The Optimistic American

Paul Johnson welcomes Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Global Future Scholar, and former Senior Policy Director in the U.S. House of Representatives Dr. Sybil Francis.

They discuss the Center for the Future of Arizona initiative, some of the key findings from big surveys, and talk about the so-called shared public values, and what data is actually showing in regard to divisions in America today.

• Dr. Sybil Francis shares the origin story of the Center for the Future of Arizona and discusses what it focuses on, as well as the methodology it utilizes.
• The two big surveys Dr. Francis and her team have done with Gallup were done in 2009 and 2020 – and they helped better understand who Arizonans are.
• One of the key indicators from polling around the country is that Americans are not as polarized and divided, they agree on much more than they disagree.
• Dr. Francis touches upon the so-called shared public values and some interesting traits about Arizonans that have transpired from the Gallup surveys.
• There’s a specific approach to the Arizona voter's agenda and its goals, and Dr. Francis tells all about it.
• In the polling, Arizonians including the majority in both parties have vast agreement on major topics such as education, immigration, and the environment.
• The Arizona Polling confirms what other polls from around the U.S. show that Americans are not as divided as one could think, yet American politicians are more divided than ever even on this topics where broad consensus exist amongst the public. Dr. Francis says we need to ask why?.
• Paul Johnson and Dr. Francis shares their thoughts about why and it relates to partisan primaries and the incentive for news networks to play to the fringes, and to demonize the other side to terrify the viewers to watch again tomorrow.
• In the 14 years, Dr. Francis has had the data, she hasn’t seen any better or more promising solution to finding a bridge between what the majority of voters want and politicians than the open primary ranked-choice voting system.
• Dr. Francis explains that their work is about helping the public understand who we are and thus change our mental construct of what is possible based on data.
• Furthermore, she plans on taking advantage of the crucial role Arizona will have in the 2024 elections to educate national media about who Arizonans are.
• Dr. Francis believes that ‘changing systems are the greatest leverage to really impactful change.’

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

The Optimistic American on YouTube

Dr. Sybil Francis

Center for the Future of Arizona

Gallup 

American Association for the Advancement of Science 

AZ HighGround

Arizona Progress Meters

Education Forward Arizona

WESTMARC

State of Black Arizona

Arizona Community Foundation

Paul Johnson is joined by fourth-generation Arizonan, former Speaker of the House in Arizona, and past Senate member Rusty Bowers.

They talk about what led Bowers to run for office, his definition of “conservative,” what happened with the 2020 elections in relation to fake electors, and what can be done to change the current division in U.S. politics.

• Fourth-generation Arizonan Rusty Bowers shares his origin story, what led him to run for office in the first place, and what his first year was like.
• Despite being an artist, Rusty Bowers isn’t just Republican, he’s a rather conservative Republican that can’t be easily put in what he refers to as “the box.”
• For Bowers, a conservative is someone who believes in institutions or principles that are worth conserving and not just for a personal agenda but for a country, a society.
• Paul and Rusty Bowers go over what Bowers considers conservative values, as well as the role of pluralism and finding common ground.
• Paul believes that the current far-right and far-left that are forming are outside the norms of the liberal Democratic Party and of the conservative Republican Party. 
• These new leaders of the Alt Right and Woke Left don’t buy into constitutional truths. They see people as part of a racial group in a struggle for power and not as individuals.
• The point of a leader, according to Bowers, is to try to find commonalities and individual characteristics of people as a resource to move something forward.
• Rusty Bowers opens up about when he started to notice a change with the U.S. political system, the role of I.V.A.N., and what happened with the 2020 elections.
• Rusty Bowers shares what he thinks can be done at both an individual and collective level to try to resolve the ongoing divisions.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

The Optimistic American on YouTube

Rusty Bowers

John F. Kennedy Library

Stan Barnes

Mark Killian

Jackie Robinson

Barry Goldwater

Carl Hayden

In this episode of The Optimistic American, Paul Johnson is joined by Save Democracy’s Ted Hinderaker and Ted Maxwell from the Arizona Leadership Council.

The three discuss what it takes, from a community standpoint, to be successful in the U.S. today, reform work in Arizona, the role of Tucson citizens, and the differences between election systems.

