A Perfectly Imperfect Union: Reflecting on America 250 with Laura Norton-Cruz

<p> Hey there, it's Michael. Welcome to Whole Again, the show that's here in support of you creating a meaningful life and the person you're becoming. And I'm excited to share a new series with you that will air this summer as America turns 250 years old, which is still pretty young relative to many other countries across this big blue marble that we all share.</p>
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<p>The series is called A Perfectly Imperfect Union. In 2022, I rode my bike across America from Astoria, Oregon to the Lincoln Memorial. My wife drove our RV and she had two co-pilots, Jester and Hope, two springer spaniels And when we did it, America was coming out of the pandemic, and we were hurting.</p>
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<p>Hurting from things that had happened prior to the pandemic. Of course, going through what we all went through. And at that time, and this is something I still believe today, is that we were entering an inflection point. An inflection point for us to hopefully pause, breathe, and reflect on who we wish to become as individuals, as communities, and as a country.</p>
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<p>As I pedaled across America, I wanted to share America's beauty with others, her natural beauty and the beauty of her people. And I also wanted to share where we were hurting As America turns 250, I believe Kintsugi, which is something we use as a metaphor here at Whole Again, is a perfect metaphor for where we are as a country.</p>
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<p>There's so much beauty to celebrate, and we can also acknowledge that parts of us feel broken or are broken. But we can find a way to come back together, just like Kintsugi teaches us. And when we do, we don't try to erase or cover up where we have scars or blemishes. We highlight them in gold, and we celebrate them as symbols of our strength and resilience.</p>
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<p>Kintsugi is called the golden repair, and in essence, we can see beauty in something that's perfectly imperfect. During this series, I plan to speak to at least two people in each state and the District of Columbia, so 102 conversations with real folk, as I like to say. We're gonna let the celebrities and the big influencers have their day somewhere else.</p>
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<p>But here, I wanna reach out and talk to real people and listen to their reflections as they think about America turning 250 years old. And my hope is, is that you'll tune in to at least one, if not all 102, 'cause my theory going into this is that you'll hear different perspectives. Some may be aligned with yours, others may not.</p>
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<p>But my hope is that you hear the goodness in your fellow citizens and realize, as Maya Angelou shared with us, "We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. I've had the privilege of traveling all over the world and all over this country, and this belief is something that I hold deep inside of me.</p>
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<p>So yes, I do believe that we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. So if you're ready to get to know one of your neighbors who is perfectly imperfect like all of us, take a healthy breath in and a slow releasing breath out and get to know Laura Norton Cruz.</p>
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<p>Laura, so good to see you. Thanks for joining me here on A Perfectly Imperfect Union. How are you feeling today? </p>
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<p>I am feeling good. I have a lot going on today, and I'm glad this can be part of it. </p>
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<p>Yeah, I know. It's always, as we talked about, there's some, like, s- stuff... We all have stuff going on with our house, so it's...</p>
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<p>We can, um, have conversations across our country, and our house can get fixed up and a, a whole nine yards all at the same time. So, um, so I've had a chance to read up a little bit about you and the wonderful work you're doing. It's one of the reasons why I wanted to reach out to you, uh, for this series.</p>
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<p>But for those that don't know you, can you take a minute to introduce yourself and also let us know what state you are in? </p>
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<p>Yeah. Um, my name is Laura Norton Cruz, and I live in Anchorage, Alaska, or also known as Dgheyay Kaq in the Dena'ina Athabaskan language, um, which are the people, the original stewards of this land.</p>
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<p>Um, Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska, and I've lived here since I was 10 years old. Um, although I spent some, some time during adulthood in other countries and other states, but this has always been home since I was 10. Um, I am a licensed master social worker and a certified lactation counselor. I do-- I run my own consulting business, and I do, uh, public health projects and documentary film production and policy advocacy, and I make art on the side and garden and things like that.</p>
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<p>And I raise my two kids by myself. </p>
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<p>Wow. Uh, like so, so much. I didn't know you were a certified lactation consultant. My wife is as well. My wife is a- </p>
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<p>Oh, </p>
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<p>wow ... a labor, a childbirth doula. And so, uh- </p>
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<p>Oh, wow. </p>
