In this episode, Amber chats with chapter sister, Jaecy Bradford, HH, about the importance of being civically engaged, registering to vote, learning more about candidates and our own political biases and more.
In this episode, Amber chats with chapter sister, Jaecy Bradford, HH, about the importance of being civically engaged, registering to vote, learning more about candidates and our own political biases and more.
Jaecy, thank you so very much for joining the Alpha Sigma Alpha podcast. This is our first time participating in the podcast. And thank you for being the first guest. For me, I'm thrilled to kick off the podcast with you with a chapter sister even though we were not in the chapter at the same time, we connected years later, but I'm so thankful for you to join us. And I'm excited to initiate the podcast on such an important topic. And but before we get into that, we should talk about who you are and learn about you as a person.
Jaecy:Thanks, Amber. I'm excited to be here to this is a topic I'm really passionate about. So I'm really excited to share with sisters the importance of this topic, and kind of our role as women in our in, especially in our American society and, and talk about what we can be doing to move forward. Hi, my name is Jaecy Bradford, I am a very proud initiator of the Eta Eta Chapter at Pittsburg State University the same as Amber here. But Amber and I actually met through fraternity things we met through facilitating at a farmhouse event. I think it was like 2014 or 15.So funny how the world works. It's a small world in Greek life. But yeah, so about me. I am a Virgo. I'm a Virgo. I never have fewer than two drinks at one time. Like I have my flat water and I have my sparkling water.
Amber:Yes, I'm drinking from my RBG mug. Very full of coffee.
Jaecy:And devoted dog mom. Yeah. So let's see, I wasn't in Kansas City Metro. I did say I'm in Enneagram seven. I think that's relevant because I feel like it means I am a jack of all trades master of none. I never content, which is my biggest strength and my biggest weakness. Okay. So I love experiencing new things. I love to travel, I love to write, I love to cook, I love to bake, I have quite a diverse groups of interest. My friends, and I have a supper club. We do all kinds of cool things with that. I just, and of course, today we're talking about, you know, politics and civic engagement. And that's just something I fell into. So that's just a little bit about me,
Amber:Well, I appreciate you sharing that because you bring your whole self. And that's something that I've always admired about you is that you don't shy away from being and bringing your whole self to any situation. And one of these days, whenever I can get back home to Kansas, I need to get myself to this supper club. Because one, I know the food would be amazing, but I think the conversation would be even better. And I'm gonna guess, knowing you and I have an idea of who some of those other supper club members are, that the conversation could easily move into a robust debate of a variety of topics. But that's what's so amazing about our sisterhood is that we can come together over fellowship and food and have a strong bond and a connection, and yet have different opinions and beliefs and, and learn from each other and grow from each other. And that's what is that's what coming together is about. And I can imagine that your separate clubs are enlightening.
Jaecy:Definitely. You know, I think I think that's interesting. Of course, you know, we're we're are, we are our own worst critics and our own biggest cheerleaders. And so it's funny to hear you say I bring my whole self. I've been bringing my whole cell for a long time. And sometimes that wasn't always well received, right? Especially when you grow up in like a smaller place. This is something that I have to shout out my mom while I'm on the podcast, because I wouldn't be the woman I am today without my parents and my family. And we're big, we're loud. We're all very opinionated, we, we argue we discuss and it was always encouraged in our home. And so I think that's kind of at the root of why I feel the way I feel about certain things. And why I also am not afraid to express my opinion. My mom told me, we were having a conversation the other day, my mom told me, I raised you in the hopes that you would be nothing like me because I was shy, and I stuck to myself and I didn't stick up for myself and I didn't didn't ever take the time to really voice opinions. And she said so one of the things that I let you do and encouraged you to do was exactly that. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for what you believe in, even if people disagree, even if it's unpopular, because eventually you find the people who are going to stand in your corner no And I think that's what's so beautiful about Alpha Sig, matter what especially. And the friendships I've developed within our sisterhood is that I'm not everybody's cup of tea, but I'm definitely my sister's cup of tea, which is nice. So and we all have various different backgrounds. We don't always agree those separate clubs do kind of get a little tense sometimes. But I always remember the quote, I say, I remember the quote, and I can't remember exact wording, but it's like small, small minds, discuss people, and big minds discuss ideas. To me, civic engagement, and politics is the big stuff. Because that stuff is, is systemic. And it affects absolutely everything that we do. So I think that's a good segue here for us.
