Paul Meshanko, MBA, CSP, joins host T.J. O’Hara on Deconstructed to discuss the neuroscience behind political behavior.  Mr. Meshanko is an author, professional speaker, and the founder and President of Legacy Business Cultures.  He is a leading facilitator of training in the fields of leadership development and diversity and inclusion who has successfully helped government agencies examine and improve their cultures and performance.

The exact opposite of what the Framers originally intended has now been made the Law of the Land. John Jay wrote in Federalist 64 that the virtue of the Electoral College is that it can dampen “the activity of party zeal.” Hamilton, in Federalist 68, envisioned Electors as sophisticated people, who could be the free thinking representatives of the common folks in the President/VP election process.

In the information age, the explosion of always-with-you technology has created a voracious hunger for content. The 24-hour news cycle means that cable shows, websites, Twitter feeds, and Facebook updates are always churning out something. Unfortunately, there are unreliable content providers among them who dole out inaccurate, biased content designed to appeal to specific market demographics.

2020 is already a year to remember – a world-wide pandemic, militant Black-led protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer, and a presidential election. It is fair to ask what the election has to do with the other two. Will it bring anything more than efforts by both major parties and their less than inspiring candidates to use these devastating events to their advantage?

There is a good deal of mention of the Constitution on social media these days; frequently, in short, declarative sentences that express with certainty what the document means.

Most people know the story: Moments after the Constitutional Convention ended in 1787, Ben Franklin walked out of Independent Hall and was approached by a woman. The woman asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a monarchy or a republic?” 

Franklin replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

The account is quoted everywhere from the classroom to the Halls of Congress. The message is simple: A form of government that is responsive to the people can be easily lost if the people become complacent.