1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:09,480 Understand the thinking atheist. It's not a person, it's a symbol, an 2 00:00:09,519 --> 00:00:14,560 idea. The population of atheist this country is going through the rule, rejecting 3 00:00:14,679 --> 00:00:19,760 faith, pursuing knowledge, challenging the sacred. If I tell the truth, 4 00:00:19,839 --> 00:00:23,800 it's because I tell the truth, not because I put my hand on a 5 00:00:23,879 --> 00:00:29,199 book and made a wish and working together for a more rational world. Take 6 00:00:29,239 --> 00:00:32,640 the risk of thinking. Feel so much more happiness, truth, beauty, 7 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:38,880 and wisdom will come to you that way. Assume nothing, question everything, 8 00:00:39,359 --> 00:00:47,439 and start thinking. This is the Thinking Atheist podcast hosted by Seth Andrews. 9 00:00:56,359 --> 00:01:00,640 A lot of my fellow atheists gets so irritated at me when I say that 10 00:01:00,799 --> 00:01:07,239 I don't think we can effectively change minds without involving emotion, and they're like, 11 00:01:07,359 --> 00:01:11,359 no, no, this is about logic, it's facts, it's data. 12 00:01:11,599 --> 00:01:17,719 They hear emotion and they think manipulation. And I'm not talking about manipulating 13 00:01:17,799 --> 00:01:23,159 people, especially in a malicious way. I'm talking about engaging the heart as 14 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:30,200 we engage the brain. Psychologist doctor Lawrence Read talks about how even our facial 15 00:01:30,239 --> 00:01:36,319 expressions might change whether or not people accept us, receive us, believe us, 16 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,319 even give us the time of day. This is huge. Doctor Reid's 17 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:46,920 One Dream series is so good on this. It's called Understanding Human Emotions. 18 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:52,760 Just one of thousands of vetted, credible, engaging series streaming right to you, 19 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:57,959 including on the one Dream map. Add free and so amazing, and 20 00:01:57,079 --> 00:02:01,799 right now with my special your l you can see what I'm talking about with 21 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:09,800 a free and full month total access the entire library for one month using one 22 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:17,400 drem dot com slash seth. That's w O N d r i UM dot 23 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:22,919 com slash seth. Get your free month, do it now, one drem 24 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:32,960 dot com slash seth. What the hell is going on in Texas now? 25 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,199 Actually, I have this conversation about many states in our union. I'm calling 26 00:02:38,199 --> 00:02:44,439 it a union because it seems like the United States is actually two warring nations. 27 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:50,120 I want to talk though, specifically about Texas with Texans, and so 28 00:02:50,199 --> 00:02:57,560 I have RN Rob. He is an activist, producer, author legend. 29 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,400 I've got Will Judy, State Director of American Atheists. You're still state director? 30 00:03:01,439 --> 00:03:05,560 Is that correct for Texas? Will? That's me yes? And I've 31 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,039 got Michelle Palmer. She is a teacher and she is a former candidate for 32 00:03:10,159 --> 00:03:16,360 the Texas State Board of Education and she ran as a secular person. I 33 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:22,719 got to start there, Michelle, you announced out loud, I'm not religious. 34 00:03:23,199 --> 00:03:27,400 I would like to run for Texas State Board of Education pretty much. 35 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,439 If you look at my ballot pedia, which has religion on it, mine 36 00:03:31,479 --> 00:03:38,080 says secular humanist. You know, we have pretty open conversations in my classroom, 37 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:43,080 and my students know that I am not religious, and many of them 38 00:03:43,159 --> 00:03:46,400 are not religious. I teach high school, and it seems like about a 39 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:51,840 third of my students, and this is in a completely black and brown school, 40 00:03:52,159 --> 00:03:57,199 are not religious. Now, this is a taxpayer funded public school. 41 00:03:58,039 --> 00:04:01,719 Correct, So you talk about your own positions. Does that get sticky at 42 00:04:01,719 --> 00:04:08,360 all when you are speaking personally about your position, whether it's politically, religiously 43 00:04:08,439 --> 00:04:14,120 or whatever. Because I teach social studies and I have to teach about all 44 00:04:14,159 --> 00:04:19,199 of the religions and all of the political persuasions and so forth, I do 45 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:25,120 a lot of class discussion, and I need to be open with my students. 46 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,439 It's a big part of who I am. Sure I think what I'm 47 00:04:28,439 --> 00:04:32,199 asking those like, we're telling religious people, well, you can't proselytize, 48 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,000 you know, how much of the classroom is about you personally, in your 49 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:41,360 positions, philosophies, etc. You're not telling people what they should think, 50 00:04:41,399 --> 00:04:44,519 but if they ask, you tell them what you think. Is that fair? 51 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,439 That is fair? Okay? And you know my students, they have 52 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:53,800 questions and so forth. And I'm pretty honest about myself. So when you 53 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,600 ran, don't you have to have God on a resume? In Texas? 54 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,199 Isn't it like a requirement? Like to run, don't you have to waive 55 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,519 the banner of Jesus? And did they use that against you whenever you were 56 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:09,759 running? The Texas Constitution actually requires that you believe in God to run for 57 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:14,319 office. Now that's unconstitutional as we know, but it is in the constitution. 58 00:05:15,079 --> 00:05:18,040 I would say, you know, amongst a certain group of Texans, 59 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,560 yes you kind of have to waive the Jesus banner. But I mean I 60 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:26,480 don't run on that party, and in the other party it's a little less 61 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,680 important. I would say, are and Raw what did you run for? 62 00:05:29,879 --> 00:05:35,360 Remind me I ran for a Texas State Senate and I knew that there was 63 00:05:35,399 --> 00:05:39,800 no chance that I was going to be elected, but it was just frustrating 64 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:44,079 to me that normally in this district. It's just Republicans running a primary against 65 00:05:44,079 --> 00:05:47,399 each other. They never have anybody else run against them, and so what 66 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:54,040 you end up with election after election is two conservative Christian Republicans each accusing the 67 00:05:54,079 --> 00:05:59,600 other of being Satan. Well one look at you, and they must have 68 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:04,000 got distracted at least for a moment. I just pictured No, we've all 69 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:09,800 seen those Robert Stamped political ads ago. You know, John Doe is a 70 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:14,519 man of the people. He came from nothing and he worked his fingers to 71 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,720 the bone to become a success in the great state of Texas. He's a 72 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:23,959 man of faith. Obligatory shot of John Doe and a church pew with his 73 00:06:24,079 --> 00:06:30,439 family and the music plays. He loves God, and he loves Texas, 74 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:35,079 and he loves America. So I'm trying to picture you running against that in 75 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:42,560 the state of Texas. Well. This guy's platform, his primary issue was 76 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,720 to make sure that trends people couldn't pee. I'm sorry, I just I'm 77 00:06:46,759 --> 00:06:49,759 sorry. I hang out was his platform, Like it was this about the 78 00:06:49,759 --> 00:06:57,439 transgender bathrooms. He