Amber:Absolutely. And we'll and that's why, so to our listeners, that's why I asked Jaecy to join us. So over the past few months, I've really observed how active you have become in the community and in the state. And that's something I knew about you. But I didn't know to the extent and it was really amazing to watch you use your platform and your influence, to help educate other people around you on measures that were upcoming on the ballot, and how to find factual information. And that's something that stood out to me was that you were trying to really be a vehicle for helping people get access to education and information that was rooted in facts and also connected to501C3s and other nonprofits that were working to inform voters. And I was curious if you could share with us. And with all of the Alpha Sigma Alpha listeners out there, how did you start finding your voice and feel confident in pulling all that information together, so that you could use your influence and your platform to help provide information to others? Because that's a that's a big undertaking. There's so much misinformation out there in the world. And it's a commitment. So how did you start sifting through all of the information out there and misinformation? And start? You know, how weird did you start? Essentially? I guess that's my first question.
Jaecy:Oh, man, you know, it's funny, because in the past couple months, I didn't plan for I didn't plan to really be this like, person that people turn to for this. Because you never actually plan on that.
Amber:That's the way it happens, isn't it? It's very organic.
Jaecy:I've been on Instagram forever. And I wouldn't say that I have like a massive following. You know, I think I think, I think especially younger people think that they have to have 10,000 followers to have an audience and make a difference. And you don't, I think I have maybe, maybe 1,500. And I don't even know how many of those accounts are real, if I'm honest. But it all, I guess over the last couple of months, especially what it really started with was, you know, a particular ballot measure that I felt very passionately about, and there was a lot of misinformation being spread. And it happens on both sides of the aisle, right?
Amber:Oh, yeah.
Jaecy:And I think and I think, especially as young voters, we all have our thoughts and opinions about a two party system anyway. So there's that.
Amber:But that's a supper club conversation for another day.
Jaecy:Antother conversation. But you know, one of the things that I was really determined with and I think I have to shout out my grad school, Professor LJ Shelton, does a lot of really great work in minority and underrepresented, underrepresented spaces. She was just very instrumental in helping develop me as a researcher and as a grad student. And it's funny because I feel like I've been a student my whole life. I've loved school from the time I was young. And my mom always encouraged that I learned to read at a really young age. And I was also consuming media that was far above some of my other peers at that time. Some of my earliest memories about having feelings about politics then back to like "Mary Poppins", right? You think about the scene with Mrs. Banks coming in and singing "Sister Suffragette." And I didn't know what that was. And I think I was like, six and my stepmom, also a really phenomenal woman and instrument in my life. Her name is Joanie. Hi, Joanie. I remember watching that scene and saying, what does that word mean? What is suffragette? And my stepmom was going here you go and gave me a dictionary. And I looked up every word in that song that I didn't know. And that led me down this rabbit hole of okay, now I get to fixate on what theThis word means how it shows up in my life. And that was very early on. Did I have a full comprehension of it when I was six? No. But did I think it was cool that I knew how to spell suffragette? Yes, I did. So then I started thinking a little bit more about kind of my more formative years. I feel like I'm jumping around a little bit, but kind of to give everyone like the holistic picture. I think another thing that was really informative was somewhere between third and fifth grade, they really start caring that you know who the President of the United States is.
Amber:They do I remember the bulletins from elementary school.
