Latest / Jess Ask / Can We Trust Phillip Ensler? | EP170

Transcript

Can We Trust Phillip Ensler? | EP170 · Jess Ask

0:07
Speaker 1: Yo, it's your girl Jessica S. Smith, and you already
0:10
Speaker 1: know that you've.
0:10
Speaker 2: Entered the safe space for influencers to decompress, have fun,
0:15
Speaker 2: and just ask. If you already know what it is,
0:19
Speaker 2: then you know it's about to get real.
0:22
Speaker 1: So be sure to show your girls some love and like, comment,
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Speaker 1: and subscribe.
0:27
Speaker 3: I know we could be another way.
0:37
Speaker 1: It's a new week here at Just Ask the Podcast,
0:40
Speaker 1: the safe space where transparency meets transformation. It's your girl,
0:43
Speaker 1: Jessica S. Smith, and I do nothing without my girl, Desiree.
0:47
Speaker 4: Hey.
0:48
Speaker 1: Desiree. Hey. Desiree, Desiree, Desiree, Desiree, Desiree. Hey. Hi, Desiree. Hi, Jessica.
0:55
Speaker 1: How are you? How are thou? I'm great. I am fantastic.
0:59
Speaker 3: I am.
1:00
Speaker 1: I am good. And that's real. And you're not lying
1:03
Speaker 1: to the people? I'm not lying to the people. Because
1:04
Speaker 1: you know the saints be lying to the people, honey.
1:06
Speaker 1: I think that's just a natural, oh, I'm good. Yeah.
1:08
Speaker 1: But really inside. Because they want to be. They try
1:10
Speaker 1: to prophesy to their soul. I mean, you got to,
1:13
Speaker 1: the man said, encourage yourself. So I guess that's what
1:15
Speaker 1: that is. What man is that? Because I thought it
1:17
Speaker 1: was a lady that was on that song. Speak over yourself.
1:19
Speaker 1: That is a lady. That is not a man. My bad.
1:22
Speaker 1: That is a, you know what, ma'am? If you ever
1:25
Speaker 1: see this, she's sorry. Encourage yourself. Just apologize to the
1:28
Speaker 1: lady right now. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. How you doing, Jessica?
1:33
Speaker 1: You know, I'm feeling a little great, okay? I'm feeling
1:37
Speaker 1: a little holy. Yeah. Sanctified, filled with the Holy Spirit.
1:43
Speaker 1: But I'm really excited today because we have somebody special here. Yeah,
1:47
Speaker 1: it's going to be good. But you know what? Something
1:50
Speaker 1: I've realized is that there are a lot of hidden
1:52
Speaker 1: gems amongst us around us. Birmingham, around Alabama. And the
1:58
Speaker 1: thing about the podcast game is that we really get
2:02
Speaker 1: an opportunity to reveal hidden gems. And so I'm really
2:06
Speaker 1: excited about this conversation that we're about to have because
2:09
Speaker 1: we're about to answer the main question of who is
2:12
Speaker 1: this man? Who?
2:14
Speaker 4: Who?
2:14
Speaker 1: Who is this man? You remember the Kiki Palmer Jill?
2:17
Speaker 1: When she was like, that picture came in front of
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Speaker 1: her and said, I'm sorry, I don't know this man.
2:23
Speaker 1: We are about to answer Not only who is this man,
2:27
Speaker 1: but can we trust Mr. Phillip Insler? Can y'all welcome
2:32
Speaker 1: Phillip Insler to the building? How y'all doing? How you doing?
2:36
Speaker 1: I said y'all because I'm looking at Madison.
2:39
Speaker 4: I'm good and happy to be here and looking forward
2:42
Speaker 4: to a good conversation. You know, on the campaign trail,
2:44
Speaker 4: there are so many. conversations that are so policy focused
2:48
Speaker 4: and that's important, but to have this kind of conversation. So, uh, I'm,
2:51
Speaker 4: I'm really, I feel energized already. Yes.
2:54
Speaker 2: Yes.
2:55
Speaker 1: I'm excited that you're here. And for the people that
2:57
Speaker 1: don't know why I have him here, listen, y'all remember
3:00
Speaker 1: Doug Jones, y'all went crazy about Doug Jones, but Phillip
3:03
Speaker 1: Insler is the democratic candidate for Lieutenant governor. Okay. So
3:08
Speaker 1: I really want to, before we start, I want to
3:10
Speaker 1: get to why that's important, the Lieutenant governor, because you know,
3:13
Speaker 1: some of us like me, I'm a, I'm not as political.
3:17
Speaker 1: What I've learned is that it's important to know this
3:21
Speaker 1: role or important to know who you want in this
3:23
Speaker 1: position because what the role entails. One of the most
3:26
Speaker 1: important things I've realized is that you would be over
3:30
Speaker 1: the Senate, like the president of the Senate, and you
3:33
Speaker 1: would break the tie in certain votes. Why is that
3:38
Speaker 1: idea important and why is it important that we have
3:41
Speaker 1: the right person in this space?
3:43
Speaker 4: Yeah, so the lieutenant governor, the very technical part of
3:46
Speaker 4: it is being president of the Senate. And they water
3:49
Speaker 4: down a lot of what the lieutenant governor can do.
3:52
Speaker 4: And they've done that intentionally because they don't want the
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Speaker 4: lieutenant governor to have too much power to, I think,
3:59
Speaker 4: do good and do the right thing. So that's part
4:02
Speaker 4: of it. But a huge part of it, and Doug
4:04
Speaker 4: and I talk about this all the time, is that
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Speaker 4: the lieutenant governor could be the second in command to
4:09
Speaker 4: governor and really help day to day, help run the state.
4:12
Speaker 4: help advocate for things that are going to make a
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Speaker 4: difference in people's lives. And I try not to think
4:17
Speaker 4: about this part too much, but the lieutenant governor is
4:20
Speaker 4: the second in line if the governor, if something were
4:23
Speaker 4: to happen, and obviously want Doug Jones to win, want
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Speaker 4: Doug to, you know, fulfill his term.
4:27
Speaker 1: But it's a reality.
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Speaker 4: It is a reality. And so that is a big
4:31
Speaker 4: part of it is being prepared to take on that leadership,
4:34
Speaker 4: you know, if needed. And the last thing I'll say
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Speaker 4: is the lieutenant governor, just by saying, virtue of the
4:39
Speaker 4: position and kind of the title that you're using the office,
4:42
Speaker 4: the way you use your platform, I can use the
4:45
Speaker 4: platform to speak up for things that are impacting people
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Speaker 4: and speak up for things that will make a difference
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Speaker 4: in their lives. So that's not necessarily a formal power
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Speaker 4: or responsibility, but it's something that I would take very seriously.
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Speaker 1: I love that. I think that For me, I thought
5:01
Speaker 1: about like just like I said, not very political. I
5:04
Speaker 1: had to like, what does that even mean? Because I
5:06
Speaker 1: was comparing it to the president and the vice president.
5:09
Speaker 1: But really, that's not the same because for one, y'all
5:11
Speaker 1: are not technically running on the same ballot that people
5:14
Speaker 1: could really choose one or the other. It can be
5:16
Speaker 1: a Republican governor or Democrat governor and a Republican lieutenant governor.
5:22
Speaker 1: I think that's important. to know people to know like, okay,
5:26
Speaker 1: how does this role impact me? So I'm done with
5:30
Speaker 1: that political thing. So I'm really curious because you're not
5:35
Speaker 1: from here. You're from New York, New York, Alabama, big difference,
5:41
Speaker 1: but you've been here for what? Like a little bit
5:43
Speaker 1: over 15.
5:44
Speaker 4: Years, 14 years.
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Speaker 1: Okay. Okay. And so talk to me about that transition
5:49
Speaker 1: and why even come to Alabama? Like that is a big,
5:51
Speaker 1: like that is a big, drastic change for you to
5:54
Speaker 1: come from New York to Alabama?
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Speaker 4: Yeah, I grew up in New York and grew up
6:00
Speaker 4: with a very, almost like out of a movie of
6:03
Speaker 4: just grew up taking the subway to school, grew up
6:06
Speaker 4: going to school with people of all different backgrounds and
6:09
Speaker 4: cultures and was exposed to just a lot of diversity
6:12
Speaker 4: and a lot of different backgrounds at a young age.
