Schooling in the USA
In today’s episode, Ismaine and Robin discuss schooling in the USA, and how it differs from that in France and the UK.
They consider, in particular, the propagandizing of young children at school – whether by presenting them with political ideas or advertizing to them the names and products of private companies with which schools partner to raise funds. The US also differs from the cohosts’ native countries in holding elections for the people who set school policies (School Boards). In contrast, in France and the UK, the legal constraints on state-run schools come entirely from local and national government. They end by considering the plight of teachers, who are often overstretched - a problem in all of the countries with which Ismaine and Robin are familiar.
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European Christmas, American Thanksgiving and Easter
Inspired by Thanksgiving, which was recently celebrated across the country, Ismaine and Robin compare celebrations and holidays in America to those in their native countries of France and the UK.
They compare European Christmas to American Thanksgiving; consider how Easter seems to be a bigger thing in France and the UK, despite Americans’ being more overtly Christian than the French and Brits; and talk about two important days that are unique to their two native countries – Bastille Day (14 July) and Guy Fawkes’ night (5 Nov), respectively. Most poignant is their discussion of Remembrance Day (11 Nov). On a much lighter note, they talk a little about Hallowe’en, which no other country does quite like the USA!
As you can tell, this show is a little different from the usual - with no politics anywhere in sight!
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Running for office as an immigrant
Inspired by the recent mid-term elections, Ismaine and Robin discuss the challenges of running for office and the failure of most current American federal politicians to attract the approval of their voters. They discuss the MAGA movement and whether it represents anything of value distinct from the two-party establishments.
Robin explains the political opportunity that remains open as a result of the disaffection of the majority of Americans regarding political tribalism and polarization. He suspects that a leader who speaks to that disaffection without the narcissism associated with recent anti-establishment political leaders could help change the tone and substance of American politics. Such a leader will attract the positive attention of voters by calling out extreme policy positions that most Americans regard as against common-sense and their basic rights.
Part of Ismaine’s American dream is to run for office and he asks Robin what it will take for him to overcome his own tendencies to tribal communication and thereby to win over voters with a different political identity from his own. In response, Robin shares some powerful fundamentals of political psychology and communication.
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Corporate Culture
This episode is one of Robin’s favorites. In it, the co-hosts discuss American corporate culture. Inevitably, the discussion broadens into one about the broader cultural differences between the USA and (primarily) Europe.
Ismaine and Robin share their views and feelings about what could be called “American thin skin”. This refers to the fact that direct speaking is not much appreciated in many US organizations. Americans often seem to demand more conformity to cultural norms, often reinforced by rules, than Europeans. Ismaine and Robin agree that Europeans can bring more of their personality to work than can Americans and are less likely to be scared that a criticism might be taken as a personal attack. The co-hosts further consider how Americans often use language to soften things to a point that they obscure them. Although this is often done with the purpose of making people feel better, it often creates conflict by obscuring aspects of human nature and genuine feelings.
Could this be a result of American culture being more litigious than European? Could it be, in part, a consequence of the fact that Americans are more likely to live to work while Europeans are more likely to work to live.
And has diversity ironically become a concept used to promote conformity in the USA?
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The US voting system vs France and the UK
Ismaine and Robin discuss voting systems. Whereas the American system is complex, non-transparent, and dependent on black-box technology, leading to arguments about fake ballots and electoral corruption, the systems of other countries, including France and the UK, are very simple and never seem to generate such arguments.
Why can’t we Americans use a simpler “technology” that has been effective for decades – if not centuries: a pencil, a paper ballot and a box? Why can’t we use real people to count real ballots with real marks on them, overseen by anyone who wants to watch, with their work checked by others?
Given that the cause of voter and voting fraud (or at least the appearance of the same) is so obvious and easy to eliminate (just by learning from the much less corruptible systems of other Western democracies or even simpler systems from America’s own past), one would be forgiven for thinking that we Americans do it the way we do because the people organizing our elections want to keep it as corruptible as it is…
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The US voting system vs France and the UK
Ismaine and Robin discuss voting systems. Whereas the American system is complex, non-transparent, and dependent on black-box technology, leading to arguments about fake ballots and electoral corruption, the systems of other countries, including France and the UK, are very simple and never seem to generate such arguments.
Why can’t we Americans use a simpler “technology” that has been effective for decades – if not centuries: a pencil, a paper ballot and a box? Why can’t we use real people to count real ballots with real marks on them, overseen by anyone who wants to watch, with their work checked by others?