Jaecy:Yes. And I everything was a competition with me, if you make it a competition I'm in. I wanted to be, I wanted to be the first to know every state and every capitol and every president in succession. And so I spent all of first and second grade, memorizing states and capitals and the presidents. And then of course, that goes into your nonfiction reading in elementary school, and I obsessed about presidents, I obsessed, it was really kind of ridiculous. I had this obsession with JFK, and FDR. And then later on Abraham Lincoln. And then I got deeper into the reading. And I remember being excited that there was a president from Kansas, which is why Dwight D. Eisenhower, basically created our highway system and American interstate system. I was like, that's really important. That's something I use every day. One person helped to create all of that. And I just remember thinking to myself, okay, so if you start small, and he and every president has, they had to start somewhere, they had to start somewhere small, locally, and then grow. Another formative memory I have is when I was in probably sixth grade. My dad was watching that movie with Kevin Costner about the JFK, I remember my dad watching that. And he remembers the day JFK died, and how upset my grandmother was, and that she was just crying. And I was like, why was he so great. And then I started reading about him. And I was like, okay, he was someone who reached across both sides of the aisle, he appealed to a lot of different people for various reasons. And so with that, and kind of that collective knowledge, backing up to like the last two months, for me, I care very much about this misinformation thing that's happening in our country, because I feel like everyone can make an argument for their side. Not but not everyone can talk about it in a constructive way, and actually have a discussion. And I think that's where it's really important is that we can all have a civil discussion that is rooted in factual and factual things. And so for me, I think that my love of learning was really driven by the research. So when I was looking for resources, I was really trying hard to find things that appeal on both sides. If you're not familiar with it, there is a pointer, I think, is the creator, the bias, the media bias chart, the biased media chart. I look at that often. Which, by the way, I think this is uncanny that we're doing this today, because the new one just came out four days ago, highly recommend we'll drop a link for you in the chat is the bias media chart. And I think it's really easy for us to get caught up in our own belief system, right? Because it's the core of who we are, right? And there's nothing and there's nothing wrong with that necessarily. It makes us who we are. But I think when everything you're consuming is from that same echo chamber, it doesn't leave you open to the possibility that maybe there's a different opinion, or maybe, or maybe there's a way to come together on things.
Amber:And I think that that is an important element in when you think about privilege, and that, and that is so important that we continuously expose ourselves to new ideas, different experiences, and people who are different than us. They may identify differently, different backgrounds, or even different beliefs. And it's the and that's what, when you think about history, and you think about Renaissance over time, and how we have evolved, it's because people with different ideas came together and engaged in conversation and truly intellectual conversation that expose people and challenge their ideas in a really positive way. And they did it from a placehave curiosity and I think curiosity is the way to look at it it with positive intent, and to be curious about a different experience that someone is coming. And that's being vulnerable to recognize that I came from a place of privilege. While I did not grow up with great financial means. I still my my mother was college educated. My mother was the one that introduced me to being registered to vote, there was no question of registering to vote, that was just something you did, actually, my very small town High School was just two blocks away from the courthouse. So during senior government, our teacher, when you turn 18, he whether your birthday fell during the week, or if you fell on the weekend, you are excused from class, you could walk down the courthouse register to vote and then come back. And so that was you got to do that during your senior government class. Voting was never a question. And even going to college was never a question. That's a great point of privilege.
Jaecy:Absolutely. And I think a lot of that stems from just like, our ideas and our core beliefs and who we are, I think a lot of that stems from our parents wanting better for us as a generation, they didn't want us to have it as hard or, you know, as difficult as they did. I was the same way my parents told me like, get out of here, go see the world, do your own thing, go get your education, and just do it. And I was like, okay, and I, it's funny, we bring this up, too, because I, because I'm that Enneagram seven and have all these different interests, and I'm never satisfied or content. I'm also that person that has like a quarter life crisis every like two or three years, like what am I doing with my life? Newsflash sisters, you don't actually have to know. And I, and I think that that's something we don't tell people enough is that you don't actually have to know what you want, or what you want to do. Because you've got the rest of your life to make those decisions. I changed my major four times, and still ended up going to grad school, you know.
Amber:It's it's fluid, and you evolve. And that's hopefully, you think about what we learned from even our very first ritual that we all share, but that we in the message that we hopefully all took away from that is that we are expected to continuously grow as humans, and that we are continuously learning and educating ourselves. But what I think about you is that we grow as human beings. So you and I both been very fortunate that we have had family members who supported our education, guided our education, and also guided us to be civically engaged, whether that be voting, the exposure to political figures, and starting to help us connect what those political figures do. And elected officials, the influence they have. My next question, and this is a this is a harder one, and you kind of started to get there. But what I hope that you can share with the listeners is how do you start really navigating finding factual information? I know you started to you reference one website that helps kind of call out what is bias information. But if you've got any other tips, We're all ears.
Jaecy:Sure. So the reason I, like you said I was getting there. The reason I mentioned the bias media chart is because I know that I'm showing up in the world with my experiences, as you said, I'm showing up with my life experiences, which are vastly different from one sister to another. And thinking about that, you know, I have tremendous amount of privilege, just by the color of my skin, right? And so for me, something that really resonates with me is this idea that like, I may not be right all the time. But that being said, I start with the bias media chart, because I know my biases based on the beliefs I was raised with the opinions I formed for myself today and how those differ from each other because they do. Like you said, we all grow as people we change and we change our ideas, and that's okay. And you have to kind of find that middle ground. And so I mentioned the bias media chart because I really push myself to not be in an echo chamber. Obviously, I'm a college educated woman. A lot of the people on my on my timeline are college educated women. And a lot of us believe very similarly, there are also a good number of people that don't believe the same way that I do. Even though I don't agree with them, that doesn't mean I hit that follow button. You know, I think it's important to see the other side, I think it's important to see the differences in our arguments and where people stand. Because if anything, it helps you to make a more informed decision for yourself. So that's just like your immediate people that you touch, right, your immediate interactions with folks. On a greater scale, I actively seek out different news sources, because I know where I lead on the political scale. And so I actively seek out resources that may be a little more that may lead the opposite way, if only so that I have both sides of the story, which is really, really hard, because sometimes I'm reading an article and I'm like, Oh, my gosh, this is this is blasphemous. Or sometimes I'm reading an article and I'm like, man, I didn't really expect that from this new source, you know. And so I actively push myself to consume different media, because I know I have that echo chamber. And I do have a lot of people agreeing with me. But I know that there's a whole different set of people that disagree. So I actively search those out. So that being said, I think one of the best things you can do is read a news article every day. From different news sources read the same article, like read the same topic from two or three different news sites. Yes. So the
Amber:True news sites
Jaecy:true news site. And and that bias media chart is great, because it shows you exactly not only does it show you which way that that media leans but it also shows like, what sources do you need to be wary of that are actually providing factual information versus those that spread a lot of misinformation and have been known to do so for a long time. Podcasts are great people, it's easy to consume a podcast. It's also easy to spread misinformation to podcasts. Because it's all opinion based. A lot of it is and so, I mean, this chart is awesome. They have like your major news sources. Even the Arkansas Democrat Gazette was on there. And I was shocked, because I was like, you would think that with a state like Arkansas, that wouldn't make that chart. I mean, Arkansas is not a massively populated state. But their reporting and their journalism is fantastic. And they're very, very middle of the road.
Amber:That's great.
Jaecy:That's for our audience. And so I do, I do myself a justice of looking at different news sites and reading the same story over and over again, because at least if I do that, I have a better idea of how each side views it. And then I can find my place somewhere in the middle.
Amber:Well, I think what you've just shared is that you hold yourself accountable, to exposing your research your opinion, to different sources, you could naturally lean towards the same sources day in and day out. But you know, that to expose and to widen your echo chamber, you've got to introduce different perspectives, and different factual based journalism. And I think that that's the hard part is that we are surrounded by social media, and the ability and the speed at which people can click reshare or like, and then that the algorithm the things that fill our feeds, and that that impacts what we see. So for you to share your personal accountability is is wonderful.
Jaecy:Thank you. And like they know that right? Like the people who were the people or sources or organizations or whatever, that are creating that click, they know what they're doing. And it can be an incredibly n. And like I said, this happens on both all sides. It's not just one party, it's not just one source. There are many sources that they know what they're doing, when they create that clickbait. They just want you to go to their site, see the ads, and maybe look at the headline. The problem is that the headline is not going to give you any information, it's going to tell you what that article is about. The information is hidden in all of those, all of those words underneath the headline. And so my challenge to everyone is regardless of what you're reading, and regardless of the topic, like you've got to dive deeper, you've got to get past that headline because a headline can be incredibly deceiving.
