Keep on Looking Ahead…to Beto Days

“When you want to talk or it’s your turn to talk, lean into the mic.” That’s how it all started. An idea, a microphone, and a drive to do something bigger than myself. When I began Looking Ahead to Beto Days, I had no clue what it would become or if it would just be me shouting into the ether that I wanted change. It’s become so much more than even my wildest expectation.
That first episode seems so long ago as we sneak up on 20 episodes, but it absolutely built a foundation that the rest of the show would rest upon. It was literally my wife, Hannah, who is now an active correspondent, and one of my close friends, who believed in me enough to come out of his comfort zone to participate, sitting crowded around one mic leaning back and forth so each of us could talk, discussing Reproductive Rights. Everything we did in that first episode still echoes in what we’re doing now.
I wanted to build something for all of us through the spirit of Beto O’Rourke. Bring everyone in, leave no one out. That was Beto’s motto, so it became mine. I had this crazy idea that I would take every one of Beto’s policy plans and I’d make an entire episode out of it where I’d have guests come on and discuss it’s merits as well as how it affected them in their life. The goal was to make it real because life is real and politics, as much as some want to say it doesn’t, affects all of us. I read the policies, literally word for word, just in case I could reach someone who was kind of interested but needed assistance in understanding what the policies were and what they said.
Since then things have changed immensely. For one, my guests come from all over the country and not just down the street, but that was the whole point anyway. I’ve brought on an amazing co-host. Ryan, you’re awesome and you absolutely helped take the podcast to a whole new level. I will forever be grateful to you and your dedication. We’ve helped down ballot candidates. We’ve reported from the field during protests, debates and steak fries. We’ve kept every listener engaged and informed.
When Beto announced that he was leaving the race, I, like all of you, was stunned, heartbroken, shaken to my very core. I didn’t know what to do, so I picked up my phone and called Ryan.
“What the fuck?” There’s your quote, Ryan, thanks!
“I don’t know, man. I just heard it on CNN. We have to put out a statement, but I can tell you one thing. I want to keep this going as long as we can.”
And we are. We both agreed that we had to stay in the fight. It’s what Beto would want. You see, Beto was more than a candidate to every single one of his supporters and volunteers. He brought us in and gave us purpose and a beacon that we could follow to the true potential of this country. I, for one, spent every second since 2016 mean tweeting…and that was it. I had no sense of direction, just curse words on Twitter. Yeah, it made me feel good, but that feeling was fleeting. Then Beto happened.
I followed Beto from the time that I saw the video of him addressing the kneeling issue. Once he lost the Senate race to Ted Cruz, I knew he was going to run for President and I knew I was going to get involved, but I didn’t know how. When he announced, I made the first donation to a candidate that I had ever made and bought a t-shirt. I had to do more, be more. That’s what Beto was asking for, so I became a social media volunteer (Thanks WeThePeople for bringing me in). I knew I could do more and I had the equipment, whether I knew what to do with it was irrelevant, so I started the podcast and that’s how I got to where I am right now, sitting at my computer, writing this article, listening to Big Casino on repeat.
And that’s where I’ll continue, bringing every listener and believer real engaged news and opinion from someone that isn’t a talking head on CNN or MSNBC. Beto didn’t get me off of my ass for me to say, “Oh well, better luck next time.” Absolutely not. He showed me the skills I possess so I could make a real difference in this world. Beto brought out something in all of us that we can use to enact real change, so let’s fucking do it. Let’s make change that is bigger than all of us. Let’s pick up the pieces of our democracy and fight the fuck back. Let’s keep on looking ahead…to Beto days.