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<p>That's wonderful ... um, so yeah. Yeah, so, uh, there's some common themes there. And as I've gone through this series and I've invited people in, I've come to the realization that I know very few people in Alaska.</p>
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<p>And so I'm so glad that we- Hmm ... have a chance to connect. And I know we live in a big country, and not everyone's been to every state. And I, I bet Alaska is up there as far as like, "Hey, which state haven't you been to in America?" Yeah. If you ask a whole bunch of people. I know I, I still have to get to Alaska.</p>
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<p>I have four more states to get to, and La- Oh ... and Alaska is one of them. So for those that don't know Alaska, except for maybe media or television, what's something that's really cool about Alaska that people might not know about? </p>
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<p>Yeah. I, I love Alaska. Um, so even when I left the state as a young adult, I knew I was coming home here.</p>
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<p>And I love it because it's, it's vast, right? It's absolutely huge, and it's very- Yeah ... ecologically diverse, so one region doesn't look like another region. The, the Arctic, for example, looks completely different than Interior Alaska, completely different than Southeast Alaska, which is more like the Pacific Northwest.</p>
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<p>Um- Mm ... the Aleutians, you know, which, which are very windblown and don't have trees. There are parts of Alaska that are very flat. Of course, we have the highest mountain in North America. Um, I live in between the mountains and the ocean, which I love. Um, but I, I love how, how ecologically diverse, how historically diverse, and how diverse in terms of people.</p>
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<p>So there are 22 different Alaska Native peoples and languages. Um, we have 229 tribes in Alaska. We have, uh, a very diverse population in my city of Anchorage. We have over 100 languages spoken in the school district, and we have the most diverse census tract in the country, um, because we don't have highly segregated neighborhoods.</p>
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<p>They're more like every race and ethnicity lives together in certain neighborhoods- Oh, wow. Cool ... including white people, which is what's sort of unusual about it. Um, yeah, I, uh, I love that. I love how much ... We have the biggest coastline in the country by far. </p>
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<p>Yep. </p>
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<p>Um- </p>
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<p>Yeah ... </p>
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<p>and rural here means something very different than rural in the rest of the United States.</p>
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<p>So the, we have rural communities that are on the road system in the rail belt. We have others that are on the ferry system only. Um- Okay ... and then, so you cannot drive there, but you can take a ferry. And then we have a lot of other rural communities that are on neither, and so you have to fly there, or take a boat upriver, or take a snow machine acro- upriver in the winter.</p>
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<p>Um, so it's very, they're very hard to access and very expensive to access. So people living in a village have to, you know, buy a $600 flight to the hub community and then another $600 flight to Anchorage if they wanna get- </p>
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<p>Yeah ... </p>
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<p>and then, you know, another however many dollar flight to get to Minnesota or somewhere like that.</p>
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<p>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So. Wow, that's cra- that's crazy. So- </p>
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<p>Yeah ... </p>
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<p>when you, when you say a snow machine, do you mean, like, like my, my thought went to, like, a snowmobile, or are you- </p>
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<p>Yeah. Yeah. Are </p>
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<p>we talking something bigger than a- I think that's what y'all call it in </p>
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<p>the </p>
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<p>Lower </p>
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<p>48. Yeah. Okay. No, I think in the Lower 48 you call it a snowmobile.</p>
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<p>Up here we call it- Yeah. Okay ... a snow machine or a snowgo if you're in the village. </p>
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<p>Okay. All right. Cool. And so, uh, coming, you know, living on the East Coast here, I, I think I'm not alone in The, this perception that, you know, you might go outside and you might see a moose walking down the street, like where we might see a deer or maybe a, a bear.</p>
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<p>Uh, uh, it... Like how common is that? It's actually accurate. Does that just sort </p>
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<p>of- Yeah. We have moose- Okay. Okay ... in our yard fairly common. We have like- Oh, wow ... a neighborhood moose. They're like our neighbors, you know? Oh, yeah, I, I keep seeing that mom and her babies, you know, every time I drive down this street or yeah.</p>
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<p>I mean, I don't see bears super often. I saw a few bears last year. Um, what was it? What, what animal did I keep seeing this year? I've seen a lot of sea otters and seals. It, you know, it depends what region you're in, which animals you see. </p>
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<p>Sure. Yeah. </p>
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<p>Yeah. </p>
