Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / RAINBOW FATIGUE? America Cooling on Corporate Pride Month

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RAINBOW FATIGUE? America Cooling on Corporate Pride Month · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

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  Speaker 3: You're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with Ben ferguson.
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  Speaker 1: Good Wednesday morning. Nice to have you with us on
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: the forty seven Morning Updating. We've got two very big
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  Speaker 1: stories for you. Pride Month. It's something that corporate America
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  Speaker 1: has been forced to celebrate, and if you didn't, well,
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  Speaker 1: the LGBTQ plus activist community was coming after you and
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  Speaker 1: your business. Well, this year, Pride Month looks very different
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  Speaker 1: for some major brands, and we're going to explain exactly
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  Speaker 1: what's happening. Plus, more than one state in America has
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  Speaker 1: decided to change exactly what they're celebrating in their state
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to Pride Month, and it's not.
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  Speaker 2: In the LGBTQ community.
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  Speaker 1: It's actually in faith, family and freedom and celebrating this
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  Speaker 1: update and it starts right now.
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  Speaker 3: Story number one.
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  Speaker 1: You may know that June is the month of Pride.
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  Speaker 1: We have been told that you must celebrate Pride month
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  Speaker 1: and if you don't, then you are a bigot. You
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  Speaker 1: are anti LGBTQIA plus plus and whatever they've decided to
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  Speaker 1: change it into. Now, well, there does seem to be
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  Speaker 1: a changing in this story after years of companies bowing
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  Speaker 1: down to the woke, radical left and just saying you
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  Speaker 1: tell us what we need to celebrate, will do it,
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  Speaker 1: will paint whatever rainbows you want. Us to paint, will
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  Speaker 1: celebrate with special logos and emails and Pride literally at
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  Speaker 1: paraphernalia in the front of our stores. We now may
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  Speaker 1: be seeing a course correction. NFL is a great place
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  Speaker 1: to start. The social media accounts, for the first time
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  Speaker 1: in years, pasted on celebrating.
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  Speaker 2: The first day of Pride Month.
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  Speaker 1: They had been one of the lookest organizations with pressure
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  Speaker 1: from the LGBTQI plus community, but now the National Football
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  Speaker 1: League's official social media accounts looked on a pass when
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  Speaker 1: it came to celebrating the first day of Pride Month
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  Speaker 1: June first. Yes, it's a month long recognition that we
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  Speaker 1: have in this country and in many parts of the world. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I also want you to think about in comparing contrast
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  Speaker 1: other incredible days that don't get even a week.
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  Speaker 2: They get a day. You'll get Veterans Day.
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  Speaker 1: You look at Memorial Day, you look at Labor Day,
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  Speaker 1: you look at any other thing like Christmas. There's just
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  Speaker 1: a day. It is not a month. But Pride Month
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  Speaker 1: has to be an entire month. Well, a lapse is
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  Speaker 1: not exactly surprising. Well, most of its teams and I'm
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  Speaker 1: referring to the NFL, have gone in the past all
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  Speaker 1: in for Pride Month. The league itself has not mentioned
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  Speaker 1: it since twenty twenty three when it launched it Football
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  Speaker 1: Is for Everyone campaign. This is coming from the New
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  Speaker 1: York Post now. Still, the league did issue a statement
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  Speaker 1: to press reassuring its support for LGBT community, saying this
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  Speaker 1: Pride Month is recognized throughout June, and the NFL will
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  Speaker 1: continue to highlight and amplify Pride related content, community initiatives
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  Speaker 1: and celebrations taking place across the league. The NFL went
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  Speaker 1: on to say, throughout the month, we look forward to
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  Speaker 1: opportunities to showcase the work of the NFL our clubs, players, partners,
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  Speaker 1: and community organizations supporting LGBTQ plus communities. Now, last year,
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  Speaker 1: twelve NFL teams failed as the liberal media put it
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  Speaker 1: to mention Pride Month as June kicked off. By the way,
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  Speaker 1: that wasn't by accident. So far this month, only nine
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  Speaker 1: teams have not posted a celebratory message for Pride Month,
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  Speaker 1: many of them taking so much eat over last year.
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  Speaker 2: Now.
