The PoP Podcast is Coming! For now, I’m sitting at a restaurant on the shores of Lake Winnebago. I’m captured by the water and the vastness in front of me.  The gentle waves of the lake (well, post-storm, they aren’t as gentle as they normally are) break against the rocks of the shore, and I’m reminded of the need to write this blog. This lake has been here for over 12000 years. If there’s anything that can shift a perspective so wholly and completely, it is nature.  Water, especially. I’ll never forget how small I felt on the shores of the ocean in Florida, and I’m reminded of that today. 

Why did this prompt me to write this blog today? Because a small gust of wind on the north side of Lake Winnebago can create a wave that hits with a crash on this side.  Because it reminded me of something important. We are tiny bundles of energy and connective tissue that can make a HUGE impact on the world around us.  Not to mention when we work together with other humans, animals, and our environment.   And that led me to the here and the now. 

The Pop Podcast

I’ve been wanting to start a podcast for a long time. When I finally decided on the Perspectives on Precedent title, it was because I wanted to share the different perspectives of the American government. and the past perspectives that have set precedent on how we interpret the American legal documents from our country’s creation.  The reality of things, though, is that we’re approaching our 250th anniversary as a country. And despite that, we are more divided than we’ve ever been.  At least it sure seems that way. 

If you’ve spent any amount of time on social media or viewing some aspects of news media, you have heard the ascension, the upset, the “They and Them” or the “MAGA” and “Liberal” agendas. I left social media a few months ago. I was finding myself so full of anger and frustration every time I got on a social media app. As a collective “Social” community people have lost sight of the bigger and more important picture on social media. 

The bigger picture 

Every person is unique, AND many of us are so similar.  My understanding of psychology affords me the ability to look at the way people are responding to what they believe. I can understand that people’s frustrations aren’t actually with the things they believe they’re frustrated with. The bigger picture is hard to see when you’re stuck in an echo chamber, and that’s a large reason that I stepped away from social media. I was tired of feeling like my neighbors were enemies. Or that I couldn’t trust a stranger until I knew what “side” they were on. 

If you’re reading this and feeling it, it’s normal and natural for you to feel however you feel. Even if you’re alarmed or angry on social media. It’s the way our brain ensures that we’re safe.  It is a valid response to the things that are happening in the nation right now, and the clips or posts we see that challenge our beliefs or create a subconscious fear response. It’s the pattern recognition of all of those history classes we went through in school. AND most of them are downright lies.  We’ve been duped by propaganda, no matter which side you’re on. 

The Human Condition

The truth is that the human condition is selfish – it’s survival at its core.  And our interest in protecting others only goes so far as our understanding of the survival of ourselves and our descendants. We can sit down and logic out our feelings and beliefs of duty, kindness, respect, and being “good.” However, in dangerous situations, very few people concern themselves with the group.  

That is the human condition, it’s normal and natural… and yet, it’s part of the problem. Out of fear, we’ve stopped connecting with the people around us.  Again, a normal response to a dangerous world, but our inability to connect with others, (our fear, our projections of who and what people are) actually create the very conditions we’re trying to avoid.

There is an excellent Criminal Minds episode where the team is trying to stop a terror cell from carrying out an attack.  Gideon sits down with a known terrorist and leader and speaks to him like a human.  Eventually, he opens up, and I will never forget the actor’s rendition of how he lost his entire family in a bomb that was dropped on his village.  He was the only survivor.  He had nothing left except his own survival, and he turned to his emotions of grief to guide him through his revenge.  This is how violence continues in cycles.

Perspective is important

We stop violent cycles by gaining perspective.  By asking questions both of ourselves and others.  This is why This podcast is going to launch September 30th with a different approach than I’d thought it would originally. I believe the country needs to understand the way our government works, but more importantly, I now believe that our country needs to hear the perspectives of the people.

For 3000 days, most of us pledged allegiance to our country and for our nation… For 3000 days, we ended that pledge with “For liberty and Justice for all.” Everyone has a different perspective, so for the first season (and maybe future ones as well), we’re going to dive into the different perspectives of random, everyday people. We’re going to talk about what our values are as individuals, what we want from life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… We’re going to discuss, share, and be a little vulnerable.  Truthfully, it’s a bit of an experiment.  

By and large, many of us want the same things

I truly believe that most of us want the same things. And I’m really just kind of testing my hypothesis.  As Americans, we’re raised and schooled with specific values. It’s that conditioning that will allow us to come back together as a people.  Our government is OURS! It was created so that the people were the ones who were leading their country, and in our current landscape, that seems to be in jeopardy.  I believe that people will only tolerate that for so long. We the people will be a rallying cry when all is said and done, and as we take back our country, we will need to rebuild some of the destruction we’ve already experienced. Which means we get a very cool opportunity to re-build better.

I want the people to be heard. 

I want each of us to have an opportunity to share what our country, laws, policies, and systems should look like as we move forward.  This is truly our country. It’s truly our government, and I believe that we can come together to make it that way again. I know that we can come together to make sure that it stays ours, generations into the future. 

History has shown us that the people can make change, can build governments, or topple them.  We are human, we are creative and destructive.  We are small in the grand scheme of things, and yet we can build skyscrapers and explore the universe.  Every single one of us has the power to make big changes and impacts for the future.  

The Pop Podcast: Perspectives on Precedent

The Pop podcast’s mission is to remind us that We, The People, are a collective of individuals working toward liberty and justice for all.  I invite you to join us as a guest and a listener.  I am not sure where we will be going live with our podcast yet, but for now, here is the link to sign up as a guest.  There are no right or wrong answers, so take a look, fill out the form, and schedule a date and time that works for you. 

Our first episode will air September 30th, 2025. Sign up for our mailing list to get updates when we launch and go live.