The Great American Reset

The Great American Reset is finally here! We can absolutely change our direction, and we will. Regardless of our individual beliefs, it is critical we join together for positive progress. We have been underestimated long enough.

Together we will overcome the tremendous challenges we face and, channeling our very best angels, unleash the greatest version of both ourselves and our country.

What in the heck have we been waiting for? Americans are the most dynamic and innovative people in the world. We are courageous, convicted and confident and we possess a unique sense of assertiveness and adaptability.

We have all of the necessary ingredients – unlimited talent and intelligence, unparalleled freedom of opportunity, and vast economic resources – to cultivate the strength and goodness of America that we all know exists but that, thanks to partisan politics, has been compromised. We simply need to incorporate the final component: a way to harness unrelenting will.

Challenging authority is our right, our responsibility, our legacy. Since the two-party political dynamic in America has completely broken down, we will simply step in and fix this madness ourselves.

The most beautiful thing about living in America is that we have the freedom and power to create a better future for ourselves without waiting for some piece of elusive legislation to pass. We don’t need anyone’s permission to define our destiny. Is this not the greatest country on the planet?!?

The exciting news is that once we take matters into our own hands, our future will be brighter than ever! The American spirit is unmatched, and we can achieve absolutely anything we put our minds to. It’s a good thing too, because the time has finally come to tackle the most important effort we will ever take as fellow citizens: Saving our country.
The time has come for each of us to honestly question our commitment to the future of this nation. Will our legacy be something we are proud of, or will we forever be known as the former superpower that recklessly relinquished our prominence because we lacked the will to protect it?

Deep down, do we really want to make the necessary changes or are we satisfied with accepting our political circus as some sort of perverse entertainment?

A time will eventually come when Americans will demand better governance and true transformation will begin. We say that time is now.
It is abundantly clear that finding actual solutions to our problems is not the goal of most of our politicians, and it hasn’t been for a really long time. Instead, it’s all about the game.

The game of politics is being played by two ineffectual teams with nothing more in their arsenal than high-dollar lobbying, unconstitutional executive orders, self-serving earmarks, and despicable little tricks like gerrymandering and voter suppression.

The game of politics is the reason that Russia was able to exploit our deep internal division and interfere in our sacred elections; why our total public debt is $32.3 trillion, our federal budget deficit is $1.4 trillion, and the reason we even know the term fiscal cliff; and why the U.S. debt rating was downgraded for the first time in history – now over a decade ago – because of “the gulf between the political parties”... then downgraded again in August 2023 due to “fiscal deterioration, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance that has manifested in repeated debt limit standoffs and last-minute resolutions.”

The game of politics is why over 38 million Americans are trapped in poverty, why our inequality gaps in almost every category are massive, and why our Medicare and Social Security funds are virtually insolvent. It is why we still have broken health care, education, and criminal justice systems, and why our immigration policy is a complete cluster#*^#.

It is why our checks and balances are completely out of whack, why governmental waste is colossal, and why lobbyists almost exclusively write our public policy. It’s the reason our early response to Covid-19 was a disaster – as was our exit from Afghanistan – and why our closest allies are still somewhat confused and concerned.

The game of politics is why atrocities like “enhanced interrogation techniques” (i.e., torture) and Guantánamo called into question our national core values and threatened our global image; why Iran and China are resentful and resurgent; and why Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are essentially shooting us the bird.

It cannot be denied: The game of politics has brought this country to the brink, to the point where we literally have no choice but to make serious, significant changes.

We're pretty sure most of us believe this to be true, but we always get stumped by the million-dollar question: How in the world do we do it? We are convinced there is only one answer to this question. To truly disrupt the game of politics, we have to fundamentally change the way it is played.
And realistically, there is only one way to fundamentally change the way it is played: Add more players to the game.

Although it sometimes seems there is an avalanche of problems in America, let’s begin this podcast from a place of profound gratitude. Yes, we face challenges. But in the whole scheme of history, we’re in pretty great shape!

The United States of America is NOT a flimsy, fragile country. America has overcome horrific atrocities, from the horrors of slavery, to brothers fighting brothers in the Civil War, to the nightmare of the Depression, to the unfathomable murders of Kennedys and King. Our incredibly resilient country survived two horrific World Wars, one very hot war in Asia, and one very cold one.

Above all, every single one of us should be profoundly grateful to live in this extraordinary country. The fact that we have unlimited freedom to even suggest a new political party with the comforting knowledge that not one single person in this country can stop us is remarkable. It’s just awesome!

Please don’t get the wrong impression. We are in no way minimizing the struggles and stress that American families feel on a daily basis, nor downplaying the magnitude of the problems we need to fix. But it’s really – really! – important that we all remember exactly what we are fighting to save.
We are incredibly fortunate to live in the United States of America. Above all, let’s be profoundly grateful to live in this exceptional, one-of-a-kind place. We are the country that welcomes the poor, the tired and the huddled masses. We are the country that celebrates life, liberty and justice for all. We are the country that perfected the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion.
And just look at what a collaborative, compassionate, and supportive America has achieved around the globe. We are the country that initiated the Lend-Lease policy, which helped defeat Germany, Japan and Italy in World War II by providing weapons, food, oil, and other supplies to the United Kingdom, China, the Soviet Union and France. We are the country that enacted the Marshall Plan, which enabled Europe to rebuild after years of devastating war. With our support, South Korea evolved from an extremely poor, vulnerable autocracy to a vibrant, healthy democracy – as did Japan. China was able to integrate into the global economy, which helped reduce poverty for billions.

Around the globe, our security and support have provided countries the opportunity to foster democratic governments and strong economies. We were instrumental in creating international organizations like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. We crushed the Cold War and stopped communism in its tracks. We spent billions to fight HIV in developing countries, which provided almost 10 million people antiviral drugs and prevented hundreds of thousands of babies from being infected with HIV at birth. Yay, America!

Lately, there have been evil forces that have tried to divert us from these ideals, but we will not allow them to win this battle. Our greatest responsibility as Americans is to preserve and protect the very reasons that America is so great, and to make sure America’s light shines far beyond our shores once again.
We hope you enjoy the podcast! ...learn more at www.1787forAmerica.org.

An honest, unflinching look at race in America.
From the podcast: "To fully comprehend and appreciate the complexity of our social condition, the suppressed elements routinely involved in our decision-making process must be brought to the forefront of the conversation. This will finally uncover the fundamental roadblocks, both conscious and unconscious, that prohibit tolerance and compassion. Then we must all rise above – rise above our histories, our prejudices and our discomforts and just do the right thing.

As we move forward, let’s take Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s advice and not be people who are more devoted to order than to justice. Let’s not be people who prefer a negative peace (meaning, that, yes, there is a certain peace, but with the absence of tension) to a positive peace (which is peace, but with the presence of justice). Together, let’s prove once and for all Dr. King’s belief that “Although the arc of the moral universe is long, it always bends toward justice.”
We hope you enjoy the podcast! ...learn more at www.1787forAmerica.org.

Hear Emily's personal take on the increasing influence of religion in politics and the absolute imperativeness of separation between church and state.
Here's a preview of her feelings on the matter: "The only time Jesus got mad in the entire Bible was at the pious, greedy, arrogant Pharisees (yes, I’m drawing a parallel). Jesus said of the Pharisees in Matthew 23: “They do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them...Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces.”
Buckle up! : )
We hope you enjoy the podcast! ...learn more at www.1787forAmerica.org.