I don't want to be a laborer and a consumer. I want to be a citizen and neighbor.
I mostly want less of almost everything. Stuff, information, activities, choices, passwords, apps, communication... I don't want this. I want more problem solving and less marketing. I want more care taking and less life hacking. I want more education and less career preparation. I want more joy and less urgency. There are no policy solutions here, but I do wonder how we shift priorities at scale. Is it possible? Where does it start?
Here's what I want. I want all of the MLB All-Star energy! Give me Beth and Chad discussing not only Elly De La Cruz (who I LOVE) and Andrew Abbott, but also the SIX Detroit Tigers on the American League squad, 4 of them starters including the pitcher, and even the Tiger batboy won the batboy vote! Home Run Derby tonight, game tomorrow, ESPYs Wednesday. I attended the Home Run Derby and enjoyed the All-Star festivities several years ago, and one of my favorite things was our quest to take photos with fans wearing gear from every MLB team. It was a cool experience! https://tinyurl.com/3knx2v9x
Beth- I think Mark Cuban has been listening to the podcast and reading the newsletter! He did an interview with Dan from Pod Save America that came out today. And it was so good. He’s the whiteboard ideas guy you and Sarah have been searching for. So dang good. He also did a rif on PBMs role in healthcare reform + why single payer isn’t the way to go (but what he described kind of did sound like single payer).
And the importance of third parties (re: the Americans Party (this is what I’m calling it like the popular show!)) for coalitional governance. Which one could argue the Democrats are already doing with the independents in the Senate since I believe they all caucus with the Democrats- but that is for another time.
These were fantastic, Beth! Also- I really think this is what allowed Mamdani to win the NYC primary- super optimistic, lots of good listening to voters and then policies that connected.
Also- did Beth solve immigration? I think some of this was the ‘root causes of immigration’ that Harris was successfully working on.
I don’t want this… smartphones taking over our lives.
I want a law banning push notifications for all games and social media sites on smartphones. Basically, medical, bank, messaging and phone call apps allowed to send push notifications only.
I want a cell phone ban in schools.
I want my school to quit one-to-one and have sets of iPads or Chromebooks that can be checked out by the teacher intentionally rather than technology used incidentally.
I don’t want to keep watching climate disasters unfold around the world, I want us to invest in high speed rail, clean energy, and better incentivize corporate compliance.
I don’t want children in Gaza to die anymore, I want us to stop supplying Israel with weapons and to get more and better humanitarian aid into Gaza.
I don’t want my taxes to pay for war crimes, AI, or militarized ICE. I want my taxes to pay for universal healthcare, universal preschool, and free community college/trade school.
Can we stop blaming Democrats for where we are? Could some of them have recognized what was going on and realized how far right the GOP was moving? Perhaps - but would it have overcome the FACT that the news media has been deep in the pockets of the GOP since Reagan, has NOT been using facts or evidence as the basis for their reporting? did not report on all the positives of what the Dems were doing nor did they report on the negative things that the GOP did - like McConnell not allowing federal judgeship appointments & 1 SC justice appointment by Obama. Europeans knew more about Biden's successes & Harris' contributions than people in this nation did. MANY OF THEIR JOURNALISTS REPORTED THE TRUTH. They knew that not only did Biden save the US economy and bring it back to life, but his actions helped the world economy. Please also don't forget that Obama only had control of the WH & Congress for 2 yrs. The same was true for Biden. What if people had bothered to vote in midterms or even in the elections that T won? What if they didn't vote for 3rd party candidates that cannot win? Imagine if the Dems had turned hostile. Just how do you think the press would have responded to Dems who spoke out about the danger ahead? Harris was asked by Anderson just before the election and after T's rally at MSG - do you think T is acting like Hitler. She CORRECTLY & HONESTLY said yes. She was badgered by the press because of it. Anderson was surprised and furious by the response he got from those of us who KNEW she was right. My last example is Tapper & others who said Biden was not fit for office after a debate - while NOT ONCE saying this about the criminal, hate spewing, lying, word salad idiot? WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF REAGAN, THE KOCHS AND OTHER RICH GREEDY RACIST WHITE MEN, THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY, THE HERITAGE SOCIETY AND EVERY SINGLE GOP THAT REMAINS IN THE PARTY. Let's spend our energy on protests and trying our best to get others to know the facts. We are fighting to save our democracy. Fight the enemy that wants us to go back to the 1900's. Your lives, your children's lives and your grandchildren's lives depend on it. We will only get one more chance and that is IF the GOP doesn't use voter suppression and other tactics to stop us from voting. They already have tried to stop women from voting. Abbott is trying to redistrict so Crockett will be without a seat in Congress.
