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Part One:
We speak with Robert Meyers, Professor of Anthropology & Public Health at Alfred University, about how “warspeak” is permeating our everyday language. Whether it’s Pres. Trump’s reference to an “invasion” of Texas by Hispanics or “fighting back” against our political opponents, puts us all “in the trenches” even when we’re not actually having a conversation about war.
We ask why this “warspeak” — like our over-use of “gunspeak” and “computer-speak” — has become acceptable to people. And how can we change our daily language to reflect a less military vibe?
Part Two:
Our guest once again is Bill Curry, two-time Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut and a White House advisor in Bill Clinton’s administration. Curry recommends that all Democratic candidates in 2020 should focus their attention on two intimately related major crises: political corruption and climate change. The Trump administration certainly has been caught in all kinds of personal financial corruption, and that is a terrible thing.
But the way Trump is *corrupting our democratic processes* is a crisis of existential proportions to the United States and the world. And the Democratic party must be honest enough and courageous enough to take a stand against this kind of corruption. Unfortunately, most Democratic candidates have not addressed this because they are deeply involved with the same kind of pay-to-play (large financial donations give you access to government decision-makers and therefore give you influence over the making of public policy).
We agree with Curry that progressives need to put an end to crony capitalism and restore our government to the people (as our Constitution proclaims). Two of the three leading Democratic presidential candidates are genuine reformers in this sense. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have correctly framed the debate: Whether the very rich can continue to buy influence over government policy by throwing huge amounts of dark money at candidates from both political parties. According to Curry, other Democratic candidates — not just Biden but also Buttigieg, Harris, Castro and Booker — have not promoted an end to this “political corruption” which would result in a fundamental redistribution of power in America.
