September 16, 2023 • 23 mins
In the second half of our show, we discuss the most important things we want people to know after being on air for 3 years. We discuss the myths of Black-on-Black crime, Black fatherlessness, and the calls to action from the movement of 2020.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're just tuning in Civic scipher, I'm your host,
Rams's Jack, he is Ram's Jah, I am q Ward
and you are tuned into Civic e sciphe, indeed you are.
This our three year anniversary episode.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Three year anniversary sounds crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yeah, man, We've been doing it for a while and
we still have a lot more in store for you,
So be sure to stick around because we are going
to be discussing the most important thing we want people
to know after three years. Things things. Okay, we'll do things.
We haven't had this conversation before and so we're going
to have it organically for your benefit. This is kind
(00:34):
of the spirit that the show was born and for
us to have honest conversations, black conversations in front of
an audience of non black allies and potential supporters. So
that's what we're going to do today, and we have
a whole lot more in store as well. We're really
excited about a brand new Baba and so we're going
(00:56):
to be working this into the show moving forward. So
let's get to that right now. Today's Baba is sponsored
by Unknown Union. The fashion now situated at the intersection
of meaning, innovation and culture. For more info, check Unknown
Union dot com and we're going to shout out Friends
of the Movement. I want you to remember this website
FOTM as in Friends of the Movement Fotmglobal dot Com.
(01:20):
Fotmglobal dot Com. At FOTM, they're not just an organization.
They're a movement with a mission to provide unity, social justice,
and economic empowerment within black and brown communities. And they
want to reward ally companies that support black and brown
communities as well. Fotm's robust platform empowers individuals like you
(01:41):
to drive real change, empowering you to vote with your
wallet every day, everywhere, every time. This world has witnessed
the global marches and protests. But now it is time
to put your money where the movement is. There is
no more excuses. It's not just about words, it's about
taking action. They've got a complete buyout sorry, buycott solution
bycot I like that work solution that includes game changing
(02:03):
technology of designed to close the wealth gap. All right,
So what's in this offering? First, Our Money United, a
groundbreaking campaign that encourages allies black and brown communities to
actively support black businesses. This is not competition. It is unity.
FOTM guarantees you never seen a more convenient and effective
way to send America a powerful message through your spending choices.
(02:26):
That's just the beginning. The voter wallet is their cutting
edge technology that lets you vote with your wallet at
the cash register, supporting companies that align with your values.
It's about shaping our future through everyday choices. So let's
not talk about change. Let's make it happen. Visit fotmglobal
dot com again. That's FOTM as in Friends of the
Movement Fotmglobal dot com and become a friend today. Download
(02:49):
the free voter wallet to invite friends and merchants. Remember,
we must be the change you want to see in
the world. Okay, so three years, three years, I know
where I want to start. Please, it's kind of where
(03:12):
we left off. We had a conversation during the last election,
the last election cycle with Charlotmagne to God, and he
pointed out this sort of disenfranchisement of voters tired of
being left out, tired of being lied to, tired of
being let down. A lot of black people have just
(03:33):
stopped caring.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
They've completely you know, unplugged, disconnected and thrown their hands up.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
My voice doesn't matter. My vote doesn't count.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Even when the people I want elected get elected, they
don't carry through on the promises that they made, and
I don't see.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
The benefit of my vote.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And because we are not, you know, as black people,
a part of a monolith, we do have varied opinions
and varied positions on things. And because of that, when
it comes time to elect officials, both you know, state, local,
and federal, we are at a disadvantage because the other
(04:15):
side has a tempole that they all subscribe to. It's
upholding white supremacy and all the stuff they disagree about,
all the little stuff that's after that, they don't care.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
They will march together and run to the polls.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
The least educated of us, the most hateful of us,
the least informed of us, scream the loudness and vote
the most and us, as educated as we are, spend
a lot of time debating each other, adopting contrarian platforms
so that we can flex our intellectual muscle and show
that we don't subscribe to group think, while the other
(04:50):
side collectively goes out and votes against our best interests,
sometimes even against their own best interests. Just as long
as they're also against ours and they get results to
the tune of tens of millions of people showing up
to the polls. So the number one thing that I
like people to react to with regards to civic sipher,
(05:11):
our listeners and our message is somehow finding something that
we can unite on and finding someone who can carry
that message for us, because another problem that we have
is a lack of followable dates.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Can I jump in here please? Okay. So in the
first half of the show, we were talking about how
having a new president makes it a little easier to
be black and I work with We live in Arizona,
so a lot of the people this used to be Mexico. Literally,
so a lot of the people that live here are
(05:52):
Mexican of Mexican descent, recimply moved to the US. It's
not like they've lived in the US because their family
was here when this became the US. They first generation.
That's the word I'm looking for, thank you. So all
types of Hispanic people, and I know that for a
(06:13):
lot of them it feels very different too. And that's
the reality that in which I live, where human beings
are affected negatively by the hate and the divisiveness of
one man who has been elected, and that I feel that.
I mean, if you listen to the show for any
length of time, you know I'll be feeling some stuff. Man,
I'm crying all the time.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Man, I wish I was different, but this is who
I was supposed to be, So this is what I
can be. Right, So a different president changing how things
feel and that mattering and that going a long way.
That's definitely something that I'm proud that we all have accomplished,
those of us who want to see a world that
(06:56):
is more equitable, where people are treated a little bit
more fairly. But as you talk about candidates, I again,
I'm not one of those people that looks at the
current president Joe Biden is like, oh Biden, is this Biden? Hey,
Look he's doing the job better than the last guy.
That's all I really needed right now. Okay, But the
(07:17):
fact of the matter bar the low bar. But the
fact of the matter is that what I the person
I wanted was Bernie Sanders. I'm that I'm a good
friend of our sinbatt. He calls me a bleeding heart liberal, right,
and I didn't know it. I still really don't know
what it means, but it sounds cool because it has
the word heart, you know what I mean, And I
know that that's that's who I was supposed to be.
(07:38):
I tried to be tough guy or whatever it is,
not man, come on, seriously, I mean, if I need
to be those things, sure, But for the most part,
I know that I was meant to feel what it
is that I feel and to try to bring kindness, happiness, love,
fellowship into this planet. So that's what I'm going to do.
I don't know how to be any different. Bernie Sanders
(08:01):
was a little bit closer to what I would envision
the best of us, what it would be. With that
in mind, I understand that feeling that a lot of
people have, which is, you know, what does my vote
(08:22):
count for?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
What is it?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
You know? But where I came back to and where
I had to kind of where I got disappointed when
it was Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Bernie was
looking like he was that dude, and then all of
a sudden there was some behind the scenes stuff. I
couldn't tell you about it right now, but I remember
at the time I was like, wait a minute, what
happened because Bernie had this whole swell and then all
(08:43):
of a sudden, Hillary Clinton emerged as the nominee. This
was back when Donald Trump was first running. I felt
like that was very unfair, and I was kind of
disappointed in Democrats and obviously disappointed and everything that Donald
Trump was talking about at the time. So I felt like, well,
(09:05):
what what is this for? This long before Saivic Cipher,
by the way, So yeah, in that moment, I felt
kind of deflated. But what I what reoriented me was
that I don't think it's just the lesser of two
evils argument that we use a lot, and and sometimes
(09:25):
it's that, and that's not accurate, but that's how it's
that's how it's funn yeah, and and and we have
this conversation sometimes. But what I think it is is
it's more like, which one of these two options more
closely aligns with the type of world that I would
(09:49):
like to see for all of us? And one side
and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna make any pronouncements here,
because there's a side that effectively says eat or be
eaten and another side that says live and let live.
You know what I mean or I know those aren't exact,
but you get what I'm trying to say. There's two philosophies,
(10:12):
neither which is wrong or right, but one of them
is a little bit more in line with This is
what I'm saying right now. I'm trying to be fair.
I'm gonna let you have it, but one of them
is more in line with what I believe the best
of us is. I don't believe the best of us
is eat or be eaten. I believe the best of
(10:32):
us is live and let live. Of those two philosophies, right,
And so, while not being necessarily a fan of any candidate,
I know that in terms of a political party, in
a political affiliation, there is one side that feels more
in tune with what the best of us can be. Now,
(10:53):
the other side might say, Okay, they're not realistic, this
is impossible. You're always gonna have these problems. Sure, sure,
But in terms of where are we going, what are
we trying to pursue, what are we trying to engineer
into our society, these people seem like they got the vision,
and these people are trying to batten down the hatches
and whether whatever storm we're dealing with right now. And
(11:14):
I'm a little bit more of an optimist, and so
that's where my political allegiances lie. So it compels me
to continue to engage in the democratic process. And I
hope that you've learned something from that because cues about
the Hypney part.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
No, I'm not going to rip you apart. I'm just
gonna say something that I feel to be true. Okay,
But neither party has an ideal position. Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Neither party is really looking to deliver much for us
at all.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Sure, that's fair.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
That's the problem. One of them is quite flagrantly and
demonstrably worse than the other. But what has gotten so
many people to unplug and disconnect and just check out
altogether is that neither of them is really doing anything
for us. There's a lot of you use the word.
