Meet the Politically Minded Gal

We have all been told that “words matter”, whether we heard that phrase from Buddha, Robin Williams, or Hillary Clinton; we all know it. However, what we don’t know or completely understand is the impact the words of current and historical leaders have had or will have on our lives. For example,

Have you ever considered that empires, kingdoms, and nations have risen and fallen on the words and subsequent actions of their leaders. Or that words have prompted political and social movements to help shape society. 

Words have inspired hope in times of uncertainty. {Insert MLK, insert Churchill}. Words have unified a mourning nation to find resolve in action. {Insert Bush 43 and FDR}. Words have even incited chaos and violence.{Insert Trump} And, as we witnessed in the 1930s with Adolf Hitler, words have even been used to influence the genocide of a people {insert Hilter}. 

Hi, I’m Ashley Crosby, I am the host of Policiallcy Minded Gal. I’m a highschooler in South Florida and I am passionate about words. More precisely, I’m passionate about the meanings behind the words of our political leaders, and truly understanding the impacts that those words have on me, my community and my generation.

Which is why I’ve created this. An unbiased platform to break down political and famous speeches into “simple terms” that you and I can understand. Through each biweekly episode, we will examine the spoken, written, and implied meanings of the words used in American Politics. The context in which they were used. The audience in which they were meant for and consequences they either have had or will have.   

As you listen to each episode, my hope is that you will gain valuable knowledge into becoming a more informed citizen. To do this, I will continuously ask a simple question, are you hearing or listening to what is being said by our political leaders?

While we all use the words “hearing” and “listening” interchangeably; there are several important differences between the two. According to Dr. Kelly Workman, a psychologist at Columbia University Medical Center, hearing is the passive intake of sound, while listening is the act of intentionally working to comprehend what you hear. 

Over the course of my episodes, you and I both will develop the important skill of listening, and move beyond just hearing. We will learn together how to properly evaluate speeches and political voices to discover the real, in-between-the-lines, meanings of those words. Which will form the open-minded and knowledgeable voters of this generation.

And that is the most important civic duty we have as Americans. To exercise our rights as citizens to elect our leaders. For most of us, the first time we cast our vote will be for the 2024 Presidential Election. 

In just two short years we will choose our country’s next leader and put our voices out into the world through our vote. So, let’s make sure that those voices are not those of our parents, our friends, or political talking heads and news channels. But rather, they are our own informed and educated voices. This podcast is for us. The most important generation of the 21st century. And we are the most important people of our time: the American voter.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction. Make sure to subscribe and join me on my next episode, as we start to explore the voices of our generation.