Moma Interview

Being American means security, including education, safety, and regulations. It means caring for those who can't care for themselves. Being American also means freedom of speech and the ability to participate in bringing about change. The speaker likes being American and is proud of it, except when encountering negative stereotypes or embarrassing leadership. World travels have shown the speaker how other countries view Americans, and national travels have revealed dissatisfaction within America. The speaker feels most American when engaging in civilized discussions with people who have different opinions. They feel least American when immigrants are denigrated. To be American, one must have an opinion of the country and adhere to the constitution. The speaker does not feel represented in America due to limited political representation and differing opinions on important issues. Being from the Midwest makes it difficult to access unbiased information and explore diverse opinions. The s And I can always visit out, too. OK. So my first question for you, Mama, is what does being American mean to you? Well, it means security. I'm secure that we're going to have our people educated, that we're going to be safe, both worldwide and nationwide. And things like safe food, safe housing, safe that there is some regulation. I think security that people will be cared for, those who can't care for themselves. So when you get to be old, that security that America provides is a little more evident to you. Because, well, somebody's paying the medical bill. Somebody sends you a check. If you've worked during your life, somebody sends you a check to at least barely exist on. But at least it's something. And that's what a whole lot of people have. It's a security that I can speak my mind and nobody's going to report me. Well, maybe they will. But for other reasons. I can say ridiculous things politically and hatefully, or even hatefully if I, evidently, that's an option. And not be arrested, or as long as it's free speech. And also, it's a security that, if I don't like something, I can participate in what could lead to a change in that. Eric, you're going. So that's the security I'm talking about. That we have got that. And probably, it's lost in our thoughts some time. And we're not really thankful enough for that. But that's what it really means, that we've got some organization and some security. OK. That's what, basically, everyone has said already, Oma, I'm going to tell you that. It's what who? That's what, basically, everyone has said so far. Really? Yeah. Everyone has said, for that question, something to do with safety, rights, and the security in America, which is really interesting. Yeah. OK. The next question is, do you like being American? And are you proud to be an American? Yes. I like being American. I never thought about it. I mean, if I didn't like being American, I should not stay here, actually. And I think that's been a motto of a lot of elections. If you don't like it, get out. I like being American. I'm usually very proud of it. I'm usually very proud of it. The exceptions are when I see the ugly American tourist when I'm traveling abroad, perhaps, or perhaps leadership that incidents that embarrass me, like eating cats and dogs, or not being someone I could be proud to relate to as an American, as an American leader. That's when I'm embarrassed, or not proud. Nice. OK. So you talked a little bit about traveling in that response. And so I want to know, how have your world travels, and within America, your travels, changed your perspective on American identity? World travel gave me a perspective on how sophisticated other countries are, and other people. And it also gave me kind of a hint about why they are thinking of us as an ugly American, occasionally, because of the lack of consideration or good behavior on the part of our representatives, or even ourselves. And the local travel, or the national travel, is really more of a, it gave me a sense that there are a lot of people out there that are not real happy with their America, with my America. And I have some concerns. That's what the national travel has done. So my next question is, how have your travels, or sorry, I already asked that one. When do you feel most American, or the least? And you can talk about a specific moment. You can just talk about in general. Most people have given a specific moment. Joe talked about the Olympics, how he felt American then. You can talk about in more broad terms, though. Well, I wrote down one. When I feel the most American is when I have that increasingly rare discussion, or a civilized, informed discussion, with another American of divergent opinion. That's when I feel American, when I can discuss something civilized, in a civilized way, with a person who has a divergent opinion on the same issue. And we both allow each other an opinion. And what about when you feel least American? When the immigrants are denigrated. Interesting. So that kind of connects to my next question, where obviously, a lot of people don't consider immigrants as American. So I wanted to ask you, what do you believe makes someone American? Their opinion of their country, and their adherence to our country's constitution. Interesting. I like that. Most people have said, yeah, people who believe in freedom, which I think connects to your response. And I hope a lot of people believe in freedom, but not for everybody else. That's true. OK. Two more questions for you. The next one is, what do you think Two more questions for you. The next one is, using your definition of what makes someone American before, do you feel represented in America? And that can be in the media, in the political scene, anything. I want to go back to that last question, because I had some things written down that I wanted, that might be a little bit different. I do believe makes someone American. And I think my first thoughts were that parentheses, being present, being present. And that meant being more American, or make American. You had to be