• Ted Maxwell shares why he believes the existing system isn’t working and what he considers important, from a community standpoint, to be successful in the U.S.
• Paul, Ted Maxwell, and Ted Hinderaker talk about the importance of understanding your role, and how the Tucson government works.
• Paul shares his experiences running in both a partisan and a nonpartisan primary and goes over the reasons why he believes that elected officials aren’t being held accountable.
• Ted Hinderaker touches upon the characteristics of various election systems – primary, top two, top four, and ranked choice voting – and their effects on society.
• Paul asks his guests what they believe has led to the activation of the people in Tucson.
• Ted Maxwell mentions one of the main reasons why, in his opinion, more people are leaning towards becoming independents.
• Focusing on recruiting candidates that are pragmatic and that are better able to do the job doesn’t last, says Ted Hinderaker.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

The Optimistic American on YouTube

Cathy Giessel

Save Democracy

Ted Hinderaker

Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC)

Ted Maxwell

University of Arizona Foundation

Center for the Future Arizona Civil Francis Organization

The Politics Industry by Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter

Flinn-Brown Fellowship Program

In this episode of The Optimistic American, Paul Johnson is joined by former Senate President and current Alaska Senator Cathy Giessel.

They discuss the role of divisiveness in America today, the existing partisan system that discriminates against candidates and voters not registered in the one of the two major parties, and reform efforts that work to give voters choices. This episode talks with the Republican Majority Leader in the Alaska legislature about how the reform is working in Alaska and how it promotes collaboration – and cooperation – between lawmakers with different political views.

• The current season of The Optimistic American is dedicated to the reforms that are going on in America that can help heal the ongoing divisions.
• Alaska Senator Cathy Giessel is the Republican and Majority Leader in Alaska who can tell how the reforms that removed partisan primaries and implemented rank choice voting actually work.
• The divisiveness in the U.S. is the highest Paul has seen in his 40 years watching the political system.
• Senator Giessel breaks down how a partisan primary system and an open primary system with a top four work. With partisan primaries, 85% of incumbents are in safe seats that are gerrymandered to stop competition in the general election. In an open primary system, every voter gets to vote for or against their representative.
• At first, Senator Giessel was reluctant about the ranked choice voting – she explains why that was the case.
• Senator Giessel shares her experience in regard to how the role of and the interaction with voters changed with the two systems.
• Paul, who ran in both an open primary system for mayor and a closed partisan primary for governor, pointed out that candidates in the open primary have to speak to all voters, even those registered in the other party. In closed primary systems, they only have to speak to members of their own party. He believes that talking to people they don’t necessarily agree with is the single most important thing that educates leaders.
• In Alaska, today’s legislature operates differently than it did before. Senator Giessel touches upon the changes that have taken place and how Democrats and Republicans have been able to work together despite some major differences in the open primary system.
• According to Senator Giessel, the open primary and the rank choice systems have really reduced negative campaigning because when you have multiple candidates in a runoff, going negative hurts the person leveling the negative information.
• Senator Giessel points out that the open primary in Alaska has promoted collaboration and cooperation between lawmakers.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

The Optimistic American on YouTube

Cathy Giessel

Alexander Hamilton

Thomas Jefferson

Mo Udall

In this episode of The Optimistic American, Paul Johnson sits down with members of the Voter Choice Arizona executive committee Blake Sacha, Kathy Knecht, and organizing director Kazz Fernandes.

The panel discusses how Voter Choice Arizona came to be, what it’s all about, and how it aims to change  the current political system and improve democracy.

• This season of The Optimistic American will focus on political reforms that can help make certain that the American political system operates better than it does today.
• Paul used it as an example of the disconnect between elected officials and the massive deficit spending of Congress. A balanced budget amendment is supported overwhelmingly by the public yet both parties, when in power, fail to advance it. Surprisingly, the last balanced budget was Bill Clinton’s.
• Paul pointed out how recently even paying the debt of the United States has come into question, with multiple members of both parties voting against the compromise, seemingly willing to put the nation into bankruptcy over partisanship.
• Paul discusses the historical significance of paying the debt back with Alexander Hamilton, demanding paying back speculators who purchased debt instruments from soldiers at pennies on the dollar to Revolutionary War soldiers. His legacy was the importance of securing the good faith and credit of the United States, leading us to be a great power.
• Blake Sacha talks about how he became involved with the reform effort, “Voter Choice in Arizona” designed to treat all voters equally and make elected officials accountable to the public. He believes it is about 'Bad systems that beat good people.'
• Kathy Knecht shares how incumbents try to insure they won’t have competition by making it impossible for independents to run by making signature requirements 6-10 times higher than democrats or republicans. This was why she decided to join Voter Choice in Arizona.
• Organizing director Kazz Fernandes touches upon different aspects of Voter Choice Arizona, including its beginnings, funding, and how the organization finds new members.
• The way Ranked Choice Voting works is simple: vote for the candidate you like and then indicate who your second place person is as well as your third.. If your #1 choice doesn't win, then your vote goes to your second choice.
• By having multiple candidates in the run-off, if you attack another candidate it harms you both, and the third candidate benefits. So, it disincentivizes mudslinging.
• Paul and his guests go over the pros and cons of Ranked Choice Voting and its system. They believe the existing partisan system is failing the American people.
• When asked who are the opponents of Ranked Choice Voting, the panel was clear it was incumbents.
• The reason incumbents dislike open primaries and Ranked Choice Voting is because it creates competition. Today through gerrymandering over 85% of legislative and congressional seats are safe districts. The overwhelming majority of incumbents don’t have a general election opponent. This gives them the ability to ignore independent voters, and voters in the other party and only pay attention to the extremes in their own party. The result is greater division for our country as our elected officials no longer are willing to listen to people in the other party.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