6:16
Speaker 4: But I had a high school history teacher who And
6:19
Speaker 4: in 11th grade, we learned a lot about the civil
6:22
Speaker 4: rights movement. And not just, though, Rosa Parks, MLK, kind
6:26
Speaker 4: of the main stuff, as important as it is, we
6:30
Speaker 4: really got into learning about the Freedom Riders and SNCC
6:33
Speaker 4: and young people that were organizing. And we learned especially
6:38
Speaker 4: about Goodman, Schwerner, and Cheney, who were three civil rights
6:41
Speaker 4: workers killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, 1965 for registering voters. And
6:46
Speaker 4: two of those... civil rights workers were from New York
6:50
Speaker 4: and Jewish and I'm Jewish as well. And at a
6:53
Speaker 4: young age, just learning about these guys that reminded me
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Speaker 4: of myself or that there were similarities that inspired a
7:00
Speaker 4: lot in me at that young age. And fast forward
7:03
Speaker 4: a couple of years in college, I went to college
7:06
Speaker 4: in D.C. I was a freshman when President Obama was
7:10
Speaker 4: first elected. which was such an exciting time to be
7:13
Speaker 4: in D.C. I then got to intern in the White
7:15
Speaker 4: House with Obama a few years later. But I had
7:18
Speaker 4: this burning interest in wanting to come visit Alabama and
7:22
Speaker 4: visit the Deep South from what I learned about in
7:25
Speaker 4: high school. So I came and spent a few days
7:27
Speaker 4: when I was 20 years old traveling throughout Alabama, Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery,
7:32
Speaker 4: going to the civil rights sites. And it was the
7:35
Speaker 4: most exciting. spiritual, soulful experience I ever had. I found myself,
7:40
Speaker 4: I was like sobbing, crying, you know, every church I
7:43
Speaker 4: went to, every memorial, like it was just so, so profound.
7:47
Speaker 4: And I felt this immense connection to the history. And
7:51
Speaker 4: then fast forward a few years later when I was
7:54
Speaker 4: a senior, the program Teach for America was recruiting on campus.
7:58
Speaker 1: They recruit heavily on those campuses.
8:00
Speaker 4: They do. And they had flyers everywhere. And I'm a
8:03
Speaker 4: big fan. Starbucks coffee drinker on my campaign team and
8:08
Speaker 4: have learned that very quickly. And there's a Starbucks on
8:11
Speaker 4: campus and they had flyers all over. So every day
8:14
Speaker 4: I was going in to get coffee and they were
8:15
Speaker 4: right there. The recruiter was sitting there. So I was like,
8:18
Speaker 4: all right, I'll sit down and have a conversation. And
8:21
Speaker 4: they talked a lot about that education was and making
8:25
Speaker 4: sure that young people have a quality education. Today is
8:28
Speaker 4: a continuation of the fight for true freedom, for true equality,
8:32
Speaker 4: for true equity. And just going back to my experience
8:36
Speaker 4: visiting here, it all kind of just came together. And
8:39
Speaker 4: I spent a lot of time praying about it, reflecting
8:42
Speaker 4: about it. My parents and people thought I was nuts
8:45
Speaker 4: when I said I wanted to move to Alabama to
8:47
Speaker 4: teach high school because they thought it was so just
8:50
Speaker 4: off of the path of what someone of my background
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Speaker 4: would do.
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Speaker 1: Because your background, like you come from a well-endowed family,
8:58
Speaker 1: like meaning like You come from Lanny, from what I understand.
9:01
Speaker 1: What I mean is you have a certain level of
9:03
Speaker 1: wealth and then you came from there to go to Montgomery,
9:06
Speaker 1: which was a poor rural area. And so how was
9:11
Speaker 1: that big adjustment on like, OK, I've seen this and
9:14
Speaker 1: I come from this. Now my passion is to help
9:17
Speaker 1: here because a lot of that trust that's needed to
9:20
Speaker 1: be built with money. a white man like you with
9:24
Speaker 1: urban area students that haven't had the care that they need.
9:29
Speaker 1: How was that adjustment for you in the education realm?
9:32
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I taught at what was named Robert E.
9:35
Speaker 4: Lee High School in Montgomery. They fortunately changed the name
9:38
Speaker 4: a few years ago. But the student population, 98% black,
9:44
Speaker 4: and then the rest a little bit white, a little
9:46
Speaker 4: bit Hispanic. And for me.
9:50
Speaker 4: There was definitely an adjustment just in the sense that
9:52
Speaker 4: I was 22 years old. So having come right out
9:55
Speaker 4: of college to then being responsible for teaching high schoolers
9:59
Speaker 4: who were not that much younger than I was, you know,
10:02
Speaker 4: that was the biggest adjustment. And I say this all
10:05
Speaker 4: the time. I have gained such a newfound appreciation for
10:09
Speaker 4: educators because you just, it's maybe sounds easy. Oh, they,
10:14
Speaker 4: you know, go in and they have to teach their subject,
10:16
Speaker 4: but you are dealing with, so many different things beyond
10:20
Speaker 4: just teaching the subject matter. And you're there, you're almost,
10:23
Speaker 4: you're a therapist, you're a family member, you're a counselor,
10:27
Speaker 4: you're your school nurse at times. I mean, you're doing
10:29
Speaker 4: so much to care for the child. So the adjustment
10:32
Speaker 4: for me was just that I was young myself and
10:35
Speaker 4: having to then very quickly step into this role where
10:38
Speaker 4: I was responsible for, for young people. But the thing
10:43
Speaker 4: that made the biggest difference, and I have found this
10:46
Speaker 4: in why Alabama has become home and why I love
10:49
Speaker 4: it here so much is that when you're sincere and
10:52
Speaker 4: genuine and doing things for the right reasons, people can
10:56
Speaker 4: pick up on that. And particularly young people, like they
10:59
Speaker 4: know if you're being real or not, they know if
11:01
Speaker 4: you genuinely care or if you're full of it. And,
11:04
Speaker 4: and that helped me early on, like, yes, on paper, but,
11:07
Speaker 4: you know, very different, uh, and outwardly different in the
11:10
Speaker 4: sense of like, right. Not, you know, and they were
11:12
Speaker 4: confused too. My students would be like, why are you here?
11:14
Speaker 4: They're like, I don't get it, Mr.
11:15
Speaker 1: Ensler.
11:15
Speaker 4: You're, you're like, you're, you know, you grew up in
11:17
Speaker 4: New York, you were in DC, you were just interning
11:19
Speaker 4: in the white house a year ago. Like, why are
11:21
Speaker 4: you here teaching us? But they picked up on that.
11:25
Speaker 4: I was there because I genuinely cared. And, and that
11:28
Speaker 4: ever since is, and, and, and the last thing I
11:30
Speaker 4: will add in this too, that the teachers at the school,
11:33
Speaker 4: you know, veteran teachers that had been there for years
11:35
Speaker 4: were welcomed me with open arms and made me, we
11:37
Speaker 4: called it family, uh, cause we high school and we,
11:40
Speaker 4: so we always had this ongoing thing that we were
11:43
Speaker 4: part of a family together. And that made me feel
11:45
Speaker 4: really at home very quickly.
11:47
Speaker 1: What was one of the most impactful encounters that you
11:49
Speaker 1: had with one of your students?
11:52
Speaker 4: So I had a young man, uh, Kedarious, uh, and
11:55
Speaker 4: I know he, he would be fine with me sharing this.
11:58
Speaker 4: The first year I had him, he just was typical
12:03
Speaker 4: class clown and not that interested in being focused in class.
12:11
Speaker 4: And we clashed and butted heads at times. He then
12:14
Speaker 4: failed my class because of that. So was reassigned the
12:18
Speaker 4: next year to have my class again. And I said,
12:19
Speaker 4: all right, we're going to do this very differently. And
12:23
Speaker 4: to make sure that he's able to succeed and that
12:24
Speaker 4: we have a good year. And the first day of school,
12:28
Speaker 4: I pulled him aside and we had a very heart
12:29
Speaker 4: to heart conversation. And I said, look, you are a
12:31
Speaker 4: natural leader. You have that in you. I know that
12:34
Speaker 4: you can do well in my class. I've seen when
12:37
Speaker 4: you are able to excel and let's get off to
12:41
Speaker 4: a good start and have that go this year. I'm
12:43
Speaker 4: counting on you to help things go well. And that
12:46
Speaker 4: just set the tone. And he stepped into that leadership
12:49
Speaker 4: role where he then was getting to class and quickly
12:52
Speaker 4: taking out his notebook and figuring out what we were
12:54
Speaker 4: doing that day. And our whole rapport changed. And I'm
12:57
Speaker 4: so proud of him because he really showed that he
13:00
Speaker 4: could live up to it and Fast forward a few
13:04
Speaker 4: years ago, he had graduated high school. I was driving
13:07
Speaker 4: in Montgomery and I, and, um, I pulled over, I was,
13:11
Speaker 4: this was during a campaign. I was going to knock
13:13
Speaker 4: on doors, a car stops in the middle of the
13:15
Speaker 4: street and someone jumps out and everyone all around, like Paul,
13:19
Speaker 4: you know, they think what is going on? Like, and
13:22
Speaker 4: it was him and he, and he was just so
13:23
Speaker 4: excited to see me. He ran up, he gave me
13:25
Speaker 4: a big hug. And that just goes to show that
13:28
Speaker 4: when you genuinely care about young people, when you, you,
13:32
Speaker 4: do that. And he's doing great now. And, you know, that,
13:35
Speaker 4: that experience. So just really has always stuck with me.
