American Enough

Unpacking the role of America’s moral authority in shaping democracies around the world with former White House communications & press advisor Kevin Xu…

Myanmar has seen a massive shift to democracy in recent years, but is being accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide against an ethnic minority in the region. Just a few years prior, Kevin Xu helped planned President Obama’s trip to Myanmar, in which the US praised the country’s shift to a democracy but Obama also cautioned that violence against those having different beliefs would cripple their ability to grow into a true democratic state.

Xu unpacks the role of America’s moral authority in shaping democracies around the world and confronting genocides, and how the relationship America has with its own media is impacting the effectiveness of that moral authority.

Kevin Xu is a former White House communications and press advisor who helped plan President Obama’s trip to Myanmar, a country which is now embroiled with accusations of condoning genocide. He also advised the former Secretary of Commerce during the Obama Administration, and is a recent graduate of Stanford Law School.

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Why President Trump’s statements on NFL player protests are not American enough…

In the last 24 hours. President Trump has criticized members and players of the National Football League who refuse to stand for the National Anthem all while dumping on NBA Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry as well as NBA star LeBron James.

Wouldn’t you love to see one of these owners of the NFL Trump decried when somebody disrespects our flag to get that son of the bitch off the field right now? Tell him he’s fired.

These were our president’s exact words to considerable applause from an overwhelmingly white crowd. Total disrespect of our heritage, President Trump said, a total disrespect of everything that we stand for everything that we stand for. President Trump said. As though the individuals that choose to exercise their right to free speech and their ability to captivate an entire audience and encourage them to think about some harsh words that have been clouding the climate of racial equality in this country as though they themselves do not stand for the same heritage of our country.

President Trump we have an ability to stitch together the moral authority of this country to be the best type of American we can ever be one who stands for purpose one who welcomes those from all backgrounds and one who actually recognizes and honors the institution of the White House to be a force for good rather than a force for division. And when you have individuals who otherwise don’t fixate or focus on the policy or political rhetoric of our day but rather the grip of a football in their hands —  when you have those individuals that choose to speak out call attention to some issue and captivate their whole base of fan followers Instagram friends Facebook likes  — all of them to start thinking about challenging issues social issues that construct the American identity to call them out and say that they do not stand for the same heritage that you and I have been privileged to experience in our time as citizens of this country is not American enough and it does not value the institution of this White House.

Instead it starts to erode the moral authority in which we no longer welcome an individual to exercise his or her’s right. The First Amendment right to civic disobedience means that we do not welcome an institution in which anyone who pooh-poohs the standing of this president or wants to call on issues that are uncomfortable or maybe wants to call out a stance that maybe this administration disagrees with —  it means that we no longer welcome them inside the White House. But a reminder to every employee at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue —  that’s the people’s house. The ability to come there and go there yes is curated perhaps by your team and your staff and vetted and verified by the Secret Service to come in. But the ability to actually inform what that house look like looks like, what it means, what it stands for. That is an American effort  — not solely the right of the 4000 employees of your West Wing.

On Saturday morning President President Trump actually tweeted to NBA star Steph Curry saying that going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. And this was in regards to the NBA ballplayer saying that he was a little hesitant about wanting to go for a variety of reasons — most notably recent comments made almost condoning the actions of neo-Nazis that showed up in Charlottesville just a few weeks ago. But when President Trump continued to tweet about the matter he disinvited the player which then stoked some follow on response from NBA superstar LeBron James and he continued to say that everyone should stand for a national anthem and everyone should continue to, you know, make sure that they leave politics off the field. So these players only hit back and then he hit back. This back and forth repertoire is not uncommon under this administration.

And while I genuinely believe to all of our listeners here at American Enough that there are far more pressing matters in this country matters of health care urgent matters affecting the global stage in the way that we’re ratcheting up the rhetoric with North Korea —  matters of making sure that our working class and our middle class has access to their needs. All of these matters are very very very very important for our consideration and they extend far beyond the consideration of culture wars being stoked by an individual president.

But at the end of the day we have to be mindful of what’s happening here. We have a president that’s using the moral authority of his office  — of our office, the people’s office, the Oval Office — to start calling people in the NFL. A majority of whom are black Americans who captivate the imagination of not only aspiring kids who want to play on the field but also fans that are looking to unwind and cheer on a common theme and a common team calling them sons of bitches, telling owners to kick them off the field, simply because they are taking a stance . All while condemning them for not acknowledging the same heritage that we all know that we’ve shared together and we’ve been formed together  — that is a very dangerous thing. And while health care deserves our attention, the middle class, simplifying our tax code, making sure our teachers have the right resources in the classroom —  while all of those are really really critical matters.

