Kev's Book Rants
This podcast is about books. Well, kind of.
Really, it's about beliefs. How we form them, why we hold on to them, and what happens when they're challenged. Because beliefs, they don't change easily. They need pressure. Pressure that forces us to rethink, to question deeply, to break down old assumptions, or even strengthen a belief that was already there.
Welcome to Kev's Book Rants, where we use books as a tool to apply that pressure, digging deep into their ideas to challenge our own thinking, refine our beliefs, and see if we really believe what we say we believe. And whether we fortify the beliefs we already hold or build something entirely new, the result is still the same: A better understanding of who we are, what we believe, and why we believe it.
I'm Kevin, and these are my book rants!
Kev's Book Rants
We're on our Own
We also investigate how militant rhetoric from the left inadvertently fueled Trumpism's rise. Our discussion advocates for coalition building through reasoning and empathy rather than engaging in cultural warfare. By critiquing both ends of the political spectrum, we illuminate the pitfalls of aggressive rhetoric and forced ideologies. We spotlight literature as a powerful tool for fostering understanding, highlighting books such as "Good and Reasonable People" and "You're Not as Crazy as I Thought, but You're Still Wrong." These resources guide listeners through respectful dialogue and understanding, aiming for societal healing and personal growth. Join us for a thought-provoking session on bridging divides and embracing diverse perspectives.
So here's the deal. This channel is all about books, how they shape our views, how they challenge our thinking and how they help us to understand our place in society, and we're using books as a way to push us to ask questions, to dig deeper and to see the world a little bit differently. Now, naturally, that means we'll come across situations where we talk about politics. This isn't a political channel per se, but we will talk about it a good bit. Obviously, politics is kind of heated right now, right, watching Donald Trump gearing up to head back to the White House is, you know, it's a little jarring, right. It's confusing, trying to understand how in the world we got to this point. Now, there's no shortage of videos and hot takes and analysis on what this means for America when it comes to foreign policy or the economy, race, gender, things like that. But I'm not so much worried about the big picture stuff on the top level, right. I'm more interested in those interactions that we're going to have to deal with when we're at work or when we're at school or just in general when we're around people who are on the other side of the political spectrum. So today I just kind of want to talk about the fallout from this election on an individual level, my personal opinions on how we got here and what you person watching this video can do to get things going in the right direction, to help our country kind of heal from this. And, of course, we're going to include some books that you can read to kind of help facilitate that. So let's get going.
Speaker 1:So, as of the release of this video, 73 million people voted for Donald Trump. 73 million people voted for a man convicted of 34 felonies, impeached twice, who even attempted to overthrow his own government. And those things, man, those are just scratching the surface of the craziness of this dude, right? This is someone whose own allies, people who used to work with them, people in his own inner circle, labeled him everything from a terrible leader to just a terrible human being and even a fascist. And yet here we are. I don't think there's any doubt that this dude has proven himself to be a despicable human being, right? So I don't want to focus too much on him. Rather, I want to use him as a prop for a bigger discussion that I want to have, kind of like how I did in the last video, and if you didn't watch that video, I'll give you a link to check that out, because, you know, in that video I basically talked about Trump supporters and how I don't think they're crazy or, you know, racist or anything like that. For the most part I just think they're misguided or just straight out wrong. Right, I disagree with them and really there's nothing wrong with that, and for the most part I got a lot of positive feedback for that video, you know.
Speaker 1:But there were two things that I did get pushback for. One of them is when I said I don't think Trump is a racist, at least in the way we typically imagine. Right, he's not out there spewing hate like he's part of the KKK or he's not waving a confederate flag or anything like that. But at the same time I do think there's a level of racism baked into his DNA. It's not overt, but I think it is a little bit more nuanced. And, to be honest, that pushback is kind of fair, because I think that point is a point that deserves a deeper discussion. Right, it really did deserve more explanation than the few lines that I gave it in that video. So I'll take that criticism, you know. Maybe one day I'll fully flesh out what I was trying to say but for now, that pushback is deserved. I'll take that Now.
Speaker 1:The second point that I got a lot of pushback for and you know this is where things get a little bit interesting was supposedly going too easy on Trump supporters. Apparently, I wasn't hard enough on them or I didn't ridicule them enough, I didn't insult them enough, I didn't write them off as crazy or stupid or insane or anything like that. It was as if some people felt that I was naive for not seeing all 73 million voters as blindly hateful or lost beyond redemption Guys. I simply cannot believe that. Every single person who voted for Donald Trump is just simply beyond reason. To me, that's just too easy. It's too simplistic and, frankly, if you think that way, I think that's a little naive on your part. Really, that's part of the problem and that's exactly the conversation I want to have here today.
Speaker 1:See, the people who voted for Donald Trump weren't just the hardcore MAGA folks. It wasn't only the flag-waving, rally-going, racist, xenophobic crowd. It wasn't just the stereotypical person you picture when you think about a Trump supporter Y'all. There aren't 73 million people like that. There aren't 73 million stupid, racist, hateful people in America. It's not even close. Now the easy thing to do and frankly I think it's the most immature thing to do is to point fingers and start name calling. And because it's easy and it's immature, that reaction isn't going to bear any kind of positive fruit. When you start talking about how this affects society and how we start to solve problems, it's not going to get us any closer to making sure that something like this or somebody like this doesn't happen again or doesn't get elected to the highest office in the land, because for every stereotypical Trump supporter who went out and voted for him, there had to be at least 10 or 15 quote unquote normal people who quietly looked at the candidates and looked at their ballots and looked at the state of America and thought you know what Trump is a better choice here? Trump is going to get us where we need to be.
Speaker 1:I think the real question we need to be asking is why a perfectly reasonable person would vote for Donald Trump, and I think that's hard for us as a society, because it really does require qualities that our society doesn't value. Things like self-awareness, self-reflection, examining our blind spots, challenging our own assumptions, exploring the gray areas and just really complicated issues. This kind of thing really demands that we step out of our own echo chambers and actually like, use our brains and actually use the skill of critical thinking, and not just to confirm what we already believe, but to see things from another angle, outside of our own experiences. But that's not what's happening right now. Right, we're kind of stuck in this simplistic mindset that has people thinking that anybody who disagrees with me is kind of stupid and just dumb. Instead of asking what got us to a place where 73 million people thought it was a good idea to vote for Trump Because for 73 million people to vote for this guy, there had to be something more going on than just blind allegiance or hate.
Speaker 1:Our public discourse has gotten so bad that we've resorted to dehumanizing people who are different from us and y'all. That's a big problem, right? Because when we start dehumanizing others, it becomes all too easy to justify saying and doing some of the most hateful and destructive things, all in the name of our righteous cause. Right, it gives us an excuse or a way out of doing the tough work of stepping into somebody else's shoes or really trying to understand what life looks like from their perspective. And here's the thing, right? And if you don't get nothing else from this video. If you don't get anything else from what I'm saying here, get this.
Speaker 1:At no point is it ever okay to strip somebody of their dignity or their humanity just to make your point. Because if your argument can only stand when you belittle or demonize the other side, then maybe your point isn't as strong as you think it is. And that's exactly where we're at as a society on both sides of the political aisle, right, in order to feel like we're right, it's like the other side has to be seen as stupid or brainwashed or insane or really so morally bankrupt that they deserve the worst that we can throw at them. Really Like. And we get to do that just because they voted differently than you, just because they see the world differently than you do, like all because they voted for Donald Trump. Now, don't get me wrong. I still think people who voted for Donald Trump are wrong. I believe they made the wrong choice and I don't agree with their reasons for voting for him. But at the end of the day, guys, they're still human beings and it feels it feels almost surreal that I have to say this out loud, but they are still human beings.
Speaker 1:And that brings me to this question for the people who have to use this kind of tactic when we're talking about politics or any kind of social issue or anything that's like a hot button topic, where you know you're trying to convince somebody of something or you're trying to make this grand point right, what's your end goal with this type of rhetoric and this goes for everybody who uses this tactic in public discourse right, for whatever topic or whatever serious issue we're talking about. What do you think you're doing when you're treating the other side as less than human? Right? What do you think you're accomplishing? I mean, do you really think you're going to shame somebody into changing their mind? Do you think you're going to embarrass them enough to change their entire worldview because you trapped them into some I don't know gotcha moment? Or maybe if you post enough of those you know getting owned videos on social media, they'll see the error of their ways and they'll change their mind based on that. I mean, do you actually think that's going to work? No, of course not. In fact, you're only escalating the tension. You're adding fuel to the fire, right? You're just giving the other side that you're arguing against more ammunition of hate and bitterness to do that exact same thing back to you until we get to a point where there's no return, where we get to a point where things are so heated and so intense that there might be a chance of actual physical violence.
Speaker 1:Because, let me tell you something, that kind of tactic whether you realize it or not, that kind of tactic has all kinds of unintended consequences. For example, you want to know what got Trump elected. Well, let's be real, there's a lot of things that got him elected, but one of the reasons that I truly believe he got elected was because of this militant push from the left that demanded that everyone embraced a certain worldview, without any room for disagreement, for nuance or even a simple hey, let's just agree to disagree. And really, man, that kind of thing alienated a lot of people. And sure, there was a lot of public pushback. Right, you had, you know, podcasters, you had influencers and just a lot of outspoken personalities who went toe to toe with what they call the social justice warriors or the woke mob. But a lot of those alienated people didn't go public with their frustrations, they didn't post about it on social media, they didn't post about it on social media, they didn't start podcasts or anything like that, and they didn't even bring it up in casual conversation, out in public. Why? Because they were afraid. They were afraid of the backlash, of being labeled, of facing the relentless pushback that often comes with voicing a dissenting opinion these days. But you know what they did do? They went to the polls and they voted for the one guy they thought might stand up for him and for all of his faults and for all of his moral failings. Trump did become that one person they felt was pushing back against what they saw as this forced conformity. I mean him and the conservatives that kind of adopted this Trumpism kind of style of politics.
Speaker 1:This election was a huge pendulum swing from one extreme to the other extreme right, a huge pendulum swing from one extreme to the other extreme right. It was a reaction, a backlash against what a lot of people felt was a society that had left no room for their voices, and that's why this election wasn't just a win for the Republicans in the White House. It was also a win for them in the Senate and possibly even the House too. We're still waiting on the results for that Y'all let's let's not forget this fact Right when we're looking at this election Trump made gains in every single voter demographic. Compared to the last election, to the 2020 election, he, as the Republican candidate, won the popular vote by like 6 million votes. I think it was right. This is rare. This kind of thing hasn't happened since 2004, when Bush won his reelections. Guys, american voters don't rock with Republicans like that typically, or at least in the past. Like 20 years. Like this is really, really rare.
Speaker 1:My opinion is that the left unintentionally created this anti-woke Frankenstein by alienating a certain group of people, and now that certain group of people has thrown his support behind a man who, I mean, let's be honest, threatens the very fabric of democracy I mean, think about it like this for a second right, the left indirectly played a part in getting Trump elected, mainly because of their intolerance for disagreement. Right, that kind of mindset pushed people to a place where they felt they had no choice but to vote for this dude. Now, again, this isn't the only reason Trump, you know, gained this support right. This isn't the only thing that that got him elected. There are plenty of factors that are involved, that played into this, but make no mistake, this reactionary pushback was definitely a part of the story. Look, the majority of causes that the left fights for are legitimate, and I applaud you for fighting so vehemently for something you believe in.
Speaker 1:But you're not going to change hearts and minds by forcing it down people's throats. Right, you change hearts by changing minds and you're not going to do that by calling someone a bigot for not saying things exactly the way you do. Right. You're not going to get people to believe in what you believe in by fighting a culture war. You've got to convince people that your way is right and not by forcing them to believe it by law. And when you've reached a point where you can't convince somebody, all right, you can just agree to disagree and keep it moving. Now let's go on the other side. Right, because the right doesn't get a pass either.
Speaker 1:Christian nationalism is not the Christianity of Jesus Christ. Right, those things are two totally different belief systems. You're not going to turn this nation into a land of Jesus followers by forcing legislation that forces belief on people. That's not how this thing works. That's not how Jesus works. Right? And if I could be real for a second and this is incredibly sad for me to say as a Christian but really nobody wants anything to do with American Christianity, right, because, as a whole. That type of Christianity comes off as racist, greedy and really uncaring toward people. Right, american Christianity looks nothing like Jesus, yet we're trying to force people to be Christians by law who don't know Jesus and, frankly, don't want anything to do with Jesus, because we out here acting crazy.
Speaker 1:If you want a nation of Jesus followers, then you've got to do the hard work. You've got to live a life that looks like Jesus. You got to tell people about the gospel of Jesus Christ, right, you got to be loving and compassionate and take care of the poor and empathize with others. I mean, basically, do all the things that Jesus and the Bible teaches us to do. Reasoning and persuading. That's how you're going to change the hearts and minds, not by depending on a political party. That's, I mean, let's be honest hustling us to maintain power. My point is this If you love this country, if you believe this country can do better, it starts with coalition building, right. It starts with you building relationships and reaching across the aisle. We are probably at the most polarized period in our country, probably since the Civil War. Right, the 60s is in there. You know that was kind of polarizing, that was definitely up there, but you know the Civil War was definitely it Right.
Speaker 1:In my opinion, Abraham Lincoln is probably the greatest president that we've had in this country, and it's not only because he won the war and he freed the slaves, but it's because, after the most divisive and brutal, intense war this country had ever seen, where you know so many people died. He wanted nothing more than to bring this nation together and heal right. He had plans to do that by reaching across enemy lines to work together with the very people he just had a war with. And he could have been vindictive, he could have sought retribution, he could have demonized the other side to justify their destruction, but he didn't. Why? Because he knew that true unity requires understanding, empathy and forgiveness. He wanted to bring a fractured nation back together, and that required meeting people where they were and seeing them as humans and, probably most importantly, offering a path forward to reconciliation.
Speaker 1:Y'all, trump ain't that guy. I don't know if you've noticed that you you've probably gathered that, but trump is not that guy. We're not getting any kumbaya moments from him when he gets back in office. So who's left to do the work of unity? Well, that's us, the citizens, right, every single one of us. This, I think this particular time in American history calls for unity from the bottom up. It has to start with reaching across the aisle and figuring out how we can live together and respect each other without the need to agree on every little thing. And I'm not saying this is something that politicians need to do, like, yeah, they need to do it, but I think they've proven that at this point they're not capable of doing it. I'm talking to you, you listening to or watching this video right?
Speaker 1:If you think this country is broken, you have to do the work to change it. It starts with you looking in the mirror and acknowledging your own blind spots and asking yourself yo, what am I missing here? Right. And then you go up one extra level, right. It moves to your family, figuring out how can I have civilized conversations where we listen to each other and we focus more on understanding than just winning an argument. And then it moves on to your workplace and your communities, looking for ways to work together with people who may not see eye to eye with you and figuring out a way to find some common ground to address the issues that affect your community and affect people around you, and it goes so on and so on.
Speaker 1:From there. It's like I said in the last video change starts from the bottom. Right. You look at yourself and you figure out how can I be better? Then you look at your family and it's like what can I do in my family to make my family better? Then your communities, cities, towns. That's how you change things. Because, guys, change is not coming from the top. Unity is not coming from the top. It's going to have to come from you, no matter which side of political aisle you're on.
Speaker 1:And let me tell you something else Change is never going to come by dehumanizing a person on the other side, by dehumanizing somebody that has a different worldview than you. In fact, it's going to take the exact opposite, right? You humanize somebody by trying to understand their motivations, by considering why they do the things they do or say the things they say or whatever, and honestly, just by acknowledging simple things. Like you know, they, just like you, have hopes, they have dreams, they have families that they want to take care of. They have, you know, a community that they want to be a part of. They want a sense of belonging, just like you do. They, just like you, want to live a part of. They want a sense of belonging, just like you do. They, just like you, want to live a life of dignity, right?
Speaker 1:But when you strip away that humanity, all of a sudden they become something to be crushed under the righteous boot of your worldview. Y'all you got to be better than that, right? Be an adult, be mature, listen to people when they share their grievances, treat everybody with respect, regardless of what they believe. You don't have to agree or be best friends with them or anything like that, but if you treat them just with the basic human respect, that goes a long way. Think, we see that if you don't treat people with respect, if you don't treat people as a human and you work to dehumanize them, then we end up in the situation we're in now, where millions of people felt like they were pushed into a corner where they had to vote for a terrible human being because they felt unheard and dismissed and written off as less than human. And the crazy thing is they're written off by the very people who claim to stand for equality and justice.
Speaker 1:Now, like I said at the beginning, this is a book channel and we use books as a tool to understand the world we live in, right? So I do want to share with you three books that I plan on reading to kind of help me better understand people who think differently than me and, specifically, to help me have civilized conversations with people who thought it would be a good idea to vote Donald Trump in the office. Now, the first book I'm going to be reading is a book called Good and Reasonable People by Keith Payne, and I'm really excited about this because I think it really does get at the heart of what I'm trying to understand, which is why we're so divided and why conversations like these feel like they're just I don't know, they're waiting to explode, right? So Payne is a social psychologist and he digs into how everyday people people like you, know, me and you form their political beliefs and why it's so hard to talk about them without things getting so heated. And what's really interesting about this book is the fact that this guy is really in the thick of it himself. Right, he grew up in a conservative Christian family in Kentucky, but now he's an atheist, which you know obviously doesn't sit well with his family, right, he's got a firsthand experience of navigating these conflicting beliefs with people he really does care about and, honestly, his situation is one that you know a lot of us find ourselves in right Families, divided among you know, religious or political lines. It's really tough and I think this book can really give a firsthand account of you know how to deal with that and how to navigate that.
Speaker 1:Now the next book on my reading list is we Can't Talk About that at Work, by Mary Frances Windsors and Marisha N Reese. Now this book is, again, probably as relevant as it gets when it comes to this situation that we're in right now in America, because we all have to go to work, we all have to find ways to get along with people who think differently from us, and this book seems like a practical guide on how to navigate those tough conversations that you know are bound to come up in workplace situations or just whenever you're around other adults, the topics that you know we're not supposed to talk about in public. That's impolite to talk about. Things like politics, race, religion, all of that stuff right, things that can easily divide us if we don't handle it right. From my understanding, this book is about building the skills necessary to have respectful, constructive dialogues, even around the most polarizing issues. So again, that's one that I'm really excited to get into and, you know hoping that it'll help me to understand how to approach these discussions without shutting people down or really, you know getting shut down myself.
Speaker 1:And the last book on my list is a book called You're Not as Crazy as I Thought, but You're Still Wrong, by Phil Nessier and Jacob Hess Nessier Nessier Again, I probably messed that name up, sorry about that. Listen, man. This book is exactly how I feel about everybody who voted for Donald Trump, right? So when I seen the title of this book, like I had to put it on my list, I had to read it just by the title alone.
Speaker 1:From what I gathered, this book is structured as a conversation between both the authors One is conservative and one is liberal. In each chapter they talk about things like faith, race, capitalism, government, and they both kind of lay out their own beliefs and then react to each other's beliefs by challenging each other openly while still respecting each other's views. What's interesting about that structure is that it allows this honest back and forth, with sections that kind of highlight their question, their points of tension and even those rare areas of agreement, and it sounds like this book really does allow them to go deep, even with things that were uncomfortable and they seem to keep the discussion really respectful, from my understanding of reading the reviews and all of that stuff. So I'm curious to see how the book captures the kind of dialogue that really does show a path for taking on big issues without the other person being written off or shut down or anything like that, and it feels like something I could really learn from, especially when it comes to understanding perspectives that might be totally different from mine. So these are the books that are going to be in my reading list over the next few weeks and I'm really hoping that they'll give me some fresh perspectives on one how to handle conversations and to get some insights into why we're so divided right now. So be on the lookout. I'll drop some videos where I review these books and kind of talk about what I learned, what surprised me and maybe even what challenged my own beliefs. So be on the lookout for that.
Speaker 1:So this is what my channel is all about, right, I'm here to ask the question. Why here? To ask the question why this channel is about diving into ideas that I don't know might not have clear answers and confronting people and viewpoints that really will differ totally from my own point of view. And why would I do something like that? Because that's how you grow as a person, guys. That's how you get the tools you need to build a real community where differences aren't going to be a threat or a possibility to destroy an entire community.
Speaker 1:See, one of two things happens when you challenge yourself with views that are different than yours. Right? Either A, you'll change your mind or B, you'll be even more grounded in your own belief. Either way you come out the winner, right? Either A, you'll change your mind or B, you'll be even more grounded in your own belief. Either way you come out the winner, right. Either way you come out stronger.
Speaker 1:So if you're the type of person who is out here just like writing off people who think differently than you and that's closed-minded and has nothing to do with people who are different than you, then this probably isn't the channel for you, right? I'd rather keep my 100 subscribers and get 10 or 20 views from people who actually are interested in exploring real conversations. But if you are like me and you want to learn, you want to grow, you want to figure out who you really are by engaging with new ideas, then hit that like button, subscribe to the channel and, you know, drop a comment. Man, let me know what you think, whether you agree with me or disagree with me. Like, I'm here for it. Man, just just be respectful. Do me a favor and be respectful, right? Don't be in my comments being racist or being crazy. Especially don't be out here talking bad about whole groups of people, right? That's not. That's not what we're going to do here. Anyway, that's my rant, guys. Thanks for listening. We'll catch you next time.