13:39
Speaker 1: I love that. I'm going to be transparent with you, right?
13:42
Speaker 1: With people not being familiar with you, they may go
13:46
Speaker 1: on your website and see the pictures, see you in
13:50
Speaker 1: the community or whatever. There's one specific picture that I
13:52
Speaker 1: saw and it was you amongst a lot of, it
13:55
Speaker 1: was like older black people, a few women, a few men,
13:59
Speaker 1: everybody was black. And the question that came to me,
14:01
Speaker 1: I was like, hmm, is this staged or is this real?
14:05
Speaker 1: And based on my research and based on what you're,
14:08
Speaker 1: you being able to tell the story of a picture,
14:11
Speaker 1: I'm not going to say that's the same picture, but
14:13
Speaker 1: it brings light to it. And what I want to
14:15
Speaker 1: do is make sure that we understand that this is
14:18
Speaker 1: not a patty cake and baker's man thing because politics
14:22
Speaker 1: really has a, a history of, or understanding for certain
14:27
Speaker 1: people that don't really trust people in politics is that
14:32
Speaker 1: once this thing happens, once you get what you want,
14:35
Speaker 1: you're not going to be for me. And I think
14:36
Speaker 1: that's a big disconnect that has been real, you know?
14:41
Speaker 1: And I think it's important to have people that are
14:44
Speaker 1: really for the people because people are tired of being
14:48
Speaker 1: sick and tired. And so I'm curious about your connection.
14:52
Speaker 1: You go from, because you've always wanted to be in politics, right?
14:56
Speaker 4: I had, and I differentiate between politics and public service
15:00
Speaker 4: in the sense that I've always wanted to try to
15:03
Speaker 4: serve and make a difference. And I think that government
15:07
Speaker 4: and political office is a way to try to advance
15:11
Speaker 4: some of those values of social justice and trying to
15:13
Speaker 4: make the world a better place. Politics sometimes is, I
15:17
Speaker 4: see that as people who are in it for the
15:19
Speaker 4: ambition or the ego or the title or just the power.
15:23
Speaker 4: So yes, I've wanted to be in public service. but
15:26
Speaker 4: not just politics because I saw it as some fun,
15:29
Speaker 4: ambitious thing.
15:31
Speaker 1: What do you think the biggest, I'm curious to know
15:37
Speaker 1: your biggest frustration right now, just in general, because I've
15:41
Speaker 1: seen a clip where you were like, basically saying the
15:44
Speaker 1: other side, your opponents are concerned about building walls and baby,
15:51
Speaker 1: tell me, just be talking. At this point, I'm about
15:53
Speaker 1: sick of it. So it's like, he's concerned with everything
15:57
Speaker 1: but the people, right? And so what is your biggest
16:00
Speaker 1: concern when it comes to the nature and nurture of
16:04
Speaker 1: people of the state of Alabama?
16:06
Speaker 4: Yeah, and let me say this real quick on your
16:08
Speaker 4: previous point that I still do a lot of mentorship
16:11
Speaker 4: work with students. I do a trip every year. I
16:13
Speaker 4: bring students to D.C. and to New York, often their
16:16
Speaker 4: first time flying on an airplane, and we tour colleges
16:19
Speaker 4: and meet with leaders and expose them to different, you know,
16:22
Speaker 4: industries and, and they are always watching me. And to them,
16:29
Speaker 4: if I'm the same, I am the same person that
16:32
Speaker 4: I've been since I was their teacher when I was
16:34
Speaker 4: 22 years old. And knowing that they're always watching to know,
16:39
Speaker 4: am I being honest? Do I have integrity? Am I
16:42
Speaker 4: doing the same things that I taught them to do?
16:46
Speaker 4: And that particularly in politics, knowing that they're watching, like,
16:50
Speaker 4: I'm not, that holds me accountable.
16:52
Speaker 1: I was just about to say, that sounds like accountability.
16:54
Speaker 4: And why it's, I'm not going to do things that
16:57
Speaker 4: are fake or insincere, knowing, like, they will call me
17:00
Speaker 4: out on it. I mean, they have no problem, you know,
17:02
Speaker 4: especially that generation.
17:03
Speaker 1: What do they call you?
17:04
Speaker 4: They call me Spider-Man. So they think I look.
17:06
Speaker 1: You do look like Spider-Man! Yeah. Oh, my goodness!
17:11
Speaker 4: So when I was teaching... So I wasn't just Mr.
17:13
Speaker 1: Answer.
17:13
Speaker 4: I was Spider-Man. And students that I didn't even have
17:16
Speaker 4: would walk by the classroom, and they would hop in,
17:18
Speaker 4: and they would do the Spider-Man. So to this day, and, like,
17:22
Speaker 4: it doesn't... I was in... This was already like 10
17:26
Speaker 4: years ago. I was visiting a friend who was studying
17:28
Speaker 4: in Bangkok in Thailand. And someone in Thailand goes up,
17:32
Speaker 4: says to me, do you know who you look like?
17:34
Speaker 4: And I'm like, who? And I knew they were going.
17:35
Speaker 1: To say Spider-Man. I can't unsee it now. Oh, my goodness.
17:40
Speaker 4: And one of them tagged me on social media yesterday.
17:42
Speaker 4: I guess now with the new Spider-Man movie out. like
17:45
Speaker 4: there are people who are, you know, they're comparing like
17:47
Speaker 4: which actor played the best Spider-Man. So my student, one
17:50
Speaker 4: of them tagged me last night and said like, Tobey Maguire, like,
17:53
Speaker 4: you know, AKA Mr. Ensler is like the best Spider-Man.
17:57
Speaker 1: Um, now I can't unsee it. Yeah. Have you ever,
18:00
Speaker 1: you don't, well, you probably don't celebrate Halloween or anything
18:03
Speaker 1: like that.
18:04
Speaker 4: No, I do. I, and I, I do. So I
18:06
Speaker 4: never was Spider-Man. I was, I, the last costume I
18:10
Speaker 4: did was, um, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Um, Don't know why,
18:16
Speaker 4: but like, yeah, I haven't done this. Maybe I did.
18:19
Speaker 4: I think I want like the students wanted me to
18:21
Speaker 4: dress up as Spider-Man.
18:22
Speaker 3: Yeah.
18:23
Speaker 4: Principal was really worried, not in like a bad way,
18:25
Speaker 4: but that the kids would get like so excited that
18:29
Speaker 4: like it would be a distraction.
18:30
Speaker 1: Yeah.
18:31
Speaker 4: So I wanted to do it, but the principal kind
18:33
Speaker 4: of put the.
18:35
Speaker 1: I know to it. So, so let's, since we're there.
18:38
Speaker 4: And I do want to go back to your other question.
18:41
Speaker 1: We will, but since we're right here, I'm not going
18:43
Speaker 1: to forget that question. I'm curious now because I've been
18:47
Speaker 1: introduced to this anime world. So the arc. And I
18:51
Speaker 1: call it cartoons because Olive is not real. So it's
18:54
Speaker 1: a cartoon to me. And so Spider-Man has been cartoon.
18:58
Speaker 1: So who is your favorite character, superhero, and why? Just
19:04
Speaker 1: for fun fact.
19:05
Speaker 4: So I grew up watching the show Doug on Nickelodeon.
19:10
Speaker 4: I love Doug.
19:11
Speaker 1: Doug, yes, yes.
19:13
Speaker 4: And I don't know if that quite fits into the
19:15
Speaker 4: anime world, but Doug, there was just a certain humility.
19:19
Speaker 4: He wasn't the cool, popular character, but there was just
19:23
Speaker 4: this humility to him and things that he went through
19:26
Speaker 4: as a young kid, and that one... doug has always
19:30
Speaker 4: stuck with me uh but i'd have to i mean
19:32
Speaker 4: i mean spider-man just because that has become like a
19:35
Speaker 4: part of my identity yeah but it also relates like
19:37
Speaker 4: that spider-man is is trying to do some good in
19:40
Speaker 4: the world that spider-man is is yes on the outside
19:45
Speaker 4: and when he's saving and doing things but like at
19:49
Speaker 4: the end of the day he's just an average person
19:51
Speaker 4: so there's a you know relatability there.
19:54
Speaker 1: I was about to say this it seems like you
19:56
Speaker 1: know when to turn the switch on you know want
19:58
Speaker 1: to go what is what does he.
20:00
Speaker 4: Do yes the web yeah You can tell I don't.
20:06
Speaker 4: It would be cool though. I wish I had that
20:08
Speaker 4: superpower where I can like, you know, jump from building
20:11
Speaker 4: to building and get around that way.
20:13
Speaker 1: Would that be your superpower? What would you want your
20:16
Speaker 1: superpower to be?
