Ana and John talk about the movie, Lion. Ana realized how much perspective that movie gave her. John discusses the humble roots he comes from and despite growing up in poverty, he acknowledges that his situation was still a lot better than 90% of the world.
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Ana, Perspective, Kasperian, and John, Why are You Still Here, Iadorola. Thanks for always being real with people.
Ana, the film on minimalism was fantastic. So glad you mentioned it in the postgame chat!
Can’t find Lion where I live yet. Not on the EU version of iTunes, or Netflix. Have been reading up on the story, though. As an adoptee, I can relate to the main character going through the search process. Maybe I was a detective in my past life- ha! There I was, having grown up on a small farm in Ohio, and much later searched for my birth family– discovering my gr-grandmother had been the first licensed woman doctor in the state of New York. And, that my father was an Estonian sailor who worked aboard merchant ships to escape the perils of Nazism of WWII in Estonia. Not to mention finding out my grandfather was an Estonian freedom fighter who, as a political dissident, was sentenced by RUSSIA to spend 10 years (1945-55) in a Siberian gulag– Irkutsk area (<–attn:Cenk).
Have all of you considered participating in DNA testing? It would be awesome for you to do this and share results about your biological/ethnic/migrational roots. I had no idea I was half Finnish until recently! Also Scottish, English, and Welsh. I lived 40+ years of my life not having the slightest idea. [I am related to Aaron Burr, Hillary Clinton, AND Barack Obama! Really!! How's that for starters.]
Think of what a GREAT show/series it would make for you all to have your DNA tested. I guarantee there would be some shockers in your ancestry analyses. GUARANTEE. Love it!
Here’s a link to it on Wikipedia. They explain it better than I ever could. Enjoy your research!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_living
This is my first time ever commenting on the website!
Ana – it’s great to hear your take-aways from “Minimalism: The Documentary”. It’s cool to see how everyone takes something different away from a movie like this. I guess it all depends on our current life situation and struggles. I watched it as well and my take-aways were a bit more straight-forward and simple (I guess I’m a simpleton?) I never thought that this documentary might change opinions of those wishing to own a home in the future. I thought it would make people want to down-size, but not necessarily think owning a home isn’t necessary – but that makes total sense. I like how you said that we buy things that we think will get us what we really want (relationships, etc), rather than just working towards attaining those great relationships, experiences, etc more directly. Such an interesting insight!
Yes! Just saw Minimalist on Netflix and it was eye opening. I was already on that track, but it was a necessary catalyst. Since then I stumbled across the Slow Living lifestyle and am now addicted.
To think… a way to reduce the influence of big business. By less shit. : )
What’s the slow living lifestyle? I’m intrigued!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_living
Why are you dissing Cenk? It is nice that you got more news covered, but Cenk (I’ve said this before) sees in all directions and would obviously have a lot to say to be fair to as many perspectives and gray areas as possible. Cenk actually covers a lot in his way.
I’m in no way familiar with running an internet news outlet, but what are the real time constraints? Is it that it cuts into employees personal time schedules?
Maybe there should be a two-hour segment with just Cenk, and maybe someone that amicably compliments/counters Cenk, on pressing news and issues.
Maybe I say all this because I’m 42 and prefer a conversational format to information. I like conversations that keep digging (with an organic flow) for deeper answers and the essences of issues.
I do align with progressives (I think), and I have to say that Ana, Iadarola and Cenk are some of my favorites to listen to. For my personality, they are very engaging and edifying (I seem to be overusing the word edifying lately, but it works).
Ana and Iadarola do have a pretty cool chemistry. I do like the power panels and rotations of others a lot. More Aida and Brett.
brett is a republican voting sellout. he will do a d rubin on tyt once he gets the chance, just watch. he wanted kasich last election.
Is Kasich a typical Republican? I don’t know Brett very well (it took awhile, but I remembered him from his satirical Viral Video Film School on Current), but I was impressed with him taking a stance on journalist integrity when some members were talking on a distinct pattern of police brutality, especially on african-americans. I was going right along with them, because of that pattern of abuse of authority over others is frightening, and in turn angering. I think Brett made the point that there wasn’t enough information to talk in such a way that the cop was most likely guilty. I think he did it defend TYT and his fellow panelists, as well the notion of innocent until proven guilty. Brett, with that perspective, is an asset. If he is republican, why not have such a voice?
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=edifying&oq=edifying&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.906j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
I thought it meant to stir up intellectual or spiritual pondering and considerations, not instruction. Stir, you know, like an eddy. Thought provoking.
Maybe I should coin “eddify.” What do you think?
Vaidas- Great topic to discuss. I feel it’s a person by person type issue. I have a friend who just recently got his girl prego simply bc they thought it would “bring them closer together”. I myself had a child with a woman I didn’t love bc I was dumb enough to believe she was taking birth control. She wanted to further the relationship, I didn’t (and made that clear), so she found what she saw as a solution. There are also men who do the same thing, have a child thinking they will keep their woman. Basically, I agree with your last point, it’s mostly all selfish reasons. Then once the child is born the reality of the situation hits and they have a detachment of sorts from their own child. Start blaming their kid for their own lack of money/success. Use their child as a crutch of sorts for everything they see wrong in their life. On the plus side though, teen pregnancy is down so I do believe things are changing for the better. Wether that trend continues over the next four years, we shall see. If the Repubs are able to shut down Planned Parenthood type places, restrict abortion, and promote religious dogma in schools, I fear we will see a spike in teen pregnancies once again.
I saw Lion. It was heartbreaking and the ending had me in tears. It was definitely the most emotionally engaging movie I’ve seen all year. No offense to Ana but I’m a little disappointed that there is no WTF review.
So agree with Ana’s comment at the beginning of the post game. When they are doing both hours together the show seems to fly by. They don’t tend to go off on tangents so a lot of ground gets covered without it ever feeling rushed. The show is like a well oiled machine with those two. Great job once again.
At the risk of appearing insensitive or heartless, i’ll say this:
I never understood why poor people in 21st century have children before they have a leg to stand on. If you don’t have a steady job, some financial security, etc, why bringing new life into this world makes any sense? You have responsibility to your children. If you can’t take care of yourself, what makes you think you’re fit to take care of somebody else? And in so many of the stories, it’s not one or 2 children… Don’t start having children when you’re teen or in your twenties. Get education if you can, hopefully get job experience, get to know your husband or wife before you get down to business…
In the past, children were a commodity, working on farms, helping family from the young age. That’s no longer needed. Also, in the past, half of them didn’t really survive into their adulthood. Hedging your bets and having a lot of them made sense. All those things are no longer true.
Which makes me think it’s a coping mechanism. Life’s been hard to them, children, family fills that void. That’s just selfish to me.
I’ve thought about this issue a lot myself, and my best guess is this: it’s simply a lack of education. Lots of teens still aren’t properly educated about sex and are taught “abstinence only” and in many places in the country birth control is still not easy to come by and will only be harder to get if Planned Parenthood gets defunded. Moreover, there are a number of myths which are still widely held by some of the less educated:
*You can’t get pregnant RIGHT after your period
*You can’t get pregnant if you pull out
*You can’t get pregnant if it’s your first time
And my favorite Republican myth: *Women can stop themselves from getting pregnant if they really want to.
Also, I agree with your last statement. This is also the case sometimes.
@Vaidas It’s not hard to understand, Vaidas.
It’s pure biology at work.
If mortality rate is high/survival rate is low, then biology dictates you produce more kids so that maybe one survives & you pass your genetics on.
Notice that richer people tend to have less children.
That’s because they can better ensure their future & focus resources on fewer children to get greater results.
Wealth usually also makes you self-indulgent so you’ll have less drive to have kids, since you’re still having so much personal fun & fulfillment.
Kids ALWAYS interrupt personal time so having them is a deterrent when you have enough wealth.
Check nations with generally wealthier populations & watch them have constant concerns about the replacement rate.
Panic about sub-replacement fertility AKA when replacement rates are less than 2.1 children per woman plagues these countries since their economies are built around the illogical model of INFINITE GROWTH ON A FINITE PLANET.
This is what drives immigration policies since SOMEBODY has to come in & do this drudgery to keep these national ponzi schemes working.
And this is also what drives policy towards the populational minorities that are brought into the established culture.
This is also what drives policy toward reproductive rights & the social roles of men & women.
They’re so scared that if people don’t replace each pair of parents (since it takes 2 people to make 1 person) that their entire society will collapse.
But poor people with poor nations are more concerned with just having ANYONE survive to adulthood so they make more babies.
They don’t have the LITERAL luxury to bring up babies like richer people do.
And also since poverty brings misery & misery loves company, poorer people can have babies to have someone to keep them company & to have someone to love.
You see a similar situation happen in major crisis events like war zones or extinction level events.
People suddenly getting the motivation to have sex in the midst of crisis because they fear their death is at hand. Having a new birth counters those deaths.
Instincts. Biology.
The humane way to solve overpopulation is simply to have better wealth distribution & eliminate poverty.
When people are richer, they have less children on average.
Survival & mortality aren’t as scary once you have a cushion.
John Lucas
@johnlucas
“But poor people with poor nations are more concerned with just having ANYONE survive to adulthood so they make more babies.”
That’s no longer true. Science has helped even the poorest of countries, let alone more advanced, yet still relatively poor countries, to the point that populations are exploding. A LOT are surviving to adulthood.
I think your first sentence is part of the answer.
“It’s pure biology at work.”
I hesitated to write that one myself. I could even rephrase it: Poorer people have harder time resisting their primal urges to procreate. Evolution is a very powerful force afterall. With more education comes power to meaninfully change your life and gives reflection on your own life, your own nature. Also, like i said, life’s been tough to them, family gives some meaning to their lives. I’ve even read one argument that when you’re poor, sex is some high quality entertainment :)
@Vaidas Well as my grandmother often told me, “people get so smart until their stupid”.
They go so far around the circle that they come around to the other end.
Biologically, if you don’t reproduce, you’re sort of missing the point of existence.
Wealthier people indulging so much that they forgot the biological imperative to pass on their genes to the next generation.
It’s OK if only a few do this. Everybody doesn’t feel like being a parent.
But if too much of society acts like this, then you end up like Japan’s about to end up.
With a population implosion as the older generations die off.
So being “educated” ultimately ends up being HALF educated.
You outsmarted yourself.
You were so caught up in your life that you forgot the pass the baton.
You begin valuing the materials over the people.
You begin valuing things over personal connection.
Women who chase career fields & while in the middle of it being forced to deal with the crossroads of motherhood vs. career.
That’s what Ana’s going through right now as she hits the age of 30.
This is part of what having that dog Charlie is all about.
This is why she’s having this discussion on the Post Game.
This is why she’s reevaluating her life goals & stances such as the one about the great big house.
Women can’t do both motherhood & career at the same intensity unless they somehow combine the locations together.
Like a woman with a home business which allows her to still be present with her children.
Or a woman who runs a shop in town & has her kids in the shop with her.
If they choose career, then if they do motherhood they won’t be the hands-on parent.
It’s gonna be a granny, an aunty, a nanny or somebody doing the daily mother’s role with the actual mother as more of figurehead.
If they choose motherhood, then career cools down & they can’t go full throttle as the men would.
Men have this challenge too but it’s not as severe since the workfield is designed around the male biological role.
He either plunges into career & becomes a father figurehead or he plunges into hands-on fatherhood & lessens the power of his career track.
But since men don’t carry the child in the womb, this won’t be as dramatic a decision as it is for women.
There’s something to be said for leaving a legacy beyond the biological one & education can help people better achieve this aim. A musical legacy, a artistic legacy, a philosophical legacy, a political legacy.
But at the end of the day, we’re programmed & designed to reproduce another human being.
If too many forget the biological imperative, then all the artifacts we produce in those other legacies will eventually be swallowed up by the sands of time. Forgotten.
After all it takes future generations to tell the story of those other legacies so they won’t be forgotten.
You need a balance. Some parts self-actualization, some parts the same primal drive.
The education grows better quality but we can’t forget the quantity either.
That’s why I say better wealth distribution. So we have the best of both worlds.
No more kids growing up in hellish situations & better resources/attention to make sure the kids grow up to their best potential.
John Lucas
@johnlucas Typo Correction: Sentence is supposed to read: “people get so smart until they’re stupid”.
Wow! I NEVER make that mistake! Hahahaha.
John Lucas
Best post game in ??? months!
Shwang wang wang