informed, and present to participate in the political process, and voting, and serving in leadership positions when you can. That's how someone is American, in action. Not just in beliefs, being present, process. OK. Do you want me to repeat the next question I asked you? No. Do you feel represented in America? And the answer is a very large, lettered, capitals, no. There are very few candidates from my political party. And rarely are they successful candidates. And the issues that I feel pretty strongly about do not seem to be always. Seem to be always, I'm always the minority opinion. Always. And there doesn't seem to be much concern about my, representing my belief. So maybe that's part of being American. Such as Roe versus Wade, such as gun violence, such as education, does. So no, the answer is no. You're the first person to say no to that question. Oh, well, good. I may have narrowed it down a little more than it was intended to be, the question. But I've had that sense for several years. And I believe that is the result of living in the Midwest, in Nebraska. Because I really, really am a minority. If I were green, and unisexed, or multisexed, or whatever, I couldn't be more odd than being a Democrat in central Nebraska. Yeah. So that is basically an answer to my next question. But maybe you want to go more into that. And that question is, how does being from the Midwest play a role in your American experience? Well, besides the fact that there seem to be so few people with opinions that are like mine, the other part that's difficult here is it's difficult, very difficult, to access information that's unbiased, fair, factual. It's very difficult, because there's multi-sources. But they ought to be rated on how accurate or realistic those sources are. So it's very difficult to access information. I think that's part of the reason that Midwest, or Nebraskans specifically, are not very well informed about the issues, and actually tend to believe the most ridiculous things are going on. And also, there aren't a lot of divergent opinions to explore in the Midwest. Either people choose to all believe the same thing and not think about other ideas, or else they just agree to agree and disagree, and not even consider it. And so there is a bias as a result of being uninformed. So you obviously grew up in Nebraska, and you've been there your whole life. So how do you think you were able to gain more of a perspective, and not follow the crowd on some of your viewpoints? How? By being a critical listener, I think. Maybe it's because I am so, I can't get the word right now. Whenever I hear anything said by anyone, either it's in print or verbal, I say, OK, now what's the other side of that story? And I've been kind of like that since I was a child. You always know that there's another side, or that's not always intentionally, but that people see different things. And so here's the best example of that. If you're a school teacher or a school administrator, someone's always trying to give you a story of something that happened. And it is never the same story of the two factors, or three, or whatever. There's always something said, or something that should have been said, or a different way people saw that same incident. And maybe all those years of teaching gave me a chance to say, OK, maybe there's something else I ought to know. Ben and Richard is pretty good about pointing out the other opinions, or making me think a little more. This was one of my initial questions. Oh, go ahead. What'd you say? This wasn't one of my initial questions, but I want to ask Joe this, too. But how do you think being a teacher, you kind of talked about it, but how do you think being a teacher changed the way we saw America and Americans? Well, I'll go back to the reason that there were education process. Schools actually came into being, not so people could count or read, or read the Bible, or whatever. But in America, the reason for creating public schools was so that people would be able to vote, like read the ballot, and read newspapers, and get information. Because the voting was what made it democratic. So even when they created public schools in America, it was to prolong the democracy. And before that, those people that were in private schools or tutored, the rich and famous, were the only ones that really could access information, because others couldn't read. So the origin of our public education was then. So I kind of go back to that a lot of times. I believe part of our public education is to help a person always think of other ideas. And I'm not sure we're still able to do that because of the issues on fan books and their concern about teachers and schools exposing their children to other religions, or other sexual preferences, or gender issues, or you see what today's public schools may not be as liberal as they were when they were created. Many of them. So I think being a teacher is like, OK, let's accept and enjoy the exposure to new religions, to new lifestyles, to new technology. I think probably I'm a little more open to that and more concerned about the structure of education today. I don't really have any more questions, but I wanted to ask you, just for fun, how do you think growing up, specifically on a farm, changed not even your American experience, but just changed you? I think it gave me a better, a greater ability to step back and look at the world. It gave me a space to do that without the intimidation sometimes of crowds or the turmoil of thought and faith. I think that's what's growing up on the farm. And the world will give you a little more perspective in that you'll be able to think through things. You're more independent. You can be more independent in your thoughts about politics, or humanity, or religion. OK, well, that's all I have for you. Unless you want to add anything else you think is important for people to hear about your American identity, American identity in general. Well, I'll have to think about that a while. But I appreciate your patience with us. Here's your papa. All right. Thanks, Neymar.