Replay: Beto O'Rourke shares Five Things He's Learned about America – and Our Common Ground
Check out the replay of the first five minutes of his recent 90-minute conversation with Resolute Square's Megan Matson.
“My experience across Texas has given me the great chance to visit often with individuals and communities across the state, to understand the personal and political issues that are most important to them, and to see how closely their concerns mirror those of Americans everywhere across our country.”
– Beto O’Rourke
This election season, we're doing all we can to share the lessons and experiences of many of democracy's most impactful defenders. One important way we're doing so: Our new free class series, Five Things I've Learned about America, which focuses specifically the inspiring people and ideals that give life to our democracy. We’re pleased to share the full Replay of Beto O’Rourke’s full session, Five Things I’ve Learned about America – and Our Common Ground with you as part of this effort.
Beto is a fourth-generation Texan, born and raised in El Paso where he has served as a small business owner, a city council representative and a member of Congress. He founded and currently leads Powered by People, a Texas-based organization that works to expand democracy and produce Democratic victories through voter registration and direct voter engagement. Powered by People has helped register over 250,000 unregistered Texans to vote since its inception in December 2019.
In his recent 90-minute conversation with Resolute Square’s , Beto shares the most essential lessons he’s learned from his extensive engagement with communities across Texas and the United States. He shared his sense of democracy as a continuous process shaped by active participation, discussed the empowering insights Americans everywhere can draw from our shared history, and language’s power to unite and divide. He also emphasized both the ways that action can combat despair and the perpetual nature of the fight for democratic victories.
If you missed the class, we hope you’ll check out the Replay. This class is presented free, in partnership with Resolute Square, the pro-democracy media company that is taking the fight beyond the ballot box to where the autocrats are winning–the media landscape of America. And, if you’re not already, we hope you will subscribe for free to Resolute Square.
More about this new series: In the coming months, we’ll present a series of live, personal conversations with leading thinkers, organizers, and advocates for our democracy. These free sessions – each share the common title, Five Things I’ve Learned about America.
We’re also soliciting written pieces, short videos, and other bursts of ideas and inspiration from people whose ideas and experiences are equally inspiring and instructive. We’ll share these perspectives via our Substack newsletter twice a week through early November, with the aim of showcasing more voices and inspiring approaches for thinking about our current times.
You can find our first session, Stuart Stevens’ Five Things I’ve Learned about America – and the Forces Driving Democracy to Autocracy, right here. Please also check out, Trygve Olson’s Five Things I’ve Learned about America – and the Enduring Example of Our Democracy, right here. We invite you to view these conversations, offered free in partnership with Resolute Square, and to join us for more free classes coming soon.
Thanks for being part of Five Things I’ve Learned on Substack. Visit myfivethings.com to view personal video invitations from more than 100 more writers, thinkers, and artists we admire – and to get special discounted pricing with our Five Things I’ve Learned Multi Pass.