‘A Giant Us’ — Thom Hartmann’s Reflections on Freedom, the Genetics Behind ‘Othering’, and How We Build Resiliency
Thom Hartmann joined Bette Dangerous on Sunday as part of our Building Resiliency series. Together, we celebrated joyful days while mentally preparing for a dark money onslaught
***Bette Members: Video from our Thom Hartmann Speakeasy is below the paywall. To attend our community events and access video and audio recordings, please become a member and help support independent investigative journalism. Free subscribers are welcome to read on for an event summary below.***
“We have an extraordinary opportunity here right now in America, and I think it's going to bring us forward. I'm very optimistic about the future, if the Democrats can just hold on.”—Thom Hartmann, Bette Dangerous Speakeasy, 8.25.2024
Thank you to the Bette members who joined our Sunday Speakeasy with bestselling author and progressive talk show host Thom Hartmann. We celebrated the joy of a brilliant DNC week, while also preparing for the negative GOP campaigning ahead.
The Giant Us
Thom described ‘the giant us’ he experienced last week in Chicago — the big tent the Democrats pitched. As I wrote in a report scheduled for this week in Byline Supplement, the tent was so big it included Republicans, who warned of the dangers of Trump’s GOP while also celebrating the fact that Democrats are patriots.
Among the highlights of our conversation was how we maintain and celebrate the DNC's high energy and inclusivity throughout this campaign season, while contrasting it with the divisive rhetoric and grievance politics of the Republican Convention.
Thom had spent the day reading English anthropologist and primatologist Richard Wrangham's book, “The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution,” which explores genetic predisposition to violence and how through language humans domesticated themselves.
In a post he published today, he highlighted the historical use of "othering" by Republicans.
We also discussed his thoughts on how Democrats brilliantly fused the word ‘freedom’ thematically into the DNC, and how that strategy is resonating with Americans.
We celebrated the achievements of the Biden Administration, and how Joe rebuked neoliberalism for a return to FDR style politics and Thom’s optimism that a Harris Administration will continue that good work.
We enjoyed a robust chat about the efficacy of the term “weird” to undermine opponents — how it’s not cruel but it deflates the strongman’s ability to be feared.
And we also took a moment to emphasize the need for counter-messaging against disinformation, particularly Russian interference, and the importance of media literacy.
And despite a very feel good hour, as is always the case when we come together for our Speakeasy events, we understand the necessary mental armor and vigilance that will be required in the days and weeks ahead. Here is Thom’s report on the tsunami of rightwing dark money coming this Fall…
In the Q & A portion, Thom reminded us that “human beings are story machines.” Let’s keep telling our stories and doing everything in our ability to create a more perfect union.
Let’s also savor this optimistic moment in time, and let’s follow Britain and France and vote for the continuation of democratic governance.
More about Thom Hartmann here:
Thom is a New York Times best-selling author of 36 books in print and the #1 progressive talk show host in America for more than a decade. Thom has co-written and been featured in 6 documentaries with Leonardo DiCaprio about climate change. A former psychotherapist, entrepreneur and refugee worker helping the worldwide Salem group start homes for abandoned and abused children all over the world, Thom’s daily Substack writing is at www.HartmannReport.com. Thom and his wife Louise live in Portland, Oregon with a small menagerie of cats, dogs, ducks & geese. Thom has been kind enough to feature me on his show multiple times, and I’m looking forward to his return to our Speakeasy.
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Video here…
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