I’ll be posting a piece either tonight or tomorrow, but in the meantime, if you’d like to listen to a conversation I had with Hal Ginsberg who runs a live stream broadcast called Halitics. Hal describes himself as a very far left progressive, a Bernie Sanders supporter. He wanted to talk to me about something I wrote so I figured, why not. Hal is trying to build up an audience over at Youtube so if you like the conversation, please like and subscribe.
Apr 1, 2023·edited Apr 1, 2023Liked by Sasha Stone
Last year, I heard from the son of a former professor of mine who died far too young. His son and siblings were gathered in San Diego to mark the 30th anniversary of their dad's passing. While going through his dad's correspondence, his son had come across letters between his dad - a far-left borderline socialist - and conservative colleagues and friends. He was struck by the warm banter, the queries about family and children, the obvious friendship across partisan lines. The son, in his 50s now and politically similar to his father, wondered how we lost all that - that simple human ability to listen to one another, to disagree without being disagreeable.
I told him that despite being in Air Force ROTC and fairly conservative, I had saved my correspondence with his father, and that when I was teaching a university course myself, I held his father up in my mind as a role model.
That his dad had been a mentor to me.
Reading the comments below makes me realize that the one truly bipartisan aspect of American culture today is that neither side wants anything to do with the other, and both blame the other side wholly for our divide.
We've got some work to do to repair our nation. While we fight, China builds, and if we don't get our act together we will lose this precious gift of freedom we were given by previous generations.
Good work, Sasha and Hal, and showing how Americans can disagree in a civil manner - and in so doing, inadvertently discover areas of commonality and agreement.
I love the early part of the exchange - I submit that most of your readers who are Trump supporters, Sasha, are subscribers who value the truth over anything else. At the moment, Trump represents truth. He's also the only one whose proven himself to be the champion of the values that the vast majority of the rest of the nation hold dear. Here's the thing: those values are available to all, they don't exclude by design, whereas the values of the left exclude all who aren't compliant.
Also, I am happy to engage with anyone who will also do so in good faith. If I know that the other guy already has judged me to be <insert your -ist, here>, there's no point. Folks like you, Greenwald, et al. refrain from the personal judgement.
I believe I speak for most who are like-minded, we want an America where it's okay to be a traditionalist - it's also okay to be different - as long as one or the other isn't imposed on the other. There's plenty of room for everyone.
I have not listened to the pod cast yet, but I will. The reason is that before I voted for Trump and during the Hillary primaries, I had heard about a research project which said that Trump supporters were more like Bernie Sanders supporters than any other group. This really interested me and I wanted more detail, but didn’t find the study. So I will be listening.
I won’t listen to a far-left lunatic that thinks Bernie Sanders (who never had a job until past 40 then somehow got elected mayor then Senator) is someone to follow. Sanders is a true communist sucking gov money and payoffs from DNC while pretending to be for the little people. No thanks, I get enough bullshit from msm.
Great discussion. Don’t believe you’re dehumanizing the democrats. Discussing facts, not people. Reminds me of friend who had t-shirts with Elizabeth Warren’s latest quote within one day.
1-Stormy was not Trumps girlfriend. 2-They didn't have a consensual relationship bc there was no relationship. 3-She asked for a pic with him on the golf course. 4-She wrote a letter in 2018 that the affair did not exist. Trump released that letter on Truth social.
For what it's worth we don't go much into progressive politics. We don't talk policy at all.
Last year, I heard from the son of a former professor of mine who died far too young. His son and siblings were gathered in San Diego to mark the 30th anniversary of their dad's passing. While going through his dad's correspondence, his son had come across letters between his dad - a far-left borderline socialist - and conservative colleagues and friends. He was struck by the warm banter, the queries about family and children, the obvious friendship across partisan lines. The son, in his 50s now and politically similar to his father, wondered how we lost all that - that simple human ability to listen to one another, to disagree without being disagreeable.
I told him that despite being in Air Force ROTC and fairly conservative, I had saved my correspondence with his father, and that when I was teaching a university course myself, I held his father up in my mind as a role model.
That his dad had been a mentor to me.
Reading the comments below makes me realize that the one truly bipartisan aspect of American culture today is that neither side wants anything to do with the other, and both blame the other side wholly for our divide.
We've got some work to do to repair our nation. While we fight, China builds, and if we don't get our act together we will lose this precious gift of freedom we were given by previous generations.
Good work, Sasha and Hal, and showing how Americans can disagree in a civil manner - and in so doing, inadvertently discover areas of commonality and agreement.
Thanks Sasha. I thought it was a great discussion and we tended to agree quite a bit more than we disagreed.
I love the early part of the exchange - I submit that most of your readers who are Trump supporters, Sasha, are subscribers who value the truth over anything else. At the moment, Trump represents truth. He's also the only one whose proven himself to be the champion of the values that the vast majority of the rest of the nation hold dear. Here's the thing: those values are available to all, they don't exclude by design, whereas the values of the left exclude all who aren't compliant.
Also, I am happy to engage with anyone who will also do so in good faith. If I know that the other guy already has judged me to be <insert your -ist, here>, there's no point. Folks like you, Greenwald, et al. refrain from the personal judgement.
I believe I speak for most who are like-minded, we want an America where it's okay to be a traditionalist - it's also okay to be different - as long as one or the other isn't imposed on the other. There's plenty of room for everyone.
Not sure someone who says “Trump indicted, let the good times roll” is open minded and not a fanatic. Prove me wrong!!
All half dozen fair journalists are working on Twitter investigation.
I have not listened to the pod cast yet, but I will. The reason is that before I voted for Trump and during the Hillary primaries, I had heard about a research project which said that Trump supporters were more like Bernie Sanders supporters than any other group. This really interested me and I wanted more detail, but didn’t find the study. So I will be listening.
and maybe I will have a thought or two about it.
I won’t listen to a far-left lunatic that thinks Bernie Sanders (who never had a job until past 40 then somehow got elected mayor then Senator) is someone to follow. Sanders is a true communist sucking gov money and payoffs from DNC while pretending to be for the little people. No thanks, I get enough bullshit from msm.
Loved Sasha since reading and listening to her first Substack.
Thanks Sasha! I enjoyed listening.
Great discussion. Don’t believe you’re dehumanizing the democrats. Discussing facts, not people. Reminds me of friend who had t-shirts with Elizabeth Warren’s latest quote within one day.
1-Stormy was not Trumps girlfriend. 2-They didn't have a consensual relationship bc there was no relationship. 3-She asked for a pic with him on the golf course. 4-She wrote a letter in 2018 that the affair did not exist. Trump released that letter on Truth social.