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<p>Well, that's, that's pretty wow- Okay, so I'm not, I'm not that far off.</p>
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<p>All right. So- </p>
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<p>No. Yeah, they live with us. </p>
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<p>Yeah. Yeah. Uh, well, I, yesterday I walked out of my front door and there was a deer drinking- Aw ... from our fountain. You know, we have like this- Wow ... nice pot- pottery fountain that's outside my wife's, uh, window for her office, and I opened the door and I, I totally startled the poor deer.</p>
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<p>She was just trying to have a nice glass- Mm-hmm ... of, uh, water on a very hot day, and so, uh, the deer around here are, are plentiful. We, we run into them a- almost, almost daily. So, uh- </p>
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<p>Wow ... </p>
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<p>um, yeah. </p>
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<p>There are parts of Alaska that have deer, but I don't live in one of those parts. </p>
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<p>Yeah. Cool. Awesome. One question I've been asking in the series, uh, of people is, uh, like, how do they see America or what America means to them?</p>
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<p>So if you were asked that question, how would you respond to To it. What does America mean to you? </p>
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<p>Yeah, I, you know, it's... The United States of America is where I was born and raised, and it's the only place I'm a citizen of. So I've always felt a responsibility to, to make it better, I guess. You know, my, my idea of being patriotic means I must criticize and improve my country, um, and make it- </p>
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<p>Sure</p>
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<p>become a more perfect union and live up to its own ideals. Um, and so I, you know, I believe that the US holds tremendous promise because of its principles and its constitution, and it als- and it has a strong foundation and, and incredible beauty, you know, ecologically and in terms of the diversity of its people, and its music.</p>
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<p>I mean, if, you know, someone asks me, "What's your favorite part of the United States?" It's, like, Black music mainly. I mean, our... Yeah, Black American music is, has, has been world-changing, you know? And we h- just have so much beauty in our country, and it's a country that has caused a lot of harm, right? So both because of that promise offered by its founding documents, and the people of the labor movements, and the people who died fighting for the Union in the Civil War, and those who died in the civil rights movement, and for the Indigenous people who have stayed here and kept their traditions alive, and for Filipino and Latino workers who stru- did, you know, strikes for better farm conditions, and for the feminists and activists who've risked their lives, like, I wanna honor their traditions by staying and making this place better too.</p>
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<p>You know, I love it, but I, I defend my right to criticize it and to improve it. </p>
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<p>Yeah. Well, th-that, that theme has actually come up in a number of, uh, other people I've chatted with. It really is sort of a trying to redefine what patriotism means. That we can, you know, we can see the potential in the country, and we can work towards making it a more perfect union, but at the same time, we can also be critical, uh, of it.</p>
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<p>And then part of making something better is trying to push on it a bit to, to make it better or to criticize. Yeah. So, uh, I love, I love that you also are sharing this. And it's really funny you bring up, uh, music. When I've asked people, like, "Hey, what question do you have for the next guest?" Um, uh, the producer of the show, Jake, who is a wonderful human, who's, uh, he's...</p>
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<p>He represented New York State. His question was, "If America was a music genre, what would it be and why?" And so- Mm-hmm ... um, the, uh, many people have said jazz. Um, and so, uh, so as you mentioned, um, Black music, it sort of popped that question back up for me. </p>
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<p>I mean, yeah, there's just so many genres that have sprung out of this country.</p>
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<p>Yeah. Oh, totally. Yeah. </p>
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<p>Yeah. </p>
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<p>That's so cool. Yeah. </p>
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<p>And I think of Americas more broadly. Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot about music. Yes. Even though it's not part of my professional training, it's, it's a big part of my soul. </p>
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<p>No, but yeah, m-music, uh, I, I know, I believe that music is medicine, and so with music- Mm-hmm</p>
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<p>there's also movement and dance and, you know- Mm-hmm ... we do, uh, express ourselves a lot in how we move and how we dance, and there are certain ways of communicating through music, and it like, you know, I can't imagine my life without it. I, although, you know, I'm, I'm tone deaf, and I can't- ... necessarily hold a note without being really pitchy.</p>
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<p>But, um, find me in my car, I'm singing at the top of my lungs, dancing as I'm driving. Although I'm remaining focused on the road. So, uh- Yeah ... but yeah, I, I share your love for- </p>
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<p>Yeah ... </p>
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<p>uh, I share your love for music, so, uh, very, very cool. So, like, I know in this country, there's a lot of, um- A lot of different origin stories.</p>
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<p>Uh, certainly we have families who were enslaved and were forced and brought to this country. We have families that h- have been here long before it was known as the United States. Mm-hmm. And then we have, uh, a bunch of families that have a immigration story and, and came to this land from, uh, other lands.</p>
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<p>Do you know much about your family's origin story to, uh, America or this land? </p>
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<p>A little bit. I wish I knew more. Um, my grandparents died when I was a teenager, most of them. Um- Mm ... so I've, I've, you know, ascertained as much as I could from talking to people. I haven't done a lot of online research yet. But I know that I come from Irish immigrants on my mom's side, Swiss immigrants on my dad's side and my mom's side, and supposedly British immigrants on my mom's side who came over on the Mayflower, but I have yet to research- Oh, okay</p>
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<p>if that claim made by my- ... kinda sketchy grandfather is true or not. I don't know if it is. He wasn't a great guy. That </p>
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<p>could be just family lore. Yeah. </p>
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<p>Yeah. So the, the- Exactly ... the family myth. I don't know if it's true. Yeah. I don't know if it's true. That's the Norton side. Yes. Um, </p>
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<p>but </p>
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<p>I know I'm Swiss and Irish and probably English.</p>
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<p>Um, I wish I knew more of their history in general. I, I do know that my, my Swiss immigrant great-grandfather, um, which is my, on my paternal side, he was a stuntman and a chicken thief, and it's like a very colorful- Oh, okay ... history, um, in Indiana. Yeah. And he died, uh, in front of, like, a whole state fair while doing one of his stunts.</p>
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<p>Oh my gosh. </p>
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<p>Holy cow. Yeah, he, he did this, like, stunt jumping out of a hot air balloon. Um, and so then my great-grandmother remarried this abusive man, so then my grandmother, like, fled the home really young at 16 and married another abusive guy. And, um, and s- so then my dad was raised partially by that guy, um, who was a white guy.</p>
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<p>Um, I don't actually know much about his origins. But then he was partially- Yeah ... raised by a stepdad from Guam, which is where his name is. So I'm Laura Norton Cruz. The Cruz is from my dad- Yes ... which is a Chamorro name because the Spaniards colonized Guam. Um, so half of my aunts and uncles and cousins are Chamorro Um, and then he was raised by another stepdad who was B- Black American, and they were...</p>
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<p>Interestingly, they were sent to live in segregated housing projects in Henderson, Nevada. They lived in the Black housing project because of the stepdads. Um, so my dad grew up in an all Black housing project, um, as a teenager, and this was interesting because, like, segregation was illegal at this point.</p>
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<p>This was after Brown versus Board of Education, but it was still de facto, you know, happening in Nevada. </p>
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<p>Yep. </p>
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<p>Um- </p>
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<p>Yeah. </p>
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<p>Yeah. </p>
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<p>Wow. </p>
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<p>Yeah. So- </p>
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<p>Wow. That's, like, such a- Like, like our, aren't our family stories, like, you know, they can be really messy? They're almost like this country can be messy. It's just like it's all- Mm-hmm</p>
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<p>part of it. Like, just like all the, all these diff- Some of it's like, yeah, family myth or folklore, and some of it's like, wow, that's crazy, and um- Yeah ... and it shapes us into the people that we are today, right? </p>
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<p>I love getting together with my dad's side of the family and listening to their stories about how they grew up, and it was, it was a rough- Yeah, I bet</p>
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<p>childhood in a lot of ways 'cause- </p>
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<p>Yeah. ... </p>
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<p>none of, my, my g- my paternal grandmother and none of my paternal grandfathers were particularly good people. But they had, you know- Yeah ... interesting stories. Yeah, and then my mom grew up with white parents, including a super racist and abusive dad in Central and Southern- Oh, wow</p>
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<p>California. And, like, California's a really diverse place, you know? So my mom was growing up with this racist dad and, you know, dating Puerto Rican guys, like, in high school, you know? Wow. 'Cause she was in Southern California and, you know, so she was re- Sure. Yeah ... rebelling against her jerky dad and, uh, went to college- Yeah</p>
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<p>and got all these degrees and became this, you know, strong feminist woman. Um, e- and that was all in California. Yeah. So both my parents were kind of Nevada, California. They met in Nevada, and then we moved to Anchorage when my dad got out of the Air Force, so. </p>
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<p>Ah, okay. All right. Very, very cool. Yeah, that's- That's wild.</p>
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<p>That is, like, so thanks for sharing. That's, uh- Mm-hmm ... I always love hearing. Like, I, I don't know too much about my family's, uh, background or story to, uh, the country, and my parents just weren't really interested, and they never really asked their parents, uh, some of these questions. Oh. So I always love hearing other people's stories.</p>
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<p>I sort of live vicariously through, um, through them. So when, um, when we hear in the news a lot, in social media, we, we do hear about, you know, how we either feel divided or in, in, in real terms are divided. </p>
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<p>Mm-hmm. </p>
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<p>I, uh, are there, are there times, though- Where you feel really connected to your fellow neighbor or, uh, metaphorically speaking, your neighbor, even when you have maybe different perspectives on something?</p>
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<p>Yeah. Okay, well, the, the sort of sarcastic answer is when, uh, when England is playing in a game and we're all rooting against England. That's like the one- Or we're making fun of British food. That seems to be the one- Yes, yes ... place where Americans are united in making fun of British food </p>
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<p>and less- Yeah, we can, we can rally around a common ca- yes, yes.</p>
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<p>Totally. And we can all be glad we don't eat meat pies, right? </p>
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<p>Yes, absolutely.</p>
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<p>I'm like- Yes. Thank goodness for that. Yeah. But my longer answer, um, besides unity against meat pies, is, um, you know, that I, I guess I struggle because I can... I always hold two things at the same time, and I want to explain them both and how I try to reconcile them to find some unity. So one thing I hold is that, like, if someone supports a political figure such as Donald Trump or Pete Hegseth and what they represent in terms of policy, like mass deportations by ICE and amnesty for human traffickers like Andrew Tate, then I can't feel safe with that person, right?</p>
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<p>Because if they can support that- Hmm ... then extending their logic, they look at my brown-skinned bilingual Latino children, uh, Ida and Rio, and they don't believe that they have the right to be safe in this country. And they look at my 12-year-old daughter- Hmm ... and don't believe that she has the right to be safe from traffickers like Andrew Tate or men who've raped- Hmm</p>
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<p>12-year-olds like President Trump, or that if she's impregnated by a man like that, that she should not have the right to choose what to do with that pregnancy. And if they support Hegseth as he's trying to push Black people out of the military, then they don't respect my Black cousin's service to this country.</p>
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<p>So it's, it is hard to feel connected to someone who doesn't see us as fully human and deserving of rights. The second thing I also hold is that doing good and creating good policy that helps the most people is important, is more important than whatever I think or feel about someone. And so I have worked really closely with people who have voted for those politicians, you know, and maybe haven't reconciled what those choices mean to my children or their children, and I have worked with them to advance policy.</p>
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<p>Like, and I have a real warmth, warmth working with some of these folks because, you know, despite the contradictions, I, I do believe that they have like a keenly and earnestly held belief that children deserve safety, and maybe they haven't reconciled- Mm-hmm ... you know? But so I, I love, because I do policy advocacy and filmmaking and storytelling and, you know, working and research, like all these things where I'm very closely connected with people and f- and l- asking them questions and listening to them and pulling out what their values are.</p>
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<p>I love finding ground with people, especially, you know- Sure ... as parents or as women or as people who want better for our infants and, like, figuring out what we can get done together. And it, it doesn't work with everyone 'cause I don't find those common values with everyone. I think there are people who genuinely don't care about children.</p>
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<p>But with the folks who it does work with, you know, where because of their faith or b- whatever it is, you know, their own personal experiences, we can relate to each other as survivors of violence or as, you know, moms or whatever it is. I like to unite with them across our differences and see what we can agree on and use our different kind of positions and, and alliances to, to advance a shared goal.</p>
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<p>And I have some really exciting examples of like how I've done this with my documentary film and policy advocacy over the last few years, including just like in the last few months. Um, so zooming out, you know, when I see rural communities across the country in different political areas who are all rejecting data centers, for example, you know, because they're loud- Sure</p>
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<p>and they suck up water, I'm like, "Okay, I think it's possible," right? If we have some shared information about what's harming us, I think we can get things done if we unite, right? Um- So I, I have both hope and also like a sort of a s- a dose of skepticism about like, okay, but do they value the lives of my children?</p>
