v Speaker 1>the fact that there's a human need for it. So

0:14:57.520 --> 0:14:59.120
<v Speaker 1>what's going on with your peers? I mean, do you

0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.000
<v Speaker 1>do feel like your generation is going to be more

0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.040
<v Speaker 1>active or do you feel like I know, I always

0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:06.520
<v Speaker 1>felt like I was kind of a minority in terms

0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:10.200
<v Speaker 1>of interest in politics and public affairs and civic things.

0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:14.000
<v Speaker 1>It wasn't exactly cool. Your generation seems to be kind

0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:15.760
<v Speaker 1>of more active and engaged, But maybe that's from the

0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:17.480
<v Speaker 1>outside looking in. How would you describe it, and how

0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.960
<v Speaker 1>does it feel on campus and with people you spend

0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.880
<v Speaker 1>time with. Maybe you're right, maybe it's just on the

0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.840
<v Speaker 1>outside looking get. I think the brilliant thing about social

0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.080
<v Speaker 1>media is that it connects so many of us to

0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:34.480
<v Speaker 1>have very important conversations and discourse. But oftentimes social media

0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:38.120
<v Speaker 1>looks like a final resting round for a lot of folks. Activism,

0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.080
<v Speaker 1>you know, performative stuff Like I was very upset a

0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.000
<v Speaker 1>few months ago when the Blackout Tuesday, and I saw

0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:46.680
<v Speaker 1>a whole bunch of people like do it, and I

0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.400
<v Speaker 1>was like, you realized the whole point of Blackout Tuesday

0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:52.720
<v Speaker 1>was to clog the feed so there wasn't any information

0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.240
<v Speaker 1>about Black Lives matter. But you have your head so

0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:58.080
<v Speaker 1>wrapped up, and what can I do performatively? You don't

0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:02.040
<v Speaker 1>think completely through your actions. So what I'm saying is

0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.800
<v Speaker 1>with my peers, I do feel as if there's a

0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.760
<v Speaker 1>major sense of engagement. However, I do not think they're

0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:11.040
<v Speaker 1>listening to the right voices because the Internet creates such

0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.680
<v Speaker 1>a fantastic echo chamber because if you spoken to one

0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:16.720
<v Speaker 1>black person, we would have told you why you should

0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.800
<v Speaker 1>have not engaged in the Blackout Tuesday post. So so

0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.720
<v Speaker 1>in that let's take up the topic of well intentioned

0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:26.160
<v Speaker 1>white progressive because you know, I think part of what's

0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:28.320
<v Speaker 1>given the people a lot of hope in especially the

0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.920
<v Speaker 1>response to the murder of George Floyd, is that this

0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:35.720
<v Speaker 1>has been a very multi racial response and awakening. But

0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.800
<v Speaker 1>of course the experience of this activism is radically different

0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.440
<v Speaker 1>if you're actually black or a person of color, then

0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:43.920
<v Speaker 1>if you're a white American trying to figure out how

0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:46.320
<v Speaker 1>to be an ally how do you kind of resolve

0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.600
<v Speaker 1>or navigate these tensions among your own peers. It's it's

0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:53.600
<v Speaker 1>it really just feels like the main disconnect between you know,

0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.400
<v Speaker 1>everyone is just the knowledge gap is that the violence

0:16:56.440 --> 0:17:00.800
<v Speaker 1>and oppression that people experience is very much so preferential

0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.719
<v Speaker 1>and like to the individual right, like the experience of

0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.040
<v Speaker 1>queer folks is not going to be the experience of

0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:11.880
<v Speaker 1>black folks, especially black queer folks. Again, you may understand that,

0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:15.439
<v Speaker 1>like we all live and leave leave different lives, but

0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:20.560
<v Speaker 1>I don't think people genuinely internalize that. You genuinely cannot

0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.640
<v Speaker 1>understand why I face the things I do and how

0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:25.560
<v Speaker 1>I feel about the things that I do in my

0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:28.000
<v Speaker 1>perception about that. And I think that is of such

0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:33.200
<v Speaker 1>a major um step is just internalizing that difference, also

0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:37.639
<v Speaker 1>having real empathy for um, you know, the communities. Is

0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.520
<v Speaker 1>it because you don't believe us when we are talking

0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:45.320
<v Speaker 1>about how to solve our oppression. Is it because there's

0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.600
<v Speaker 1>something about me that isn't you know, convincing is or

0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:51.960
<v Speaker 1>is it because you're trying to preserve your comfort? Either way,

0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.680
<v Speaker 1>those are your three choices. The only way that I

0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.239
<v Speaker 1>think you're acting on empathy is when we begin to

0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:00.280
<v Speaker 1>see true change. The other thing I really want to

0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.480
<v Speaker 1>ask you about is your perspective on what success looks

0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:08.200
<v Speaker 1>like in the medium term. Like this decade is clearly

0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:10.439
<v Speaker 1>going to decide so much for our country. So a

0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:14.760
<v Speaker 1>decade from now, you're approaching the age of thirty and

0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:18.040
<v Speaker 1>we're looking back on the ties. What would have to

0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:20.159
<v Speaker 1>happen for us to be able to say that the

0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:23.760
<v Speaker 1>ties got us toward where our country needs to go,

0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:26.840
<v Speaker 1>and what would be the work remaining to be done.

0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:29.960
<v Speaker 1>I think the one tangible marker I think of success

0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.280
<v Speaker 1>for is that we've abolished a two party system and

0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:37.360
<v Speaker 1>it made it impossible the campaign under a binary well

0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:41.280
<v Speaker 1>and replaced it with lud maybe parliamentary system. You know

0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:46.000
<v Speaker 1>what I'm saying, require coalitions because we got to start

0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.520
<v Speaker 1>reminding like he's not like about this election. Guess this

0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.960
<v Speaker 1>election stocks it feels really bad right now, but this

0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:55.840
<v Speaker 1>is a great opportunity for us to remind our politicians

0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:59.200
<v Speaker 1>that they have to earn our vote again. And because

0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:01.760
<v Speaker 1>if we have coal missions and if we are electing

0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:05.520
<v Speaker 1>representatives to then grant our head of state the power

0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:09.359
<v Speaker 1>it's a clear reminder that we are putting you in

0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:13.160
<v Speaker 1>this job. Wait, just like Marvin Gay's dad, I brought

0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:15.520
<v Speaker 1>you into this world and I can take you out.

0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.800
<v Speaker 1>I get how difficult it is to expect optimism from

0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:25.600
<v Speaker 1>a generation that has grown up with some of the

0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:29.119
<v Speaker 1>greatest struggles in our modern history. The post nine eleven Wars,

0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:32.760
<v Speaker 1>the two tho eight crash and its aftermath, the Trump presidency,

0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:35.760
<v Speaker 1>climate change, you name it. I remember the sense of

0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:38.399
<v Speaker 1>hope that came for so many my age with the

0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:42.119
<v Speaker 1>two thousand election and President Obama, and then the dramatic

0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:45.760
<v Speaker 1>gains and setbacks that followed. But Renee speaks for many

0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:48.840
<v Speaker 1>his age who reached voting age during the Trump era

0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:52.399
<v Speaker 1>and feel that they have seen only failure from policymakers

0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.240
<v Speaker 1>in charge of trying to make their lives better. I'm

0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:57.879
<v Speaker 1>glad to see that for someone like Renee, naive optimism

0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:00.359
<v Speaker 1>is out of the question, but so is dison agement.

0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:03.639
<v Speaker 1>And I'm glad to see his generation insisting on being heard.

0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:09.800
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I

0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:13.320
<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:14.160
<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.