I don't want this: the constant emails from my democratic reps saying "I am fighting....." The word "fighting" has lost all meaning when it is practically the only word they use. I like my reps and believe that they have some good ideas...but they are caught up in communication that is not helpful.
There is something all my reps seem to do which I say "yes" to... they all create a lot of opportunities to meet with constituents...hosting lots of in person and virtual town halls.
I wonder if the Democratic label is so toxic that people are unable to hear any new ideas coming from them. I wonder if it would be better received coming from a new messenger.
I had a similar reaction when I saw a list of what was in that big disappointment of a bill. I didn’t want any of those things! I DO want to replace my 20 year old car, afford childcare, and not worry about losing my federal job. I want to talk to a human being when I have a problem with a service. I want healthcare to be affordable and accessible. I want immigrants to be treated humanely. I think companies should pay their fair share.
I feel really lucky to be able to opt out of a lot of things I don't want. That said, I like this list and don't see anything I couldn't co-sign.
I need help, though. I have a friend who is in a deep hole with ChatGPT. She has named it. She has fed so much personal information into it, it's probably too late to extricate herself. But she also posts multiple times a week about how it's an amazing tool that she trusts with her life (really) and others should consider it. From a basic security level, there's no way in hell I would feed my medical records into any LLM. But I've tried to push back more gently and diplomatically when I see her posts. My responses are falling on deaf ears.
Norma, I don’t know your friend but my instinct when someone gets that involved with any thing and is trying to turn others on to it is that there is something else going on deep under the surface. I wonder if having a conversation about that iceberg if you will would help get at why your friend has this “new convert” zealousness?
A friend who recently taught a “Writing with AI” college course said many of her students came to the same conclusion as this author after using it extensively for a semester (Beth seems to have come to the same conclusions about AI in her writing practice, too).
Part of the challenge I have generally with her and some other friends posting similar AI sentiments -- not disparagingly -- is that they don't have intellectual pursuits that I do. For example, said friend doesn't work in a field that requires her to write, she doesn't think long and hard about the climate or sustainability, she's largely apolitical, she leans toward MAHA. So as much as I love these folks, we diverge on quite a few things that are all connected, but would be important in a true deep discussion about AI and the benefits/issues thereof.
Loved this. What's interesting right now is that the time is RIPE for solutions--there are a lot of MAGAs who are really, really unhappy with Trump (the #Elon of it all, the Big Beautiful Bill as it relates to some PP funding, the inhumane deportations...) I know multiple people who a year ago I would have said were diehard, forever-and-ever Trumpers who are absolutely looking for alternatives. But you have to *give* them alternatives--calling them racist jackasses who just hate poor people didn't work then and won't work now.
I don't want to be a laborer and a consumer. I want to be a citizen and neighbor.
I mostly want less of almost everything. Stuff, information, activities, choices, passwords, apps, communication... I don't want this. I want more problem solving and less marketing. I want more care taking and less life hacking. I want more education and less career preparation. I want more joy and less urgency. There are no policy solutions here, but I do wonder how we shift priorities at scale. Is it possible? Where does it start?
Here's what I want. I want all of the MLB All-Star energy! Give me Beth and Chad discussing not only Elly De La Cruz (who I LOVE) and Andrew Abbott, but also the SIX Detroit Tigers on the American League squad, 4 of them starters including the pitcher, and even the Tiger batboy won the batboy vote! Home Run Derby tonight, game tomorrow, ESPYs Wednesday. I attended the Home Run Derby and enjoyed the All-Star festivities several years ago, and one of my favorite things was our quest to take photos with fans wearing gear from every MLB team. It was a cool experience! https://tinyurl.com/3knx2v9x
My husband's version of "I don't want this" is "the future is stupid". 😂
Beth- I think Mark Cuban has been listening to the podcast and reading the newsletter! He did an interview with Dan from Pod Save America that came out today. And it was so good. He’s the whiteboard ideas guy you and Sarah have been searching for. So dang good. He also did a rif on PBMs role in healthcare reform + why single payer isn’t the way to go (but what he described kind of did sound like single payer).
And the importance of third parties (re: the Americans Party (this is what I’m calling it like the popular show!)) for coalitional governance. Which one could argue the Democrats are already doing with the independents in the Senate since I believe they all caucus with the Democrats- but that is for another time.
It was definitely worth a listen!
I agree 100%....we need to get past the "I don't want this" to talk of what we DO want! Nice work, Beth!
These were fantastic, Beth! Also- I really think this is what allowed Mamdani to win the NYC primary- super optimistic, lots of good listening to voters and then policies that connected.
Also- did Beth solve immigration? I think some of this was the ‘root causes of immigration’ that Harris was successfully working on.
This was FANTASTIC!!
I don’t want this… smartphones taking over our lives.
I want a law banning push notifications for all games and social media sites on smartphones. Basically, medical, bank, messaging and phone call apps allowed to send push notifications only.
I want a cell phone ban in schools.
I want my school to quit one-to-one and have sets of iPads or Chromebooks that can be checked out by the teacher intentionally rather than technology used incidentally.
Remember computer labs? It can work.
Regarding 1-to-1, I have begun having conversations about it with people to get them thinking including parents, teachers, and 1 of the principals.
I don’t want to keep watching climate disasters unfold around the world, I want us to invest in high speed rail, clean energy, and better incentivize corporate compliance.
I don’t want children in Gaza to die anymore, I want us to stop supplying Israel with weapons and to get more and better humanitarian aid into Gaza.
I don’t want my taxes to pay for war crimes, AI, or militarized ICE. I want my taxes to pay for universal healthcare, universal preschool, and free community college/trade school.
Can we stop blaming Democrats for where we are? Could some of them have recognized what was going on and realized how far right the GOP was moving? Perhaps - but would it have overcome the FACT that the news media has been deep in the pockets of the GOP since Reagan, has NOT been using facts or evidence as the basis for their reporting? did not report on all the positives of what the Dems were doing nor did they report on the negative things that the GOP did - like McConnell not allowing federal judgeship appointments & 1 SC justice appointment by Obama. Europeans knew more about Biden's successes & Harris' contributions than people in this nation did. MANY OF THEIR JOURNALISTS REPORTED THE TRUTH. They knew that not only did Biden save the US economy and bring it back to life, but his actions helped the world economy. Please also don't forget that Obama only had control of the WH & Congress for 2 yrs. The same was true for Biden. What if people had bothered to vote in midterms or even in the elections that T won? What if they didn't vote for 3rd party candidates that cannot win? Imagine if the Dems had turned hostile. Just how do you think the press would have responded to Dems who spoke out about the danger ahead? Harris was asked by Anderson just before the election and after T's rally at MSG - do you think T is acting like Hitler. She CORRECTLY & HONESTLY said yes. She was badgered by the press because of it. Anderson was surprised and furious by the response he got from those of us who KNEW she was right. My last example is Tapper & others who said Biden was not fit for office after a debate - while NOT ONCE saying this about the criminal, hate spewing, lying, word salad idiot? WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF REAGAN, THE KOCHS AND OTHER RICH GREEDY RACIST WHITE MEN, THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY, THE HERITAGE SOCIETY AND EVERY SINGLE GOP THAT REMAINS IN THE PARTY. Let's spend our energy on protests and trying our best to get others to know the facts. We are fighting to save our democracy. Fight the enemy that wants us to go back to the 1900's. Your lives, your children's lives and your grandchildren's lives depend on it. We will only get one more chance and that is IF the GOP doesn't use voter suppression and other tactics to stop us from voting. They already have tried to stop women from voting. Abbott is trying to redistrict so Crockett will be without a seat in Congress.