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<p>You know. </p>
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<p>Yeah. I, I hear... Well, that, that, that primal need, that basic need of, um, making sure that you feel safe, and as a parent, you want your children to be safe. Like that- Mm-hmm ... becomes a primary focus. So I can- Yeah ... yeah, I can appreciate where you're coming from on that. And also- And I </p>
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<p>want all people's children to feel safe, </p>
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<p>you know?</p>
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<p>Every- everyone, yeah. Yeah. The most vulnerable, you know, the most vulnerable humans in our society just try to- </p>
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<p>Mm-hmm ... </p>
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<p>keep them safe, uh, give them, uh, protection and, uh, food and shelter and clean water to drink and, uh, clean air to breathe. Like, you know, we hope we can at least align on that even though we might see some differences in, in, in other domains.</p>
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<p>And, uh- </p>
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<p>Yeah ... </p>
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<p>yeah, w- I was... One of our guests, um, on the, on the series w- is from Wyoming. She lives in Wyoming, and so she lives in rural Wyoming, and the whole topic of data centers, uh, came up, and so how, uh, even in, as you mentioned that, i- in her community, you know, a, a very red part of the, of the nation, they're finding common ground of like the blue- Exactly</p>
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<p>speckles in- Yeah ... the redness to say, "Hey, like, this, like, you know, it's, uh, uh," what is it? The, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Sort of, you know, like, and we can all agree that no meat pies and no data centers in our town, right? Yeah. So, so, so, um, one, one of the things I've, uh, the metaphor actually that I've used for the series is the Japanese art form of Kintsugi And, you know, that g- I think it, it gives us a chance to look at, you know, this whole perfectly imperfect union as I've framed it.</p>
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<p>Mm-hmm. </p>
<p></p>
<p>So as you think about one, one thing, I know there's probably, uh, multiple things that we can address, but if you could take one thing that could help us heal, um, maybe eventually connect and grow from, um, maybe not in a perfect way, but in a meaningful first step, what would that, what, what would that topic be?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. I thought about this and I'm like, well, I want, you know, all the inequalities, but- Yes ... I was like, okay, can't choose all of them, right? Anywhere where there's- ... one group that's socially and legally and economically privileged over another group. But choosing one, I, I think one that's really fundamental to addressing all the other ones is the fracture of information.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Like, we are each hearing wildly different things depending on our sources of information, and how are we gonna solve problems if we're getting totally different information and we're not seeing the problem clearly? So I think this is both an old and new fracture. The new part, uh, or the new exacerbation of the issue comes from AI slop that's, like, making up stories completely that didn't happen at all, or getting facts wildly wrong.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And then there's, there's algorithms that are feeding different groups totally different takes on things that are happening, especially on highly propagandized and privately owned social media sites like Twitter after Musk purchased it and turned it into X. Um, and which was, by the way, like, the nicest place for Alaskans to gather before that.</p>
<p></p>
<p>It was, Alaska Twitter was so kind and wonderful. Um- Oh, really? Oh, wow. I- Oh, yeah ... heard it's so cold there It really was. Oh. We were such a nice community. So we all moved over to Blue Sky. Um, but you know- Okay. Yeah, so these, like, highly propagandized social media sites that feed people algorithms, you know, the ability of bots on these sites to sow lies and discontent, you know, the rapid decline in funding for investigative journalism, which is a cornerstone of democracy, the consolidation of newspapers under corporate ownership like Jeff Bezos and Rupert Murdoch, you know, so a certain viewpoint gets published.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So that's kinda the newer part of that fracture of information that I think we need to address, but- But I don't f- if, if I'm realistic, I don't think it's only a new issue, I think it's an old issue too, because even before all these things, the viewpoints of the powerful were always more represented in newspapers, books, films, TV- Sure</p>
<p></p>
<p>et cetera, than the viewpoints of the powerless, right? It's always been harder for women to get published than for men, or for Black writers to get published- Mm-hmm ... than white writers. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. </p>
<p></p>
<p>And certainly, like, the people who were enslaving Black people in the 1600s to 1800s or who were profiting off of slavery and adjacent industries, they weren't reading or listening to the stories of what that brutality was like from the point of view- Yeah</p>
<p></p>
<p>of those who were enslaved. I have read a lot of those memoirs. I have read a lot of those narratives and novels and things, but that was not something that people who are interested in, in prolo- prolonging that oppression, you know, were reading, right? So part of the difference in the information is, like, technological and due to ownership, but it also has to do with, like, what we want to listen to, right?</p>
<p></p>
<p>We avoid the narratives that ask us to change if we are in power, that, we avoid the narratives that ask us to share any degree of that power, and they've been rejected by the powerful. So, like, I think we can make repairs to this rupture by, you know, reframing, thinking about how, like, media ownership happens and access to news and, uh, you know, AI and bots and things like that.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Um, and by creating greater equity in publishing, film production, and so on. Um, I think we could create a system where the stories are, that are told by people with less power can be seen and read by more audiences. And, and by less power, I mean, that's, this is why I make documentary films, right? And, and do writing.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Like, I think we should hear from people, survivors of child sexual abuse, survivors of rape and domestic violence. Yes. People with disabilities, children and teens, immigrants and refugees, you know, indigenous people, Black Americans, retail and food service workers, janitors, home health aides- Mm-hmm ... you know, trans people, grandparents who are raising their grandchildren 'cause their children overdosed, you know, single parents, homeless veterans, foster kids, people who are displaced from rural areas due to climate change.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Like, there's so many stories that we need to hear, and we don't hear them because they don't have the same kind of powerful access. And I, I think we would all be better off and less divided, honestly, if, if we all got to hear those stories by the people who are, you know, have the least power, really. Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I guess that's why I'm a researcher and a documentary producer. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's, um, part of your, like, amazing contribution to make it better, right? You can- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>you can use your work to be critical, as you mentioned earlier. But at the same time, bringing those stories to light does make- does make the country better 'cause we start hearing not just a few stories by the rich and powerful- Yeah</p>
<p></p>
<p>but we hear hopefully everyone's story. And we can work on making, well, sort of creating a better t- tomorrow for all of us, not just some of us. And, um, and it's, it's through storytelling that we You know, it's one way that we learn and can express compassion and empathy and, oh, oh, like, oh, I hear a bit of my story in your story.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>who would've thunk that, you know? And, and but then we start to realize that all of our story- stories are intertwined, and we can, we can all relate to some aspect of everyone's story somehow, some way. So, um, so we'll round out here. C- I've been asking the person I've chatted with in the series before you if they have a question for you, and then in turn you get to ask a question, Laura, of the next person I chat with.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So yesterday I had the pleasure of talking to Howard from Cincinnati, Ohio, and he works in environmental services and climate change, and he spoke about Project 2050, where, uh, by the year 2050, we get to, uh, net neutrality as far as carbon, carbon net neutrality. So hi- his question is really around, um, h- what do you, uh, what do you envision for the year 2020?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Are, are we, um, making progress towards that goal, or have we backtracked? And then maybe we'll add to that question, is there anything in particular that you might be doing to help us get to that carbon net neutrality? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, I mean, we've definitely backtracked. Uh, we, you know, we got out of the Paris Accords, you know, we are- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm</p>
<p></p>
<p>making all backwards progress politically. At, at least at the national level. I know some states and small communities are advancing. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Sure. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Um, you know, in Alaska we have an election for governor in November, and so we have that on the ballot- Mm-hmm ... very much. Like, do, are we going to elect a governor who's going to invest in, um, you know, renewable energy, uh, for our very h- expensive energy needs in Alaska?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Are we going to invest in local- Sure ... uh, renewable energy sources and improving that grid, or are we not, right? Are we gonna continue to give huge tax cuts to, um, you know, petroleum companies? So we have a lot of that happening at the state level and at the national level. Um, I mean, the main thing I can do is, is politically, really.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I mean, I, I do things in my personal life all the time, but I know that it's sort of an illusion that I as an individual can make as big of a difference as I c- as we can if we elect people who, who want to, you know, get to carbon neutral. So that's the biggest thing is I can try to elect candidates who, who b- who understand the science and, you know, um, care about the science of climate change.</p>
<p></p>
<p>But on a personal level, I also, you know, I have chickens in my backyard, so I don't have to eat eggs that have been flown up from the lower 48. Um- Sure, </p>
<p></p>