I use the word socialism not as a pejorative, right.
(12:03):
One of our parties does because the idea of the
government helping everybody has to be an awful concept, and
they sell it that way, except they do a lot
to help themselves, and they do a lot to use
our systems and our tax dollars to help themselves. So
they get people to take to the streets marching and
raising their fist against socialism. But if your house catches
(12:23):
on fire, you call nine to one one and your
neighbour's tax dollars pay for those people who come to
put the fire out. So they don't even believe in
the things they claim to right, that's socialism when they
feel like it, And especially for those who already have
they're rich and wealthy, practice socialism with and for each
other constantly. So when you have two parties neither of
which seem to be serving its people, a lot of
(12:45):
the people just throw their hands up and say, forget this.
The problem is that one of those parties is actively
trying to destroy us. So having that lesser of two
evils concept, that's really where that discussion comes from. It
is not really a lesser of two evils. One of
them is very much status quo, the other one is
actually evil. And I think in order to continue to
(13:06):
stir up their supporters in the way that our former
president did, a lot of these things that are happening now,
I think started as pr campaigns. I don't think they
ever really intended to get rid of Roe v Wade.
I think they just knew if they talked about it
that the Evangelical and Roman Catholic supporters would support someone
(13:29):
who was trying to do away with abortion. It just
got so much of a swell and so much support
that they saw it through. But I think initially it
was just a talking point. Right, we don't we are
not christian like at all, but we have a hot
button topic that if we say we're against it, the
Evangelicals and the Christians and the Catholics will support us.
(13:51):
And that's if we come out here and say we're
against abortion. And they're right. Some of the worst people
to ever exist campaign on the Bible belt on that
single topic, and as long as they're on the right
side of that topic to get that base, they get it,
no matter what their actual politics are like, no matter
how they actually feel about that topic. So it's just
(14:13):
become such a game that our politicians play with the
less informed of us, and unfortunately the more informed of us.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
It rather it begins to us and check out. They
see this rigged against.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Us, and in order to flex again that intellectual muscle,
they turn contrarian and try to talk everyone else out
of engaging too.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
So while we're being divided and arguing amongst ourselves.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
They are united and they're pushed to keep us under
their boot, and they take to the polls and they
vote every time.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I want to end mass. I want to say this.
I think that this is something that is worth saying.
Everything that you said I agree with. But follow me
for a second. We mentioned a dear friend of ours,
Steve Earnhardt. Steve Earnhardt is a white man. He's older
(15:15):
than we are.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Whole lot.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
I wouldn't guess his age, you know, but I know
that he's older than we are. He's in a position
of power, and he based on his values or his
tax bracket, if it's your values, I'm a little bit
more okay with that. But based on his values, feels
(15:41):
more aligned with the Republican Party, the Republican Party of
our childhood, not today. But this is what I'm trying
to say. I'm trying to separate the party from the people. Okay. So,
because there's a lot of people we have, believe it
or not. I learn this, and we haven't had this
conversation before, but I learned this. We have a lot
(16:04):
of people who are conservative in their views that listen
to our show and every so often they'll engage, and
you know, a letter will make its way to me,
and you know, I just we just haven't had these conversations.
But I've I've thought, once upon a time we should
have like a conversation about this on the air. But anyway,
(16:25):
Steve is a person that doesn't feel politically the way
that we feel about a lot of things. I'm me
being a bleeding heart liberal. I couldn't even hide it
if I wanted to, you know what I mean. I
don't think that I'm capable of that. He had to
know that the moment he talked to me, and then
(16:47):
obviously over all the meetings. He knows exactly who I am,
where I stand for. But I believe that the reason
he gave us the keys to the kingdom in a
manner of speaking, and gave us the framework to grow
this show is because he believed than the human element,
he believed that it was the right thing to do.
And despite us having conversations that we believe are based
(17:10):
in truth, we know we're based in truth, we have video,
and the fact of the matter is that the truth
has a very very strong liberal bias to it. He's
been one of our biggest cheerleaders and supporters, and so
I wanted to add that to what you were saying,
so that we don't conflate Republicans with the Republican Party
(17:35):
too much, because there are a a significant conservatives with
the republic That's okay, That's what I'm trying to say,
is it's more conservative the very party.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
The party is kind of not kind of the party
is out of control.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Now, yeah, yeah, So that's that's that's and that's the
reason this show was born. That's the that you know,
and we've and and it's it's it's sad that we
have to refer to it by name as the Republican
Party because it's just that thing where I've lived in
this country and have had to deal with conservativism my
whole entire adult life, even before I became an adult,
(18:08):
because I'm black and you have to grow up a
lot faster if you're black. And this is true. If
you don't know that for yourself, take our word for it.
We would not lie to you about something like that.
But it wasn't until this show, around the time when
the show was born, when we just kind of reached
(18:29):
its boiling point, like what is this. Why are these
people so hateful? Why are they so supportive of this
man who is so clearly hateful. His whole platform is
based on hate and device literally divisiveness. Build that wall, like, yo,
what is going on? Why does everybody love this? And
why are so many of us standing up for him?
(18:51):
That was the moment, And that's another part that I
no one.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Care about standing up on this idea that I'm pretending
I don't know I do. He was not a regular politician,
and for a lot of people that was enough. He
was not the status quo. So again on that contrarian
mindset where there's no real backbone to it, right, contrary
and for the sake of being so, I'm just thinking
(19:15):
outside the box. And like I said, I don't subscribe
to group thinking. Yeah, you say the sky is blue,
but how do we know that?
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Man?
Speaker 3 (19:21):
It was just crazy talk. Yeah, but he did not
fit the cookie cutter politician and a lot of people
were here for it, even though it was grossly hateful.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Device Yeah, and it really harmed a lot of people,
and it really was hurtful, and he showed the worst
of us, true of ours, true colors.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
I had some relationships that didn't survive his presidence.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Oh me too. For like former friends of mine, if
that name would have never came up, we'll still be
fine today. As soon as it came up. I'm like, man, Listen,
we had a whole episode, remember early on, where we
had to discuss whether or not we should use the
black button. I'm personally a big fan of the black button.
It works, keeps you peace of mind, keeps your brain
from being cluttered. Black button is an amazing tool. Listen, man,
(20:13):
But not to harp on that. There's another couple of
things that I do want to shout out because these
have been topics that have been very important that we've
been able to cover over the past few years. The first,
we've discussed that black on black crime is a myth
(20:33):
right and and and not a myth. Obviously, there's a
black person that can commit a crime against another black person,
but it's it's a marketing ploy is a myth right,
That's what I'm trying to say. So we've talked about
that at length. We have actually some content up on
our social media again. Follow us at Civic Cipher you'll
be able to see some stuff there. A lot of
people are talking about that. We were able to have
(20:56):
conversations dispelling the myth that black fathers are absentee and
not involved in their children's lives. So when the fact
is is that the data shows from the CDC, there's
articles written even this year. The study came out about
ten years ago, but there's still articles being written that
are documenting this. The black fathers actually are the best
(21:17):
fathers of all, most involved and so forth. And what
gaps you see has to do with incarceration rates and
things like this, But in terms of like unmarried black
all that stuff is just a fabrication. And I want
to read this before we go. What do we want.
We want to in qualified immunity. We want to end
(21:37):
for profit prisons. We want to overhaul police unions, demilitarize
the police. We want to end cash bail. We want
citizens oversight of police. We want cameras on all the
time and to be monitored by the community. We want
to remove racist police officers, retrain and de escalation, no
(21:57):
needs to chest, no chokeholds, and we need to affirm
the black lives matter and.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Over and over again.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And that's it for us.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
So three years, three years, man proud.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
To have done it with you, I wouldn't have chosen
to do it with anyone else. I'm grateful that well.
Q and I we've known each other long for this show,
and we're going to know each other long after this
show is passed on to whatever next generation comes.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
And I know there's been some moments along the way
where we may not have been certain that we would
have made it this far, last years long, but here
we are. Here we are, man, hopefully we got three, six, nine, twelve, fifteen.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Whatever it takes twenty more years of this to go.
We appreciate y'all checking us out for the past three years.
Do us a favor. Hit the website Civiccipher dot com,
h subscribe. All our social media is at Civic Cipher.
I am ramses Jah, I am q Ward. Yeah. Lock
in with us, man. Let's keep it going until next week, y'all.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Peace.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Peace,
If you're just tuning in Civic scipher, I'm your host,
Rams's Jack, he is Ram's Jah, I am q Ward
and you are tuned into Civic e sciphe, indeed you are.
This our three year anniversary episode.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Three year anniversary sounds crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yeah, man, We've been doing it for a while and
we still have a lot more in store for you,
So be sure to stick around because we are going
to be discussing the most important thing we want people
to know after three years. Things things. Okay, we'll do things.
We haven't had this conversation before and so we're going
to have it organically for your benefit. This is kind
(00:34):
of the spirit that the show was born and for
us to have honest conversations, black conversations in front of
an audience of non black allies and potential supporters. So
that's what we're going to do today, and we have
a whole lot more in store as well. We're really
excited about a brand new Baba and so we're going
(00:56):
to be working this into the show moving forward. So
let's get to that right now. Today's Baba is sponsored
by Unknown Union. The fashion now situated at the intersection
of meaning, innovation and culture. For more info, check Unknown
Union dot com and we're going to shout out Friends
of the Movement. I want you to remember this website
FOTM as in Friends of the Movement Fotmglobal dot Com.
(01:20):
Fotmglobal dot Com. At FOTM, they're not just an organization.
They're a movement with a mission to provide unity, social justice,
and economic empowerment within black and brown communities. And they
want to reward ally companies that support black and brown
communities as well. Fotm's robust platform empowers individuals like you
(01:41):
to drive real change, empowering you to vote with your
wallet every day, everywhere, every time. This world has witnessed
the global marches and protests. But now it is time
to put your money where the movement is. There is
no more excuses. It's not just about words, it's about
taking action. They've got a complete buyout sorry, buycott solution
bycot I like that work solution that includes game changing
(02:03):
technology of designed to close the wealth gap. All right,
So what's in this offering? First, Our Money United, a
groundbreaking campaign that encourages allies black and brown communities to
actively support black businesses. This is not competition. It is unity.
FOTM guarantees you never seen a more convenient and effective
way to send America a powerful message through your spending choices.
(02:26):
That's just the beginning. The voter wallet is their cutting
edge technology that lets you vote with your wallet at
the cash register, supporting companies that align with your values.
It's about shaping our future through everyday choices. So let's
not talk about change. Let's make it happen. Visit fotmglobal
dot com again. That's FOTM as in Friends of the
Movement Fotmglobal dot com and become a friend today. Download
(02:49):
the free voter wallet to invite friends and merchants. Remember,
we must be the change you want to see in
the world. Okay, so three years, three years, I know
where I want to start. Please, it's kind of where
(03:12):
we left off. We had a conversation during the last election,
the last election cycle with Charlotmagne to God, and he
pointed out this sort of disenfranchisement of voters tired of
being left out, tired of being lied to, tired of
being let down. A lot of black people have just
(03:33):
stopped caring.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
They've completely you know, unplugged, disconnected and thrown their hands up.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
My voice doesn't matter. My vote doesn't count.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Even when the people I want elected get elected, they
don't carry through on the promises that they made, and
I don't see.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
The benefit of my vote.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And because we are not, you know, as black people,
a part of a monolith, we do have varied opinions
and varied positions on things. And because of that, when
it comes time to elect officials, both you know, state, local,
and federal, we are at a disadvantage because the other
(04:15):
side has a tempole that they all subscribe to. It's
upholding white supremacy and all the stuff they disagree about,
all the little stuff that's after that, they don't care.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
They will march together and run to the polls.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
The least educated of us, the most hateful of us,
the least informed of us, scream the loudness and vote
the most and us, as educated as we are, spend
a lot of time debating each other, adopting contrarian platforms
so that we can flex our intellectual muscle and show
that we don't subscribe to group think, while the other
(04:50):
side collectively goes out and votes against our best interests,
sometimes even against their own best interests. Just as long
as they're also against ours and they get results to
the tune of tens of millions of people showing up
to the polls. So the number one thing that I
like people to react to with regards to civic sipher,
(05:11):
our listeners and our message is somehow finding something that
we can unite on and finding someone who can carry
that message for us, because another problem that we have
is a lack of followable dates.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Can I jump in here please? Okay. So in the
first half of the show, we were talking about how
having a new president makes it a little easier to
be black and I work with We live in Arizona,
so a lot of the people this used to be Mexico. Literally,
so a lot of the people that live here are
(05:52):
Mexican of Mexican descent, recimply moved to the US. It's
not like they've lived in the US because their family
was here when this became the US. They first generation.
That's the word I'm looking for, thank you. So all
types of Hispanic people, and I know that for a
(06:13):
lot of them it feels very different too. And that's
the reality that in which I live, where human beings
are affected negatively by the hate and the divisiveness of
one man who has been elected, and that I feel that.
I mean, if you listen to the show for any
length of time, you know I'll be feeling some stuff. Man,
I'm crying all the time.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Man, I wish I was different, but this is who
I was supposed to be, So this is what I
can be. Right, So a different president changing how things
feel and that mattering and that going a long way.
That's definitely something that I'm proud that we all have accomplished,
those of us who want to see a world that
(06:56):
is more equitable, where people are treated a little bit
more fairly. But as you talk about candidates, I again,
I'm not one of those people that looks at the
current president Joe Biden is like, oh Biden, is this Biden? Hey,
Look he's doing the job better than the last guy.
That's all I really needed right now. Okay, But the
(07:17):
fact of the matter bar the low bar. But the
fact of the matter is that what I the person
I wanted was Bernie Sanders. I'm that I'm a good
friend of our sinbatt. He calls me a bleeding heart liberal, right,
and I didn't know it. I still really don't know
what it means, but it sounds cool because it has
the word heart, you know what I mean, And I
know that that's that's who I was supposed to be.
(07:38):
I tried to be tough guy or whatever it is,
not man, come on, seriously, I mean, if I need
to be those things, sure, But for the most part,
I know that I was meant to feel what it
is that I feel and to try to bring kindness, happiness, love,
fellowship into this planet. So that's what I'm going to do.
I don't know how to be any different. Bernie Sanders
(08:01):
was a little bit closer to what I would envision
the best of us, what it would be. With that
in mind, I understand that feeling that a lot of
people have, which is, you know, what does my vote
(08:22):
count for?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
What is it?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
You know? But where I came back to and where
I had to kind of where I got disappointed when
it was Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Bernie was
looking like he was that dude, and then all of
a sudden there was some behind the scenes stuff. I
couldn't tell you about it right now, but I remember
at the time I was like, wait a minute, what
happened because Bernie had this whole swell and then all
(08:43):
of a sudden, Hillary Clinton emerged as the nominee. This
was back when Donald Trump was first running. I felt
like that was very unfair, and I was kind of
disappointed in Democrats and obviously disappointed and everything that Donald
Trump was talking about at the time. So I felt like, well,
(09:05):
what what is this for? This long before Saivic Cipher,
by the way, So yeah, in that moment, I felt
kind of deflated. But what I what reoriented me was
that I don't think it's just the lesser of two
evils argument that we use a lot, and and sometimes
(09:25):
it's that, and that's not accurate, but that's how it's
that's how it's funn yeah, and and and we have
this conversation sometimes. But what I think it is is
it's more like, which one of these two options more
closely aligns with the type of world that I would
(09:49):
like to see for all of us? And one side
and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna make any pronouncements here,
because there's a side that effectively says eat or be
eaten and another side that says live and let live.
You know what I mean or I know those aren't exact,
but you get what I'm trying to say. There's two philosophies,
(10:12):
neither which is wrong or right, but one of them
is a little bit more in line with This is
what I'm saying right now. I'm trying to be fair.
I'm gonna let you have it, but one of them
is more in line with what I believe the best
of us is. I don't believe the best of us
is eat or be eaten. I believe the best of
(10:32):
us is live and let live. Of those two philosophies, right,
And so, while not being necessarily a fan of any candidate,
I know that in terms of a political party, in
a political affiliation, there is one side that feels more
in tune with what the best of us can be. Now,
(10:53):
the other side might say, Okay, they're not realistic, this
is impossible. You're always gonna have these problems. Sure, sure,
But in terms of where are we going, what are
we trying to pursue, what are we trying to engineer
into our society, these people seem like they got the vision,
and these people are trying to batten down the hatches
and whether whatever storm we're dealing with right now. And
(11:14):
I'm a little bit more of an optimist, and so
that's where my political allegiances lie. So it compels me
to continue to engage in the democratic process. And I
hope that you've learned something from that because cues about
the Hypney part.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
No, I'm not going to rip you apart. I'm just
gonna say something that I feel to be true. Okay,
But neither party has an ideal position. Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Neither party is really looking to deliver much for us
at all.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Sure, that's fair.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
That's the problem. One of them is quite flagrantly and
demonstrably worse than the other. But what has gotten so
many people to unplug and disconnect and just check out
altogether is that neither of them is really doing anything
for us. There's a lot of you use the word.
I use the word socialism not as a pejorative, right.
(12:03):
One of our parties does because the idea of the
government helping everybody has to be an awful concept, and
they sell it that way, except they do a lot
to help themselves, and they do a lot to use
our systems and our tax dollars to help themselves. So
they get people to take to the streets marching and
raising their fist against socialism. But if your house catches
(12:23):
on fire, you call nine to one one and your
neighbour's tax dollars pay for those people who come to
put the fire out. So they don't even believe in
the things they claim to right, that's socialism when they
feel like it, And especially for those who already have
they're rich and wealthy, practice socialism with and for each
other constantly. So when you have two parties neither of
which seem to be serving its people, a lot of
(12:45):
the people just throw their hands up and say, forget this.
The problem is that one of those parties is actively
trying to destroy us. So having that lesser of two
evils concept, that's really where that discussion comes from. It
is not really a lesser of two evils. One of
them is very much status quo, the other one is
actually evil. And I think in order to continue to
(13:06):
stir up their supporters in the way that our former
president did, a lot of these things that are happening now,
I think started as pr campaigns. I don't think they
ever really intended to get rid of Roe v Wade.
I think they just knew if they talked about it
that the Evangelical and Roman Catholic supporters would support someone
(13:29):
who was trying to do away with abortion. It just
got so much of a swell and so much support
that they saw it through. But I think initially it
was just a talking point. Right, we don't we are
not christian like at all, but we have a hot
button topic that if we say we're against it, the
Evangelicals and the Christians and the Catholics will support us.
(13:51):
And that's if we come out here and say we're
against abortion. And they're right. Some of the worst people
to ever exist campaign on the Bible belt on that
single topic, and as long as they're on the right
side of that topic to get that base, they get it,
no matter what their actual politics are like, no matter
how they actually feel about that topic. So it's just
(14:13):
become such a game that our politicians play with the
less informed of us, and unfortunately the more informed of us.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
It rather it begins to us and check out. They
see this rigged against.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Us, and in order to flex again that intellectual muscle,
they turn contrarian and try to talk everyone else out
of engaging too.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
So while we're being divided and arguing amongst ourselves.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
They are united and they're pushed to keep us under
their boot, and they take to the polls and they
vote every time.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I want to end mass. I want to say this.
I think that this is something that is worth saying.
Everything that you said I agree with. But follow me
for a second. We mentioned a dear friend of ours,
Steve Earnhardt. Steve Earnhardt is a white man. He's older
(15:15):
than we are.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Whole lot.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
I wouldn't guess his age, you know, but I know
that he's older than we are. He's in a position
of power, and he based on his values or his
tax bracket, if it's your values, I'm a little bit
more okay with that. But based on his values, feels
(15:41):
more aligned with the Republican Party, the Republican Party of
our childhood, not today. But this is what I'm trying
to say. I'm trying to separate the party from the people. Okay. So,
because there's a lot of people we have, believe it
or not. I learn this, and we haven't had this
conversation before, but I learned this. We have a lot
(16:04):
of people who are conservative in their views that listen
to our show and every so often they'll engage, and
you know, a letter will make its way to me,
and you know, I just we just haven't had these conversations.
But I've I've thought, once upon a time we should
have like a conversation about this on the air. But anyway,
(16:25):
Steve is a person that doesn't feel politically the way
that we feel about a lot of things. I'm me
being a bleeding heart liberal. I couldn't even hide it
if I wanted to, you know what I mean. I
don't think that I'm capable of that. He had to
know that the moment he talked to me, and then
(16:47):
obviously over all the meetings. He knows exactly who I am,
where I stand for. But I believe that the reason
he gave us the keys to the kingdom in a
manner of speaking, and gave us the framework to grow
this show is because he believed than the human element,
he believed that it was the right thing to do.
And despite us having conversations that we believe are based
(17:10):
in truth, we know we're based in truth, we have video,
and the fact of the matter is that the truth
has a very very strong liberal bias to it. He's
been one of our biggest cheerleaders and supporters, and so
I wanted to add that to what you were saying,
so that we don't conflate Republicans with the Republican Party
(17:35):
too much, because there are a a significant conservatives with
the republic That's okay, That's what I'm trying to say,
is it's more conservative the very party.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
The party is kind of not kind of the party
is out of control.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Now, yeah, yeah, So that's that's that's and that's the
reason this show was born. That's the that you know,
and we've and and it's it's it's sad that we
have to refer to it by name as the Republican
Party because it's just that thing where I've lived in
this country and have had to deal with conservativism my
whole entire adult life, even before I became an adult,
(18:08):
because I'm black and you have to grow up a
lot faster if you're black. And this is true. If
you don't know that for yourself, take our word for it.
We would not lie to you about something like that.
But it wasn't until this show, around the time when
the show was born, when we just kind of reached
(18:29):
its boiling point, like what is this. Why are these
people so hateful? Why are they so supportive of this
man who is so clearly hateful. His whole platform is
based on hate and device literally divisiveness. Build that wall, like, yo,
what is going on? Why does everybody love this? And
why are so many of us standing up for him?
(18:51):
That was the moment, And that's another part that I
no one.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Care about standing up on this idea that I'm pretending
I don't know I do. He was not a regular politician,
and for a lot of people that was enough. He
was not the status quo. So again on that contrarian
mindset where there's no real backbone to it, right, contrary
and for the sake of being so, I'm just thinking
(19:15):
outside the box. And like I said, I don't subscribe
to group thinking. Yeah, you say the sky is blue,
but how do we know that?
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Man?
Speaker 3 (19:21):
It was just crazy talk. Yeah, but he did not
fit the cookie cutter politician and a lot of people
were here for it, even though it was grossly hateful.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Device Yeah, and it really harmed a lot of people,
and it really was hurtful, and he showed the worst
of us, true of ours, true colors.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
I had some relationships that didn't survive his presidence.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Oh me too. For like former friends of mine, if
that name would have never came up, we'll still be
fine today. As soon as it came up. I'm like, man, Listen,
we had a whole episode, remember early on, where we
had to discuss whether or not we should use the
black button. I'm personally a big fan of the black button.
It works, keeps you peace of mind, keeps your brain
from being cluttered. Black button is an amazing tool. Listen, man,
(20:13):
But not to harp on that. There's another couple of
things that I do want to shout out because these
have been topics that have been very important that we've
been able to cover over the past few years. The first,
we've discussed that black on black crime is a myth
(20:33):
right and and and not a myth. Obviously, there's a
black person that can commit a crime against another black person,
but it's it's a marketing ploy is a myth right,
That's what I'm trying to say. So we've talked about
that at length. We have actually some content up on
our social media again. Follow us at Civic Cipher you'll
be able to see some stuff there. A lot of
people are talking about that. We were able to have
(20:56):
conversations dispelling the myth that black fathers are absentee and
not involved in their children's lives. So when the fact
is is that the data shows from the CDC, there's
articles written even this year. The study came out about
ten years ago, but there's still articles being written that
are documenting this. The black fathers actually are the best
(21:17):
fathers of all, most involved and so forth. And what
gaps you see has to do with incarceration rates and
things like this, But in terms of like unmarried black
all that stuff is just a fabrication. And I want
to read this before we go. What do we want.
We want to in qualified immunity. We want to end
(21:37):
for profit prisons. We want to overhaul police unions, demilitarize
the police. We want to end cash bail. We want
citizens oversight of police. We want cameras on all the
time and to be monitored by the community. We want
to remove racist police officers, retrain and de escalation, no
(21:57):
needs to chest, no chokeholds, and we need to affirm
the black lives matter and.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Over and over again.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And that's it for us.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
So three years, three years, man proud.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
To have done it with you, I wouldn't have chosen
to do it with anyone else. I'm grateful that well.
Q and I we've known each other long for this show,
and we're going to know each other long after this
show is passed on to whatever next generation comes.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
And I know there's been some moments along the way
where we may not have been certain that we would
have made it this far, last years long, but here
we are. Here we are, man, hopefully we got three, six, nine, twelve, fifteen.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Whatever it takes twenty more years of this to go.
We appreciate y'all checking us out for the past three years.
Do us a favor. Hit the website Civiccipher dot com,
h subscribe. All our social media is at Civic Cipher.
I am ramses Jah, I am q Ward. Yeah. Lock
in with us, man. Let's keep it going until next week, y'all.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Peace.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Peace,
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