#1198 All we have to fear is fear itself (Our Culture of Fear)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2018
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date: 7/24/2018
Today we take a look at our current moment in history and the two basic paths that lay before us, one dominated by fear that drives a willingness to give up power to authoritarian rulers and the other guided by hope for a better future and a willingness to work together toward that future
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SHOW NOTES
Author Sasha Abramsky explains how irrational fear rules, and guides, life in America.
Martha Nussbaum, author of The Monarchy of Fear: A Philosopher Looks at Our Political Crisis, argues powerlessness and fear underlying political polarization.
Johann Hari, author of “Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions”, explains why disconnection is at the center of depression and anxiety today.
*Scroll down for the segment info, dates and links. Or click above for the full blog post.*
Author Sasha Abramsky explains how irrational fear is fertile ground for authoritarian demagogues.
Ch. 6: Escape from suffering - Progressive Faith Sermons w @RevDrRay - Air Date 7-9-18
Dr Roger Ray explores some of the ailments of our society that keep so many of us from happiness.
A portion of Barack Obama's speech at Nelson Mandela centenary celebrations in Johannesburg, South Africa discussing the two political and social paths that lay before us. (Watch the entire lecture)
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 8: How medical bankruptcy made me change my worldview - Kim from Chicago
Ch. 9: Progressive philosophy is amorphous by nature and hard to track through history - Ariel from Memphis
Ch. 10: Without an underpinning philosophy, ideas only float but do not take root - V from Central New York
Ch. 11: Understanding the underlying philosophies of both the left and right with clarity
THE MIDTERMS MINUTE:
Check on candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats | Brand New Congress | DSA | Latino Victory | Our Revolution
Check your state registration deadlines and voter ID laws with rockthevote.org
For an easy way to donate to candidates, check out DownTicket.comon your mobile browser.
“15 Ways to Help a Campaign Win Their Election” (Political Charge)
August 14th Primaries:
Connecticut (Reg. Deadlines - Primary: Online, mail, or in person by Thurs. Aug 9th / General: Oct. 30th)
Governor (Dem. Primary) -Ned Lamont
5th District (Dem. Primary) -Jahana Hayes (Heads up! Republicans are vying for this seat in November.)
2nd District - Heads up! One large county in District 2 pivoted for Trump in 2016. Incumbent Dem. Joe Courtney will run against Republican Dan Postemski in the general.
Vermont (Reg. Deadlines - Primary: Early voting has begun. Must be registered by Aug. 14th / General: Nov. 6th)
U.S. House (statewide Rep.) (Dem. Primary) -Daniel Freilich (Read about incumbent Pat Welch corruption)
Governor - Christine Hallquistvs. James Ehlers vs. Ethan Sonneborn
U.S. Senate - Bernie Sanders
*Minnesota (Reg. Deadlines - Primaries: Online: July 24th, In person: Until August 14th / General: Oct. 9th) *Read our spotlight*
*Wisconsin (Reg. Deadlines - Primary: Post-marked by July 25th, or in-person by Aug 10th / General: post-marked by Oct. 17th, in-person by Nov. 2nd) *Read our spotlight*
Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman
MUSIC:
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- PolyCoat - The Cabinetmaker (Blue Dot Sessions)
- One Little Triumph - Piano Mover (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Tranceless - Caruthersville (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Turning on the Lights - Speakeasy (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Betty Dear - The Pine Barrens (Blue Dot Sessions)
- The Zeppelin - Aeronaut (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today's episode is brought to you by BetterHelp, which provides affordable, private online |
| 0:07.6 | counseling. |
| 0:08.7 | You can sign up at BetterHelp.com slash best to let them know we sent you and get unlimited |
| 0:14.4 | access to a licensed, trained, fully accredited therapist on your phone and computer through |
| 0:20.0 | text, voice, or video chat. |
| 0:22.5 | And now, welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left podcast in which we shall learn |
| 0:27.2 | about the culture of fear that just may be at the core of our political problems that |
| 0:32.2 | span across the globe right now. |
| 0:34.7 | Clips today come from This Is Hell, The Brian Lair Show, a portion of a progressive faith |
| 0:39.9 | sermon from Dr. Roger Ray, and a part of Barack Obama's speech at the Nelson Mandela |
| 0:44.7 | Centennial Celebration. |
| 0:47.2 | The way fear evolved or our brain evolved, we have to have an ability to process risks very, |
| 0:55.6 | very quickly, because if you're an animal and you are the potential victim of a predator |
| 1:01.0 | that wants to eat you, you're going to survive much better if you can work out in milliseconds |
| 1:06.7 | that you're under threat, and you can work out much better if you're, you can survive |
| 1:10.4 | much better if your body goes into survival mode without you even having to think about |
| 1:14.1 | it. |
| 1:15.1 | And so the way we've evolved, the way we've evolved as animals in a survival of the fittest |
| 1:20.1 | world is we have very, very, very quick fear identification responses and our bodies |
| 1:26.7 | changed, our brains released a whole bunch of chemicals, our heart rate changes, our blood |
| 1:30.5 | pressure changes, the way we focus our eyes, shifts, we get much more narrow in our focus, |
| 1:36.5 | and even our muscles change, our blood that is channeled into the muscles, so we literally |
... |
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