Rick Shenkman, historian, author, and investigative reporter shared some of his thoughts on politics during EMU’s first election related event on campus. Shenkman is a reporter for the George Washington University History News Network and is well known for his books such as “Legends Lies and Cherished Myths of World History,” “Presidential Ambition,” “Just How Stupid Are We,” and “Political Animals.” History Professor Mary Sprunger became interested in Rick Shenkman when she followed him as founder and editor of the History News Network, an online platform that connects history to domestic and international current events.
Sprunger explained, “HNN provides a venue for historians to comment on current politics and news, a resource I use regularly in my teaching. I was also interested in Rick’s book Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics . In Global Past I, we discuss how certain human tendencies and instincts are carryovers from our hunting and gathering days, so I was especially interested in how this relates to our voting behavior.”
This specific colloquium was co-sponsored by the Keim Lecture Series and the University Colloquia. The Colloquium series is organized by our provost, Dr. Fred Kniss, and the Keim Lecture Series was established in memory of former history professor, Al Keim. Sprunger went on to explain, “every year, the History and Political Science faculty chose a speaker to visit campus and give a public lecture, speak in a class, and interact with students. So, in addition to the lecture, Rick visited Ji Eun Kim’s American Politics class.”
Rick Shenkman became interested in politics, “the easy way.”
He inherited it.
“My uncle was a New York State Supreme Court judge and, before that, a NYC councilman. His sister — my mother — loved to talk politics and raised me to read the New York Times daily,” Shenkman explained. Since eighth grade, Shenkman has been reading about politics, “religiously.” He became involved in college when he ran the mayoral campaign in his hometown. Shenkman also served as an intern one summer on the House Banking Committee in DC.Shenkman explained, “family connection was the key,” for becoming involved in politics.
Shenkman’s main points from the colloquium: “It’s simple: Don’t trust your instincts when deciding how you’ll vote.” Shenkman highlighted four main mismatches to explain why democracy is so difficult: 1. Apathy because we tend to engage with things and people that happen to ourselves or those closest to us. Shenkman explained, “because national politics involves larger communities involving millions of people, we don’t naturally take an active interest in them.” 2. False confidence in our ability to read other people because we are more distant to others than we were during the Stone Age and, therefore, know less about those people we are making assumptions about. 3. The value of personal truths because we are made to notice the lies and inconsistencies of others instead of focusing on ourselves. 4. Empathy because we fail to consider the perspectives outside of ourselves or those closest to us.
In conclusion, Shenkman explained, “our instincts are our instincts and we can’t change them, but that doesn’t mean we have to throw up our hands in resigned defeat. We can always second guess ourselves.”
Thank you to Rick Shenkman for your time and openness to the interview. Be sure to keep a look out for next month’s Colloquia.