Hi. The intention of this post is definitely not to blame Democrats. Just trying to imagine where we go from here.
I don't want this: the constant emails from my democratic reps saying "I am fighting....." The word "fighting" has lost all meaning when it is practically the only word they use. I like my reps and believe that they have some good ideas...but they are caught up in communication that is not helpful.
There is something all my reps seem to do which I say "yes" to... they all create a lot of opportunities to meet with constituents...hosting lots of in person and virtual town halls.
Beth, I just appreciate you so so much. Your groundedness, your humility, your nuance is such an example to me. Thank you.
I wonder if the Democratic label is so toxic that people are unable to hear any new ideas coming from them. I wonder if it would be better received coming from a new messenger.
It's a really interesting question and one that I think both parties are going to have to contend with sooner or later.
I had a similar reaction when I saw a list of what was in that big disappointment of a bill. I didn’t want any of those things! I DO want to replace my 20 year old car, afford childcare, and not worry about losing my federal job. I want to talk to a human being when I have a problem with a service. I want healthcare to be affordable and accessible. I want immigrants to be treated humanely. I think companies should pay their fair share.
I feel really lucky to be able to opt out of a lot of things I don't want. That said, I like this list and don't see anything I couldn't co-sign.
I need help, though. I have a friend who is in a deep hole with ChatGPT. She has named it. She has fed so much personal information into it, it's probably too late to extricate herself. But she also posts multiple times a week about how it's an amazing tool that she trusts with her life (really) and others should consider it. From a basic security level, there's no way in hell I would feed my medical records into any LLM. But I've tried to push back more gently and diplomatically when I see her posts. My responses are falling on deaf ears.
Should I leave it or continue trying to engage?
Norma, I don’t know your friend but my instinct when someone gets that involved with any thing and is trying to turn others on to it is that there is something else going on deep under the surface. I wonder if having a conversation about that iceberg if you will would help get at why your friend has this “new convert” zealousness?
Would she read this? It’s a great example of what happens when you catch and call out AI on its lies. Can’t remember who re-posted on Substack:
https://open.substack.com/pub/amandaguinzburg/p/diabolus-ex-machina?r=q5445&utm_medium=ios
A friend who recently taught a “Writing with AI” college course said many of her students came to the same conclusion as this author after using it extensively for a semester (Beth seems to have come to the same conclusions about AI in her writing practice, too).
Part of the challenge I have generally with her and some other friends posting similar AI sentiments -- not disparagingly -- is that they don't have intellectual pursuits that I do. For example, said friend doesn't work in a field that requires her to write, she doesn't think long and hard about the climate or sustainability, she's largely apolitical, she leans toward MAHA. So as much as I love these folks, we diverge on quite a few things that are all connected, but would be important in a true deep discussion about AI and the benefits/issues thereof.
“I don’t want this …”
cruelty. So much (all of it?) feels like it’s been created w/the goal to do ‘to’ people vs ‘for’ or ‘with’ people.
Loved this. What's interesting right now is that the time is RIPE for solutions--there are a lot of MAGAs who are really, really unhappy with Trump (the #Elon of it all, the Big Beautiful Bill as it relates to some PP funding, the inhumane deportations...) I know multiple people who a year ago I would have said were diehard, forever-and-ever Trumpers who are absolutely looking for alternatives. But you have to *give* them alternatives--calling them racist jackasses who just hate poor people didn't work then and won't work now.
Give them alternatives! Build off-ramps and highways to new places! This is the energy I'm looking for.