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Feeling squeezed to pick a side? We’re two longtime friends—a progressive Christian and a conservative atheist—who refuse the script and get honest about how change actually happens. Instead of scoring points against “the other,” we explore why declaring what we’re for creates room for unlikely allies, better policy, and more durable wins.

We cue up Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” and sit with its power to invite a nation into its own ideals—equality by creed, dignity by character, freedom shared by all. Then we turn to Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet,” a masterclass in focus and force that names enemies, centers self-determination, and explains the practical logic of economic enclaves. One vision inspires, the other galvanizes; both confront real pain. That tension sets the stage for a deeper question: what is your end goal—defeat people, or transform conditions?

From a candid story about wanting opponents to “just leave” to a hard-won commitment to build rooms where disagreement belongs, we map the trade offs between assimilation and identity, purity and persuasion, outrage and invitation. You’ll hear practical habits to practice being “for”: pause before posting, translate anger into a positive aim, criticize behaviors not identities, and anchor debates to shared outcomes like safety, fairness, and dignity. We also get real about the cost: loving the person your tribe calls “the problem” may get you hit from your own side. If change is the goal, that’s a price worth paying.

If you’re hungry for conversations that bridge divides without papering over hard truths, you’re in the right place. Hit follow, share with a friend who thinks differently than you do, and drop us a note with one sentence about what you’re for. Let’s grow the tent together.

©NoahHeldmanMusic

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