The Power of Listening

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A couple of weeks ago or so, I came to

(00:02):
our daily chat a little bit depressed. A day prior,
Charlie Kirk, the right young political prophet, had been murdered
in broad daylight at thirty one, simply because of what
he believed. A deeply disturbed young person had allowed the anger, hostility,
and contempt for Charlie's views to infect his mind. A

(00:24):
mental virus had been planted in there and then watered
by social media, nurtured and encouraged by irresponsible people, some
of them much older, supposedly wiser, many in elected office,
spewing names, hatred, ugly labels. Charlie Kirk wasn't any of
those things. Tyler Robinson had stopped listening a long time ago,

(00:47):
but when he pulled the trigger of that thirty six
long rifle, his head was filled with loud, loud noises.
So I thought, maybe, just maybe, if we all stopped
talking for a few minutes and just a little bit
of time listening, maybe over a cup of coffee, the
loud noise in all of us would fade some Meet

(01:08):
Renee Sneesee of Julian, Nebraska, little town near Nebraska City.
After that Rosie Digenozi. She emailed me and she asked
if I was serious, do you really want to sit
and talk with somebody who doesn't agree with you? Challenge accepted.
We met for lunch on Monday. Ninety minutes of listening
and learning, I learned. Renee was born and raised in Bradshaw,

(01:31):
the last of six kids. Upon high school, entered the military.
She started a twenty year career in the Coastguard. Traveled
the world from the Philippines to Sri Lanka, lived in
this country from Washington, d C. To Bellingham, Washington. She's
volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and Hospice, driven a tour bus,

(01:52):
and served as a recreational therapist in a nursing home.
She loves God and country, and she's an avowed life liberal.
Like most liberal Democrats, she is mortified by the direction
of the country, much like conservatives. During Barack Obama and
Joe Biden's reign of political terror, she explained why she

(02:12):
was a Democrat, and it wasn't just because she's had
a career in government. She believes our government is an
instrument of good, can help people in need, can hold
the powerful to account. I think the same thing. She
doesn't think criminals should get preferential treatment and the justice system.
We need to feel safe in our homes and towns.
She supports law enforcement. I offered something most liberals ignore,

(02:34):
the persecution of Trump, and how would you feel waking
up every day knowing your own government had it out
for you? Judges, the National Security Team, CIAFBI, maybe even
the Secret Service was just disloyal enough to have you bankrupted, jailed,
maybe killed. Renee Listen thought about the night the government

(02:56):
stormed his home in Florida, rifled through his and his
wife's mother, those private things with CNN cameras fixed on
the front door. Maybe if all the Trump haters imagined
that happening to them, they wouldn't be so quick to
label him a Nazi. She knows I'm a lawn order guy.
Without laws and borders, we don't have a country. So

(03:17):
Renee asked me if I could imagine being any illegal
alien in this country, working, paying taxes, raising children, attending church,
giving back to the community, only to be snatched up
on the way to work one morning, no notice, just cuffed,
stuffed and taken away. Said, I'm a felon here illegally.
Maybe I'd never see my family again. All because twenty

(03:39):
years ago I walked across the country, came to the border,
paid somebody who looked like a police officer five thousand dollars,
who then said, welcome to the United States of America.
Enjoy your life here. I thought about that all day.
Ninety minutes of listening, ninety minutes of understanding and no scorecard.

(04:00):
I discovered my new friend, Renee is a lot like
all of you. She may not agree with everything we believe,
but she's secure enough in her own beliefs to share
them and not keep score.