Citizens Prerogative Podcast Closed Caption Transcript
S3 E60 A Time for Reasoned Choices

10:30:15 In times like these. Being a citizen is a big job.
10:30:18 Thank you for joining us to celebrate the virtues of self-rule, and to be the state of our Republic.
10:30:24 Welcome to the citizens prerogative podcast This is the voice of your nerdy host, Michael Piscatelli, and we are in inspired by a co-host whose passion for our republic precedes him. everywhere.
10:30:37 He goes. Raymond Wong, Jr.
10:30:47 Thank you thank you, and I feel like i'm here for a reason today, and i'm here this time
10:30:56 This is Episode Number 60. We are still in season 3 and what we're going to be talking about today.
10:31:04 I'll give you the title of the episode that usually gives it all away.
10:31:08 It's a time for reasoned choices and we're gonna take reason.
10:31:15 Choices down a very specific path, although it's a very broad topic that comes to us from philosophy.
10:31:25 What we're gonna be delving into specifically around recent choices is how the power of faction can bring the demise of a republic, namely, our Republic, the one where chiefly primarily concerned about these days.
10:31:41 I. Ideology is never a good substitute for reasoned choice, and even worse.
10:31:49 When I ideology is wielded by a authoritarian bullies
10:31:57 Just as Presidents. Lincoln and Grant had feared.
10:32:03 You know we always try to hearken back to our history there's always warnings.
10:32:09 Rhyming, I think, was the lovely phrase Raymond used in one of our recent episodes.
10:32:15 They had a fear that the greatest threat to our Republic, maybe, or would be from within.
10:32:23 They wonder, you know, whether or not we would be able to maintain the people's hold unself rule the we the people, and even though in their minds at the time we the people was a different segmentation of our population
10:32:39 the promise has always been embedded that we the people is not specific and it's really, when you read the constitution inclusive of all citizens born or naturalized, i'm not going to leave that one behind will we be able
10:32:56 to have, as President Adams said, a government of laws and not of men.
10:33:17 Technical note. I I might unmute keeps getting stuck.
10:33:21 Oh!
10:33:25 You know, when we look back at history, I I think it's important that public schools is something we start thinking about.
10:33:33 Everyone can probably relate that their public schools are in a terrible state They're underfunded.
10:33:38 Classrooms are jammed. Why would I go there?
10:33:41 But the public school system was designed primarily to ensure that citizens had the basics to be active, engaged members of society.
10:33:54 It was supposed to prop up that, and civics basic civics. and teaching people to understand how the government works and the benefits it has was a primary piece of the education system as a established.
10:34:07 Now they've been unable to win the vote on on the more extremist sides of our country.
10:34:17 So they, instead are jumping into these systems and blowing them up from the inside out.
10:34:20 You know they're hollowing them out they're not giving teachers the leverage they need to help your children create or be creative.
10:34:32 And that's methodical, because the more you hold back people's ability to think and reason Why am I making this choice?
10:34:40 Why do I even care what this strong man or woman says?
10:34:45 Why does this person have any say in my life? Well, first you have to understand the value of your own life?
10:34:53 And that takes reason itself. That takes a core, reasoning every day to understand that.
10:34:58 Yes, my voice matters. Yes, i'm part of the greater good and yes, I have a say.
10:35:04 But guess what every structure we're part of doesn't enable that, and the public schools don't have the time to foster that, and that that's been methodical I think more than ever ladies and gentlemen it seems clear
10:35:19 that they dumped money into propaganda on one side and underfund.
10:35:25 Education to to to support that propaganda right it's an endless cycle.
10:35:33 I have to agree, a dirth of civics, a lack of like innate awareness or understanding that we, the people, are supposed to be writing the laws through our representatives.
10:35:47 People feel so divorced from the system and and there's lots of reasons why I think we've articulated many over time.
10:35:56 But concerted. Yeah, certainly in a way and the results are people don't believe voting counts, and there's a lot of reasons now why they should have new reasons propaganda wise.
10:36:09 To try and believe that their vote doesn't count but at the end of the day we can't have a republic we won't be ruled by laws.
10:36:16 If we just let others these selected. you know what we think.
10:36:22 However, these people are getting selected it's it's through elections. but people there's like this disconnect that's like Oh, no matter what I do, no matter how I vote Whoever has been chosen is going to
10:36:32 be placed into office, and i'm going to be left behind and that's a fundamental flaw.