20:17
Speaker 4: If I had a superpower and this sounds so nerdy
20:20
Speaker 4: that I would want to put my hand on a
20:22
Speaker 4: book and absorb all the knowledge and information because there's
20:26
Speaker 4: so many books I want to read, but don't always
20:28
Speaker 4: have the time. And if I can just, put my
20:31
Speaker 4: hand and take it all in and then I mean
20:34
Speaker 4: and the other one would be especially in politics these
20:38
Speaker 4: days like people come to me with some really hard
20:41
Speaker 4: issues where they can't afford their rent they can't afford
20:45
Speaker 4: their utilities or their groceries and I say I wish
20:48
Speaker 4: I had a magic wand I can wave and just
20:50
Speaker 4: fix it and because it's so hard when people are
20:53
Speaker 4: in such a dire situation to not be able to
20:56
Speaker 4: immediately fix it so that would have to be the
20:59
Speaker 4: one that I could wave a magic wand and just
21:01
Speaker 4: you know, not make everything perfect, but at least help
21:03
Speaker 4: those kinds of tough situations.
21:05
Speaker 1: It seems like you have like a unique burden for
21:09
Speaker 1: helping people that really like need stuff like because you've
21:12
Speaker 1: seen it, like you say, your students or whatever. I
21:16
Speaker 1: can only imagine how restless they can become sometimes. How
21:21
Speaker 1: do you manage your mental health in dealing with it?
21:25
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, candidly, I have a therapist and regularly
21:28
Speaker 4: do that and have for years. And I'm a big
21:32
Speaker 4: proponent of you don't have to be going through a
21:34
Speaker 4: mental health crisis. You don't have to be going through
21:37
Speaker 4: depression or grief. Day-to-day life, just living in this world
21:41
Speaker 4: is hard. And having someone and family and friends are great.
21:47
Speaker 4: But having a professional that you can confide in and
21:50
Speaker 4: just know you have that built-in time where it's like
21:53
Speaker 4: your time to just talk So that makes a difference. I,
21:57
Speaker 4: at night, have made it a rule, and sometimes I
22:01
Speaker 4: break the rule, but for the most part, that instead
22:04
Speaker 4: of watching the news, like, right up and before bed,
22:06
Speaker 4: I'll watch ESPN and watch SportsCenter. And, like, that can
22:10
Speaker 4: get frustrating when you're a fan and, like, if your
22:12
Speaker 4: team isn't, you know, winning or they've had a tough day.
22:15
Speaker 4: But for the most part, saying I'm not going to,
22:18
Speaker 4: if I watch the news up until I go to sleep, like,
22:20
Speaker 4: I'm then going to be thinking about all of those
22:22
Speaker 4: really heavy issues. So even just, like, doing something to relax.
22:26
Speaker 4: And then the third thing I would say is I
22:27
Speaker 4: do love cooking and I have a grill in the
22:30
Speaker 4: backyard and I love throwing, whether it's no matter, like
22:34
Speaker 4: last night I grilled steak, the night before did hamburgers,
22:37
Speaker 4: hot dogs, chicken, fish. Like I just think anything on
22:40
Speaker 4: the grill tastes better. And when I cook though, or
22:43
Speaker 4: I'm grilling, it's time where I'm not having to sit
22:46
Speaker 4: there and like think about all the heavy policy stuff.
22:48
Speaker 4: And I, and I, you know, I can be It
22:51
Speaker 4: makes me focus in on what's right in front of
22:53
Speaker 4: me and that's making sure I don't overcook or undercook
22:56
Speaker 4: the food.
22:58
Speaker 1: I think that's good. I think that's good. You brought
23:02
Speaker 1: up mental health. If I'm not mistaken, you did help
23:06
Speaker 1: pass a bill. Can you talk to us about that?
23:10
Speaker 1: It was something with students and the mental health policy.
23:13
Speaker 1: Can you elaborate on that?
23:14
Speaker 4: Two things. One, which is a little broader than mental health.
23:19
Speaker 4: I've lost 12 of my former students to gun violence
23:22
Speaker 4: in the years since i've taught and and beyond that
23:25
Speaker 4: i mean friends of theirs classmates family members it and
23:29
Speaker 4: just knowing the the trauma of that and it's it's
23:34
Speaker 4: better than nothing but at times the schools will have
23:37
Speaker 4: like a therapist come in the day after a tragedy
23:41
Speaker 4: and they'll be there for a day or a week
23:43
Speaker 4: but then they disappear and that's i'm not faulting the
23:46
Speaker 4: therapists or the school districts it's just that they're there's
23:50
Speaker 4: only limited capacity, but knowing that young people continue to
23:54
Speaker 4: go through a lot of those challenges. So one thing
23:58
Speaker 4: that the last four years, every year I've been in
24:00
Speaker 4: the legislature, we've gotten funding for a conflict resolution program,
24:03
Speaker 4: which teaches young people how to deal with conflict in
24:07
Speaker 4: a nonviolent way, do peer-to-peer mediation, how to talk things through.
24:12
Speaker 4: So there's that. And then the one that's starting this
24:14
Speaker 4: school year is a tele-mental health program where It'll help
24:18
Speaker 4: students anywhere in the state, but especially in rural areas
24:21
Speaker 4: or even right here in Birmingham. If a young person
24:24
Speaker 4: can't get to a counseling appointment at the between the
24:27
Speaker 4: end of the school day and five o'clock when most
24:29
Speaker 4: offices are open until they'll be able to hop on
24:31
Speaker 4: their iPad or phone or, you know, computer and have
24:34
Speaker 4: a counseling session that way. And it will be free.
24:38
Speaker 4: And there's no like that is such a big hurdle
24:42
Speaker 4: that people face as well. I can't pay the premium
24:45
Speaker 4: or have a deductible. So just saying, hey, this is
24:47
Speaker 4: going to be accessible to you no matter what's going on.
24:51
Speaker 4: So that's going to start the school year. And like
24:54
Speaker 4: anything coming from the government and it takes time and
24:57
Speaker 4: there's bureaucracy and there are hiccups and it takes a
25:00
Speaker 4: little longer. But I'm really glad we got that funding in.
25:03
Speaker 4: And that's something where it really having worked and continuing
25:07
Speaker 4: to work with young people. That's why I was so
25:09
Speaker 4: passionate about advocating for that. and getting that money in
25:12
Speaker 4: the budget. And those are the kinds of things I
25:14
Speaker 4: would want to do even more of if elected Lieutenant Governor.
25:18
Speaker 1: Man, I think that's so powerful. I'm curious to know
25:20
Speaker 1: if you were also influenced by your own grief in
25:23
Speaker 1: that bill. Like your father passed away, like your first
25:26
Speaker 1: year of you being in the legislature.
25:29
Speaker 4: Yeah. And my dad, Stephan, we were incredibly close. We
25:34
Speaker 4: spoke every day, every day, said, I love you. And
25:38
Speaker 4: I share that to say with people like, and I
25:40
Speaker 4: know it sounds cliche, you just don't know when it
25:45
Speaker 4: may be the last time you talk to someone. And
25:47
Speaker 4: I know we're all busy and we're coming and going
25:49
Speaker 4: and we're in a rush and we get frustrated. We
25:52
Speaker 4: have disagreements with family. But I am grateful that I
25:57
Speaker 4: no matter, and our relationship wasn't perfect. We had our moments.
26:02
Speaker 1: Mine ain't perfect with my parents.
26:04
Speaker 4: But just saying no matter what, I want to make
26:07
Speaker 4: sure that we end every phone call with saying, I
26:09
Speaker 4: love you. And yep, he had surgery and there were for, uh, um,
26:17
Speaker 4: he was just dealing with an aneurysm and had surgery
26:20
Speaker 4: and there were some complications and just one thing spiraled
26:23
Speaker 4: into another. But I was, you know, that was my,
26:25
Speaker 4: you know, it was at the legislature and was balancing
26:29
Speaker 4: being there and being with him. And, and thank God,
26:31
Speaker 4: like I, chose always being with him because the work,
26:35
Speaker 4: and again, we say this stuff all the time, like
26:38
Speaker 4: I was with him going into surgery when he got
26:40
Speaker 4: out of surgery, when he was then in the hospital. And,
26:44
Speaker 4: and yeah, it was the hardest thing I've gone through
26:46
Speaker 4: and I'm not sugarcoated. I was depressed. I was, I
26:50
Speaker 4: stopped taking care of myself and, and I was still
26:52
Speaker 4: functioning and getting through the day, but it was the
26:55
Speaker 4: hardest thing I've gone through. And, and it's still really hard.
26:58
Speaker 1: It is.
