If there is one thing we need today in this very divided country, it is leaders with the wisdom to find solutions for the good of our people, not leaders who stoke division and discord for their own political gains.
But it goes beyond political leadership. Today, so many of us find ourselves stymied by the struggles of daily life that perhaps we don’t take enough time to reflect about what we need to do to reduce stress and simply be happy.
We discuss all of this with Jason Merchey, author of a new book, “Wisdom: A Very Valuable Virtue that Cannot be Bought,” in the latest episode of The Lean to the Left Podcast.
Jason is author of The Values of the Wise Book Series. In this new book, his fourth, he provides a compass to help readers navigate toward more personal growth, happiness, and fulfillment in life.
During the episode, Jason has some choice words for the Republican Party, calling it a "clear and present danger" to the U.S. Here are some questions that we covered:
1. What’s the key theme of your book and how can it help people achieve personal growth, happiness and fulfillment in their lives?
2. You say that anyone aiming to build a life of value, one that yields purpose and happiness, should consider wisdom to be their blueprint for success. Please explain what you mean and how people can do that.
3. Your promo material says that you’ve had mental illness most of your life, but that you’ve earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology and practiced as a psychotherapist. How have you overcome that illness to achieve all of that?
4. What are some ways that we could all be wiser in our choices, and how would that benefit our communities and even our nation?
5. You founded something called Values of the Wise in 2004. What is that all about?
6. Today our country is beset by division among our people. It was reflected perhaps most vividly in the January 6th attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, and continues to this day. What needs to be done to ease these tensions and find solutions to the many important problems that face our nation?
7. Abortion is one of those divisive issues, and the Trump supreme court has made it even more so, with some states now trying to criminalize the act of transporting a woman to another state to have her abortion. What are your thoughts about all of this?
8. What are your thoughts about the determination of conservatives to protect the lives of the unborn, but then to abandon them once they have taken their first breath outside the womb?
9. You wrote in a blog that the modern Republican Party is a clear and present danger to the fabric of American society, and that we must not take this lightly or be cowed into silence. Explain.
10. With that point of view, how do the principles espoused in your book relate to the political realities of today?
11. Where can people find your book and get in touch with you?
Listen to the episode: