We just got off another truly inspiring Live conversation, this time with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the former physician, epidemiologist, and public health official running for Senate in Michigan. He talked to us about what being a child of immigrants taught him about America, why he moved from public health to politics, his vision for the future, and why defeating Trump isn’t just about winning the political fight, but winning the peace with a radical empathy that addresses the insecurity MAGA voters feel, and brings them around to a shared idea of the America that could be.
As El-Sayed told us:
So often we are so frustrated by where we are as a society, about all the pain that we've seen at the hands of Donald Trump, that we want to go to those folks who support him and be like, “Don't you see how stupid this decision was?” And we want to prove them wrong.
And I think if we're serious about the future, we've got to get them to being right. And that's a very different process.
That's not about me being right and you being wrong. That's about you being right because I created a space within which you felt safe enough to have a sense where you could look at facts and reality and say, “You know what? I made a mistake.” Where we're not going to jump on them and be like, “Yeah, you did.” No, no. Hey, we're all trying to move forward here. We get that sometimes when scary, powerful people come along, that they turn other people against the truth. So let's get folks to be right.
You won’t want to miss this one, and we hope you’ll share it far and wide. Let’s keep going. Let’s keep growing. Thank you, one and all.
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A programming note: More Live conversation!
Join us again on Monday, May 5, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, when we’ll be back with scholar of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat. We hope to see you all there!
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