VoterChoiceArizona.org

Rank the Vote

Bill Clinton

Lyndon B. Johnson

Thomas Jefferson

Alexander Hamilton

In this episode of The Optimistic American, Paul Johnson welcomes North Arizona University’s Martin-Springer Institute Director Bjorn Krondorfer to discuss his new book Unsettling Empathy (Peace and Security in the 21st Century).

The two discuss Professor Krondorfer’s work in the context of the Holocaust and genocides, the concept of “chosen trauma”, and what’s happening with divisions and extremisms in America today.

• Paul opens the discussion by indicating the link between the divisions in America and genocide and extremism.
• Professor Krondorfer opens up about what led him to make genocides, the holocaust, and extremist movements the focus of his work and research.
• A desire for empathy that unsettles our assumptions about ourselves, about history, and about what we think is what led Professor Krondorfer to write his book Unsettling Empathy.
• Prof. Krondorfer discusses what happened when a group of German and Jewish students met at the end of the ‘80s to discuss their different narratives related to what happened in the Holocaust.
• For Prof. Krondorfer, in former perpetrator societies, the next generation has to be suspicious of the narratives that are being passed on to them.
• Paul and Prof. Krondorfer touch upon the good and evil that are inside all of us, the role propaganda makes – and how it’s the common denominator in genocides such as the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide.
• Prof. Krondorfer explains why, throughout several decades, “Chosen Trauma” is a concept that has posed a threat to various societies and cultures around the world.
• It’s easier for unsettling empathy and honest communication to occur when a conflict is over and we’re living in the aftermath (like in the case of the Holocaust) compared to an ongoing conflict like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Paul discusses the concept of amygdala hijacking and the “formula” for trying to move a block of people.
• Professor Bjorn Krondorfer touches upon what “forgiving the unforgiving” entails, and why the focus shouldn’t be so much on forgiveness, but rather on reconciliation practices.
• Prof. Krondorfer unpacks the question, “What’s going on with the divisions in America today?”
• Paul introduces the idea of post-partisanism – and the challenges it would bring about – into the conversation.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

Unsettling Empathy (Peace and Security in the 21st Century) by Bjorn Krondorfer

North Arizona University

Temple University 

Dr. Emily Bashah

Vamik Volkan

John McCain

Martin Luther King

New York Times

In this episode of The Optimistic American, Paul Johnson sits down with Katherine Gehl to discuss the profound challenges in the American political system and the real solutions for a system that benefits everyone. Katherine is a business leader, entrepreneur, speaker, and author of The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy.

• Katherine starts the conversation by describing what inspired her to write a book on political innovation.
• For Paul, politicians are not necessarily bad people. Often, they are good people in a bad system that provides the wrong incentives.
• Paul and Katherine agree that a politician’s primary goal is to get re-elected. However, we live in a world where there’s no connection between solving people’s problems and getting re-elected.
• Katherine explains why we need to change the way people get elected.
• It’s very unfortunate that elections in America today are about choosing the lesser of two evils.
• Paul describes how parties make it impossible for independent candidates to run for office by forcing independent candidates to collect 10 times the signatures, and making it harder for independent or non-party voters to vote.
• Katherine reviews the duopoly of political parties. They no longer serve their customers' needs, but they don’t have to because they have no real competition.
• In the existing system, the political parties use fear to terrify the American voter on the dangers of the other side.
• Paul talks about how our negative bias and preaching the dangers of the other side is far more effective than selling your vision to voters.
• Katherine talks about the reform effort of eliminating the partisan primary, having all candidates run in an open primary where every voter can choose the top 5 candidates to go to a runoff. Then you can vote for your first-place choice, second place, third place etc. This is called the Final Five voting system and why it’s effective.
• Paul and Katherine discuss the benefits of having a single open primary and how it ensures nobody wins the election on primary day. In the partisan system because of gerrymandering 90 percent of all races are decided in the primary. Most voters don’t matter.
• In partisan primaries, people are more persuaded by the negative message about the opposing candidate, but in an open primary with multiple candidates going to the runoff, it is more difficult to go negative and incentivizes candidates to give more positive information about what you will do for them.
• According to Katherine, the most important reason we want to change the election system is to get better results for the community from the government.
• Election reforms should not be designed to change who, or which party wins elections. They should be designed to change what winners do and on whose behalf they’re doing it.
• The problem with American elections is not with the voters or the politicians. Paul believes it’s with the system of how we elect our representatives.
• For Katherine, it’s easier for a camel to get through the eye of the needle than for a problem-solving politician to get through a party primary.
• Katherine would rather lose something that, if she won, would make a difference than win something that, having won, wouldn’t make any difference.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

