American Musecast

As Americans waken to the authoritarian threats facing democracy, Richard Haass' book, The Bill of Obligations; Ten Habits for Good Citizens, offers a 10-habit plan for stewarding ourselves toward a more robust dynamic citizenry. His gracious regard for democracy postures Americans of every party and persuasion to become better, more competent citizens for the 21st century.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Haass, Richard. The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens. Penguin Press, 2023.
Interview Clips Used:
“In New Book, Haass Explores the Obligations We Have to One Another and the Country.” NPR, 24 Jan. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/01/24/1150942762/in-new-book-haass-explores-the-obligations-we-have-to-one-another-and-the-countr.
Episode Music: An Epic Story, by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of sponsors, underwriters, advertisers or guests. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.

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America needs an engaged and informed citizenry capable of defending democracy, but what if they aren't sure what democracy means? Too many Americans have become disillusioned or disengaged when they encounter confusing concepts amid a fire hose of misguided conspiracies, fact-free opinions and disinformation. In order to grasp the complexities of our political system, it's time to embark on a little “refresher course” of civic vocabulary needed to navigate today’s complex political landscape.
Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• [06:56] ideology
• [08:43] democracy
• [09:27] oligarchies
• [09:50] autocracies
• [13:46] liberals
• [21:46] the Great Switch
• [22:20] progressives
• [23:30] communism
• [25:10] socialism
• [27:30] conservatives
• [33:20] independents
• [35:40] Libertarians
• [35:10] anarchy
• [36:58] dystopia
• [39:30] fascism

Episode Music: An Epic Story, by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Send Susan a one-way text! For a reply, include your name and contact info.

Support the show

For those dear listeners with a fire in the belly, here’s what I ask of you! I invite you to follow this weekly podcast and to share it with others. Please, offer suggestions or observations in the comments section. Often, your comment sets off a sparkle of ideas for a whole new episode!

Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, offers important reflections on the fragility of democratic systems and the rising momentum toward authoritarianism in contemporary politics. Most importantly, it offers citizen tools aimed at fortifying vulnerabilities characteristically targeted by autocrats, dictators, despots and tyrants, each of whom aim at consolidating power for their own ends.
This week looks at the distinction between those terms related to fascism and tyranny. We also look at those elements of the socio-political journey which, among Snyder's lessons lie closer to home, as new habits that we can integrate into our daily lives. In particular, we look at the distinction between public and private lives, at remaining calm when the unthinkable arrives, and being reflective if we must be armed.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Snyder, Timothy. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Timothy Snyder. Thorndike Press, 2021.
Interview Clips Used
Episode Music: An Epic Story, by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of sponsors, underwriters, advertisers or guests. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.

Send Susan a one-way text! For a reply, include your name and contact info.

Support the show

For those dear listeners with a fire in the belly, here’s what I ask of you! I invite you to follow this weekly podcast and to share it with others. Please, offer suggestions or observations in the comments section. Often, your comment sets off a sparkle of ideas for a whole new episode!

As those with authoritarian tendencies escalate their rhetoric and show their intentions, the work, How Democracies Die, by Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky offers a guide for identifying the markers we're seeing around us. For citizens unconvinced that democracy is at stake, this episode makes clear that the fate of America lies in the hands of a new dynamic citizenry.
Topics discussed in this episode:

• [9:29] Rejecting or holding weak commitment to democratic rules
• [14:30] Authoritarian tendencies - denial of legitimacy of political opponents
• {18:05] Toleration or encouragement of violence
• [22:40] Readiness to curtail civil liberties of opponents or media
• [24:40] Additional curtailing of citizen rights

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Levitsky, Steven, and Daniel Ziblatt. How Democracies Die. Broadway Books, an Imprint of Crown Publishing, a Division of Penguin Random House, 2019.
Episode Music: An Epic Story, by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of sponsors, underwriters, advertisers or guests. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.

Send Susan a one-way text! For a reply, include your name and contact info.

Support the show

For those dear listeners with a fire in the belly, here’s what I ask of you! I invite you to follow this weekly podcast and to share it with others. Please, offer suggestions or observations in the comments section. Often, your comment sets off a sparkle of ideas for a whole new episode!

Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century offers important reflections on the fragility of democratic systems and the rising momentum toward authoritarianism in contemporary politics. Most importantly, it offers citizen tools aimed at fortifying vulnerabilities characteristically targeted by autocrats, dictators, despots, and tyrants, each of whom aim at consolidating power for their own ends.
This week, we look at the broader socio-political journey of the first of Snyder's lessons, specifically related to vigilance, the belief in truth, the value of the media, language, ethics, and the defense of institutions.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Snyder, Timothy. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Timothy Snyder. Thorndike Press, 2021.
“United States (Ranked 19th).” Legatum Prosperity Index 2023, 27 Feb. 2023, www.prosperity.com/globe/united-states.
Interview Clips Used
Episode Music: An Epic Story, by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of sponsors, underwriters, advertisers or guests. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.

Send Susan a one-way text! For a reply, include your name and contact info.

Support the show

For those dear listeners with a fire in the belly, here’s what I ask of you! I invite you to follow this weekly podcast and to share it with others. Please, offer suggestions or observations in the comments section. Often, your comment sets off a sparkle of ideas for a whole new episode!