The Ricochet Member Feed Greatest Hits Newsletter is back!
Plus, an announcement on our next No Dumb Questions......
The Ricochet Member Feed: The Greatest Hits
By The Queen of Stuff
Hard to believe it’s already 2022. December flew by, and life has finally calmed down enough to enjoy the holiday season. Except, you know, it’s over. (Well, until Valentine’s Day anyway, and stores are already decorating for that, so … ) Now, we can focus on making the most of the new year, which includes reveling in all of the great content and conversations here at Ricochet.
You’ve certainly been plenty busy this week, as we saw a slew of intriguing posts pop up on the Member Feed. There were so many, you may have missed some of them. That’s where this newsletter comes in handy. To make sure you fully enjoy the best part of the Ricochet experience, here are our favorite Member Feed posts of the week. They touch on a variety of topics: the woke movement, New Year’s Resolutions, the fragility of freedom, movies that changed filmmaking, pursuing your dreams, and a three-year-old’s take on savings. You know, the kind of engaging, wide-ranging conversations that make Ricochet the place to be for civil discourse.
Speaking of that … Do you have family members, friends, or even former Ricochet members who would enjoy this kind of member-only content? Share this newsletter and let them know they can join today and get their first 30 days free. You’ll not only help grow the Ricochet community, you’ll also provide some great conversation starters for your next soiree.
Top Talkers
Old Bathos: Acting Woke
The most insidious aspect of “antiracism” or the “woke” perspective is that it robs the nominal victim classes of agency and personal responsibility and implies that their fate is entirely dependent on the collective mental state of white people. All they can do is to try and help the good white people politically defeat the bad white people to ameliorate but never eliminate their victim status.
When a post starts that way, you know it’s going to be a deep, thoughtful read. Old Bathos does a great job critiquing the woke movement, sharing not only his perspective but that of others as well, including John McWhorter, a Columbia University linguist and author of “Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.” Old Bathos also shares interesting anecdotes from his father’s time as an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. He ends with a strong statement on systemic racism. It’s a great read.
Kelly D Johnston: My New Year’s Resolutions. . . For Others. Chapter One.
Any successful strategic planner will tell you that “resolutions” can and should be adjusted as circumstances change.
Instead, I choose a different, more fun, and less accountable approach: making resolutions for others, especially our elected and other public officials and the media.
New Year’s resolutions: To make or not to make, that is the question. Well, for most people. If you’re Kelly D Johnston, the real question is: “Who do I make resolutions for?” because he’s making them for other people, and we kind of love that. In this post, Kelly has crafted resolutions for President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the news media. Check it out to see what, exactly, he wants them to do — and not do.
Lilly B: Quote of the Day: Freedom is a Fragile Thing
Because the truth is that we don’t know the optimal way for everyone to behave. And neither does the CDC. I am not sure what fighting to preserve our freedom looks like in 2022, but it might be as simple as showing our smiles in public.
We love to see what you come up with for the Quote of the Day posts. Here, Lilly B uses a quote from the late President Ronald Reagan about the fragility of freedom as a launching pad to ponder why freedom has suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. She doesn’t blame the pandemic itself but rather the response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s numerous recommendations. We appreciated her perspective on the issue.
Vince Guerra: Ricochet Movie Fight Club: Question 92
What film most changed the practice of filmmaking and how?
It’s been awhile since we shared one of the Movie Fight Club posts. It’s such a great concept, as members don’t just vote on the winner but also propose the nominees, with the winner posting the next week’s question. This latest question from Vince Guerra caught our eye for how it delves into the filmmaking process. It got a lot of other people’s attention too, based on the number of comments on the post (64 when we last checked). Nominees include “The Jazz Singer,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Citizen Kane,” “Gone with the Wind,” “Night of the Living Dead,” and “The Blair Witch Project.”
But Wait, There’s More
Seawriter: Quote of the Day – Dreams
I have known dreamers whose dreams come true for most of my life. I have worked for some. (They tend to be either the very best or very worst employers. I have been lucky as all mine have been the very best.) They all have something in common. They work hard. They keep their eye on their goal. They are patient enough to keep trying even when they hit a roadblock. And they are willing to give that extra effort needed to complete a dream when necessary.
In this Quote of the Day post, Seawriter uses a quote from businessman and author Harvay Mackay as a starting point for a motivational look at going after your dreams. He nudges all you Ricochetti to think about what you want to do and, if it’s a worthwhile endeavor, get started today. It’s a good read, and who knows … Maybe this is the inspiration you need to start making your dream a reality.
Mark Camp: A Three-Year-Old Explains Savings
Jack:“Let’s save it until lunch.”
Mom:“Ok, that sounds like a good idea!”
Jack:“Mommy?”
Mom:“Yes, Jack?”
Jack:“Can we have lunch now?”
When we read Mark Camp’s short anecdote, it made us smile, and then it made us think, “Huh, are grownups all that different from little kids when it comes to saving up for things?” Sometimes we want what we want now. Or really, really soon. But, you know, now. Thank you, Mark, for tickling our funny bone and giving us food for thought.
Mark Your Calendars! Next ‘No Dumb Questions’ Webcast Is Jan. 12
“No Dumb Questions” is back! Jason Miller, the CEO of GETTR and a former top spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, is in the hot seat, with the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker returning as our moderator!
In case you don’t know, GETTR is an upstart social media platform and Twitter alternative aimed at free speech advocates and conservatives. It's been in the news of late, recently adding influencer Joe Rogan, who brought over a half million new subscribers to the platform.
Join us Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT., and bring your best questions!
And remember: This is a Ricochet members-only webcast. If you know folks who might enjoy these members-only webcasts, please encourage them to join Ricochet. They’ll get their first 30 days for free, and current Ricochet members get a free month if they join! Send them an invite from you at ricochet.com/join.
Help Us Spread the Word About Ricochet
Next time you’re chatting someone up about why they should join Ricochet, feel free to share this nifty graphic. We’d love for your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and really anyone you think would enjoy our civil conversation to give us a try. Thanks, as always, for your support!
Comment of the Week
The Member Feed isn’t the only thing that keeps people coming back for more at Ricochet. The comments do too, serving as the backbone of the smart, civil conversation that makes us us. This week’s comment of the week is from Hartmann von Aue, pulled from Vince Guerra’s Movie Fight Club post where he asked, “What film most changed the practice of filmmaking, and how?”
Remember, if you know someone who would enjoy being part of the Ricochet community, we’re offering their first 30 days for free! Invite them to join the conversation today. And if you want to send us feedback on this newsletter, email greatest.hits@ricochet.com.
See you next week!
P.S. Want your post to be considered for this newsletter? Post by 5 p.m. Eastern time Thursdays.