Conversation of Our Generation

Today's episode will be a mailbag episode with 4 really good questions from people in the Conversation of Our Generation community. I really appreciate the feedback I've been getting and wanted to hear what's on people's minds, so I put a call out on Twitter for questions. If you want your question answered, you can submit your question here.

Our society has a problem discussing politics and political ideas, and I think I know the issue. Our country has divided itself on many issues, but that's nothing new. However, nowadays few people have a political philosophy underpinning their beliefs. I think that is at the root of the issue. If we had firm foundations, it would be easier to hear opposing viewpoints. But, when we build our ideas on foundations of sand, we have to stop them from washing away.

Read more here: https://conversationofourgeneration.com/2021/05/07/why-a-political-philosophy-is-important--natural-law-by-lysander-spooner/

Political philosophy is a grounding in how you view the world. Basically, it acts as a framework to which you can attach your ideas. From there, you can build an understanding of the world by attaching new information to the framework. It also gives you a set of first principles for discussing politics.

Buy your copy of Natural Law by Lysander Spooner here>>

Natural law is Aristotle's political philosophy, Locke's political philosophy, and the basis for many other great thinkers. Lysander Spooner's work, Natural Law, is a great way to learn more about how Natural Law operates in a political context. It's a short book, and I think anyone would benefit from reading it. People who do not understand Natural Law, would learn a lot about it, even if they don't believe it from this work.

I adhere to an understanding of Natural Law that the moral truths and political truths are discoverable like science. I also believe in a broad basis of liberty for all men, and think it should be a top priority in political discussions. Also, I have faith in the common people in many ways, as long as they aren't led to believe falsities by the powerful elites. I fall in line with thinkers like Aristotle, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Roger Scruton, and others.

The ideas reflected in the Declaration of Independence are the ideas I discussed above. The Declaration of Independence includes ideas from Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Thomas Paine, and others. It is a call to liberty and justice for all, and laid the groundwork for American self-governance.

Political division has become a serious problem in America. But what is causing this divide between right and left? I discuss that with Ross Benes, author of Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold. In his book, Ross discusses what is causing the political division in the US, and what that means for real people. We'll discuss his views of what's dividing Americans and how we can address it.

Full episode notes here: Political Division in America

A definition for political division that I use is "a situation in a country when people are incapable of coming together to discuss how the country should be run due to excessive partisanship or ideology." We can see this in America today with our inability to have a political discussion.

These partisan divides are nothing new, though. In fact, the first partisan political division in the united states occurred between the federalists and anti-federalists. Or, if you want to include our time as colonies, we had deep divides between the Loyalists and Patriots. Our fervent and lively political dialogue has been a good thing, helping us move forward as a nation. Sadly, in the last few years, we've lost our ability to discuss ideas and do so in a productive way. Ever since the first partisan political division, we've been fighting these battles, but the tactics recently have been a bit out of bounds.

The issue with division is that we ought to have some semblance of unity as a nation. We should be able to see our neighbor as a fellow countryman, even if we disagree.  The fever pitch in American politics today is largely due to a mistrust of our neighbor combined with economic and political trends that hurt some while helping others. We are not supposed to agree on everything, but we should be able to agree to respect each other and live in civil society together.

Benes' book looks at the data and the stories to understand why this is happening. And, I think that is the approach we need. Looking at the data helps us learn about the trends in society at large, but the anecdotes and stories give us a glimpse at the people that underly the statistics. To solve a big problem, we'll need both.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Quotes

134. How to Defend America

Antitrust and Big Tech | Why Conservatives Should Tread Carefully

Fight With Words, Not Fists

119. Book Review | Don’t Burn This Book by Dave Rubin

Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors is a great example of how slapstick comedy in literature can bring life to a story and make it more enjoyable.

"Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious."

Listen to or watch The Use of Comedy in Literature | Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors here: https://conversationofourgeneration.com/2021/04/29/comedy-in-literature--shakespeares-comedy-of-errors/

I sat down with Julie Mastrine to discuss feminism, media bias, culture, and traditional values. She's a writer at @evie_magazine and director of marketing at @allsidesnow, as well as sister of Amy Mastrine, who I interviewed last year. Listen below to hear a great discussion about our culture today. You can find out more about Julie here.

Feminist movements today​ are often very anti-woman. Many of the basic ideas of feminism​ try to make women into men, rather than celebrating women for being women. The history of feminism is very different than the examples of feminism today. However, they do have a lot in common as well. Julie writes a lot about relationships and issues confronting women today. So, we discussed her views on feminism and and why feminism doesn't work.

What are traditional American values? Well, there isn't a list of traditional values I can point to in order to explain what they are, but there are examples of traditional values that can help point you in the right direction. American values are not very traditional, but there are a lot of Americans pushing for a more old school morality. A return to tradition is what young people want, and Julie does a great job at presenting the argument for traditional values in relation to religion and the relationships between men and women.

There are many issues with our media and the biases they hold. If you looked at a media bias chart, you'd see the type of media bias that's most common is left-leaning. Allsides works to promote a fair and unbiased media. There's right-wing bias and left-wing bias, but the problem with media bias is huge in our culture.

Read more: Confronting Feminism and Media Bias with Traditional Values

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Our society is not perfectly just. There are many shortcomings and issues we face as we work toward a more just society. But, we do not know how to tolerate injustice and suffer injustice with grace and nobility. Instead, we focus on ourselves and how we feel about the injustice or unfairness we're suffering.

Who was Polycarp of Smyrna?

Polycarp was a bishop in the early second century who knew the Apostle John and was actually a disciple of his. He also knew Ireneaus, who would have met him when he was young and recorded some of Polycarp's teaching. Of the Church Fathers, Polycarp is one of the more well-documented figures. Read more about him here.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp is actually a letter from the church at Philomelium to the church of Smyrna. In it, you'll find the account of Polycarp's death in a stadium and his arrest. It also details some miraculous events that mirror parts of the Crucifixion story.

The problem with injustice is that it doesn't help to worry about it, but to accept it. There are times where you can fight back, but you have to do that carefully. Our culture is filled with injustice and unfairness that is truly unique to us. Now, we have to learn how to cope with injustice in divorce proceedings, discrimination lawsuits, and much more. The psychological effects of injustice can be hard to cope with.

There are plenty of examples of life being unfair to people. You could point to things that are unfair in school or things that are unfair in the world. You might even think with all the unfair things happening in the world that we can't rectify these injustices. Things like the ones listed below

But, all of these examples of fair and unfair situations don't matter as much as how you handle them.

To let go of injustice, you have to forgive. Forgiveness is not only to help the other person, but to free you as well. In fact, letting go does more for your soul than the other person's. There is a feeling of injustice that you have to overcome and let go of. You have to know how to deal with injustice in the world. That starts at home where you learn to deal with injustice in the family by going through it with the people you love. What's good about that is you get to learn how to deal with this tough situation with people who care about you. But, I think we can learn best about tolerating injustice form people who suffered through severe injustice with grace and dignity.

You may wonder "Why am I obsessed with fairness?" In all likelihood, it's because you grew up in a Christian culture. Athens and Rome shaped our ideas of fairness and justice.

One of the biggest struggles for young men today is how to find their purpose. In a culture that is hostile to men, deeming almost everything "toxic masculinity," it is hard to pursue what's good. However, young men do need to discover their purpose and pursue it. That's why I brought on Josh Hatcher from Manlihood.com and author of Reignite. Josh helps young men with finding purpose and pursuing that.

Finding your purpose and meaning isn't easy, but it really is simple. You have to ask yourself a few tough questions to find purpose and be honest about the answer. Ask yourself questions like:

Those are the sorts o things you need to know to discover your purpose. But, if you don't figure it out early in life, you'll have to do it later or be miserable. Josh tells his story in this interview of finally looking in the mirror and not liking who he was. So, he went on a journey of finding his purpose in midlife, and now shares what he learned through that process

Many men are struggling to find purpose in life and don't know where to look. Our culture is hostile to them and their ambitions. Plus, our culture not only attacks men, but most anything that men enjoy too. So, where is a man to go for finding purpose? Maybe he can look at quotes on finding purpose or do a find your purpose worksheet. But that isn't what we want.

Josh and I discussed this and how men are still needed in our culture - maybe more than ever. Now, that's not because men are better, but because we need both sexes to play an active role in society. Right now we lack a strong presence of good and virtuous men.

Finding Purpose As A Man In A Culture Hostile To Masculinity

Privacy is a major concern right now as big tech runs rampant, doing whatever it pleases. So, how do we protect our rights to privacy and property from the greedy and intrusive hands of big tech? That's what I'll discuss today, and why you should tune in.

Privacy and Property Rights

The right to privacy and the right to property are both crucial to liberty. And due to big tech, the ways we defend these rights has become more complex. It may have been harder to defend property when you really had to fight, but it was simple. Privacy was easy and simple to protect as well. But, due to all the innovations in technology, protecting each of these rights is harder. Despite the difficulty, we need to innovate and find ways to protect our property and our privacy in the digital age.