26:59
Speaker 4: I miss him all throughout the day. I dream about him. Um,
27:04
Speaker 4: but I, I share that to say, yes, mental health and,
27:06
Speaker 4: and make, and knowing that young people also go through
27:09
Speaker 4: loss and whether it's a grandparent, whether it's a sibling,
27:12
Speaker 4: whether it's, it is a parent at a younger age,
27:15
Speaker 4: that it, it is really hard. And I'm grateful that
27:17
Speaker 4: I had access to good mental health services and every person,
27:21
Speaker 4: every child, no matter where they live, what their income
27:24
Speaker 4: status is, you know, should have that kind of access.
27:27
Speaker 1: Thank you for that. Mental health is extremely important to me. Um,
27:31
Speaker 1: I have family members that have more like extreme measures
27:35
Speaker 1: of what they deal with. Um, but I think that it's,
27:40
Speaker 1: I'm happy to know that that is important to you.
27:43
Speaker 1: So I trust that you would like, like enhance those programs. Um,
27:48
Speaker 1: one thing I'm thinking about last night, I just went to, um,
27:51
Speaker 1: see Kev on stage. I'm not sure if you're familiar
27:53
Speaker 1: with him, but he's a comedian. Um, And his brother
27:57
Speaker 1: passed away about four years ago too. So, um, he
28:00
Speaker 1: was talking about like this, this tour that he's on
28:04
Speaker 1: is like a grief, a grief tour, but still honoring his, um,
28:08
Speaker 1: his brother. And one of the things that's been sticking
28:11
Speaker 1: out to me, uh, during his, his presentation, but committed
28:15
Speaker 1: presentation was, he was talking about grief is a language
28:20
Speaker 1: and the, the words and the, and the experiences and
28:24
Speaker 1: the journey that he's learned within this grief process. And
28:28
Speaker 1: so I wonder, like, from your dad, like, what have
28:34
Speaker 1: you found or learned about yourself from grieving your dad?
28:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's a lot. And I would say the biggest
28:44
Speaker 4: thing that I've learned is that like, yes, there are
28:49
Speaker 4: things that are annoying and we get in disagreements with people,
28:53
Speaker 4: but like just not spending a lot of time on
28:56
Speaker 4: drama and, and getting caught up in petty things. And,
29:00
Speaker 4: and even with family, the, it has reinforced, I have
29:05
Speaker 4: a twin sister. We're incredibly close. She lives in California.
29:07
Speaker 1: Does she like Spider-Man too?
29:09
Speaker 4: She does like Spider-Man. She, her favorite movie growing up
29:13
Speaker 4: was that Ferris Bueller movie where like he skipped school.
29:17
Speaker 1: And, I don't know who Ferris is. I'm going to
29:20
Speaker 1: have to look that up.
29:21
Speaker 4: It's a good, it's like a, it's a good, it
29:24
Speaker 4: was like the early nineties. Not that we, it came
29:27
Speaker 4: out before we were, you know, we were born in 1990,
29:30
Speaker 4: but it came out when we were really young, but
29:33
Speaker 4: it was still something that people watched. Yeah, she always
29:37
Speaker 4: liked that. But we've always been really close, but it's
29:42
Speaker 4: just reinforced for me how important it is to make
29:46
Speaker 4: that time and have quality time with family. And even
29:50
Speaker 4: though we all, loved ones, get on each other's nerves
29:53
Speaker 4: of just saying, hey, don't let that.
29:58
Speaker 4: Prevent you from having a really good trusting relationship. And
30:02
Speaker 4: so I think it's just made me and be a
30:04
Speaker 4: little bit more intentional. Like you just, and again, it
30:06
Speaker 4: sounds cliche, but you just don't know when the last
30:08
Speaker 4: time is you may talk to someone or see someone.
30:10
Speaker 4: And it really has made me, um, you know, realize
30:15
Speaker 4: and just reinforce, like tell people how you feel about them.
30:17
Speaker 4: If you appreciate them, if they've done something good for you,
30:21
Speaker 4: if they've been there, like let them know that and
30:23
Speaker 4: don't assume that they just know, you know, verbalize it.
30:26
Speaker 1: Well, I thought, So with you even saying that, I
30:29
Speaker 1: kind of surprised that, I mean, you could always be
30:32
Speaker 1: closer to somebody, right? You could always do better. But you,
30:36
Speaker 1: like you said, you're Jewish. And my interpretation of the
30:41
Speaker 1: Jewish heritage or culture, I don't know the correct terminology
30:44
Speaker 1: to say that, but you guys are really close-knit, like,
30:51
Speaker 1: Closer than close. And so I just think I find
30:54
Speaker 1: that unique that you say, hey, I could have been
30:57
Speaker 1: closer with that type of background. So is it like
31:02
Speaker 1: it was your dad Jewish?
31:04
Speaker 4: Yeah, my whole family. And fortunately, you know, without boring
31:09
Speaker 4: too much with the details, my family all emigrated to
31:12
Speaker 4: the U.S. Fortunately, before the Holocaust and before that horrible period.
31:19
Speaker 4: horrible to say the least. Um, but yeah, there, there
31:22
Speaker 4: is generally a closeness in the Jewish community and Jewish
31:26
Speaker 4: community in Alabama. It's, I think there are about 10,000
31:29
Speaker 4: Jewish people in the state in Montgomery. There are maybe 500.
31:33
Speaker 4: So it is very small, but yes, there generally is
31:36
Speaker 4: a sense of, of looking out for each other and
31:40
Speaker 4: a strong sense of, of community. And, and, you know, I,
31:44
Speaker 4: I don't have any regrets about my closeness with my dad, sister.
31:47
Speaker 4: Like I'm, very close with everyone. It just reinforces how
31:50
Speaker 4: important that is. And I think with then even other relationships, aunts, uncles, cousins,
31:56
Speaker 4: you know, people that I call cousins that are, are
31:58
Speaker 4: not necessarily, you know, actually true relatives.
32:01
Speaker 1: Yeah. We got them. We got them too.
32:02
Speaker 4: Yeah. I have people say to me in college, especially
32:06
Speaker 4: as they're like, you have so many cousins. And I'm like, well,
32:08
Speaker 4: some are like real cousins and then they're like cousins.
32:12
Speaker 4: And it just, again, very, reinforced is how important it
32:16
Speaker 4: is to know who's, who's there for you. And, and
32:19
Speaker 4: the last, and I'll also add in that, like I
32:21
Speaker 4: take as much as I'm a serious person focused on
32:26
Speaker 4: public service and mentorship and all those things, like taking
32:29
Speaker 4: the time to do things that you enjoy and just
32:33
Speaker 4: having a little bit of that, you know, it's going
32:34
Speaker 4: to sound corny, but YOLO kind of approach and things
32:37
Speaker 4: of like, you know, go the extra take, you know,
32:41
Speaker 4: go the extra step if it's, you know, don't be reckless,
32:43
Speaker 4: but like have fun or do the, you take that
32:45
Speaker 4: vacation if, you know, or, you know, take that extra
32:48
Speaker 4: day off from work or take a day for yourself.
32:50
Speaker 4: I mean, do the things that you need. So I
32:53
Speaker 4: think it's reinforced that more than anything.
32:55
Speaker 1: That's good. I think that's good. So I'm going to
32:57
Speaker 1: go back to the question I asked you before we
32:59
Speaker 1: went on. I won't call it a tangent. I think
33:01
Speaker 1: we went on a good, healthy pay up. Absolutely. It's
33:04
Speaker 1: on a side quest. On a side quest. Yeah, we went,
33:07
Speaker 1: but we're going to go back on that journey of,
33:10
Speaker 1: your frustrations and like, what would you say your frustrations
33:14
Speaker 1: are right now in the state that we're in?
33:16
Speaker 4: Yeah, there are so many people who are in politics and,
33:20
Speaker 4: and I'll be, and this can be on both sides,
33:23
Speaker 4: but I candidly hear it more often from Republicans that
33:27
Speaker 4: will say to me that they don't actually believe in something,
33:30
Speaker 4: a certain bill or legislation, or they don't, really support Trump,
33:34
Speaker 4: but they go along with it and they say, well,
33:36
Speaker 4: I have to. And I'm like, you don't have to
33:38
Speaker 4: do a damn thing. I mean, you can do, you're
33:39
Speaker 4: a grown person. You, you can do, you should do
33:42
Speaker 4: what you want, but they're afraid that they're going to
33:44
Speaker 4: be primaried or they're going to be kicked out of
33:46
Speaker 4: the party or that they're going to be ostracized for it.
33:50
Speaker 4: So the frustration is that if people were willing to
33:54
Speaker 4: stand up and speak for what they really believe and
33:57
Speaker 4: vote for things the way they really think is right
34:00
Speaker 4: and Things wouldn't be perfect in Alabama, but we would
34:03
Speaker 4: be in a better place if people had a little
34:06
Speaker 4: bit more backbone and a little bit more courage to say,
34:08
Speaker 4: do you know what? Just because I may get criticized
34:12
Speaker 4: from the party or maybe it's going to upset some
34:15
Speaker 4: people that if they were willing to still do it.