KatherineGehl.com

Follow @katherinegehl on Twitter

The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy by Katherine M. Gehl

In the final part of "Jordan Peterson : You're Just Wrong on This One," we conclude our discussion on the Ukrainian War and the West's involvement in it. This time, we focus on the broader implications of the conflict for international relations and global security.

Jordan Peterson argues that the West's approach to the Ukrainian War is misguided and dangerous, as it could lead to a global conflict with catastrophic consequences. He suggests that the West needs to adopt a more nuanced and strategic approach that takes into account the complex historical, political, and cultural factors at play.

In contrast, the host of the episode argues that the West's involvement in the Ukrainian War is not just a matter of strategy but also a moral imperative. They believe that supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is essential for maintaining the global order based on democratic values and human rights. They also point out that the Ukrainian War is not just a local conflict but a part of a broader struggle between democracy and authoritarianism that will shape the future of international relations.

We are The Optimistic American, and we are in the business of promoting what is going right in our country. Every day, there is tremendous progress being made in America — across technology, public policy, science and medicine, and much more — that will set current and future generations up for success. Our goal is to highlight these advancements and tilt the scale of news and information from pessimism towards optimism.

This episode reflects the best themes of The Optimistic American, that our best days lie ahead.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

In the third episode of "Jordan Peterson: You're Just Wrong on This One," we continue our exploration of the Ukrainian War and the West's involvement in it. This time, we focus on the emotional and moral implications of the conflict and how it relates to the broader context of Western society.

Jordan Peterson argues that the West's declining morality is partly to blame for its involvement in the Ukrainian War. He points out the hypocrisy of Western leaders who claim to promote individualism and free markets but engage in military interventions that go against those values. He also suggests that the West's moral decay is evidenced by the rise of identity politics, political correctness, and cancel culture.

In contrast, the host of the episode argues that the West's values are not declining but rather evolving to become more inclusive and just. They point out that the Ukrainian War is not just a matter of geopolitical power plays but also a humanitarian crisis that demands a moral response. They believe that supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is the right thing to do, even if it means opposing authoritarian regimes like Russia. 

We are The Optimistic American, and we are in the business of promoting what is going right in our country. Every day, there is tremendous progress being made in America — across technology, public policy, science and medicine, and much more — that will set current and future generations up for success. Our goal is to highlight these advancements and tilt the scale of news and information from pessimism towards optimism.

This episode reflects the best themes of The Optimistic American, that our best days lie ahead.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson

In this episode 2 of a 4 part mini-series of The Optimistic American, we explore the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the West's involvement in it. Jordan Peterson and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard's podcast on Russia and Ukraine sparked a lot of discussion, with Peterson calling out not just the Ukrainian war but also the declining morality of the West. He suggests that G7 leaders should focus on determining exactly what the Russians would accept as a minimum precondition for peace, instead of simply labeling Putin as a modern-day Hitler or Stalin.

However, here at The Optimistic American, we take a different perspective. We believe in the importance of supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and standing up against authoritarian regimes like Putin's Russia. While it's always important to question our government's actions, we see ourselves as part of the fight for the preservation of Western liberal democracy, free markets, and governments that prioritize the individual's wellbeing.

In this episode, we also explore the motives behind the military-industrial complex, and whether their profits may be driving certain political decisions. So tune in, and join us as we navigate these complex issues with an optimistic eye towards the future.

We are The Optimistic American, and we are in the business of promoting what is going right in our country. Every day, there is tremendous progress being made in America — across technology, public policy, science and medicine, and much more — that will set current and future generations up for success. Our goal is to highlight these advancements and tilt the scale of news and information from pessimism towards optimism.

This episode reflects the best themes of The Optimistic American, that our best days lie ahead.

Mentioned in This Episode:

optamerican.com

Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson