#46 John Brummett, prominent and long-time Arkansas journalist & columnist, 8-25-23, Part 1: OTOH Episode 46

Glen and April interview John Brummett, prominent long-time Arkansas journalist and columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. John describes his early family life as a pivotal influence, and he relates an instance when he was criticized in his family's church for an article he wrote, and how his family responded. Also, he noted that while he generally did very well in elementary school, there was one area of conduct in which he persistently got poor ratings, and how this may explain his subsequent success in his career choice. Although he is widely viewed as liberal, John says he now is "formerly liberal, never conservative" and that he has disdain for extremes on both sides of the political spectrum (for example, he views some extreme leftists as "illiberal"). At this point, he believes neither main party now serves our country well. Instead, he advocates for a "muscular moderation" by persons in the broad center, whether right or left leaning. A key for him in doing this is via the strength of human connection.