Amber:Oh, absolutely. So that's what I mean. There's a science to clickbait. So it's important for us to be to dive deeper. And, and so that's on us. And that's on also to engage in civil discourse to ask questions and questions from a place of curiosity, whether that be questions to potential legislators or questions to peers, as you're thinking about what's happening in your community.
Jaecy:So, on that note, when we're talking about like smaller local elections, I think one of the things, I think one of the things I've noticed, especially in the last six, eight years is that, you know, really people show out for for federal elections, right. And even then, sometimes the voter, the voter turnout is low. And I think the one thing that I've learned, especially in the last couple months is that like, every vote truly does count. It depends on what state you're in for federal elections, but in your local elections, every vote counts, not just in your county, and not just in your city, but for your state. And so that's something else I really want to emphasize here is that like, there are many, many times, especially in federal elections, where I felt like my vote didn't matter, because we were, you know, it was just going to go whatever way the electoral college says it was going to go. But locally, and in our state, I've seen things shift in a way that I'm like, well, people actually got out there. And more grassroots campaigning on both sides.
Amber:Absolutely.
Jaecy:And voter turnout was the highest it's ever been in our state. That's insane. That's awesome. And so I think knowing that truly one person can make all the difference is really incredible. And like I said, I never really saw myself as like an influencer. But I created a post one day. And the next thing I know it had 200 shares. And then a couple hours later, it had 400 shares. And within 24 hours, it had over 1,500 likes and over 1,500 shares. And I was like, what is happening?
Amber:And and what I want to give you credit for is that post, if we're if we're talking about the same one, it linked to a credible nonprofit, with factual information. And so you were using your platform and your influence to connect people to a nonprofit that was working diligently to gather information so that voters were informed. Correct?
Jaecy:Yeah. And that's tough. And especially because new nonprofits and new organizations pop up all the time, but I think it's important to know, also, nonprofits are there to help educate, and I think, I think some people see it as like, oh, just another nonprofit? Well, yes. But also, their sole existence, is to educate the people around them for free, for free, and they should be accessible, and it should be easily accessible.And yeah, that that post was crazy. I was I had people calling me and texting me and screenshotting that their friends had shared it. And they would ask their friend, how do you know Jaecy and they would be like, I don't this is a great post. And I was like, it was it was a wild couple of weeks there. But that being said, you know, I in that moment. For me, I found that like, Not only have I found my voice, but I've also found a way to connect with other people. And the best thing to come out of sharing that posts for me was all of the connections with so many people, especially women, all across my county, all across my state across our country. Kansas has a very interesting place in our political system. Yes, a lot of times, a lot of times on Midwest states or, you know, we're defined as flyover states are not flyover states. No, we're not. We're we're actively engaged and informed citizens, and we have an opinion and we're going to talk and you may not like what we have to say, but we're going to say it. We have a Kansas has respectfully
Amber:Absolutely. Well, you know, Kansas has such a I love history. It was my it was my first major and I realized it would be very difficult to have a career out of it. But Kansas has such a unique story in our country's history over time. And soyou know, I'm I'm very proud midwesterner. Even though I live I live in the south now, but I'm a very proud Midwesterner. I am, I'm so I'm so proud of you. And so thank you so thankful to see someone leading our local community and getting people engaged in a state and local elections, because I couldn't agree with you more about your point of local and state level elections, when you think about who's making decisions that impact us who impact our schools impact the salary for teachers, and the funding for schools, and local safety, and the things that you feel every day. That's that state and local legislators. And it's important for us to hold them accountable. And you know, in a professional way, absolutely question them. Engage with them.Call I call and write regularly.
Jaecy:Oh, my gosh, I was actually gonna touch on that. Next is that anytime there's a major position up on any time, and I do it with everyone now? I will, if they don't answer email, if they don't answer their voicemail, or if I get a secretary or anything, I think LinkedIn is the best kept secret in politics, because they don't ignore their LinkedIn,
Amber:Oh, I didn't know that.