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  Speaker 1: Those teams right now include the New York Jets, the
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  Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengal, the Tennessee Titans,
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  Speaker 1: the Kansas City Chiefs, the Las Vegas Against Raiders, the
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  Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys, and the New Orleans Saints.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously that could change.
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  Speaker 1: But if you look at what the NFL is doing here, yes,
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  Speaker 1: they're clearly trying to play politics. You could even argue
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  Speaker 1: to try to play both sides of this. But what
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  Speaker 1: we are seeing is a month seems to be a
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  Speaker 1: moment now that people are saying, really, we need an
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  Speaker 1: entire month to celebrate this, and if you don't do it,
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  Speaker 1: then what happens, Well, maybe not as much as we
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  Speaker 1: thought in the past. We also know that some of
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  Speaker 1: the pride excitement may be dying down. Another example of
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  Speaker 1: that is Phoenix. Phoenix Pride, which is a prominent organization
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  Speaker 1: behind Arizona's largest LGBTQ plus gathering, announced on the eve
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  Speaker 1: of Pride Month that it is now filed for bankruptcy.
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  Speaker 1: The filing, submitted Thursday in the US Bankruptcy Court in
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  Speaker 1: the District of Arizona showed that Phoenix Pride was seeking
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  Speaker 1: Chapter eleven bankruptcy protection, allowing time, they say, to continue
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  Speaker 1: operations while restructuring its debt under court supervision. The Tucson
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  Speaker 1: Sentinel is reporting the organization's board of directors said in
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  Speaker 1: a press release that the decision was not made quote
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  Speaker 1: lightly rising. They said, operational costs, economic uncertainty, shifts in
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  Speaker 1: sponsorship again, shifts in sponsorship and fundraising, partly due to
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  Speaker 1: the current political climate and administration, and increasing demand on
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  Speaker 1: nonprofit organizations have created circumstances we can no longer navigate alone.
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  Speaker 2: Like many Pride.
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  Speaker 1: Organizations and LGBTQ plus nonprofits across the country, Phoenix Pride
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  Speaker 1: is faced mounting financial pressures that threaten our long term sustainability.
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  Speaker 1: Now you look at what they just said in that statement,
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  Speaker 1: and what they're telling you is is they're not the
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  Speaker 1: only Pride organization in the country that's struggling right now.
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  Speaker 1: The local publication also noted that the Phoenix Pride financial
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  Speaker 1: woes come just months after Tucson Pride shut down, fallowing
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  Speaker 1: years of financial strain, and, of course, as they described it,
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  Speaker 1: leadership problems. They say the sequence of events raises new
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  Speaker 1: questions about the sustainability of some of the state's largest
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  Speaker 1: LGBTQ plus organizations as they navigate what they describe as
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  Speaker 1: rising costs, budget issues, internal struggles, and then even community trust.
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  Speaker 1: Phoenix Pride said, filing Chapter eleven gives the organization the
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to reorganize its finances while continuing to operate. Now,
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  Speaker 1: you put all this into perspective, and here's what it
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  Speaker 1: really boils down to. These Pride organizations were able to
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  Speaker 1: blackmail in essence corporations and donors to give to them,
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  Speaker 1: and if they didn't, then they were going to out
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  Speaker 1: them and say they are anti LGBTQ. Plus, Now what
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  Speaker 1: we're seeing is maybe many of these organizations are more
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  Speaker 1: willing to say, hey, we're not going to be held
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  Speaker 1: hostage and we're not going to put our money towards
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  Speaker 1: Pride Month the way that you guys expect us to
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  Speaker 1: in the past. There is also the politics of this,
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  Speaker 1: which is also very very very interesting. Now, story number two,
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  Speaker 1: the Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders officially proclaimed June is
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  Speaker 1: Fidelity Month, encouraging people in Arkansas to focus on fidelity
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  Speaker 1: to God, family, community, and country. And her proclamation, Sanders
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  Speaker 1: pointed to America's founding principles of faith, liberty, and patriotism
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  Speaker 1: and encourage residents to renew their commitment to those values. Now,
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  Speaker 1: notice she's saying, we're going to have a month for family,
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  Speaker 1: a month for God, a month for community, a month
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  Speaker 1: for country. What an amazing idea and proclamations specifically highlight
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  Speaker 1: the importance of commitment to face, strong families, civic responsibility,
