The Everyday Patriot with Tom Morris

If you’re wondering how to create positive change in a polarized country, listen to my conversation with Tom Morris, author of The Everyday Patriot: How to Be a Great American Now.

Tom is a public philosopher, international speaker and bestselling author of Plato’s Lemonade Stand, Socrates in Silicon Valley, If Aristotle Ran General Motors.

In this interview, we explored what it really means to be a patriot in today’s world as well as uncomplicated, practical ideas to contribute now. Best of all, we look at what’s really possible—even in a challenging environment.

Tom got rave reviews from those who listened in: “Inspiring, great storyteller, thought-provoking, a wealth of knowledge, hopeful.”

I’m sure you’ll feel the same way. You’re guaranteed to get ideas, insights and inspiration to make the difference you’re here to make.

Here are just a few quotes and takeaways from our conversation:

He defines patriotism as a “special love for our country, homes, neighbors, cities, counties, and state” combined with “caring in action.” I like that last part.
Tom says that our cities, country, and communities are “gardens of shared possibilities.” Then he continues, “Don’t be a weed. Don’t even be a prized petunia.” Instead, he invites us to be the best gardener we can be.
“Politics is the noble endeavor about how to live well together.” I think we have a lot of work to do in this area!

My personal favorite quote was this:

I used to say that the worse things get, the more of an optimist I become. People can tolerate unbelievably bad circumstances once they're used to them.

But when things get literally intolerable, it’s a wake-up call to everybody ….and everybody says 'Ok, we‘ve got to do something about this.

You can also download the formatted transcript or scroll below to see one section at a time.