<p>yeah ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>and yeah, and I go fishing. You know, I d- go dip netting, and I fill my freezer with local forms of protein that don't come from factory farms in the Midwest and don't have to be shipped here.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I do eat a lot of beans, which do get shipped up from the lower 48, you know, but, um, but I try to have local sources. So I'm learning to hunt. Um, I'm gonna go on my first moose hunt in September. Oh, wow. You know, so that... 'Cause I think from Alaska's so far away from farming, uh, from most farming, you know, I do try to buy l- things that are grown in the Mat-Su Valley or in Delta area in Alaska, and then I have a huge garden in my backyard.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have fruit trees. You know, I try to, like, produce my own food so that we're lower carbon footprint. Um, you know, bike instead of drive when I can, walk places. Sure. Whatever. I have a hybrid, but I would love an electric vehicle. We just need way more charging capacity in Alaska to make that work. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. We need more- Yeah</p>
<p></p>
<p>we need more charging capacity here on the East Coast, too. I have a- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>100% EV, and it's great for around town, but w- when I travel, uh, to go visit my father, it, you know, it, it can be a bit of an adventure to make sure that I run into a charger- Yeah ... that's actually functioning. You know, it's just a different type of mentality that one needs to have as they- Mm-hmm</p>
<p></p>
<p>i- if they're gonna do a long trip, um, compared to, like, a, yeah, a run to the grocery store, if you will. Um- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>so, uh, uh, I l- yeah, I l- I love all that you're doing. That's so, like, s- um- ... uh, so, um, so cool. And for those that complain about gas prices, which seems to be, like, a topic of the last few months and will stretch into the summer- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm</p>
<p></p>
<p>uh, one way to lower gas prices and a little bit of the dependency as far as our interest in the Middle East is to invest more, uh, significantly in renewable energy sources like wind- Mm-hmm ... and solar. And, um, you know, that's, that's always something- And we have midnight sun- ... we could </p>
<p></p>
<p>actually- ... here in Alaska.</p>
<p></p>
<p>W- in the summer- Yes, yeah ... we have sun all the time, so we could produce a </p>
<p></p>
<p>lot. Yes, yeah. So, um, we, like, we, we could do more of that as, as a country, and that could, um... Or r- there's so many ripple effects to that benefit, so, um- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm. Yeah, and we </p>
<p></p>
<p>need the jobs ... well, uh, so what- </p>
<p></p>
<p>So. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, absolutely. Cl- uh, clean energy, green energy jobs, you know, it's, and it's, it's the pathway forward.</p>
<p></p>
<p>We can, uh- Mm-hmm ... keep on arguing about what's happening to the planet, but I think it's, you know, at least from my perspective, it's quite clear, and hopefully we can, you know, um, rise up together to, uh, change the tides, if you will. So what question, Laura, do you have for the next person I chat with? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Well, I guess I'd ask, because- All my work centers around the idea of investing in early life, right?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Perinatal period, first three years of life, first five years of life, because it's the biggest, you know, the most, the most you invest in that period, the biggest payoff you get in terms of long-term wellbeing. So, you know, what-- how are you helping advance the wellbeing of, you know, pregnant people and young children so that we have a healthy future?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Absolutely. Well, I'll definitely ask the next person I chat with in the series that very question. And again, I so appreciate you coming on. I know, as we mentioned before we hit record, I was a random outreach on LinkedIn, which is filled with spam and characters trying to sell us stuff. So, uh, I appreciate the trust in you saying yes and coming on and sharing your perspective.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I, I so appreciate the ripple that you're putting into the world. And again, uh, thanks for being here. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. Thank you. I look forward to hearing the show.</p>
<p></p>
<p>It was so great to connect with Laura. She's the first person to represent the state of Alaska in our series, and I love her emphasis and her work as a professional around storytelling and bringing stories from people who have been previously marginalized. We spend so much time focused in on influencers and celebrities.</p>
<p></p>
<p>We need people like Laura to bring other stories into the public domain. They can all shape our perspective and help us see our stories and their stories and vice versa. I believe it brings us closer together. And as someone who's married to a childbirth labor doula, I love her question. So how would you respond to it?</p>
<p></p>
<p>What are you doing to advance the wellbeing of pregnant people and children? Let me know in the comment section below. And as always, thank you for being here. Thank you for listening in, and I hope you'll check out the next episode of Whole again and continue to tune back into our series here called A Perfectly Imperfect Union.</p>
<p></p>
<p>But until then, let's remember to celebrate our scars as golden symbols of our strength and resilience. And don't forget to have fun storming the castle.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And if you wish to learn more about creating beautiful ripples and how to prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day, please visit my website, michaelobrienshift.com, and sign up for my newsletter called The Ripple Effect. And join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here at Whole Again, and discover how you can heal, grow, and become more resilient, and celebrate our scars as golden symbols of strength and resilience.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Until then, remember, you can always come back to your breath. You've got this, and we've got you.</p>