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  Speaker 1: and moral virtue. It argues that cultivating fidelity to God, family, community,
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  Speaker 1: and country will contribute to a healthy and stable society. Now,
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  Speaker 1: clearly this is a one point eighty when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to what Pride Month actually is. And let's be honest,
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  Speaker 1: this is about much more than a proclamation. What Arkansas
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  Speaker 1: is doing is reflecting a much broader trend happening across
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  Speaker 1: the country. Many Americans, putting it bluntly, have grown tired
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  Speaker 1: of having every institution in their lives become politicized. They
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  Speaker 1: want schools focused on education. They want businesses focus on
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  Speaker 1: serving customers. They want sports franchises focus on competition, and increasingly,
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  Speaker 1: they want government leaders focus on strengthening families and our
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  Speaker 1: communities and also faith based institutions rather than engaging in
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  Speaker 1: cultural war symbolism. And that's why Sara Huckabee Sanders as
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  Speaker 1: the governor of Arkansas and having this proclamation is generating
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  Speaker 1: so much attention. She essentially is saying that instead of
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  Speaker 1: dedicating June to identity politics, Arkansas will dedicate June to
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  Speaker 1: what she' views as the foundational institutions that holds to
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  Speaker 1: society together, faith, family, community, and country. Now, whether you
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  Speaker 1: agree or disagree with what the message is here, there's
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  Speaker 1: no question it represents a dramatic shift from where America
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  Speaker 1: was just a few years ago, and Arkansas isn't alone.
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  Speaker 1: Other Republican led states are promoting similar themes. Tennessee, where
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  Speaker 1: I was born, they have highlighted the importance of the
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  Speaker 1: nuclear family, while several governors have emphasized traditional family structures
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  Speaker 1: and faith based values as alternatives to the cultural messaging
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  Speaker 1: typically associated with Pride Month. The larger story here isn't
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  Speaker 1: simply about Pride Month. It's about a growing movement among
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  Speaker 1: millions of Americans who feel that the country drifted too
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  Speaker 1: far away from the values that built strong communities in
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  Speaker 1: the first place. They believe strong families matter, they believe
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  Speaker 1: faith matters, they believe patriotism matters, and they believe that
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  Speaker 1: those values deserve public celebration too, and shouldn't be hidden
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  Speaker 1: any longer. Governor Sanders' message is essentially an invitation for
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  Speaker 1: Arkansas to spend June strengthening their marriages, spending time with
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  Speaker 1: their children, serving their communities, and attending church, and reflecting
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  Speaker 1: on the responsibility as citizens in the great state of
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  Speaker 1: Arkansas and in the United States of America. And to supporters,
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  Speaker 1: let me just say this, this is a refreshing change.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, critics are going to lose their minds. It's
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  Speaker 1: a political statement aimed directly at Pride Month. They're going
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  Speaker 1: to say that your bigots or racists or homophobes or
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  Speaker 1: whatever else they want to call you. But regardless of
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  Speaker 1: where you stand, there is one thing that's undeniable. June
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  Speaker 1: in twenty twenty six looks very different than June and
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty. Corporate enthusiasm has cooled, the political momentum has shifted,
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  Speaker 1: and in states like Arkansas and Tennessee, leaders are openly
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  Speaker 1: championing an alternative vision centered on faith, family, and traditional values.
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  Speaker 1: Now you put this into perspective with it what President
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  Speaker 1: Trump is now doing. We're approaching the incredible two hundred
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  Speaker 1: fiftieth birthday of the greatest country in the world, and
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  Speaker 1: what we're witnessing is a major cultural debate unfolding in
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  Speaker 1: real time, something that President Trump clearly wanted. One vision
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  Speaker 1: emphasizes identity and self expression. The other emphasizes duty, commitment,
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  Speaker 1: faith and family. And if Arkansas is any indication, many
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  Speaker 1: Americans are increasingly choosing the latter. And that's why this
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  Speaker 1: year's Pride Month story isn't just about pride. It's about
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  Speaker 1: a country that is reassessing its priorities, rediscovering our roots,
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  Speaker 1: and asking a fundamental question, what value should define the
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  Speaker 1: next chapter of the American story.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever
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  Speaker 3: and we will see you back here tomorrow