Jaecy:There was actually a candidate here in in the Kansas City area. And I saw a lot of their signs popping up. And I was like,I was like, I just don't know, I just don't know enough about that candidate. And so I'm, of course, also another tip, always go to the candidates actual website, learn about their policies, don't just look at what they do. Don't just look at what they say in an article, go to their actual website and read about the issues that they support. Yes. Because it's coming straight from that. Yes, a campaign manager held to write it to make it more palatable. But at the end of the day, that's their belief. And that's what they're gonna stand for, and what they're going to fight for. Yeah. And if they previously served, you can look up their prior voting history to exactly and so I got on LinkedIn. And I messaged this candidate. And it was about an issue that was very important to me that I, and I just blatantly like, call them out. And it was like, listen, you're a member of an organization that actively fights against this issue. How are you not going to let that influence the policymaking in our state? And they came back with a very poignant answer, but also an invitation to continue the conversation. And that was kind of crazy to me, because I was like, wow, they're actually going to engage with me. And they will, because they want to hear from us. They want your vote. If they want your vote, they're going to have to earn it some way. And so yeah, I've even I've even reached out to people on LinkedIn, and I have engaged in a conversation on LinkedIn messenger. And it actually helped inform my vote. And
Amber:That's wonderful.
Jaecy:And not only that, but it kind of drew me away from another candidate too, because not not that they didn't respond, they did respond. But it was also one of those things of like, oh, well, you know, my personal beliefs are my beliefs. And I was like, okay, cool. Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate that. And it's not that I didn't like their answer. I just knew that this person that I was engaging in a conversation with, had the greater majority in mind and had more of a community based approach rather than just my people.
Amber:Absolutely. And I know, sometimes you think about school board elections, and others, there are so many people. So I make an Excel sheet to help me keep track of the candidates, and the research that I'm doing and who I ultimately want to vote for. So that way when I go in to vote, because sometimes I vote absentee, if I'm traveling for work, but when I am walking in, it can be you look at the ballot, you're thinking, oh my gosh, I can't keep track of all these names. So I just I just take in my Excel sheet, and that's how I keep track of everything.
Jaecy:Oh my gosh, that's amazing. I do something similar all all, like, take a screenshot of, you know, my notes that I scribble on one of those people that I write down everything, it's a really bad habit. I have so many posters everywhere.It's a great habit and a bad habit. But I'll take a screenshot of things and like I actually I do have some resources to share with our listeners. Yes, let's hear them. And keep keep in mind that you know, a lot of these are nonprofits and a lot of these are organizations that are completely focused on voter turnout, especially young voters, I think when you're young, you're still impressionable, you still have those core beliefs from home. Not a bad thing. You carry those all throughout your life. And you may change and evolve, and that's okay. And so what I love about these is that most of them, if not all, are unbiased, nonpartisan organizations that are truly focused on just making sure that voters have the information they need to make an informed decision. So number one, if you haven't been on it yet, I don't know how you've gotten through the last two elections. Without it vote.org, you can check your voter registration, you can update your voter registration. And that can lead you to then your state and local election boards and offices to ensure that you can get your absentee ballot or you can vote early on whatever. And that's important because a lot of absentee voting policies and laws have changed over the past two years. Lots of deadlines. Yes, lots of deadlines. So I echo vote.org and check in advance so that you if you know you're going to be away from home, or you're going to be traveling. That way you can plan ahead. But a number of laws around absentee changed state by state these past two years. Absolutely boat.org. Go check them out. And if you are the person that donates to a nonprofit every month, with part of your paycheck, they're a great one to donate to project smart vote. They are free. They are factual, unbiased information on candidates. They share their candidates biographies, their voting records, their issue positions, their stances on social issues. They share speeches, they share campaign fundraising information. It's incredibly knowledgeable, highly, highly recommend project smart vote, especially if you're curious about particular candidates. Ballotpedia it's very much the Wikipedia of the political world. But again, has very useful information. Rock the Vote is another good one. They're very focused on getting young voters involved and engaged, not just locally and then their state but federally, and making sure that people have the information they need to either register to vote or change an update their voter registration and just getting to the polls and what days and deadlines. Know your vote. I haven't used this a lot, but I was reading about it. And I think it's a useful tool. Similarly to projects that though, they share a lot of unbiased information about candidates and about what the issues are. Vote for one one is a branch of League of Women Voters. And I need to do a little more reading on them. If you have anything to add to this, by all means jump in, interrupt me. But there are a branch as League of Women Voters that's focused on nonpartisan information as well. One of my favorites is open secrets. Because I I recognize that weour system and the way that it's set up, like not all of us built it right. We were just born into it. And you have to learn how to navigate it. And so I'm big on following the money. I think one of the best ways to cast your vote is to vote with your dollar. My spouse and I talked about that all the time. vote with your dollar. It's it's what runs our society. And I know I'm probably getting into like a semi capitalistic brands, which we don't have time for today. But feel free to follow me on all my social media and engage. But our politics and economy are so interwoven following campaign dollars. I'm very, I'm very focused on so by, how do I want to say this? I'm very focused on where the money goes. open secrets is great.
Amber:Absolutely. I mean, it's it's a piece of a significant piece of information and influence. It's important for us to understand that and also to be an informed consumer. We have recently seen more and more transparency from companies, who are they donating to and just so that you are an informed consumer. And that ties to where you where your beliefs are. And, you know, just when you think about your voting, and when you think about where you are spending your time, money, and other resources, it is it's all very interconnected. So it's just another way to stay informed, just to know where things are. And then you can do with it what you want. But it is it's, it's, it is all connected.
Jaecy:I think that's what I have found so powerful in these last couple of months is that it's really intimidating to put your opinion out there, it's really intimidating, to make yourself a target, without really needing to. But if you share that factual information, you can at least know that you have that informed decision, you've made it for yourself, and you've done your part to try to help spread that factual information.
Amber:I appreciate the resources that you're sharing, because again, some folks may be aware of these, and these may be new sites to some listeners. And at the end of the day, you're sparking curiosity. And this may lead to people either building awareness or identifying a new site, they say, Hey, I'm going to put this in my regular rotation. My goal, and my hope from us having this conversation and sharing it with the podcast today was helping remind folks to get registered to vote, check your voting status, and anything that you need to do there, but also just helping all of our Alpha Sigma Alpha, think about how we can support each other, engage in civil conversations that challenge us to think about our point of our place of privilege, and also how we can learn from each other. And absolutely, and share factual information with each other.
Jaecy:Agreed, agreed on every time. Another Another quick thing that I wanted to mention, as we see with voter turnout, it varies greatly. Lastly, a lot of times you don't see people come out until that big vote comes up when it's an end all be all right? I cannot stress enough to our listeners how important midterm elections are. Get out there and vote, it's really important for you know, the upcoming elections to follow that
Amber:is feeling a little lost or unsure. But that's the great thing about vote.org. And the other sites that you shared projects, smart vote, Rock the Vote, know your vote, and I am a big fan of League of Women Voters. There. And these are also sites that they will share with you other nonpartisan sources, as you want to continue your research. At the end of the day, it's thinking about what's important to you what change you want to see in your local community and in society. Find the legislators that align with your personal values and your beliefs. Hold them accountable. And, and be engaged in that be engaged in your local community, state federal, and because it takes all of us. It's not one person, it's not one elected leader. It's a multi faceted, multi layered system. And it but it requires us to be active. And the more that we can be active, the more that we can, you know, elevate the influence of women and, and that's what I hope that we can do as a sisterhood. So Jaecy thank you so very much being an amazing sorority sister and a person of using your influence for good and helping, helping connect people and helping inform voters. I just appreciate you so much. And thank you for spending time on the podcast.
Jaecy:Thank you and happy to be here. Like I said and if anyone wants to continue this conversation with me feel free you can find me on Instagram at TRex all one word no dash trexjaecy can also find me if you just want food content at eat with Jay Brad, because that's separate. Another thing that I want to encourage voters to do is that if you if you want to be involved on election day, if you just want to get more involved with your political party, definitely reach out to your county, you know, your young democrats, Young Republicans or Democrats or Republicans have said County. Get involved if you if you want to see change and if you want to see and if you want to just encourage other people to get out there. Maybe you don't want to like be out loud and proud with your opinions. That's fine. You can also just volunteer on election day and you get to be that unbiased person that says, hey, thanks for being here. Thanks for voting. We appreciate you doing your civic duty. I'm actually going to try to do that this next midterm, very excited about it. So find those ways for you to get involved in your local community. They're out there. And if you want to talk about how to do that, feel free to engage with me. And again, Amber, thank you so much for having me. Really quick. I have a couple of shout outs and maybe follow up questions just for funsies. Yeah, how do we feel about that? So question number one for our newly elected president. If you were a candle sent, what sent would you be?