Privacy and Big Tech

Big tech is one of the biggest reasons why we need better protections. They constantly pull our data and sell that to third parties. I discussed some of the issues with big tech in my recent episodes on antitrust and property rights. The biggest issue with big tech is the lack of transparency. As you go about your business, you don't know what data they're collecting or how they're using it. That's why we need laws to help us protect our rights from the infringements of big tech.

Privacy Laws

The constitutional right to privacy exists because of the penumbras and emanations, as you can find out here. But, there is a right to privacy inasmuch as we are able to decide how much of ourselves we put forward into society. There are data privacy laws to help, but they need to be updated. Most of what we have to protect us is in need of improvement, and we need both political and technological solutions.

How We Handle Big Tech in the Digital Age

If we want to get ahead of the curve, we need to innovate. And, we need to fight on multiple fronts: both the political and the technological. Because big tech and government continue to infringe on our rights, we must take action to protect them. That's why I wrote my book, Property Rights in the Digital Age, which you can get a sneak peek here. We need to see the trends that led us here and how we go forward.

Full Episode: How to Protect Privacy and Property from Big Tech

Youtube: https://youtu.be/E_TCtywIqI8

I had the chance to sit down and speak with Ashley Baker, an expert in antitrust. We discussed antitrust and big tech, and how conservatives should fight back against tech. Ashley is the Policy Director for the Committee for Justice, Expert at the Regulatory Transparency Project, and works with the Alliance on Antitrust. So, she knows what she's talking about, and it shows. Dive into the conversation below to learn more about these issues and what Ashley recommends.

What is Antitrust?

Antitrust is basically a set of legal principles, laws, and precedents that inform us on how to handle anti-competition behaviors of companies. Big businesses may work with other organizations to undermine competition in the economic landscape, which is what antitrust seeks to prevent. Since businesses are built to beat their competition, they can hinder their competition's ability to succeed. However, they cannot work to destroy competition itself. And, that is where antitrust comes into play. There are many examples of antitrust violations we can point to, but the basics of antitrust is that we want to promote a competitive environment.

Antitrust Laws and How They Relate to Big Tech

You may be familiar with antitrust laws like the Federal Trade Commission Act, which gave us the FTC, or the Sherman Act. But, antitrust law is much more than a couple acts passed by Congress. In fact, much of what governs antitrust policy is precedent, and that's where conservatives have to be careful. If we are to regulate big tech companies through antitrust policy, we need to beware of how it'll effect other aspects of law. That's why I am so grateful to Ashley for coming on to discuss the antitrust efforts and big tech. She shows how antitrust cases inform our laws, and how we might apply that to Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon.

Antitrust and Big Tech

We must do something about big tech need, but what? First we must understand a few things. Are big tech companies monopolies? Does big tech violate antitrust law in the United States? What can we do to regulate big tech? We'll find the answers to each of these questions in the particulars. There's no simple answer. Rather, the devil is in the details.

How Conservatives Should Fight Back Against Big Tech

Our politics leans towards slogans and partisanship, rather than real solutions. The answer to this problem won't fit neatly in a 10-point plan or some ideology. Instead, we have to grapple with the principles at play and the particulars of the situation. Through prudence, we can find a solution.

Check out this episode: Antitrust and Big Tech | Why Conservatives Should Tread Carefully

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In Dostoevsky's Nasty Story, we follow the dreadful evening of a prideful bureaucrat. The story follows Ivan Ilyich Pralinsky, as he decides to crash his subordinate's wedding reception. His reason for doing so, whether he admits it or not, is his pride. And, that's what I want to discuss today: how elitism leads people to pride and a disdain for "common people."

What is Elitism?

Basically, elitism is the idea that a group of wealthy, powerful people deserve their wealth and power. Even if the elites are born into it, they still feel deserving. And, if they're deserving, then the common people they look down on did something to be undeserving. So, it turns out to create a sort of social, political, and financial caste system. The problem is, the self-proclaimed elites aren't always deserving of the praise they seek. So, it can go wrong for them.

Humbling the Elites

In the past, I've reviewed Dostoevsky's work, and discussed the neuroticism of his characters. Ivan Ilyich Pralinsky is no exception. Throughout this story, he has this inner dialogue where he'll be held up as a hero of the people. But, the story doesn't go the way he planned it. In the end, he is humbled terribly and it shows that the higher one holds himself up, the further he can fall. Pralinsky's elitist attitude blinded him from reality just as our elites are today. If you want to read it, you can find it for free here.

For more book reviews and discussions like these, check out my library.

For more on this, click here for the full episode and show notes to Elitism and Prideful Disdain.

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