Americas Division

Public Perspective – Episode 11

Jim Perron kicks off this episode with a wide-ranging look at America's history of division, tracing it from the founding of the Republican Party in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854, through the Civil War and Reconstruction, up to today's debates over race, gender, immigration, and the wealth gap. He shares a personal story from his days as a young door-to-door salesman in Harlem to make a point about how prejudice can cut in more than one direction, and he takes aim at what he calls the "Democratic Socialists of America," warning listeners about their growing influence heading into the midterms.

In the second half of the show, Jim pivots to the topic of drinking and driving, sparked by the recent DUI arrest of former NFL quarterback and broadcaster Tony Romo. He argues that society treats a DUI as morally equivalent to far more serious crimes, contrasting Romo's case with the Lindsay Clancy trial in Massachusetts, and calls out what he sees as hypocrisy in how the public judges drinking and driving.

He wraps up with a "shout-out" segment — this time a critical one — aimed at Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh over his decision not to intervene in a Michigan ballot dispute involving a proposed voter-ID law.

In this episode:

• The founding of the Republican Party and the Civil War's roots in slavery
• Modern-day divides: race, gender, immigration, and the wealth gap
• A personal story about race and perception from the speaker's early career
• Commentary on the Democratic Socialists of America
• The Tony Romo DUI story and double standards around drinking and driving
• The Lindsay Clancy case in Massachusetts
• A critical shout-out to Justice Brett Kavanaugh over a Michigan voter-ID ballot dispute

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