Given that the cause of voter and voting fraud (or at least the appearance of the same) is so obvious and easy to eliminate (just by learning from the much less corruptible systems of other Western democracies or even simpler systems from America’s own past), one would be forgiven for thinking that we Americans do it the way we do because the people organizing our elections want to keep it as corruptible as it is…
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Living paycheck to paycheck and the minimum wage
In this episode, Ismaine and Robin fail to answer a question that Robin has been wondering about !.
Specifically, how is it that with such a high median household income, the majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, according to surveys year after year?
The two co-hosts discuss how money goes further in the USA than in their native countries of the UK and France, and Americans have more of it… which makes it all the less necessary, Robin suggests, that so many Americans are in such financial insecurity. What are they doing?
Of course, this is a complex topic, and a huge number of factors bear on it. As the discussion proceeds, the two touch on the minimum wage and what hard-working low-income people should (if anything) be able to expect. Ismaine floats an idea for implementing a minimum wage that does not burden small businesses, but he agrees with Robin that implementation by government will likely do more harm than good…
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Tulsi Gabbard's exit from the Democratic party
In this episode, Ismaine and Robin discuss Tulsi Gabbard’s exit from the Democratic party, and consider many of the reasons she cited for doing so.
Specifically, they consider rising authoritarianism, identity politics and wokeism, and the undermining of specific rights, such as that protected by the Second Amendment, by both of the duopolistic parties. Robin shares what he thinks integrity demands of individuals when it comes to joining groups, like political parties and the difference between principled compromised and compromises of principle.
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Constitution & Culture or Covid
In our second episode, we take on our first big topic – and perhaps the big topic of our time – COVID mandates. Consistent with the motivation for From the Outside In, we focus on what these mandates say about political norms in the USA and how far we have come from some of the basic principles on which the country was founded. Was due diligence (moral, scientific, and political) done before issuing these mandates? What does their general acceptance tell us about the state of the nation and its people?
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Executive Power in the United States
For our third episode, we look at the topic of Executive Power in the United States. This generalizes some of the issues we touched on in our last episode on vaccine mandates and is a good lens through which to see the extent to which our political system is not really representative. We focus on executive orders, and what their extraordinarily frequent use means for democracy and individual rights. Why do they have the power that they do; should they have it; and if not, how is that power reduced? It was said to John Adams at the time of the founding, “you have given yourself a king under the title of President”. This has turned out to be true. A current and historical comparison with the so-called tyrannical motherland from which the USA broke away shows just how true.
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The Queen Is Dead - Long Live The King!
Back from a long hiatus, Ismaine and Robin discuss whether people’s responses to the death of the British Queen Elizabeth hold any lessons for other countries – particularly with respect to their systems of government.
They consider why the Queen was such a big figure globally, appreciated by so many, but also the target of negative commentary. This episode examines perspectives on both duty and privilege, which characterized the Queen’s life: perhaps their contemplation could be of value to us as Americans, our politics and our culture, too.
Read here Robin’s article on what the life of the Queen teaches us about governance and what the global reaction to her death teaches us about privilege in our own society.
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Roe vs. Wade and Depp vs. Heard
How one feels about the potential over-turning of Roe vs. Wade should be determined by whether Roe vs. Wade was properly decided – not by whether you like what it decided.
Our rights depend on the honest and competent operation of all branches of government. In this episode, we talk about the details of Roe vs. Wade and of the recently leaked draft opinion of the Court that may overturn it. We specifically consider the weaknesses of Roe vs. Wade – and why even pro-Choice people (such as Robin) might be pleased to see if it overturned. That has something to do with whether Roe vs. Wade really found a thitherto unnoticed right in the Constitution or whether it took away the right of democratically elected legislators to do their job when it comes to the issue of abortion.
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Constitution & Culture or Covid
In our second episode, we take on our first big topic – and perhaps the big topic of our time – COVID mandates. Consistent with the motivation for From the Outside In, we focus on what these mandates say about political norms in the USA and how far we have come from some of the basic principles on which the country was founded. Was due diligence (moral, scientific, and political) done before issuing these mandates? What does their general acceptance tell us about the state of the nation and its people?
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Our Raison d'Être
Welcome to the very first “From the Outside In” podcast, hosted by two naturalized American citizens, Ismaine and Robin. This first episode, entitled “Our Raison d'Étre”, explains why we teamed up to make this show and what we hope to achieve with it.
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