wanted people checking IDs in public restrooms. He wanted police 79 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,160 to be checking people's IDs to get in to a public restaur I mean, 80 00:07:00,439 --> 00:07:04,160 like any restaurant anywhere, and so I thought this would be great. I'm 81 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,240 not gonna get I'm not going to win this election, but if I can 82 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:10,759 get a debate with this guy, that would be hilarious because of course he's 83 00:07:10,759 --> 00:07:13,839 a Young Earth creationist, doesn't know fuck all about anything, and it would 84 00:07:13,959 --> 00:07:16,240 it would have been great to get It's just a guy who won, the 85 00:07:16,319 --> 00:07:20,000 guy that always wins. Yeah, And by the way, I was told 86 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,959 that when I started, when I ran, I was told that you would 87 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,959 need thirty five thousand dollars to start with and build up your money from there, 88 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,480 Whereas if I was running for a similar office in the UK, I 89 00:07:32,519 --> 00:07:36,759 would be capped at thirty five thousand pounds. You can only spend up to 90 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,519 that much. And so that's where I see a fundamental problem with American politics 91 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,639 under this guy. My opponent at the onset of the election was given a 92 00:07:46,759 --> 00:07:53,360 check for two million dollars for his campaign. Were you as Satanist at that 93 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,839 time or was it did that come later? Just as good as I mean, 94 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,800 I've been accused of being a Satanist since I was eleven. Okay, 95 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,920 all right, well, I know you you're affiliated with the Satanic Temple. 96 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:05,920 Yeah, I would go was very recent, that's that's within the last two 97 00:08:05,959 --> 00:08:11,439 years. I would vote for Will Judy for public office. I don't know. 98 00:08:11,519 --> 00:08:13,920 Will. I know you're a leader, right, You're one of those 99 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:18,399 natural leaders, So will have you run for office of any kind? I 100 00:08:18,519 --> 00:08:22,279 have nuts, I've thought about it. I almost did, almost, kind 101 00:08:22,279 --> 00:08:26,040 of almost ran for the Texas Senate in my area. But I haven't found 102 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:31,000 a position that is worth me running. I had to envision me in the 103 00:08:31,079 --> 00:08:35,080 seat, and hey, what kind of change can I affect with that position? 104 00:08:35,759 --> 00:08:39,960 And I just think I would hate campaigning. I think I would. 105 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:41,799 I just I see it. I know my personality. But again, if 106 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,519 it's a means to an end, then I'm all in. I just wanted 107 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:48,120 to throw out that I was in politics just long enough to know that I 108 00:08:48,159 --> 00:08:52,679 don't want to be in politics. Yeah, I concur with Will when he 109 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,519 says that he wouldn't like campaigning. I hated it, okay, because it's 110 00:08:56,559 --> 00:09:01,360 all it is is asking for money, right Will? I hate asking for 111 00:09:01,399 --> 00:09:03,639 money, and I would love the debate part. I would love putting a 112 00:09:03,639 --> 00:09:09,080 spotlight on running as an open secular humanist, open atheists, whatever, I 113 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,480 want to have a spotlight on it in the world generally, in Texas specifically. 114 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,919 But again, I'm still thinking about it. I have absolutely not ruled 115 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,080 it out, but I'm always looking for something to run for but haven't found 116 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,600 it yet. And but An, I give you mad props for running when 117 00:09:26,159 --> 00:09:28,039 there is no one else running for that position, knowing that it's a super 118 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,840 red area. I know other people that have done it and have nothing but 119 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:37,440 respect for y'all. Will tell me about the specific types of activism right now. 120 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,960 In Texas, you got Governor Abbot. He is looming above all. 121 00:09:43,399 --> 00:09:46,120 It's like the death eater. They just come to suck away everyone's soul. 122 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:52,000 Am I exaggerating? Well soul and maybe that's part. He's sucky and they're 123 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:56,559 all sucking. They are sucking something. And it's not just as Abbot. 124 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,519 In Texas, I've learned. I'm really new to the political stuff, but 125 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:05,080 in Texas it's kind of like a three headed monster. Governor, Lieutenant governor, 126 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:09,840 and attorney general. They kind of run the show and they're sycophants. 127 00:10:09,919 --> 00:10:13,600 Their crew does the rest in the legislature. So it's a lot of work, 128 00:10:13,639 --> 00:10:16,960 a lot of work, but they're over they being the people you just 129 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,120 described and I just described, they're overrepresented in the Texas legislature. They don't 130 00:10:22,159 --> 00:10:28,840 represent whose Texas is and what Texas is is a non voting state. I 131 00:10:28,159 --> 00:10:33,639 you can count on half of the registered voters not voting, and with that 132 00:10:33,799 --> 00:10:39,080 you get the representation that we currently see in Texas. And people like Michelle 133 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,000 and I and are all all of us on the screen are working to fix 134 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,720 just that. If if I was ever going to run for another office, 135 00:10:46,879 --> 00:10:52,360 it would be Board of Education, even though I know it's an unpaid position, 136 00:10:52,399 --> 00:10:56,600 it would be it would be quite taxing, and it would be a 137 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,120 lot of work for no pay, but it would still be I think symbolically 138 00:11:01,159 --> 00:11:05,120 important perhaps that I'd be on the board after fighting against the board for so 139 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,840 long. Michelle Palmer, tell me about the school boards. There has been 140 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:15,919 a concentrated effort by evangelicals, many who are well funded and highly organized, 141 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:18,960 and they're saying, we need to jam in, we need to actually stuff 142 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:24,200 the school boards with Christian nationalists. Can you flesh that out for me? 143 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:28,679 Sure? So, there's several layers of school board here in the state of 144 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:33,320 Texas. There are the district school boards, which is where a lot of 145 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:39,440 that is happening. Several of the suburban school districts in Harris County where I 146 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:46,600 live, the Houston area have fallen to the Christian nationalists insanity. They are 147 00:11:46,639 --> 00:11:50,519 banning books left and right they are trying to do. You know, they're 148 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:56,919 they're like frothing at the mouth for these things about every school have every classroom 149 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:03,799 having the Ten Commandments prominently displayed, and acquiring the Bible or other religious texts 150 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,840 to be read in class. Things like that. They're just waiting for these 151 00:12:07,879 --> 00:12:11,399 things to be passed because they're so excited about it. And what's super sad 152 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:16,720 to me about it is that you know, they are white nationalists as well 153 00:12:16,759 --> 00:12:20,879 as Christian nationalists, and many of these districts, because we are Texas, 154 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,080 we are a very diverse state, you know, our