Amber:Oh, my goodness. So recently went to pin Beach, which is a local locally owned started Candle Company in Indianapolis. And they have an earl grey sent. So Earl Grey, I do like tea. I'm primarily a coffee drinker, but I also like a tea and Earl Grey. It's really good.
Jaecy:Mine is so one of two things. One is a candle that's been discontinued and if anyone has one, I might pay you good money for it. Yankee Candle Company had a toasted almond scent with the woodwicks a few years ago, I bought as many as I could. I've gone through all of them. If you have one, and you're listening to this podcast, hit me up. It's a black market item. And it's amazing. It's the best smell. And then by other candle influenced, totally influenced, boy smells on Instagram.They did a collaboration with Kacey Musgraves. And that candle is called slowburn. And it is so good. It's like all of the things that are woodsy and floral and patchouli. It's basically hippie, hippie sense. And it's just phenomenal. I love it.Let's see, I had another
Amber:She's an amazing songwriter. So I can only imagine the creativity and the candle.
Jaecy:Oh, it's it's impeccable, highly recommend. My husband was not happy to see that receipt, though. Soyou've been you've been warned you've been on the price here and have your candle. Yeah, exactly. Let's see. Oh the most if you were at a table at a convention, let's say and you could have dinner with three to five formidable women. Who would those women be in your life? They can be historians. They can be politically significant. They can be family, they can be whoever, who were your three to five women at your table?
Amber:Oh my goodness. So first and foremost has to be because I'm a Kansas girl, Amelia Earhart.
Jaecy:Awesome.
Amber:match her. And then another My goodness. See when you're on the spot, this is so difficult. Maybe Angela Merkel. Okay. Just to understand here was a woman of just strengthen struck me as someone without fear.This would be this would be my three women right now.
Jaecy:I love that. I love that.
Amber:How about you.
Jaecy:Oh, gosh. The iron lady herself Margaret Thatcher. Yes, for sure. I've been watching a lot of like British TV.I'm Margaret Thatcher. Eleanor Roosevelt. Yeah, I would add her I'm gonna add her yep, yep. In my obsession with FDR. I also became obsessed with Eleanor. and Queen Elizabeth the First we actually share a birthday.
Amber:Okay.
Jaecy:Big Virgo energy, gals, big Virgo energy. So QE one, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher. And I have to say a an A pioneer of industry. Marjorie Post, like post cereal. Yeah. If you haven't watched the food that built America on history channel yet it's really good. Amazing. Highlights. incredible women. Definitely check out the post episode with Marjorie Post. And those would be those would be for four of the women on my table.
Amber:I think I would want to add Ella Fitzgerald
Jaecy:Ella, yes.
Amber:I it took me a minute to get there thinking about I love music and just music of that time. And again thinking aboutout someone that had a life of a lot of pain and journeys and challenges. So to but beautiful music, but unfortunately that music has a lot of representation of pain in there. So I would certainly would certainly add her.
Jaecy:This is how I know we're soul sisters because in in that seat, Billie Holiday would be mine. Oh, yes. Yeah, just another pain, the pain and the suffering yet the beauty, not just not just physically but just musically beautiful. Yes. Wonderful. Well, I'm very excited. We got to have this conversation. And thank you so much for having and get out there and vote, go to vote.org Check Your Registration, get registered, vote in the midterms. And check out your local organizations and engage, engage in your conversations with your sisters and show each other love and ultimately respect. At the end of the day. Votes are going to go one way or another. And at the end of it all, we're still we're still a community are still connected. And you can still have influenced no matter where you are.
Amber:I couldn't have said it any better. So we'll end with that. And thank you, Jaecy.
Jaecy:Thank you. Have a great day.