34:17
Speaker 4: And that's frustrating when they say that they don't agree,
34:20
Speaker 4: really agree with it, but they go along with it.
34:23
Speaker 1: Would you say an example of that are these data
34:25
Speaker 1: centers that's trying to pop up now?
34:28
Speaker 4: That could be one. I think with, with those that
34:32
Speaker 4: support it, I think like genuinely like they think it's
34:36
Speaker 4: a moneymaker. They think it's going to be good for
34:39
Speaker 4: the state. The thing that the one that I hear
34:43
Speaker 4: the most on is, or recently like is, is healthcare
34:47
Speaker 4: and dealing with Medicaid expansion and, and, and Medicaid people here,
34:51
Speaker 4: Medicaid and they go, it's a handout for, people that
34:54
Speaker 4: don't need it. And Medicaid expansion is for people that
34:58
Speaker 4: are busting their butts, working really hard. And there are
35:01
Speaker 4: Republicans that would support that. But then they think that
35:05
Speaker 4: they're going to get in trouble with the party if
35:07
Speaker 4: they do go along with it. And that's one where
35:09
Speaker 4: we're talking about hospitals closing. We're talking about people's lives
35:13
Speaker 4: and health. And you're afraid to do something because of
35:16
Speaker 4: political reasons. The data center one, though, I mean, that's
35:19
Speaker 4: been interesting in that you have democrats republicans white black
35:25
Speaker 4: urban rural suburban like all across the spectrum concerned about
35:30
Speaker 4: it and politicians that are still kind of ignoring those concerns.
35:36
Speaker 1: Yeah and and i think that's a problem like i
35:38
Speaker 1: think that on one end of it and just i
35:41
Speaker 1: mean help my ignorance okay um on one end of
35:45
Speaker 1: it specifically speaking because that's where i live close to
35:47
Speaker 1: fairfield i know they were in the talks of having
35:51
Speaker 1: um The data center, they haven't had any economic impact
35:59
Speaker 1: for the city in a while, such as a data
36:02
Speaker 1: center that would bring in the funds. But my concern is,
36:05
Speaker 1: it's like, and maybe, like I said, help my ignorance,
36:09
Speaker 1: there's impact with the people mainly for, I guess, the...
36:15
Speaker 1: nature or like in water impact or whatever. Like, can you,
36:19
Speaker 1: what is the plan or what are you and Doug
36:21
Speaker 1: talking about? Because I know there's an interest because money
36:25
Speaker 1: is needed, but also the concern of how does this
36:31
Speaker 1: harm our people that we are governing?
36:34
Speaker 4: Yeah. And that's where those who, and they're There are
36:39
Speaker 4: and can be some economic benefits of that a data
36:43
Speaker 4: center would have to pay property taxes. Property taxes help
36:45
Speaker 4: fund public education. They would create some jobs, particularly for
36:51
Speaker 4: electrical electricians who would help with building the center, and
36:55
Speaker 4: then it requires some jobs to help maintain it. But
36:58
Speaker 4: if that is coming at the cost of the water
37:01
Speaker 4: is polluted in the area or there is loud noises
37:05
Speaker 4: coming from the turbines and the machinery working and someone
37:09
Speaker 4: can't sleep at night because they hear that on a
37:13
Speaker 4: constant basis. So the argument that like not all just
37:17
Speaker 4: because it can bring in some money doesn't mean that
37:19
Speaker 4: we should stop there and say, OK, let's just automatically
37:22
Speaker 4: do it. You have to weigh the pros and cons.
37:25
Speaker 4: So Doug and I have called for A moratorium, which
37:28
Speaker 4: means we want to pause on the construction of any
37:31
Speaker 4: data centers until the state can put in just more
37:36
Speaker 4: oversight and a process that allows for more public input
37:39
Speaker 4: and more transparency. You have public officials on the city level,
37:43
Speaker 4: county level, and in some places that are signing nondisclosure
37:47
Speaker 4: agreements with these companies where they will then sign and
37:50
Speaker 4: say they're not going to talk to the public about it.
37:52
Speaker 4: They're not going to reveal information. If you're elected to
37:55
Speaker 4: be a public official, your job and duty is to
37:59
Speaker 4: be transparent and share information with people. So the secrecy
38:02
Speaker 4: around it is, I think, I know why so many
38:06
Speaker 4: people are so concerned about it. So what I would
38:09
Speaker 4: want to do is, and Doug and I have talked
38:11
Speaker 4: about this, is having that transparency, having the public know
38:15
Speaker 4: what is actually happening. And there may be a situation
38:18
Speaker 4: where a community says, do you know what? The data
38:20
Speaker 4: center could bring some jobs. It could be good for us.
38:23
Speaker 4: There's a plan to show that it's not going to
38:25
Speaker 4: have environmental issues, but it shouldn't be forced on communities
38:29
Speaker 4: without much more information shared with them and much more
38:33
Speaker 4: opportunity for them to weigh in.
38:35
Speaker 1: I think that's powerful. So how do we, the people,
38:38
Speaker 1: assist with that push?
38:42
Speaker 4: Yeah, so, and I know it gets frustrating, and I
38:45
Speaker 4: know people hear this, but calling your elected officials, and
38:49
Speaker 4: that could be picking up the phone and dialing, texting them,
38:52
Speaker 4: Facebook message, Instagram, Twitter, old school, writing them a letter,
38:59
Speaker 4: all of those things. I would say faxing, but I
39:01
Speaker 4: don't think anybody uses faxes anymore.
39:03
Speaker 1: Maybe them older people that you dial their numbers.
39:06
Speaker 4: Some might, but reaching out. And then we saw this
39:10
Speaker 4: at the legislature there, and we can You know, this
39:13
Speaker 4: may be a tangent, but there was a special session
39:15
Speaker 4: back in the spring dealing with redistricting. And that was
39:19
Speaker 4: to try to take away a district that was almost
39:23
Speaker 4: majority black population and try to take away the seat
39:27
Speaker 4: that Shamari figures currently has. And I share I bring
39:32
Speaker 4: that up to say that people packed the statehouse and
39:35
Speaker 4: they showed up day after day. And the legislature did
39:39
Speaker 4: still pass the Republican majority still pass it. so I
39:43
Speaker 4: understand some people may say, well, hey, me showing up
39:45
Speaker 4: didn't make a difference. Me speaking out didn't change things.
39:47
Speaker 1: I was just about to say that.
39:47
Speaker 4: So that's why I say I get that it's frustrating.
39:50
Speaker 4: I have seen though situations and examples where when people
39:54
Speaker 4: do keep calling and they do keep showing up, when
39:57
Speaker 4: public officials feel the pressure that it could get them
40:00
Speaker 4: to change their position or be more open to something.
40:04
Speaker 4: And that's why I encourage people like to be as
40:08
Speaker 4: active as they can. And, and, and I get it.
40:11
Speaker 4: It's hard. It's like, if you have, if you work
40:12
Speaker 4: during the day and a county commission or city council
40:15
Speaker 4: meeting is at 10 o'clock in the morning or five
40:17
Speaker 4: o'clock in the evening or five 30, and you have
40:19
Speaker 4: to pick up your kids from school and you have
40:21
Speaker 4: to make dinner and get, you know, do homework. Like
40:23
Speaker 4: it's hard to show up at those meetings, but to
40:25
Speaker 4: the extent someone can continuing to put that pressure on and,
40:31
Speaker 4: and specifically saying, we want more transparency on data centers.
40:34
Speaker 4: We want more environmental transparency. you know, rules around it,
40:39
Speaker 4: that that is the best we can do. But it
40:41
Speaker 4: also then is on the elected officials to have the integrity,
40:45
Speaker 4: to have the willingness to do the right thing. So
40:48
Speaker 4: I'm not going to put it all on the public.
40:50
Speaker 4: The people that are in there have to really make
40:52
Speaker 4: sure that they are doing their role as well.
40:56
Speaker 1: I appreciate that. I appreciate you answering the question I
41:00
Speaker 1: was about to ask because the reality is the rejections
41:05
Speaker 1: and the history of the negligence of these minority communities
41:11
Speaker 1: is a real thing. It almost goes back to mental health,
41:17
Speaker 1: like having to retrain people to trust. I think this
41:22
Speaker 1: is a big thing. That's why I'm so interested in
41:24
Speaker 1: this table that's being built with Doug. I'm excited about
41:30
Speaker 1: your position at the table. What are you most excited
41:34
Speaker 1: about to bring to the table since you like cooking?
41:37
Speaker 4: That's good. Well, other than.
41:42
Speaker 4: I'd have to... We've talked about that we should do, like,
41:45
Speaker 4: grill with Phil. And, you know, I can bring.
41:47
Speaker 1: And I'm coming because I'm going to test and see
41:49
Speaker 1: how this grill tastes. If you can cook, Phil, you
41:52
Speaker 1: got my vote.
