In this episode of The Open Door (February 7th, 2024), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes and Valerie Niemeyer continue to discuss two unmentionables: Religion and Politics! Our welcome guest is Jeff Culbreath, a married father of six residing in the obscure suburbs of Sacramento. He works in the apparel industry, drives his busy kids around, and tries to be a low-maintenance husband to his hard-working wife. He enjoys writing on various topics and has maintained several blogs over the years. Please feel free to suggest others!
- By way of introduction, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your family?
- You’ve been influenced by, among others, Russell Kirk, Wendell Berry, and Neil Postman. In what ways?
- How did you come to be a Roman Catholic?
- What led you to the Republican Party and, in recent years, away from it?
- Can we have good government without good people?
- Can public policy help people be good? If not, why not? If yes, can you give examples?
- The preamble to the American Solidarity Party (ASP) platform states, “we acknowledge the state should be pluralistic.” What does that mean? How do pluralism and solidarity impact each other?
- What is “the gift economy”? How does it relate to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? Why is it important? What can be done to improve it?
- The ASP platform addresses “marriage and family” issues in detail, but doesn’t have much to say about extended families. How can public policy strengthen extended families?
- How do you reconcile belief in an “ownership society”, that is, Distributism, with the huge economies of scale that we all depend upon in a modern economy? We can’t all be owners, can we? BONUS: Do you plan on running for public office?