majority black and brown 155 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:30,799 students, and they're having to be represented and be controlled or have their education 156 00:12:30,879 --> 00:12:37,399 controlled by these horrible people. And then there's the state Board of Education, 157 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,200 which is what I ran for, and they're the ones who tell teachers what 158 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:46,440 to teach. So they're the ones that create the standards that we teach in 159 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:52,480 social studies or science or whatever subject. It is social studies and science being 160 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,879 the ones who that generally bring the controversy, of course, and I know 161 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:01,240 that in about ten years ago now, there was a documentary made about the 162 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:09,279 Texas State Board of Education called the Revisionaries because they liked to revise history and 163 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,480 science so much. The cover of it has dinosaurs on Noah's Ark. As 164 00:13:13,639 --> 00:13:20,200 was mentioned earlier, many Young Earth creationists on the board. Sanity had been 165 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:24,519 gaining a little bit of traction. But then, of course last year we 166 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:31,919 had redistricting which took away some of that sanity and made the board go back 167 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:37,279 in the other direction again with very very jerrymandered districts that are virtually unwinnable for 168 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,799 those watching from the outside end. We talk about jerrymandering quite a bit, 169 00:13:41,799 --> 00:13:45,960 but define it for those who aren't familiar with what jerrymandering is, if you 170 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,440 would, Michelle, of course, so I'm a government teacher, this should 171 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:54,399 be easy for me. Jerrymandering. So when you redistrict, you are looking 172 00:13:54,399 --> 00:13:58,320 at the census data that happens every ten years, and you are redrawing the 173 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:03,879 lines of all all the different districts from school boards and city councils, all 174 00:14:03,879 --> 00:14:09,320 the way up to Congress to make the districts more equal in size, and 175 00:14:09,519 --> 00:14:15,519 jerrymandering was actually named after a person that did it one hundred and fifty years 176 00:14:15,519 --> 00:14:22,879 ago or whatever, is to make those districts as favorable for your party as 177 00:14:22,039 --> 00:14:28,679 possible. And now with computers that can be done down to the block. 178 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:35,159 And so what is generally done is what's called cracking and packing, which is 179 00:14:35,519 --> 00:14:41,240 where you cram as many of the other party into districts as possible. We 180 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:46,320 have eighty eighty five percent Democratic districts in the city here in the Houston area, 181 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:52,960 and then spread the Republican voters into as many districts as possible. So 182 00:14:54,679 --> 00:15:03,759 Texas generally votes about fifty four forty six Republican, so definitely Republican, but 183 00:15:03,879 --> 00:15:09,639 not overwhelmingly. But about two thirds of our elected officials, two thirds of 184 00:15:09,639 --> 00:15:13,279 our congress members, two thirds of our state legislators, more than two thirds 185 00:15:13,279 --> 00:15:18,399 of our state senators are Republican because of the way that redistricting is done in 186 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,639 state of Texas. Interesting to watch the districts that have been jerrymander. Just 187 00:15:22,799 --> 00:15:28,480 like abstract art, they sort of spider out in all these bizarre ways, 188 00:15:28,039 --> 00:15:33,320 and you realize this is by design right. They want to walk out the 189 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:41,159 opposition. Maybe that explains how people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and others get elected. 190 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,480 I don't know. That's another conversation, Aaron. Back to the text 191 00:15:43,559 --> 00:15:48,840 books in Texas public schools, was it true that they used to teach that 192 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:56,320 Moses was a real guy? Texas history books that was proposed said that the 193 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:02,000 United States government and or our legal system was based on a covenant between God 194 00:16:02,039 --> 00:16:07,000 and Moses, which the Board of Education knew that that was false. There 195 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:11,639 were a couple of history professors that had come in from the East to give 196 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,519 testimony, to give specific quotations from the Founding fathers to the effect that they 197 00:16:15,559 --> 00:16:22,200 were based on Greek democracy and enlightenment, and there was one that specifically said 198 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,679 that we were that it was not influenced by the Ten Commandments at all. 199 00:16:27,639 --> 00:16:32,440 There was a quote specifically saying that from one of the Founding fathers, the 200 00:16:32,519 --> 00:16:37,399 type of government the United States has was designed to be purposefully the very opposite 201 00:16:37,559 --> 00:16:41,840 of the type of government that is commonly associated with Moses. The Board of 202 00:16:41,919 --> 00:16:47,759 Education knows that they know that it is fact where they talking about the people 203 00:16:47,759 --> 00:16:51,519 that were taking our testimony. They knew that what they were teaching was not 204 00:16:51,679 --> 00:16:57,519 factual, that it was wrong, but they said they openly admitted that they 205 00:16:57,519 --> 00:17:03,879 are going to teach American exceptionalism. That they had to have the kids believe 206 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:08,319 that America was a blessed nation only because we were founded on God's principles, 207 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:11,279 and as long as we stay by God's principles, that our country will remain 208 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:17,920 blessed. They tell this lie to the kids, and it doesn't matter that 209 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,519 they know that it's not really true. They said in the Board of Education, 210 00:17:22,559 --> 00:17:26,640 the chairman of the board at that time said that we can't teach anything 211 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:30,519 that would be embarrassing. So they wanted to make sure that they did not 212 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,680 teach civil rights issues. They wanted to make sure that they did not They 213 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,920 didn't even teach about slavery. They wanted to remove Thomas Jefferson and replace him 214 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:44,319 with Jefferson Davis, who ironically advocated that the whole purpose for the Civil War 215 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:48,440 was slavery, not states rights. But they're still arguing that it should be 216 00:17:48,759 --> 00:17:52,480 states rights, that that's what the Civil War was about. One of our 217 00:17:52,519 --> 00:17:56,359 history teacher, one of our history books, actually said that It described the 218 00:17:56,519 --> 00:18:06,640 slaves as immigrant workers who benefited by adopting Christianity. Typical history book written by 219 00:18:06,759 --> 00:18:11,720 white people or a white nationalists rather will judy. There's a book out by 220 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:19,240 Catherine Stewart called The Power Worshippers, and she asserts that much of this isn't 221 00:18:19,279 --> 00:18:23,319 about theology, it's not about personal faith, it's not about Jesus, etc. 222 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:32,279 It's about weaponizing religion for power. And they see the demographic changes. 223 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,279 I'm just going to focus on Texas. They see the demographic changes happening in 224 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:38,920 Texas, which is easy to see that it's getting more black and brown. 225 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:45,519 So they're going to lose their power as a results with their calculation, and 226 00:18:45,559 --> 00:18:48,559 so they're doing things now to hold on to this power as long as possible. 227 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,400 So they know that and eventually they'll be phased out, but they don't 228 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:57,160 want to delay that as much as they can. And religious freedom has been 229 00:18:57,319 --> 00:19:03,119 a more of a shield a protect in generations past, but they've turned that 230 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:07,079 shield into a sword. I borrow that from from our friend and recital. 231 00:19:07,599 --> 00:19:12,880 This is a very apt description of what they're doing. So religious freedom again 232 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,759 used to protect people, but now they're using it to impose their views on 233 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,279 a population for the purpose of holding on a power again as long as possible. 234 00:19:23,759 --> 00:19:27,000 I love watching these people lose their I mean, I don't love it, 235 00:19:27,039 --> 00:19:32,640 but I find it fascinating and amusing and interesting to watch them lose their 236 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:37,599 minds over things like a black little mermaid, right, I mean, of 237 00:19:37,799 --> 00:19:41,759 all the things going on in the world. Oh no, we have a 238 00:19:41,799 --> 00:19:48,079 protagonist of a fairy tale and we have representation, and they call it an 239 00:19:48,079 --> 00:19:55,359 attack on white people or American heritage. Yeah, it's it's an affront to 240 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,400 their privilege. When you grow up explicitly and implicitly told that this is your 241 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:06,720 country, this is your space. You are the ruler of everything you see. 242 00:20:06,839 --> 00:20:10,480 You can move about as you wish. When there's any challenge to that, 243 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:15,519 it's pearls are clutched, and they get very uncomfortable with that notion. 244 00:20:17,039 --> 00:20:18,880 And a lot of people don't even know it. They they kind of don't. 245 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:23,480 They can't intellectualize why they're getting so upset that there is a black, 246 00:20:23,559 --> 00:20:27,920 a brown little mermaid, or now there's these people they don't agree with on 247 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:33,480 their beer cans. What's the phrase equality feels like oppression to the privileged I'm 248 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:38,000 paraphrasing, but that's we will see it every day, and it's it's just 249 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:44,319 getting more and more obvious, getting louder and louder, and that's something that 250 00:20:44,599 --> 00:20:48,400 again, all four of us are fighting against. Ten years ago, the 251 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,799 Board of Education was saying, in this weird language that they can't teach the 252 00:20:52,799 --> 00:20:56,519 civil rights issues because that was embarrassing, and they can't teach slavery because that 253 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:02,359 was embarrassing, and they can't teach anything at all because all of that was 254 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:07,680 embarrassing. And then somebody published the critical Race Theory, and the Board of 255 00:21:07,759 --> 00:21:14,160 Education and the Republican Religious Right basically adopted that name. Not the actual thing 256 00:21:14,519 --> 00:21:17,680 that is not being taught in schools, by the way, they just adopted 257 00:21:17,759 --> 00:21:21,519 the name critical race theory because it fit what they were trying to censor. 258 00:21:22,319 --> 00:21:25,920 So when they say that they when they used to say that they can't teach 259 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:29,319 about slavery and they can't teach about civil rights because both of those imply that 260 00:21:29,319 --> 00:21:33,519 we are not divinely guided. They've now taken the label that they've taken the 261 00:21:33,599 --> 00:21:36,799 name of that and applied that to this other thing. So now they're calling 262 00:21:36,799 --> 00:21:42,119 it critical race theory. And they're pretending as if if we know what our 263 00:21:42,279 --> 00:21:51,160 forefathers did that somehow we will personally be ashamed or hateful of ourselves, just 264 00:21:51,279 --> 00:21:55,119 like teaching how to hate white people, which of course it's not. I'm 265 00:21:55,160 --> 00:22:00,359 fully aware of what people, what the United States has done to Blacks, 266 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,680 to Jews, to the Irish, to women, to Native Americans, to 267 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,920 the Japanese, to the Chinese, to Mexicans living in this country after the 268 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:15,480 Civil War. I'm fully aware of the atrocities my country has visited on its 269 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,759 own people. If you want to know how bad things can get, just 270 00:22:18,799 --> 00:22:22,079 look at how bad they've already been. But if you have this illusion that 271 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:26,880 we've always been perfect and things like this can't happen, that's how things like 272 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,519 this happen. More to come in just second, I want to talk about 273 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:37,920 making America great again. Apparently we were great. Now we're not great. 274 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,480 We have to return to great. What do these people mean? I will 275 00:22:41,559 --> 00:22:55,359 ask my panel of guests next. Today we're talking Texas as it relates to 276 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,839 the rest of the country. My special guests are in raw Will Judy, 277 00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:08,240 and Michelle Palmer, all activists and all Texans. Michelle Palmer I'm interested in 278 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:14,319 a clip I saw by one of my favorite actors, Brian Cranston Walter White 279 00:23:14,559 --> 00:23:18,599 from Breaking Bad, and he was just speaking to its values about maga make 280 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:25,640 America great again. And he had a great point because if you ask someone, 281 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:29,359 well when was that, like, when were we great? Well what 282 00:23:29,519 --> 00:23:36,240 specific decade? Quite often you will hear the nineteen fifties, the Golden Age. 283 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,680 Yes, So when I teach US history, you know, I have 284 00:23:40,799 --> 00:23:45,400 to teach the Texas version of that US history, which you know y'all were 285 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,279 talking earlier, And this is from World History standards, but I wanted to 286 00:23:49,319 --> 00:23:52,599 read this to you. This is literally in the standards you have to teach 287 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:59,039 for world history, identify examples of American ideals that have advanced human rights and 288 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:03,559 democratic idea is throughout the world. That is literally something that the world history 289 00:24:03,599 --> 00:24:08,160 teacher that I'm a mentor for has to teach next week. But you know, 290 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,599 there is a lot of American exceptionalism in the standards that we have to 291 00:24:12,599 --> 00:24:18,279 teach as social studies teachers here in the state of Texas. And you know, 292 00:24:18,319 --> 00:24:22,960 when I'm teaching government and I have to teach about the twenty sixteen and 293 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,680 twenty twenty elections. You know, my students have a lot of opinions about 294 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:33,359 this, and so they're very interested, and they get really energetic during the 295 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,240 discussions and so forth, and you know, they want to hear about the 296 00:24:37,279 --> 00:24:41,960 fact that, you know, they I try to leave my personal politics out 297 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:48,200 of my government class and let them come to their own decisions. I never 298 00:24:48,279 --> 00:24:52,759 try to sway them in any way. I often even take the other side 299 00:24:52,039 --> 00:24:56,079 and argue with them, just to make sure they can flesh out their own 300 00:24:56,200 --> 00:25:00,839 arguments. And you know, when one of them will point out that, 301 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:07,160 you know, make America Great Again is a play on Hitler's motto when he 302 00:25:07,279 --> 00:25:11,000 ran, you know, make Germany great Again, which was basically the German 303 00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:18,440 that in German is basically his motto. It's very challenging teaching the Texas version 304 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:26,680 of history in a classroom that is not full of white students, because they 305 00:25:26,799 --> 00:25:32,599 know they have experienced, they have lived what it is to be a Texan 306 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:38,720 who is not white. They experience racism. They are not big fans of 307 00:25:38,759 --> 00:25:47,400 our former president. During the twenty twenty election, Joe Biden came to a 308 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,319 building literally next door to my campus and gave a speech and while he was 309 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:57,400 there, those lovely Maga trucks that we have in Texas that have the giant 310 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:03,559 flags on the back, there were hundred of them just circling that building over 311 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:08,680 and over and over again, and my students were freaking out. I mean, 312 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,279 if it look it feels like a threat. I mean, they've got 313 00:26:11,319 --> 00:26:18,319 plausible deniability. We're just driving around waiving our flags because hashtag freedom. But 314 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,359 when you realize who these people are, many of them come from kind of 315 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:27,119 a literal weaponized point of view. Right They've been stockpiling waiting for a holy 316 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:33,640 war on God's democracy. They're capable of anything that's terrifying. Absolutely. Aaron 317 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:38,599 mentioned something earlier that made me want to point this out my entire and Will 318 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:44,799 knows this. My entire reason for running for state Board of Education was because 319 00:26:44,799 --> 00:26:48,480 I was looking at the eighth grade US History curriculum, which is the first 320 00:26:48,519 --> 00:26:51,240 half of US history, and then I teach the second half in high school. 321 00:26:51,799 --> 00:26:56,200 And I realized that if I had been an eighth grade US History teacher, 322 00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:00,680 that I would have to teach what he was talking about. This as 323 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,200 a part of the founding of the United States, And that's the whole reason 324 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:10,359 I'm running. Did I run for this position? Whenever it's up. It's 325 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:15,039 absolutely insane to me some of the things that are in the curriculum to teach 326 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:19,359 history here in the state of Texas. It's funny. I saw a meme 327 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:25,160 that I laughed a little too hard at and it showed a bunch of people 328 00:27:25,319 --> 00:27:30,039 in big jacked up pickup trucks and there's black smoke billowing out of the exhaust 329 00:27:30,079 --> 00:27:33,640 pipe and they're covered in Trump flags and American flags, and the caption is 330 00:27:34,599 --> 00:27:40,240 when the extra small condoms go on sale at Walmart. And I just thought 331 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,599 it was fun. I've just made me laugh out loud. Are and raw, 332 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:49,240 let's talk about this particular culture. They are draped in flags, American 333 00:27:49,319 --> 00:27:55,960 flags, Jesus flags, Trump flags, Fuck Biden flags, Confederate flags. 334 00:27:56,079 --> 00:28:00,480 What's your take, Well, they're very binary and they're thinking, so that 335 00:28:00,599 --> 00:28:03,640 has to be us versus them. Tribalism. And one of the things that 336 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:11,000 bothers me is where I constantly hear that you're either on the right or you're 337 00:28:11,039 --> 00:28:15,440 in the far left, because there can be no left without saying the word 338 00:28:15,599 --> 00:28:18,839 radical in front of it. Because Fox News will only talk about the radical 339 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:26,799 leftis, and somehow Biden is counted on the radical left. I had to 340 00:28:26,799 --> 00:28:29,880 tell a friend of mine, an old friend of mine, just a couple 341 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,000 of days ago, that the problem that we on the left have with Biden 342 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:37,880 is that he's not on the left. Everybody president in my lifetime, and 343 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:45,079 I'm sixty, every president we've ever had has been on the authoritarian right. 344 00:28:45,559 --> 00:28:48,200 Now, hang on, hold on, let me push back just a little 345 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,519 bit. And I'm not a huge Biden fan, but in terms of his 346 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:59,680 acceptance of LGBT people and the fact that he isn't a Christian nationalist, I 347 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,519 mean, we know he's a devout Catholic and he took his oath on a 348 00:29:02,559 --> 00:29:06,759 Bible that's you know, the size of a large cardboard moving box. Did 349 00:29:06,759 --> 00:29:10,200 you see that thing. It's massively big bid board and whatnot. But as 350 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:15,880 far as inclusion, in terms of being a humanist, I would align him 351 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,559 more with liberal values. I mean, that's fair, isn't it. He 352 00:29:19,119 --> 00:29:22,880 is more in line with liberal values than some other presidents have been. But 353 00:29:23,119 --> 00:29:29,160 if you go over the course of my sixty year life's been JFK was also 354 00:29:29,279 --> 00:29:33,759 Catholic and was also surprisingly progressive for a Catholic at that time and for a 355 00:29:33,799 --> 00:29:41,359 president now. But even he is counted on the authoritarian right. Jimmy Carter 356 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,960 evangelical Christian. He's also atypical for an evangelical Christian because you know, the 357 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,559 man is ninety some odd years old building homes for the homeless. How leftist 358 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:56,680 is that? But even he was listed in the authoritarian right. Kamala Harris 359 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:03,119 had proposed some leftist policy, so we could argue that she's quasi leftist there, 360 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,880 and she may be across that boundary because it's not just the far extremes 361 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,200 of either side of the political compass. There's four quadrants there, because there's 362 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:15,720 two axes. And one of the more important things that people don't look at 363 00:30:15,799 --> 00:30:18,839 is that there's the authoritarian and the libertarian. When I say libertarian, I 364 00:30:18,839 --> 00:30:22,880 don't mean the right wing political party. I mean the anti authoritarian ones, 365 00:30:22,279 --> 00:30:26,160 those who don't want more I want. I'm accused of being a status I'm 366 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:30,559 accused of worshiping the state, when in fact I want less government than the 367 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:37,000 GOP wants to impose. Okay, we'll hang up hold. But if Biden 368 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:45,200 is pro government programs to help minorities, marginalized groups and the disadvantaged. That's 369 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:51,160 a liberal value. If Biden is against the death penalty, that's a liberal 370 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:55,799 value. Yeah. But I'm understanding liberal to be more of a centrist position. 371 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:59,599 I mean, if you look at the political compass, I mean, 372 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,680 we can get lost in the weeds all day. This is all semantics. 373 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,920 I know, definitions are all subjective, right labels are essentially how we apply 374 00:31:07,039 --> 00:31:10,559 them. But if I I don't see any comparison. You know, if 375 00:31:10,559 --> 00:31:15,880 I look at basic humanistic tendencies, I see that there is no contest. 376 00:31:17,319 --> 00:31:19,880 And even though I'm not a huge Biden fan, for me, I'm like, 377 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,240 well, for me, it's there's not not even a moment of hesitation. 378 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,079 If I'm a humanist, I've got to go in this direction, right, 379 00:31:27,119 --> 00:31:30,680 I've got to support this. If you're a communist, you would probably 380 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:36,279 appreciate JFK and Jimmy Carter. But that doesn't change there. It doesn't mean 381 00:31:36,559 --> 00:31:41,279 that they're all so far on the right that they become virtual Nazis. You 382 00:31:41,359 --> 00:31:45,119 don't, because there's a there's a bit of a range there, just like 383 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,359 there is on the left. You know, Bernie Sanders is one tick further 384 00:31:48,519 --> 00:31:52,480 left than I am and he's still he's still a few ticks further to the 385 00:31:52,599 --> 00:32:00,599 right of what most self identified Marxist or socialists would be. This a whole 386 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,039 other show. I'm sorry. Sorry to Pam and Will sorry, this a 387 00:32:04,079 --> 00:32:07,599 whole other show. I may or may not include that whole section because I 388 00:32:07,599 --> 00:32:08,759 feel like we may have to come back and cover all that. Okay, 389 00:32:08,839 --> 00:32:12,440 okay, and you can do that as another show if you just need if 390 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,720 you just need source material, I can. Oh. I have to do 391 00:32:14,839 --> 00:32:17,920 political experts on here hext Urn and he'll be ready to rock and roll in 392 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,359 ten minutes. I've never seen somebody who's ready to do a show like you 393 00:32:22,359 --> 00:32:25,440 are. It's amazing. Will Judy, you want to talk about the godden 394 00:32:25,519 --> 00:32:31,440 guns culture? I mean, if there's any state other than Oklahoma, Arkansas, 395 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,440 Florida, I guess it's Texas, but I think goden guns. Do 396 00:32:37,519 --> 00:32:38,799 you want to talk about that? Yeah? I can, I can talk 397 00:32:38,839 --> 00:32:43,680 about it. I was curious about that myself. I realized I was kind 398 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,200 of into my own bubble and hanging out with my own people for too long, 399 00:32:46,319 --> 00:32:51,880 so I started talking to other people, other bubbles and people like me 400 00:32:52,119 --> 00:32:57,039 that lived in deep red Texas and had for a while. So I just 401 00:32:57,079 --> 00:33:01,640 I'm just asking questions, and what I learned is that in let's just say 402 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:06,640 East Texas, but I think you can extrapolate that to most of rural Texas. 403 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:12,480 They love their rugged individualism. We have that nation wide, but crank 404 00:33:12,559 --> 00:33:15,480 that up five notches. And that's what Texas is. They love the fact 405 00:33:15,519 --> 00:33:19,559 they want small government. They don't want government telling them what to do. 406 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:24,279 They want to have their ar fifteens to shoot their havelinas and or just because 407 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:32,680 that rugged individualism is cranked up again, justified by God and Moses and just 408 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:37,240 myth upon layer of myth, upon myth upon myth. But the narrative is 409 00:33:37,279 --> 00:33:40,319 that, well, we have to well, first of all, God gave 410 00:33:40,359 --> 00:33:44,519 me the right because of the Second Amendment. That's a whole other conversation. 411 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:49,200 But these people are also saying that the government that's the greatest government in the 412 00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:53,480 history of history, may rise up against them and they have to be prepared 413 00:33:53,799 --> 00:33:58,519 in case of a coup. Yeah, it was. These militia types are 414 00:33:58,559 --> 00:34:02,160 the ones who were involved in the tempted coup. I do want to mention 415 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:06,799 something that Will had talked about a moment ago when he was talking about how 416 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,000 they want less government, they don't want government to intrude, and yet what 417 00:34:10,039 --> 00:34:15,519 they want is anti trans bills. Texas leads to state in anti trans bills. 418 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:22,119 The Satanic Temple wanted to hold Satan Khan in Dallas. American Atheists, 419 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,039 you and I both said on the Board of Directors for American Atheists they wanted 420 00:34:25,079 --> 00:34:30,239 to hold the twenty twenty four national Convention in Dallas because we're on track for 421 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:37,519 the eclipse. Both organizations said, no, Texas is too dangerous because we 422 00:34:37,599 --> 00:34:43,159 have trans people who might be arrested or standing on stage addressing an audience, 423 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,599 because we have so many ridiculous laws. They try to pass anti sodomy laws 424 00:34:46,639 --> 00:34:51,800 here. They did pass the Merry Christmas Bill, which was designed to out 425 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:55,960 non Christian teachers to their students, and then they tried to pass the show 426 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:04,159 your Papers bill, where police would just randomly identify suspicious people or whatever person 427 00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:07,760 they decide looks suspicious, probably more often will than myself, if you know 428 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:12,679 what I mean, and then grab people and just make sure that they have 429 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,719 their papers showing that they're in the States legally. And if you don't have 430 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:20,760 your papers on you you will be apprehended. You could. You would be 431 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,719 caught walking across a college campus and pulled off because you didn't show your papers, 432 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:30,199 which sounds to me an awful lot like what proud patriotic Americans used to 433 00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:35,239 describe when they were talking about how bad it is to live in Russia. 434 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:37,519 Well, now we're there, and the people who used to say that are 435 00:35:37,559 --> 00:35:42,719 now learning to speak Russian because that's their hero. Now they would have put 436 00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:45,920 the Ten Commandments in all classmens. Oh. Yes, rugged individualism, where 437 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:47,880 the government doesn't tell you what to do, but it does tell you what 438 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:52,440 kind of sex you cannot have, what kind of people you can't have it 439 00:35:52,519 --> 00:35:55,880 with, and what religions you can't believe in. Michelle Palmer, you ever 440 00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:01,760 feel like one of the handmaids in Gilead? I actually have a handmaid's costume 441 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:09,800 that I protest on the streets with on occasion. It definitely is feeling more 442 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:14,599 and more like Gilead pretty much every day here in the state of Texas. 