In this re-podcast from America’s Future Facebook live interview, Ericka Andersen interviews Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis about his motivations for launching Saving Elephants. Also discussed are the worsening partisanship and tribalism in recent years and possible solutions to a healthier political dialogue.

About Ericka Andersen

Ericka Andersen is a freelance writer and digital media marketing professional. Her writings cover addiction, church planting, mental health, politics, policy, culture, fitness, and more for a variety of publications in including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Washington Post, and National Review. She is a regular contributor at Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC.) Previously, Ericka worked for National Review magazine, was Online Media Director for Congressional House Leadership, for the Heritage Foundation and Human Events magazine.

Ericka is the author of “Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected From the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma and Mental Illness”. She wrote “Leaving Cloud 9” for those who have suffered trauma of all kinds—and have or are seeking to overcome it in the future. The book is a true story of miraculous healing—both physically and mentally—from years of trauma, suffering from depression, going through divorce and personal destruction.

Ericka host the “Worth Your Time” podcast, featuring inspiring women living out big dreams and making a difference in the world. The podcast is generally faith-based and seeks to highlight the stories of women living and loving others well.

Ericka lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can find her on Twitter @ErickaAndersen

About America’s Future

America's Future is an organization that recruits and cultivates young professionals to become effective, lifelong advocates who will inspire their peers to embrace freedom.

America’s Future empowers young people to be active, civil, and curious citizens who build freer communities that lead to fulfillment, dignity, and happiness for all by working toward a time in America where young people collaborate to drive change in their communities—change that equips the individual to build a free and happy life. America’s Future offers rising generations opportunities for networking, mentoring, leadership and community engagement through our national network and extensive array of programming.

Founded in 1995 by a group of aspiring young advocates, America’s Future Foundation quickly grew to be “the place” for rising young leaders in Washington, DC. In 2011. They have since expanded by launching chapters in cities across the country.

For the Trump-skeptical conservative, the past five years have been dizzyingly disconcerting. We’ve often felt politically homeless and even out of step from the power centers on both the Left and Right. What’s a principled conservative to do? What is the long-term goal of the movement? What future might we practically hope for and what goals are overly optimistic and detached from reality?

Returning guest Justin Stapley joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to contemplate the merits of Trump-skeptical conservatives sticking with the GOP and whether the Republican party could reasonably embrace a principled conservatism in the future.

Justin Stapley has been writing politically since 2016. His writing has been featured by ALEC, The Federalist Coalition, and the personal blogs and platforms he has operated over the years, which include Never Tyranny, The Millennial Federalist, and The Liberty Hawk.

About Justin Stapley

Justin considers himself a liberty-minded conservative with principles and beliefs grounded in the idea of ordered liberty as expressed in the traditions of classical liberalism, federalism, and modern conservatism.

Justin currently studies Political Science at Utah Valley University with an emphasis in Political Theory and Constitutional Studies. He is a staunchly independent voice and is unafraid to call balls and strikes as he sees them. His calm but pointed writing style is often flavored with humor as he analyzes and discusses both news cycle driven topics as well as deeper philosophical considerations.

Justin appeared previously on Saving Elephants on the following episodes:

Episode 30 - Fusionism with Justin Stapley

Episode 55 – The New Centrist with Justin Stapley

Bonus Episode – The 2020 Elections – Now What?

Episode 77 – Truth in Tension with Justin Stapley

You can following Justin’s blog on Substack

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis offers a conservative critique of socialism.

It’s hardly news that socialism is gaining in popularity among younger Americans. Yet it’s more difficult to ascertain what Millennials have in mind when they express support for socialism or socialist candidates. Do they mean Marxism or the numerous varieties of Communist authoritarian regimes tried over the past century, European-style “socialism”, democratic socialism, having the state seize the means of production and abolish private property, bolstering labor unions, or some complex web of worker-ownership cooperatives? Or do they simply mean “whatever we have now, I don’t like that” with some vague idea that “the rich are not paying their fair share” thrown in for good measure?

Millennial support of socialism likely has less to do with an embrace of socialist arguments than with a frustrated search for answers. Socialism is winning by default, not persuasion, in much the same manner some candidates win elections not because they are liked, but because they are less hated than their opponent.

Just as it’s hardly news that younger Americans are becoming increasingly supportive of “socialism”—however defined—it also goes without saying that American conservatives have—generally speaking—opposed socialism and supported capitalism (or, more accurately, the free market). And while most conservatives will tell you this is for the sufficient reason capitalism “works” and socialism doesn’t, if pressed further they are likely to give additional moral reasons the former is superior to the latter. And that moral reason would be that capitalism allows for a flourishing of liberties that socialism impairs or, in some cases, obliterates.

But before we can untangle the merits of capitalism and how it is superior to socialism, both economically and ethically, we have to first come closer to understanding what we mean by the terms “capitalism” and “socialism”.