Bart Marcois / PoliSci Prof Travis Smith – The Tami Jackson Show

My first guest on The Tami Jackson Show* tonight will be Bart Marcois. Bart Marcois was the principal deputy assistant secretary of energy for international affairs during the Bush administration. Additionally, Marcois served as a career foreign service officer with the State Department. Bart is a Senior Contributor at OpsLens.com "Experience Driven Commentary," where you can find a number of terrific OpEd pieces penned by someone with actual experience in policy matters. Listen in as Bart and I discuss Trump and Putin, the Judge Brett Kavanaugh SCOTUS confirmation procedures, and more! ******************* My second guest will be Travis Smith Travis Smith is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University and author of the new book, Superhero Ethics, with the subtitle, "10 Comic Book Heroes; 10 Ways to Save the World; Which One Do We Need Most Now?" In his Daily Caller column about the same topic and book Smith writes: Superhero stories are not just the amusements of a misspent youth; they have serious moral significance and can teach us important lessons about the happiness of individuals and the well-being of a free society that depends on people behaving responsibly. Could superheroes even serve as role models that can save American freedom? Too many forces in our liberal democratic society today already inculcate irresponsi­bility, promote narrow self-interest and hedonistic indulgence, and foster sentimentality and wishful thinking. Our society too often sanctions timid passivity and outsized outrage—all in the name of compassion or justice. We either discourage or downplay everyday bravery, moderation, restraint, resil­ience, generosity, gratitude, decency, sociability, sacrifice, and the exercise of good judgment — all of the efforts that generate and constitute responsibility toward oneself and one’s community. Freedom well used ought to spark some virtue, some relative excellence of character. So if superheroes can encourage some everyday ethical behavior—inspiring responsibility and integrity, living with resolve rather than resignation—while exposing some of our worst tendencies and misguided aspirations, then it is worth thinking about them critically. Because free societies require individual and interpersonal responsibility, and human beings need good role models. Listen in as Travis and I talk superheroes and ethics. And of course life as a professor in the year 2018? What's it like being a prof in Canada these days? Follow Bart Marcois on Twitter at @bmarcois, and me at @tamij AND tweet your questions/comments during the show. *Sponsored by Camera Security Now, your premier source for surveillance and access control systems for business nationwide; by ROBAR® Companies, a True Custom firearms and firearms finishing shop located in Phoenix, AZ, and found online at RobarGuns.com; and by Dispatches, your site for the BEST conservative resources to fight and win the information war.