443 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:19,000 Um. You know, I teach seniors, and I've had a lot of 444 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,159 conversations with my female students, especially about you know, they don't feel safe 445 00:36:23,199 --> 00:36:27,639 here. They don't want to go to college here, trying to find them 446 00:36:28,079 --> 00:36:32,440 colleges that they can get into that are not in a red state. We 447 00:36:32,559 --> 00:36:38,000 have these conversations on a regular basis, and it makes me sad and angry 448 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:42,760 every single time I have to have those conversations, because you know, I 449 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:46,920 almost moved out of state to a blue state for that exact reason. But 450 00:36:47,039 --> 00:36:52,079 I refuse to let them take my state away from me. This is my 451 00:36:52,159 --> 00:36:58,880 state. I am just as Texan as the Trump flag waving crazies that I 452 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,480 see on my way home, and I refuse to let them take from me 453 00:37:04,119 --> 00:37:08,199 what I love. And we will take it back eventually. But they're some 454 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:12,639 of the stuff they are passing, or at least looking at passing. It's 455 00:37:12,679 --> 00:37:17,639 just absolutely crazy. One of the bills is a twenty five thousand dollars stipend 456 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:25,679 to teachers who are willing to be armed quote sentinels on campus. Twenty five 457 00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:30,199 thousand dollars stipend. First of all, I don't trust a single person in 458 00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:34,719 this building to have a weapon. I love my fellow teachers, but no, 459 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:37,559 I don't want that. This all sounds very Sean Hannity. The best 460 00:37:37,599 --> 00:37:43,639 way to prevent school shootings is to have more guns. Do you remember when 461 00:37:43,639 --> 00:37:47,960 Sean Hannity said that had he been in that nightclub in Las Vegas, when 462 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:54,400 the sniper from some unidentified tower, from some hidden window across the street, 463 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:59,599 or maybe two or three buildings away, he's got a completely concealed position nobody 464 00:37:59,599 --> 00:38:01,800 can see, but he's picking out people in the crowd with his high powered 465 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:07,880 rifles. Sean Hannity said that if he had his nine millimeter or whatever the 466 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:10,440 hell it was that he carries his penis extension in his back pocket, that 467 00:38:10,519 --> 00:38:16,880 if he'd been there, he could have saved everybody somehow. Okay, I 468 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:22,239 look at a map of Texas, like a voting map, and I I 469 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:27,880 see more blue than I would expect to see in Texas. What's that about? 470 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:37,760 We're going to talk about it after this. If you would like this 471 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,599 show commercial free, and you'd like it two days early, and you'd like 472 00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:46,480 to support your humble host, please consider becoming a patron. You can just 473 00:38:46,599 --> 00:38:53,239 choose your level of supports and you can go to patreon dot com. Slash 474 00:38:53,360 --> 00:39:00,519 Sath Andrews talking now with Michelle Palmer, Will Judy, and are in Raw 475 00:39:01,039 --> 00:39:09,280 three Texas activists. Will Judy is Texas almost a blue state. I know 476 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:14,719 you've got blue pockets, right, the numbers are closer than one might expect. 477 00:39:15,199 --> 00:39:15,960 Yeah, there we see it, Michelle, and I see it. 478 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:20,880 And I know we've been talking about the ills of both Texas and the nation 479 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:23,480 this whole time. And my energy has been, Okay, I get all 480 00:39:23,679 --> 00:39:28,119 this, what do we do about it? And that's kind of where I 481 00:39:28,159 --> 00:39:30,679 come in. My energy is to do something about this bullshit. And there's 482 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:35,639 there's two ways I want to do it, a political arm and changing hearts 483 00:39:35,639 --> 00:39:38,079 and minds. And the political arm. They get to do this because they're 484 00:39:38,119 --> 00:39:44,440 overrepresented in the legislature. Why are they overrepresented. It's because their side votes 485 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,039 and consistently has voted. And then the more power they get, the more 486 00:39:47,079 --> 00:39:52,559 they get to redistrict, they get to jerrymander, they get to suppress the 487 00:39:52,639 --> 00:39:59,880 vote and as well as two generations of misinformation which goes into voter suppression. 488 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:02,760 So there's a whole side of Texas it just doesn't care. They don't give 489 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:07,920 a shit, And I want them to give a shit and change the makeup 490 00:40:08,079 --> 00:40:12,440 and dilute out the bullshit that's in the Texas legislature. So that's kind of 491 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,039 what I'm trying to do in multiple ways. It's just it's more than get 492 00:40:15,039 --> 00:40:20,960 out the vote. A voting is everyone that's going to listen to the show. 493 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:22,960 I can bet it's going to vote, and that's great, that's but 494 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:28,480 that's basic. I'm trying to teach people that extra things you can do that 495 00:40:28,639 --> 00:40:31,920 everyone can do to affect change. You can do it from the privacy of 496 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:37,480 your own home, and there's multiple ways you can help do something about this. 497 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:39,599 When Dods went away, so many people were like, Oh, ro 498 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:43,039 V Wade is gone. I wish there was something I can do. Well, 499 00:40:43,119 --> 00:40:45,159 there is something you can do. It's gonna take a while, and 500 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:49,079 part of this is just teaching people you have to have patience. It's going 501 00:40:49,159 --> 00:40:52,880 to take two, three, five election cycles to really see change happen, 502 00:40:53,119 --> 00:40:59,119 but it has to start now otherwise they win. You've led me into kind 503 00:40:59,119 --> 00:41:01,760 of my final cap of the show. Can you give me a few specifics 504 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:07,960 because this applies far beyond Texas. What can we do? Yes, there's 505 00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:09,440 a whole list of things I've come up with in the short time I've been 506 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:15,000 in this world. My group Secular Houston, we vet candidates here in the 507 00:41:15,159 --> 00:41:17,719 in Houston, we endorse people and basically we say, hey, these this 508 00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:22,079 list of people aligns with our values, so separation of church and state, 509 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:25,760 okay, with nonbelief, fidelity and science, that kind of thing. We 510 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:29,480 vetted them, We did the work. These people aligned with our values. 511 00:41:29,519 --> 00:41:34,039 Fucking get them elected and just that if you just send them five dollars a 512 00:41:34,079 --> 00:41:37,440 month, if you go outdoor knocking for them, you tell your friends about 513 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,639 them, and it kind of lean on your friends. Hey, these people 514 00:41:39,679 --> 00:41:44,079 are great. Let's get them elected. These friends who otherwise would not vote, 515 00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:46,599 now vote. That is how we effect change. And that's if every 516 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:51,880 all the listeners do that. That's where the grassroots comes in. One blade 517 00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:54,719 of grass isn't gonna do it, but multiple blades of grass. That's that's 518 00:41:54,760 --> 00:42:00,840 grassroots activism. Find someone that you want to give a shit about and give 519 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:04,719 them energy that energies in the form of money or time. The hard part 520 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:07,000 is knowing who you like. And that's kind of why I said, I'm 521 00:42:07,039 --> 00:42:09,519 doing the work. If you align with if you want the world to look 522 00:42:09,559 --> 00:42:15,400 like I wanted to look like, fucking get these people elected. So that 523 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,119 is again, I'm doing the work for people. I'm trying to make it 524 00:42:19,159 --> 00:42:22,280 as easy as possible. The Commandments a bill coming through. It passed the 525 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:25,440 Senate. Now it's in the Texas House. I'm trying to teach people, 526 00:42:25,519 --> 00:42:29,639 all right, it's in the Texas House. This is where we can quote 527 00:42:29,679 --> 00:42:32,599 kill the bill. This is what you can do to lean on your local 528 00:42:32,639 --> 00:42:38,920 representatives, to put pressure on them. If everyone in earshot in Houston does 529 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:44,480 that, and bonus if you tell them you're secular. Now these representatives are 530 00:42:44,880 --> 00:42:49,360 realized, Oh, these secular people are watching, and they exist and they 531 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,360 care about what we're doing. It's been a void before in this area. 532 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,360 But I'm teaching people how to make our voice heard and officially run record. 533 00:42:55,400 --> 00:43:00,159 We being secular people, pay attention to politics and leaning on them. With 534 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:04,440 time, we're going to be a voting block. We're going to be a 535 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:07,719 force here locally. I like when it's possible for us to give testimony before 536 00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:12,599 the Statehouse, I've done that before. You know it. Yep. We 537 00:43:12,679 --> 00:43:16,440 have with American Atheists. We have a statewide advocacy team that is making noise 538 00:43:16,559 --> 00:43:20,920 in Austin and the legislature. And this is a very active time. This 539 00:43:21,079 --> 00:43:24,760 session is in session is going on now and where you can give a testimony, 540 00:43:25,159 --> 00:43:29,719 and unfortunately they give you a really small window like with a data advance, 541 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:31,639 and if they make it as hard, they make it really difficult. 542 00:43:32,119 --> 00:43:37,639 But we're looking for someone physically in the Austin San Antonio area. They can 543 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:42,599 just up and go give testimony, because physical testimony in front of the committee 544 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:46,639 is actually very powerful. I like the idea where we don't just curse the 545 00:43:46,719 --> 00:43:50,159 darkness, right, We've got to spread some light. I know it's a 546 00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:54,440 cliche, but it's also true. Michelle Palmer, how can people get involved? 547 00:43:54,840 --> 00:44:00,360 Just about every major city in Texas has an education advocacy group of some 548 00:44:00,400 --> 00:44:06,159 sort. Here in Euston we have Community Voices for Public Education. Dallas has 549 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:12,719 won as well, and you know those are there to help specifically about education 550 00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:17,599 related bills. And Will was so amazingly eloquently talking about, you know, 551 00:44:17,639 --> 00:44:23,760 all the things you can do, and you cannot forget those education positions because 552 00:44:24,119 --> 00:44:31,159 whoever controls education, especially what the teachers teach, is going to control the 553 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:38,039 narrative and the ability of students and in the future to critically think and reason 554 00:44:38,639 --> 00:44:46,159 for themselves. Right. Literally, The Texas GOP platform from twenty twenty two 555 00:44:46,559 --> 00:44:53,360 had a plank against critical thinking skills in high school. I'm sorry, I'm 556 00:44:53,400 --> 00:45:00,800 sorry, I'm sorry against critical thinking. They posted the same thing twelve. 557 00:45:00,199 --> 00:45:05,719 We are against critical thinking. We are against teaching higher order thinking skills that 558 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:15,039 would challenge that parental authority and students fixed beliefs or rental rights as the newcash 559 00:45:15,039 --> 00:45:17,920 phrase they use that language. I'm not calling anybody a liar. I'm just 560 00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:23,599 saying they said we don't want people to critically think. Literally, those words 561 00:45:23,639 --> 00:45:30,280 are in their platform. So if we do not take back the state Board 562 00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:32,400 of Education, I don't even know how long it's been since we had control 563 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:36,719 of it, but it's been a long time, you know, then they 564 00:45:36,719 --> 00:45:42,719 control all of that. They control it and make it so that our voting 565 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:47,800 percentage is the lowest in the country. Texas has the lowest percentage of turnout 566 00:45:49,079 --> 00:45:54,360 in the country, and it's because our education system is not good. We 567 00:45:54,480 --> 00:45:59,559 do not teach our students how to register to vote, that they have to 568 00:45:59,599 --> 00:46:04,239 register to vote, how to go vote, how to find out where to 569 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:07,519 go vote, how to look up candidates and figure out which one of them 570 00:46:07,639 --> 00:46:15,239 best fits you. It's horrifying. We require teaching of government to graduate high 571 00:46:15,239 --> 00:46:20,039 school. But it's not a great curriculum. Maybe they just have been watching 572 00:46:20,079 --> 00:46:23,760 Ted Cruz and they faced upon themselves into unconsciousness and that's why we haven't seen 573 00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:28,519 them at the points. Someone explained, I gotta finish the show. Someone 574 00:46:28,599 --> 00:46:32,159 explained Ted Cruz to me, like, aren't Texans even looking at this guy? 575 00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:37,000 Going? Wow? That human costume must be really uncomfortable, right, 576 00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:42,480 I mean, does Texas like Ted Cruz? How's he still in there? 577 00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:46,440 I've never met anyone who liked Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz's family doesn't like Ted 578 00:46:46,519 --> 00:46:52,440 Cruz. And there was a Senator Al Franken who said that I liked Ted 579 00:46:52,519 --> 00:46:57,320 Cruz more than my Republican associates like Ted Cruz, and I hate Ted. 580 00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:05,519 Let's end with proaction. I've talked to the other two guests are in raw 581 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:08,880 What would you encourage people to do to be a part of a solution in 582 00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:14,280 Texas or beyond? Well, I do a show in the raw Man podcast 583 00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:20,239 is all about celebrating people who actually are doing something right. And I had 584 00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:22,960 to become an activist. I had to be involved myself. I had to 585 00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:25,599 give testimony. I started my YouTube channel just so that I could give small 586 00:47:25,639 --> 00:47:30,039 snippets of information to people that I knew were misinformed by the religious right, 587 00:47:30,079 --> 00:47:36,000 by the propaganda machine. So I'm using the social media network to get out 588 00:47:36,039 --> 00:47:39,480 the information that you can look up and verify in a moment, be physically 589 00:47:39,599 --> 00:47:43,639 on the steps of the state capitol holding a picket sign. I've done that 590 00:47:43,679 --> 00:47:46,039 over and over again. And people do need to be directly involved. If 591 00:47:46,039 --> 00:47:49,960 you can run for public office, do so. I would love to see 592 00:47:50,039 --> 00:47:53,880 Will's face on a political poster, wouldn't that be look at that the man. 593 00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:59,239 He's not the hero we deserve, but he is the hero we need. 594 00:48:00,519 --> 00:48:06,039 Judy, you would have my vote. I would sneak into Texas and 595 00:48:06,239 --> 00:48:09,840 fake citizenship to vote for you. Don't say that they'll take you seriously. 596 00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:19,920 R and Row, Will, Judy, and Michelle Palmer three Texas secular people 597 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:25,639 who are on the front lines for education, for advocacy, or humanism or 598 00:48:25,639 --> 00:48:30,119 state church separation, and for sanity. And I'm so glad for the perspective. 599 00:48:30,159 --> 00:48:34,440 I'm so glad you're down there doing the work. Keep us in the 600 00:48:34,519 --> 00:48:37,840 loop and let's talk again soon. Okay, thank you for having us on. 601 00:48:37,119 --> 00:48:39,760 Yes, thank you. It was a pleasure, Thanks a guess anytime. 602 00:48:40,199 --> 00:48:45,519 Follow The Thinking Atheist on Facebook and Twitter for a complete archive of podcasts 603 00:48:45,519 --> 00:48:50,639 and videos, products like mugs and t shirts featuring the Thinking Atheist logo, 604 00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:54,880 links to atheist pages and resources, and details on upcoming free thought events and 605 00:48:54,960 --> 00:49:02,039 conventions. Log onto our website, The Thinking Atheist. Don't com