Rising Star Beau Davidson: Five Steps That Each Of Us Can Take To Proactively Help Heal Our Country
Leadership is the habituated process of making well-considered decisions for a better outcome. Whether it’s George Washington’s tactical military action or a teacher’s decision to hold back a student from the next grade level to ensure proper education, leadership comes from all walks of life. Leadership usually is manifest consistently through time, is decisive, and well-reasoned.
As part of our series about ‘5 Steps That Each Of Us Can Take To Proactively Help Heal Our Country’, I had the pleasure of interviewing Beau Davidson.
Beau Davidson is an Emmy-nominated singer, actor, songwriter, and national television host and commentator. He graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with degrees in vocal performance and political science. He is also the recipient of the “Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award” for 2013, an award he shares with past recipients Elvis Presley, John F. Kennedy, and Leonard Bernstein. He has appeared in films for Hallmark and UPtv, and recently co-hosted the nationally syndicated talk show “Daily Blast Live” from Denver, where he was the lone conservative voice.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, so unsurprisingly, the sounds of Stax and Sun records still pervade the Memphis air. I competed in talent competitions very early on in Memphis, such as the Mid-South Fair Youth Talent Contest, a competition even Elvis himself competed in at one time. I tried to maintain a balance of arts and sports, but my body did not mature at the rate my voice did, so I turned more to my vocal and acting skills than my lack of physical size and maturation.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The book I can remember with such an effect would be “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olsen. It explains success in terms of compound interest: a daily act, habituated over time, will produce compound results, provided that the act is consistent. I used that practice for writing music, singing, acting, and marketing and promoting myself, as I rarely had a good agent or manager working on my behalf.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
In Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life, Rule #4 states: “Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.” I like this because everyone tends to make comparisons of themselves to others, myself included. I’ve tried to pattern my career after the success of Harry Connick Jr. or to a classmate that is doing well, and that makes us always wanton or even envious of another’s accomplishments. The important thing is that we become better daily and own up to ourselves as comparisons, not others. Rule #7 of the book states: “Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient).” I have lived by that one as well.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is the habituated process of making well-considered decisions for a better outcome. Whether it’s George Washington’s tactical military action or a teacher’s decision to hold back a student from the next grade level to ensure proper education, leadership comes from all walks of life. Leadership usually is manifest consistently through time, is decisive, and well-reasoned.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. The United States is currently facing a series of unprecedented crises. So many of us see the news and ask how we can help. We’d love to talk about the steps that each of us can take to help heal our county, in our own way. Which particular crisis would you like to discuss with us today? Why does that resonate with you so much?
I think the most obvious and pressing issue today is racial division, or at least the exploitation of racial division. I believe that our many ethnicities in America have managed to co-exist relatively peacefully and collaboratively over many decades, and especially with legislation that has provided equal opportunity. Americans have a tendency to express selective outrage, rather than equal outrage for unnecessary violence, death, or injustice. There are several steps I see to heal our nation.
- The first is to understand that the media plays an inflammatory role in exploiting civil divisions. They need to be held accountable, especially for false or misleading stories.
- Secondly, accountability must be seen at the local level, not just the federal level. District attorneys, police unions, and local politicians shape accountability, but many times are not held accountable. I think Minneapolis has proven this.
- Finally, the more interactions Americans have with each other and see each other as autonomous individuals, rather then tribal groups, the better off we will all be.
This is likely a huge topic. But briefly, can you share your view on how this crisis inexorably evolved to the boiling point that it’s at now?
As I stated above, the media is culpable for inflaming divisions between Americans. More interested in ratings and eyeballs than truth, they exploit our most base instincts and divisions. For every horrific example of police brutality, we see little reporting about law enforcement protecting and preventing a woman from rape or domestic violence, the incarceration of an MS13 gang member, the drug bust that saved lives from more addiction and, unnecessary violence in our streets. The media is more interested in exploiting our differences than our commonalities, and because of that exploitation, coupled with false reporting, they do our citizens a great injustice.
Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience either working on this cause or your experience being impacted by it? Can you share a story with us?
When George Floyd’s death occurred, I felt the best way to elevate the conversation was to have a conversation. As a national media personality, I present analysis and commentary about issues of public interest, so I contacted two black men, one of whom is a former Marine working in intelligence in Japan, and the other is a former Air Force veteran and musical artist who has challenged “groupthink.” Both men gave me some excellent perspectives on everything from taking Martin Luther King out of context to solutions to the current crisis. In conducting these interviews, I felt like I was part of a problem-solving approach rather than biased exploitation like the media usually presents in an echo-chamber fashion.
Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share your “5 Steps That Each Of Us Can Take To Proactively Help Heal Our Country”. Kindly share a story or example for each.
I Call my Steps The 5 Ls:
1. Listen: listen to one another rather than preach your own dogma. Share stories, break bread together.
2. Learn: find something out about a person that you don’t know. There are probably more commonalities than you think.
3. Love: love another person as best you can. Show empathy and compassion.
4. Liberate: free your mind from the media bias and exploitation. Bee a free-thinking individual, not a pawn in power/control scheme.
5. Lead: Since this is the point of this interview- use everything above to show you can be a leader and lead by example.
It’s very nice to suggest ideas, but what can we do to make these ideas a reality? What specific steps can you suggest to make these ideas actually happen? Are there things that the community can do to help you promote these ideas?
As I have said, leadership can be a very individual effort, but leadership inspires other would-be leaders and beckons them forward. As an example, it is clear as day that the leadership and governance in Minneapolis and Minnesota, in general, have failed its citizens. To learn from that experience, citizens can exercise their right to vote and change the accountability process. Liberating the mind means the realization that many things you have been told are simply untrue, but you have to see yourself from a 30,000ft level and even in historical context. Does the politician that has been in the same seat for 30 years have your best interests in mind, if nothing has changed in 30 years? Did the mayor and police chief properly discipline an officer when they had the chance? What about the district attorney you voted for that became a Senator? Change happens slowly but at microcosmic levels.
We are going through a rough period now. Are you optimistic that this issue can eventually be resolved? Can you explain?
I believe that “injustice” is a phenomenon that can never truly be solved because people are fallible and will act in self-interest usually, so the chances for wronging another person are huge. But I think the way we hold people accountable for that injustice through punitive and deterrent measures can be improved greatly. I know that the mainstream media will continue to sensationalize and divide, and I think the solution to that is to hit them in the pocketbooks and not give them any more eyeballs on their clickbait. Find new sources. Boycott bad outlets. Write the editor when you see a mistake.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
It’s rather simple: Think of yourself as an autonomous individual, educate yourself, even if informally, don’t break the law, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and pursue your passion to its fullest.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
University of Toronto Professor Jordan B. Peterson. He has greatly influenced my thinking.
How can our readers follow you online?
Www.facebook.com/thebeaudavidson
Instagram: @thebeaushowtv
Youtube: @beaudavidson