41:53
Speaker 4: And so that... So other than bringing hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken,
41:59
Speaker 4: you know, good stuff to actually... Bringing... young people and
42:05
Speaker 4: because of the work I do with, with students and
42:08
Speaker 4: how much they're still a part of my, my day
42:10
Speaker 4: to day, I ask them all the time, what would
42:13
Speaker 4: you do to reduce gun violence? Do you think that
42:15
Speaker 4: this legislation would help with mental health? Do you think
42:17
Speaker 4: this policy would help you be able to get to
42:21
Speaker 4: work more easily if there was a, you know, if
42:24
Speaker 4: there was better public transportation? So having them involved from
42:28
Speaker 4: a standpoint of at the table that, that, they're giving
42:31
Speaker 4: input on policy that if Doug and I, you know,
42:34
Speaker 4: just say if when Doug.
42:35
Speaker 1: And I come on, come on, speak well.
42:38
Speaker 4: And so I, I grew the, the part of me
42:41
Speaker 4: that's like superstitious and like, Oh, I don't want to
42:43
Speaker 4: like jinx it always says that if, but then people
42:45
Speaker 4: have really, they've gotten to me where I've said, all right,
42:48
Speaker 4: I got to speak into existence, claim it. Madison has
42:51
Speaker 4: a vision board. So I, you know, I'm going to
42:53
Speaker 4: claim it that when Doug and I were there having
42:56
Speaker 4: a young people be a part of those conversations and
43:00
Speaker 4: not just young people, but people who don't always have
43:03
Speaker 4: access at the state house. And right now in Montgomery
43:07
Speaker 4: at the legislature and with the governor, there are all
43:09
Speaker 4: these lobbyists who they get paid a good bit of money.
43:12
Speaker 4: And when I say a good bit of money, it
43:14
Speaker 4: must be nice. And look, they work hard, all that.
43:18
Speaker 4: It's part of the process. They're all nice people, but
43:23
Speaker 4: they're paid and have the influence and access to lawmakers,
43:28
Speaker 4: to the governor, to the lieutenant governor. And you have
43:31
Speaker 4: a lot of people who don't have that access. They
43:33
Speaker 4: don't have the ability to pay a lobbyist to go
43:36
Speaker 4: advocate on their behalf. They don't have a lobbyist who's
43:39
Speaker 4: whining and dining legislators and their staff. So just to
43:45
Speaker 4: bring people in no matter their status, background, and really
43:50
Speaker 4: be a part of the policymaking and ask them what
43:56
Speaker 4: would actually make a difference, I'm really excited about that.
44:00
Speaker 4: And I think government in Alabama can look very different
44:04
Speaker 4: and feel very different, not meaning that we can solve
44:07
Speaker 4: everything overnight or make everything better, but it will feel
44:11
Speaker 4: a lot more open and inclusive in a way that
44:14
Speaker 4: it's just not right now.
44:16
Speaker 1: You can say that again. I'm really excited for you
44:20
Speaker 1: being at the table. I really am. What I've seen,
44:22
Speaker 1: what I've learned is that you really care. And your
44:28
Speaker 1: passion for young people is so important because we have
44:30
Speaker 1: to realize that if no one pours into them, they're
44:34
Speaker 1: not prepared to take our seat. You know what I'm saying?
44:37
Speaker 4: I don't know.
44:37
Speaker 1: I'm real churchy, so walk with me when I say this.
44:39
Speaker 1: So I'm a PK, and I grew up in a semi-church, right?
44:42
Speaker 1: That's Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, right? And the most aggravating
44:47
Speaker 1: thing about watching, because I'm not in that denomination anymore.
44:51
Speaker 1: But one of the most aggravating thing is witnessing that
44:55
Speaker 1: church and other churches not be progressive because they don't
44:59
Speaker 1: want to hear from young people. Right. They don't want
45:01
Speaker 1: to hear from the people in my age. And I'm 34.
45:03
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying? And it's like, y'all are
45:06
Speaker 1: about to die. You are about to die. And I
45:10
Speaker 1: think one thing I'm most excited is how young you are.
45:15
Speaker 1: how young you are and your counterpart is kind of
45:17
Speaker 1: a little bit, you know, a little older, you know
45:20
Speaker 1: what I'm saying? And I think there's a balance to
45:23
Speaker 1: Doug having his experience, you having your experience, and we
45:27
Speaker 1: bringing those experience together because Doug can't talk to them
45:30
Speaker 1: kids like you talk to them kids.
45:31
Speaker 4: Well, and I think that's a great point of that,
45:33
Speaker 4: having people that have the experience and wisdom, but in
45:38
Speaker 4: tandem with someone who's younger and, and in political organizations, businesses,
45:42
Speaker 4: you know, churches, like having that, that combination where it
45:46
Speaker 4: doesn't always have to be one or the other, but
45:49
Speaker 4: having that where the, the elders are mentoring and bringing
45:54
Speaker 4: younger people in and exposing them. And, and look, it
45:58
Speaker 4: will mean at times that young people, as we all do,
46:01
Speaker 4: and even adults, no matter how old someone is, make mistakes, but,
46:05
Speaker 4: but you learn along the way. And look, like I've
46:08
Speaker 4: When I was interning and doing things and I was teaching,
46:12
Speaker 4: it's like I made mistakes every day. I still make
46:14
Speaker 4: mistakes every day, but I learned from the experience and
46:18
Speaker 4: being there and being given the opportunities and also then
46:21
Speaker 4: having mentors, though, who were older, who were able to
46:24
Speaker 4: help guide me through some of that.
46:26
Speaker 1: Is Doug's mentorship the reason why you changed your mind
46:29
Speaker 1: on going back to New York?
46:30
Speaker 4: Yeah. So I have to answer it in a full
46:34
Speaker 4: way in that the reason I was planning to go back,
46:37
Speaker 4: for those who don't know, was Because my dad had passed,
46:39
Speaker 4: I began having a very hard time being away from aunts, uncles, cousins,
46:44
Speaker 4: childhood friends, and made the decision not because I didn't
46:47
Speaker 4: want to live here, be here, do the work, but
46:49
Speaker 4: from that standpoint of I was like, I need to
46:51
Speaker 4: prioritize family. But then was feeling very conflicted about it
46:56
Speaker 4: because it is on such a deep level that I
46:59
Speaker 4: feel so connected and passionate. I mean, this has become
47:01
Speaker 4: home and is home. My identity is here. And when
47:05
Speaker 4: Doug then called in December, I was already thinking about
47:08
Speaker 4: how I was going to change my mind and stay.
47:11
Speaker 4: So it was the perfect, call it divine, call it
47:15
Speaker 4: meant to be, but he called at just the right
47:17
Speaker 4: time saying, I want you to consider running for lieutenant governor.
47:20
Speaker 4: And knowing that he has served in government and not
47:24
Speaker 4: a lifelong politician that's been in it for 40 years
47:27
Speaker 4: and it's time for him to go, but that he's
47:29
Speaker 4: been in it enough, it to me was the right
47:33
Speaker 4: pairing and, and just knowing that he's genuine and knowing
47:36
Speaker 4: that he's in it for the right reasons. If I
47:38
Speaker 4: did not believe in him and think that he was
47:40
Speaker 4: doing it for the right reasons, I wouldn't want to,
47:42
Speaker 4: I wouldn't have said yes. And I wouldn't have gone
47:45
Speaker 4: been part of this ticket had I not genuinely believed
47:48
Speaker 4: in him. So it's, it's been great. And I love
47:50
Speaker 4: learning from him, listening to him, but he's also very open.
47:53
Speaker 4: I mean, he calls me to run things by me
47:55
Speaker 4: and say, Hey, I want you to, you know, chew
47:56
Speaker 4: on this and think about this idea. And, to think
47:59
Speaker 4: about how we can govern that way. I get really
48:03
Speaker 4: excited thinking about that.
48:04
Speaker 2: Yeah.
48:05
Speaker 1: I'm very excited thinking about that. I think it's an
48:07
Speaker 1: advantage that that table has that we're building. And so Desiree,
48:14
Speaker 1: we've been talking to, It's the Jew and the Gentile.
48:17
Speaker 1: That's all I've been talking about. The Jew and the Gentile.
48:21
Speaker 1: You know, they used to be beefing back in the
48:22
Speaker 1: day in that word. You know what I'm saying? But
48:24
Speaker 1: now we're together.
48:25
Speaker 4: We're together. And it's so important that in a world
48:28
Speaker 4: in which politicians, especially, and I'm going to name it,
48:31
Speaker 4: Tommy Tuberville and some of the others running, want to
48:36
Speaker 4: divide people. They want to divide us up into categories
48:39
Speaker 4: and they want to hit us against one another while
48:41
Speaker 4: they then benefit. So the more people of different backgrounds,
48:45
Speaker 4: different faiths are unified, the stronger we are and the
48:49
Speaker 4: better Alabama will be.