This can’t be ignored because the very concept of a notion that in some way exercising your First Amendment right disrespects heritage foregoes the fact that even if we lived in a colorblind society this would be anything less than dangerous. Our brave soldiers, they don’t fight and die so everyone has to stand during the anthem. Frankly they were out there battling enemies that disagree with an open and free and transparent democracy so people can have the choice and the right to make a choice about how they want to express their sentiment. That is the most American way. That is the most American attitude one in which we are allowed to make clear that our sensibility our  patriotism, our ability to be uniquely American, is that we can speak out and draw attention to issues that may arise discomfort  — so we don’t live in a colorblind society.

Slavery sets in the founding roots of America and the goal of racial equality means a goal. It is not an achievement. It is a fluid point that continues to be a shifting target not just informed by this administration but rather the notion of our entire history and brick by brick. We try, as President Obama would often say, to make a more perfect union but that continues to bend over time  — and that does not just rest on the shoulders of Donald Trump or Barack Obama or any president we’ve had or any leader or Black Lives Matter or any neo-Nazi. That responsibility didn’t form that entire debate rests squarely with us. The people the Americans who are bold enough to take a stance and speak out and say a few things and say things that are on their mind.

Now of course there may be plenty of individuals out there who can rationalize the fact that keeping politics off of the field making sure that a pure sport. Making sure that our kids can show up and they can show up encouraged to play encouraged to work hard to learn lessons of teamwork. They don’t need to be sullied or dilute that experience doesn’t need to be diluted with political rhetoric. And you know what. That’s an understandable argument but at the end of the day the reason this matters is because the argument needs to be had.

But the argument is not coming with the right sense of moral authority from the one place who is who institutionally is best equipped to manage that argument. And that’s from the White House. This coded language in which we tell a majority of athletes who happen to be black that play in a certain league that they don’t sh...

What Should America’s Health System Look Like?

Vikrum speaks with Emma Sandoe (profile), who previously worked for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services serving as the Medicaid spokesperson and working on HealthCare.gov communications as well as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Center.  She also worked in the Department of Health and Human Services Budget Office as the Affordable Care Act coordinator and at the Center for American Progress.

The Capitol Hill health care fight sure seemed dead. After Republican proposals to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, failed to pass a Republican-controlled Congress, lawmakers looked poised to move on to other topics, like a tax overhaul. But this week, proposals from both the left and the right are grabbing headlines. (Meanwhile, some members are also wrangling over how they can stabilize Obamacare.)

On Wednesday came a “Medicare for All” bill from Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders — his attempt to push single-payer health care, long one of his favorite causes. In a Wednesday op-ed in the New York Times, the former presidential candidate wrote about single-payer health care as a moral issue, giving it his familiar populist framing.

“We remain the only major country on earth that allows chief executives and stockholders in the health care industry to get incredibly rich, while tens of millions of people suffer because they can’t get the health care they need,” he wrote. “This is not what the United States should be about.”

Sandoe earned a Masters in Public Health from George Washington University and attended UC San Diego for undergraduate studies. Sandor is currently a PhD candidate in the Harvard Program in Health Policy studying Political Analysis.

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Host Vikrum Aiyer addresses call-in questions and comments from listeners in a town hall style conversation on everything from FEMA, equality, positivity in politics, cultural variety, whether we are regressing as countrymen, and what it means to be an American.

Call in with your question or comment for future town hall episodes to 844-484-5786.

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Who defines how forceful American rhetoric has to be when we talked to our adversaries or allies around the world?

Today we spoke with former Pentagon Speechwriter to the Secretary of Defense, Kevin Sammy (bio), about how a shift in the words we use with North Korea can redefine our foreign policy doctrine; and can beg the question of how far our allies need to go to remain American Enough to our President. ​

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When an immigrant is told they’re not American enough to come to this country, stay in this country, or thrive in this country — how does the promise etched into the Statue of Liberty hold true? Our President RAISEd  this very question last week, by endorsing a set of immigration proposals that try to measure the likelihood of an individual succeeding or not in this grand American experiment. So what are his metrics?

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Gautam Raghavan, LGBT Advisor to President Barack Obama, speaks on President Trump’s planned ban of transgenders in the US military…

Vikrum Aiyer interviews Gautam Raghavan, former LGBT Advisor to President Barack Obama, and Pentagon White House Liaison who helped oversee the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and worked on implementing the rule enabling transgender service members to openly serve our country. Raghavan discusses the thinking behind President Trump’s TransBan, and shares his views on what it means to be American Enough to Serve God & Country.

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President Trump and the Boy Scouts, the Health Care vote, and American leadership…

As he travels, Vikrum Aiyer makes time to reflect on President Trump’s polarizing speech to the Boy Scouts, the  story-in-the-making vote on Health Care, and considerations for effective leadership in the United States.

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Why President Trump’s response to the shooting at the GOP baseball practice mattered as an example of how unity must be beyond the moment of tragedy…

While en route to a meeting, Vikrum Aiyer comments on how division fuels conflict,  how Americans stand well shoulder to shoulder in times of tragedy but must do great in the moments in between those difficult events, and how we must be better together.

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There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.

This summer, MouthMedia™ Network will launch “American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office. If political commentary, having your say, and America matter to you — you’re going to love this podcast.

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