Kimberly and Hillary, two friends who have been around politics and government, come together from opposite sides of the aisle and discuss George Orwell's famous essay, "Notes on Nationalism," and how it can be used to check ourselves and others for the symptoms of fanaticism. We also have a few laughs along the way.







Podcast segments: What are we talking about?, What needs fixing?, and Brainstorm Better Governance. Most importantly, we zing each other at the end of each episode with “epic” partisan one-liners. Vote for your favorites on our Instagram, The Civil Discourse Society, so one of us can have bragging rights.







What Are We Talking About?







We all have a touch of fanaticism about certain ideas. George Orwell sure thought that. The author of Animal Farm and 1984 makes an interesting case in his essay "Notes on Nationalism" that nationalism, what we will be calling fanaticism to differentiate it from the specific Nationalism of the current administration, is a set of behaviors and thought processes that make politics dangerous because people refuse to compromise and end up hurting each other. We definitely see it in the current administration, and there are a lot of people who are becoming too entrenched and unwilling to compromise or empathize with others. If we decide that our cause is more important than anything and anyone, including truth and progress, we all lose. But what’s the cure?







Well, what are the symptoms?















So What Needs Fixin'?







Ourselves! Our Listeners! Everyone has a touch of fanaticism.







“Let a certain note be struck…and the most fair minded and sweet tempered person may suddenly be transformed into a vicious partisan, anxious only to score over his adversary and indifferent as to how many lies he tells or how many logical errors he commits in doing so.” ~George Orwell







Brainstorm Better Governance:







We have identified four principles that seem to help:







Deny the fanatic the recognition they craveBuild CommunityUse conversations not to try to change the other's mind, but to try to humanize the other in our own mindKeeping the checks and balance system strong in the United States









Not everyone is a fanatic and not every event is an eleven.

What to do once a fanatic is recognized?





If in power, or trying to get in power, work to keep them unelected or get them out of power. Never give them the recognition.







If they’re someone in daily life, it really depends. Don’t put ourselves in danger, but if there is the ability to keep them involved with community events with minimal disruption, do it. Worse to let the personal echo chamber get louder.







Recap:







Ok so we have reviewed aspects of fanaticism to watch out for: OBSESSION (boastful love and pride, retaliate when a hint of criticism about your side materializes, overly sensitive to pomp and circumstance), INSTABILITY (Does each political idea get glomped on to rabidly?), INDIFFERENCE TO REALITY (Is the cause beyond good and evil? Are actions applauded or vilified based on who does them?, engaged in moral relativism and fake news)?







We recognized that we start to fix fanaticism by checking ourselves.







And finally we have identified four principles that seem to help: Deny the fanatic the recognition they crave, Build community, Use conversations not to try to change the other's mind, but to try to humanize the other in our own mind, Keeping the checks and balance system strong in the United States.







Zingers:







Hey Hillary,