10:36:42 That's been introduced through this blowing up of our education system at a fundamental level on top of all the propaganda. right?
10:36:51 So even if you went through school at some point and you didn't learn about civics, it's probably going to get washed over many times by all this propaganda that raise talking about so it's a it's
10:37:02 a very difficult environment to operate, and and the only way to navigate these sees is to have reason.
10:37:11 The whole system is based on reason. It was built on reason.
10:37:14 They may want to call themselves enlightened I don't think we go that far anymore, but it was reason and law
10:37:25 So let's just talk a little bit about What other republics looked like at the time of their own demise.
10:37:32 This is a bit of a warning, and it may feel a little repetitious, but we feel like it's worth repeating.
10:37:41 So first thing we want to throw out there is considering the former Weinemar Republic in Germany, and I think we've brought this up maybe tangently in the past.
10:37:50 The essentially it brought its own, brought about its own demise.
10:37:54 It enabled a party to come to power that converted it into a dictatorship.
10:38:01 The heads of their conservative party. the the people that were in power trusted that a gentleman, a very passionate gentlemen with a very hateful message Adolf Hitler wouldn't run them up.
10:38:17 He was gonna be some kind of technocrat, and you know what happened there.
10:38:24 They thought they could control him. The head of the party who was able to select the Prime Minister whatever the title was selected him, thinking he'll be a good puppet.
10:38:38 That's a historical thing that keeps happening right We even the United States Government has been guilty of placing people in power, thinking they do well, right. The we don't talk about in our history. books.
10:38:53 We probably should make it more interesting. but you need funding for that that all these times we've tried to prop up these governments, or put our own person in, and it's fabled us you cannot trust strong men you cannot trust the loud
10:39:08 as person in the room. it's a shortcut that doesn't work.
10:39:15 It's not easier and it doesn't work to anybody's benefit.
10:39:18 So now we still have you know, saudi Arabia and all these things right.
10:39:21 We've gotpped up so many regimes not even to go back to Chili and all the revolutions we inspired to take down democratically elected governments, because it was better for business to have a strong arm at the
10:39:37 top. that's another episode. let's talk about Julius Caesar.
10:39:45 You know we look back to Rome as one of the inspiring Hmm.
10:39:51 Or the best parts of Rome, I would say, is helping to inspire the good bits and the parts to avoid.
10:39:57 In so structuring our system. The Republic in the United States.
10:40:02 Julia Caesar was feared to be a tyrannical dictator, with eyes on establishing a monarchy instead of the representative democratic system that they had in place up until that point time, as a
10:40:15 result he was assassinated by the fearful and ultimately I'm Monarchy was established by his nephew.
10:40:25 They brought into fruition the thing that they feared the most, and is, it turned out evidence later, would show that Julius Caesar had no intention of replacing the Roman republic with a monarchy.
10:40:41 Lastly, on this list, just to bring it to a current state.
10:40:46 Russia. Russia is technically her republic. as is Iran like we've mentioned before, Iran had a religious revolution.
10:40:56 But how did Putin install himself for unlimited terms, taking control of a party rigging elections, using fear and anger, and then changing the laws legitimately through that system?
10:41:11 After being elected to keep him in power. This happened under our watch, and in our lifetimes.
10:41:21 Is it the classic trope of ignorance is bliss that allows you to sit back and think that this doesn't affect you.
10:41:32 But as we see all kinds of price instability instability for our friends and families in Europe, and in Russia and in Ukraine everyone is being affected by our inability to hold people. accountable our it's the the same
10:41:52 central that you use to dismiss or say it doesn't affect you is the same energy center you need to redirect.
10:42:00 That's that reasoning right we've just turned it off your reasoning center is asleep.
10:42:06 People check in with the news and You Say It doesn't affect me because it's 5 miles away, and you move on with your life, and your reasoning is still there.
10:42:14 It's just become extremely extremely un amused with anything outside of what is affecting you at that moment.
10:42:22 If it's not poking you in the back but eventually right we may have it at that point.
10:42:28 There are crazy people with dangerous weapons and it can affect you if it goes to far, and accountability is the way to save all of us, and i'll just, I maybe said it before.
10:42:45 But every day at work we use re reason for the most part, and we, we say things are not fair.
10:42:50 We would stand up for ourselves if our boss said go in the basement and work with no lights.
10:42:56 I don't know if anybody's dealing with that but there are laws about even the lumens that should be in an office.
10:43:03 We're at a point now, an inflection point where you can apply that same accountability and reason that you do to your your workplace and your buildings.
10:43:12 You live in. We have a minimum expectation of accountability that's kind of weak.
10:43:19 Just imagine if we push it up a level to those at the top.
10:43:24 But I guess it starts at home right? Be accountable to yourself to leverage that epicenter of reason.
10:43:31 Yeah, it begins with each of us. hmm! We only have control over our own thoughts and actions.
10:43:38 We have no control of anything beyond that, and so that's where we need to focus our reason. And I wanna also bring up the idea of thinking critically about things not accepting anything.
10:43:53 And everything as gospel, because we agree with it, you fundamentally based on reason.
10:43:59 You have to understand that all humans are flawed, and all humans are motivated in one way or another by something potentially selfish.
10:44:08 You need to use reason. understand the bias, the perspective? Where are these angles coming from today?
10:44:18 People are just eating this stuff. up. like junk food they're they don't care about how good bad it is for them, and that's unreasonable.
10:44:29 Reason requires you to take what makes sense and leave behind what doesn't to be critical enough to understand when there is one truth and 20 lies embedded in a message that is I think today one of the core components of reason
10:44:46 that we are severely ignoring within ourselves
10:44:55 Just to bring it home on the last topic about the seeds of descent and the potential death of our Republic.
10:45:09 Not so far from home within our own nation in our history within people's lifetimes.
10:45:15 People are still alive who have experienced the seeds of this authoritarianism under our Constitution.
10:45:25 So much is possible and that's why it's so dangerous right? We can just look at the history of what the Constitution was leveraged or used to implement and see going back is no place any of us wants to live these were the sort
10:45:45 of systems that existed in the good old days of the antebellum Southern gentry.
10:45:51 I mean i'm gonna end up picking on the south But it's really just about this confederate idealism around the liberty to own other people and control their people's lives.
10:46:00 This was a time when patriarchy and slavery reigned supreme.
10:46:06 There was only in certain states. one very small small minority of ken is carrying like complexed humans that had all the power.
10:46:19 And not only do they have power even if they didn't have power.
10:46:23 They had the promise of power, and that kept them going and upholding this disgusting set of principles.
10:46:33 Somehow history has repeated itself or rhymed along these lines on several occasions.
10:46:40 In each case the group that identified with relatively conservative ideologies wanting to restore things, became most concerned with conserving their own power.
10:46:52 These are easy to find these people in these ideologies because they're ruled by greed envy and hate And you I I do wanna put in some sympathy here, too, because there is this group of people that have a
10:47:13 lot of power have a lot of money but don't experience a lot of love, right?
10:47:19 So when we think about these individuals who are judging us, why do we march?
10:47:25 Why do we care? Why do we activate as citizens Why don't we just stay home and and eat our food?
10:47:32 And watch our Tvs that we're manufactured for us It becomes quite clear that there is an obsession with us just doing the things we've been given, and nothing more.
10:47:47 You have been given your methods to benefit the economy like the old factory.
10:47:53 So I I stress out when when people are surprised that we've only moved 5 inches to the left of the antebellum south right?
10:48:04 This decorum that we use in our board rooms.
10:48:07 And these rules of engagement when we're talking to our leaders, even in the corporate world, all of these mechanisms of propriety comes from that expectation of some people deserve to be controlled, and that methodology is part of
10:48:23 our heritage. So So when you when you speak of that you know it, really it really it just brought it back to me that it's something that's important to remember that we're all affected by it considerably consistently this
10:48:37 episode might go over, but it's really important you touched on something I was discussing recently around generational wealth.
10:48:45 I haven't seen the show succession but science should us that the brain is incapable of experiencing things.
10:48:54 It doesn't learn how to experience and in generational wealthy families generation over generation.
10:49:02 I believe things like love empathy. the things that really connect us to humanity. get washed away generation over generation, because it's a group of people that are coddled by nothing but their own money and the people around them, who
10:49:17 are dependent on that money, and so their entire sense of morals gets completely warped.
10:49:25 I mean they're raising children where instead of love and empathy and understanding our common condition as humans they're concerned with the nest egg.
10:49:38 They do not experience love. they do not have the sense of love, and they have no concept of love
10:49:50 Move on from that digression. but i'll try and find some of the studies that help support that argument.
10:50:00 Well, I can tell you right now. Do you read the book?
10:50:03 Live wire by David in the wind excuse me Eagleman.
10:50:07 It's all core. core of it isn't there and that's that's some of the latest science that's come out of this.
10:50:14 So. I can only highly recommend that our whole system of governance was designed with checks and balances intended to for this dark capacity for hey?
10:50:24 That lurks within the mal mal intent of those giving into selfish desires those who would assert power from the people and retain it from themselves as a majority.
10:50:41 Those of us who don't have generational wealth power etc.
10:50:49 We, the people, the majority, do not have the advantages of being wealthy, or her of even being like complexed.
10:50:59 In more cases than not, we should be making making reason.
10:51:04 Choices. from that perspective our common shared condition as humans.
10:51:09 Regardless of the divisions we've been told exist among us. The parties blind us to what we have in common, so that they can have a competitive advantage to guide moving votes towards our winner.
10:51:23 Take all system, our republic, and its capacity to support our common good through liberty and justice for all, requires all of us to acknowledge it within ourselves, and make reasoned choices even every day for us for our families, and
10:51:40 for I guess the dose of history less than I always like to give.
10:51:48 Is that the the founders, who are often put on a pedestal improperly.
10:51:55 Idealized, which shouldn't be done by most of the religious groups that are really focused on patriotism right now.
10:52:03 But they made a huge mistake. They They still structured us as a serfdom in a lot of ways.
10:52:10 They did not get away from the baronship and the landowner and the male.
10:52:17 Only second class citizen structure. We had third class, fourth class at that point.
10:52:20 The way they set us up. at the beginning was flawed.
10:52:26 The system needs work. We've got to lean in and say Oops.
10:52:30 That's right We we form this country with slavery obviously obviously people weren't using their full brains yet in the room here.
10:52:44 Here it's time for a message from our sponsor citizen, do good as misinformation swirls in the cloud, and we hear the gears of hate and drumby of lies grow louder in the distance we
10:52:57 must fully recognize and commit ourselves to the fact that self-rule requires unrelenting vigilance and unwavering persistence that puts principle and reason above greed and hate, We place our faith in
10:53:13 self-rule as the means to fulfill the promise of freedom and justice for us all.
10:53:18 The time is now to deeply re-examine ourselves and our implementation of governance for the dawning of a new day.
10:53:26 We are proud sponsor of the Citizens prerogative, podcast a major partner in spreading the good word about civic love and the power of change for us all.
10:53:36 The citizen do good. We want to empower all citizens to participate in their republic in a reconstructive way.
10:53:44 With that goal in mind. We need your help to stay on mission and grow this community.
10:53:48 Pick up some goodies from our shop at Citizen Do goodcom like a clippy t-shirt, a mug, or a bomber jacket.
10:53:56 You can also add some good will to your cart with a one time contribution as little as $20.
10:54:01 Go a long way. You can go even further with a recurring contribution through Patreon, and receive patron benefits.
10:54:14 Feel free to share any suggestions you have directly through the contact.
10:54:17 Us. Page. Thanks for your support.
10:54:23 When I think about how we have this option to choose how long we spend on thinking through things, you know, I think in this world things move so quickly.
10:54:43 Information kind of suggested. to you it's directed you you you have a choice whether you can accept what's coming at you at 90 miles per hour. I think what's hard for most, of us and even myself.
10:54:55 Is when you stop and you reflect you. you have to look at what you did wrong, too.
10:55:01 So I know that going into reason, this space, the scariest thing is when you really dive into it.
10:55:08 You also think about. Oh, what I said wasn't the best I know to this day I still look back at my conversations, and I look at the failures.
10:55:16 I look at where I probably offended that person, and I look at how I could be better.
10:55:22 And if someone says something, I don't agree with it could be so extreme, I still sit back and think.
10:55:28 How am I wrong here? as one of the questions I ask myself and That's a very vulnerable place, so I want to, You know, Respect everyone's vulnerability and and what it takes to go here.
10:55:42 It's not like it's easy it's not like you turn a note or turn it, turn a button but the first thing you meet when you were work in this space is yourself.
10:55:51 And it's it's a tough space to operate in so so be patient.
10:55:56 Thank you for that. Being critical of ourselves. is the beginning I think I I may have projected being critical of you know the information coming in, but you're exactly right.
10:56:09 We we have to have the capacity to be critical of our own thoughts, to accept and allow other thoughts to land and to compare it against our current values or perspectives, because we're all carrying bias.
10:56:22 We're all carrying all kinds, of things that we may not have acknowledged that are driving us in a direction that is not fruitful for our lives, or for the common, good.
10:56:33 And it is difficult. It is a practice. it is something that I don't think anybody has ever fully achieved.
10:56:41 I think it's just something we should always we always have to strive for, and it is it is very difficult. but it does take some skills right not to beat yourself up.
10:56:53 You know you you learn a lesson you identify if you've made a mistake.
10:56:57 You learn a lesson You change your ways, going forward that's all that's in our power.
10:57:04 You know we can't undo the past and we can't control the future, and we can't control anything outside of our own thoughts and actions.
10:57:11 And so it all begins in that self-examination and developing that self-awareness in your own thoughts and actions.
10:57:17 And you know all of your actions have resulted in a life that makes you sad.
10:57:22 Then that's something to examine. maybe We act a lot less insane, and repeat the same things a little less often.
10:57:30 Take a moment to examine critically the results were getting with the means we're using
10:57:40 With that we've already slid into our calls to action. So I'm gonna go through these use your use your reason choice to set aside any dogma or ideologies for a moment.
10:57:53 And consider the facts of the matter. If if there are I mean I hope there's some facts in something you're being exposed to, and then you need to consider the people you know you choose to be your representatives or the people you
10:58:09 choose to give you information. you know some of it. They have their own biases, Right?
10:58:14 You have to avoid the narrow minded trap of single issues, and consider the whole of your values in your existence as a human being.
10:58:26 In that same vein. Don't allow the parties to control your choices, be your own person.
10:58:34 Make your own decision, your own reasoned choices. Do your research.
10:58:40 Think for yourself. How can life be better for you? That is also better for us all.
10:58:47 And then I would add, you're gonna potentially have so much more benefit in your life.
10:58:57 If you let love and grace guide you in this examination, you should develop love for yourself, and grace for yourself, as we all make mistakes.
10:59:07 But when we learn from those lessons and we change our ways, that is a condition of loving yourself, and love is something you can give to others that also comes back to you as you give it, it's it's a very positive action
10:59:24 oriented forward and collaborative way to live life as opposed to hate, greed and envy
10:59:37 We are on the precipice of an important election cycle.
10:59:42 Please do not vote against your own best interests. Consider this: A wealthy person does not need to work for money.
10:59:53 Their money works for them. their time is their own. To choose freely what to do Be critical.
11:00:02 Question these individuals. How is it that they can identify with your life with your experiences, with your values?
11:00:10 They don't even have to spend time working for money Consider again multi general generational wealth, which tends to coddle fools the same as a monarchy.
11:00:25 Would they become cash cows for the buzzards in their midst?
11:00:32 Why vote for a wealthy person who cannot fathom the difficulties, anxieties, and other stresses of the working classes?
11:00:40 That is not a recent choice. Ultimately, whatever you choose, all we can ask you to do, and we hope you will do.
11:00:48 Is, vote, vote for freedom sake for republic's sake and for the sake of our common good.
11:00:55 We, the people, still have a chance to save our republic in actions is really not a choice.
11:01:09 It. This is a time for us to demand the next level of the human experience, not it's the wealthy've had this experience.
11:01:20 They've been doing it for ages the new human experience is one where dignity empowerment, and a base is is the expectation, and we're not even asking for it.
11:01:35 This is something from our early early podcast we would say it's in the Constitution, you know, they didn't tell us what life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness meant but to some people it means having just the right amount of
11:01:47 money, so they can live their life and create or vote or volunteer at the voting place, like whatever you want to do.
11:01:58 That's gonna make you happy the government should enable that and a prosperous government should in turn have prosperous people in a donut circular investment society.
11:02:11 But that's not going to happen unless the government worries not about how many guns are in circulation, but how many voters are in circulation.
11:02:20 It's actually way more powerful as we've seen
11:02:27 On that note. it's a wrap We have been your host, thank you to Mr.
11:02:34 Raymond, Wong, Jr. and thank you to Mr.
11:02:39 Piscatelli. it's truly been a thought practice in time.
11:02:47 It's been something that is for sure for information on this and other episodes have it over to citizen do good com and click on podcast while you're there hit up to contact us page and leave a comment we'd love to
11:02:59 hear from the community special. thanks to you, our listeners, we save the best for last.
11:03:06 You are the best, and you have been for years. Thank you for your support.
11:03:08 We know it can be painful, and we love you. Intro music sampled from Okay class by Ozzy Jock under Creative Commons license through free music, archive org other music provided royalty free through Fisley and