48:50
Speaker 1: Correct. I think it's wonderful. Desiree? This has been a
48:55
Speaker 1: really good conversation. I think I've just, for me, I've
48:58
Speaker 1: just been sitting here and just learning because, you know,
49:01
Speaker 1: I'm not that deep or well versed in the public
49:06
Speaker 1: service political space, right? So I really enjoyed Just getting
49:10
Speaker 1: a little bit more understanding about like what this position,
49:13
Speaker 1: this role actually does for Alabama, but also getting to
49:16
Speaker 1: know you as well. Like I'm kind of like Jessica
49:18
Speaker 1: and I can't unsee. Spider-Man, you know, so I think
49:24
Speaker 1: that's amazing. But I was sitting here thinking, I was like, dang,
49:27
Speaker 1: the main thing, I think the biggest thing that I've
49:29
Speaker 1: taken away from this conversation is kind of you guys
49:31
Speaker 1: already touched on it, I think is the importance of
49:34
Speaker 1: being able to bridge the gap. Right. So being able
49:37
Speaker 1: to bridge the gap in the older generations and the
49:40
Speaker 1: younger generations that's coming up.
49:42
Speaker 2: Right.
49:42
Speaker 1: So the role of the older generation is it's for
49:46
Speaker 1: their wisdom. It's you know, that some of them are
49:48
Speaker 1: still kind of spry and still run and do some things. Right.
49:51
Speaker 1: But the the beauty of the younger generation is they're
49:54
Speaker 1: on fire. Right. But fire without containment is dangerous. So
49:59
Speaker 1: being able to have that wisdom is. to be able
50:02
Speaker 1: to pour back into the younger generation, to give them direction,
50:05
Speaker 1: to be able to, like, give them some guidance, but
50:08
Speaker 1: then still allow them to go and do the things
50:10
Speaker 1: that they're called to do, I think is so important.
50:12
Speaker 1: So I love this combination of you and Doug, and
50:15
Speaker 1: I'm excited to see what kind of changes that we
50:19
Speaker 1: can see in Alabama because, you know, Alabama's not a
50:23
Speaker 1: bad place.
50:24
Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying?
50:24
Speaker 1: But I think it can be better for, with better stewardship,
50:28
Speaker 1: with the right stewardship that we have. So thank you
50:30
Speaker 1: for sharing with us today and lending your voice. And
50:35
Speaker 1: I think it's very important that we all take the
50:38
Speaker 1: responsibility of what we've been called to do as citizens
50:43
Speaker 1: of Alabama. And that's just to vote. November 3rd. Yeah.
50:47
Speaker 2: All right.
50:48
Speaker 1: We voting November 3rd. And when we vote November 3rd,
50:55
Speaker 1: Of course, everybody I would encourage. Let me just be real.
51:00
Speaker 1: We as believers have a responsibility to vote and use
51:09
Speaker 1: our faith as a conduit to vote. What I mean
51:12
Speaker 1: by that is, you know what you ascribe to when
51:15
Speaker 1: you say, I live for God, right? I'm a believer
51:19
Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ. You know what you're ascribed to. And
51:22
Speaker 1: so this is not me trying to be outside of
51:25
Speaker 1: my character. This is me taking the responsibility of the kingdom, right?
51:28
Speaker 1: As a citizen, not of just the heavenly places, but
51:32
Speaker 1: right here where I am. I have a responsibility. And
51:35
Speaker 1: so who, and I'm going to say this, this has
51:37
Speaker 1: nothing to do with Phil and what he has going on.
51:40
Speaker 1: This is Jessica S. Smith. Who is going to help
51:44
Speaker 1: us get to where God wants us to.
51:48
Speaker 4: Be, right?
51:49
Speaker 1: And that's where I am. That's why I have Doug
51:52
Speaker 1: and I have Phil here. This is my belief. And
51:55
Speaker 1: so I will be voting for Phil Insler come November
51:59
Speaker 1: 3rd because I have no reason not to. I have
52:01
Speaker 1: not been proven... Anywhere else, I think this is a
52:04
Speaker 1: genuine man. I think that he is trustworthy, and I
52:09
Speaker 1: have some high discernment. I think he's trustworthy. I think
52:11
Speaker 1: he's going to do what he says he's going to do.
52:13
Speaker 1: I think he's going to not just impact and keep
52:16
Speaker 1: the old traditions going in Alabama. I really believe that
52:20
Speaker 1: he's going to impact and help us change the dynamic
52:23
Speaker 1: of Alabama. So you have my vote. You have this
52:26
Speaker 1: on record. So I'm really excited.
52:28
Speaker 4: Well, that means a lot, and.
52:32
Speaker 4: I know that people have gotten burned by politicians and
52:36
Speaker 4: they I get it. They hear that politicians come around
52:40
Speaker 4: and they make all sorts of promises. And I say
52:43
Speaker 4: this all the time. I'm going back to the magic wand.
52:45
Speaker 4: I know I can't fix all of it, but but
52:48
Speaker 4: being honest and I'm always going to let people know
52:50
Speaker 4: this is where I stand. This is what I'm trying
52:53
Speaker 4: to do. This is what I can't do. This is
52:55
Speaker 4: where we may disagree. But at the end of the day,
52:57
Speaker 4: I'm always going to stand up for what's right and right.
53:01
Speaker 4: And in that deeper, you know, spiritual and moral sense
53:05
Speaker 4: of that, we I really do believe that we're there, yes,
53:08
Speaker 4: to serve everyone. But we do have a special obligation
53:11
Speaker 4: to those that are vulnerable and marginalized and knowing that
53:14
Speaker 4: so many people are hurting economically right now that, you know,
53:18
Speaker 4: let's break it down even just a little bit more
53:20
Speaker 4: on the ballot in November. They are voting for it.
53:23
Speaker 4: Is there someone that cares about having a higher minimum wage?
53:25
Speaker 4: Is there someone who cares about investing more resources in
53:30
Speaker 4: public schools and in underserved areas? Is there someone in
53:33
Speaker 4: there who cares about actually trying to do meaningful things
53:37
Speaker 4: to reduce gun violence? Is there someone in there that
53:40
Speaker 4: is going to advocate for mental health and health services?
53:44
Speaker 4: So that's what it's about. And I know we throw
53:46
Speaker 4: out there, well, vote, it's so important. But letting people know, like, hey,
53:49
Speaker 4: this is what it's the things that impact their day
53:51
Speaker 4: to day lives. And that's why, you know, I'm asking
53:54
Speaker 4: for people's vote and support and why it's so important
53:57
Speaker 4: we get out there.
53:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think that's great. I think that's great. Desiree,
54:04
Speaker 1: do you think we should end there or give him? Yeah,
54:06
Speaker 1: I think that was good. I think that was good. Listen, y'all. Now,
54:11
Speaker 1: you know. Hopefully you have some more information on Phil.
54:14
Speaker 1: You can follow him. Phil has a TikTok. We got
54:17
Speaker 1: to get this TikTok game up, okay?
54:19
Speaker 4: We do.
54:19
Speaker 1: We're going to do a TikTok together. We're going to
54:23
Speaker 1: do that together. But I'm super excited. What's the website
54:26
Speaker 1: that they can find you at, Phil?
54:28
Speaker 4: So philipensler.com, Philip with two L's, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. Yeah,
54:35
Speaker 4: just Philip Ensler. But, yeah, the TikTok, I have some
54:38
Speaker 4: great links. younger people on the campaign that have gotten
54:40
Speaker 4: that going, and we need all the support we can get.
54:43
Speaker 1: So go ahead and go follow. We're going to tag
54:45
Speaker 1: them in a few posts, but go ahead and go follow.
54:47
Speaker 1: All right, you guys, this has been another great conversation.
54:50
Speaker 1: If you're in the state of Alabama, we want to
54:52
Speaker 1: see you November 3rd. Go out there and vote, vote, vote.
54:56
Speaker 1: But until next week, until next time, remember, life could
55:00
Speaker 1: be much more simple if you just ask. Thank you
55:09
Speaker 1: for tuning in to this week's episode.
55:12
Speaker 2: Since you've made it this far, you might as well
55:14
Speaker 2: connect with us on all social media platforms at the
55:17
Speaker 2: Jessica S. Smith. I know I won't see you back
55:20
Speaker 2: until next week, but until then, remember to love always
55:26
Speaker 2: yourself and always thank God for another day.
55:32
Speaker 3: Hey, I know we could be another way.
55:37
Speaker 1: Hey.
55:39
Speaker 3: Thank God for another day. I'm just thankful for another day.
55:50
Speaker 3: Another day older. Another day wiser. Another day to get
55:54
Speaker 3: it right. Another day to rise up. Another day living.
55:57
Speaker 3: Another day with loved ones. I always remember holding down
56:00
Speaker 3: for above one.