Kent Strang Explores What Makes America Unique Through Red White and Do

And we just talked about that with farming.

“We talked about that with, I bet in auction year.”

Again, auction yearing itself is not American but the chance. Bob now 10, 10, now 15, 20, 5, 30, and I grew up in a lot of farm sales. No, he's enamored with the chance. What does that come from?

How do you learn that? How do you talk so darn fast? And my uncle was an auction year and he put me in touch with a friend of his who was also an auction year and he started talking about that this is how they started trading tobacco and things and selling in the south and it's to move the story along

to keep you interested and they don't want any gaps so you find it fascinating to keep

“hidden so it keeps talking. And he had talked about how his business now is not in front”

at an auction house. Americans are capable of achieving extraordinary things when they have the freedom and opportunity to do so. This is American Potential. Everyone, welcome to the American Potential podcast on your host, David Fox. You know, one of the cool things as the world cup has progressed here in North America.

It's been seen folks kind of discover America, whether it be like ranch dressing or barbecue or just like how beautiful parts of America are. It's just been cool to see it through their eyes, Matt, engineer, Matt. You know, have you seen some of those videos? I have, but there's one that really stood out to me.

He was a Japanese guy who got interviewed by a local Fox TV affiliate. And he had the most enthusiastic interview I've ever seen. It was hilarious. He's like, I don't speak English, but I am happy. I'm excited. And you'll have to see his interview. Youers right now may have seen it. His interview went totally viral all across the internet. And he got a great nickname out of it. Now, don't ask me where the nickname comes from, but he is now

called Hero Chicken Nugget Cookie. That's his name on line now. So if you're curious, look up Hero Chicken Nugget Cookie's interview with Fox 4.

And it is an incredible interview. It just goes to show the excitement around this

transcends national boundaries in many cases. You know, he's not an American, but he is just excited to be there. He's excited for Team America. Of course, he was excited for Team

“Japan, too. But the enthusiasm there was so cool. That's what comes the mind for me.”

You know, sometimes, you know, we can get caught up. Those sorts of those of us in like public policy and politics, you get caught up in like us versus them. And, you know, some people are dumping on American and all. It's, maybe it's just a nice refresher to have folks come through the country and be like, wow, this place is awesome. Because, you know, I've been so blessed to travel all around this nation. I've been almost every state, not quite. I got three left. And it's magnificent.

The people are magnificent. They're so different. And then the geography and everything. So I'm kind of, uh, it's just nice to have a little bit of the refresher about how, how cool America is.

And so I always say it also for our next guest to, is doing something similar to kind of

remind us about how cool be an American is. So one of the unique things about America is that we are a nation of doors. When obstacles get the way, we don't stop. We figure out another way to make it all happen. And our guest today has taken on that American spirit and asked the question, is there anything I can't do? Because new social media series is called Red White and Do and you may have seen this face on the podcast before. I don't know, welcome back. Ken Strang, the energy and director

for AFP, to talk about his new series and how it got started. Ken, welcome back. David, thanks for me. Yeah, I'm so excited to talk about this. Thanks for letting me do this today. Oh, we're thrilled, man. It's just been so fun to follow. I do hope folks after listening to you will just decide to kind of follow what you're doing with Red White and Do. So talk to us about the idea where the idea came from and, you know, how it's manifesting.

All great ideas seem to start at a water cooler. And that's where this one started. At Americans' reprosperity, we have been doing a one small step campaign. And I was thinking about, you know, what could I do for one small step? I've worked on political campaigns and advocacy since I was young and I love America and everything that comes with it. It's like, what can I do that's a little bit different? This what a cooler conversation really started about George Washington

that people see George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the Wright brothers, and people have made such a big impact on America sometimes as statues. And we forget that they are ordinary people who did extraordinary things. And what slipped out of my mouth David was, I bet I could cross

but like, I could cross a door. And then that, like, came on of like, what if I did?

All these American things that are such a part of our history, our traditions, our celebrations and a fabric that makes up America. And so I got an iPhone and a paramedic glasses and set off to do exactly that. That's so awesome with fun. So, all right, what are some of the things in the list? Or all the things on the list? Tell us about, you know, what would you've done thus far? I mean, what's coming? What I love about the list is it's constantly growing because

“somebody will find me and say, you know, you should do this. But here's where the list is so far.”

So, what is where we're starting is, can I join the American Revolution? Because I think that as we celebrate 250 years of the Sunday with Declaration and Independence, that's a great place to start. We're talking about, again, fabric of America. I think about Lewis and Clark and being expores and going out in the wilderness in the Missouri River. So, can I paddle out in the Missouri River and see what it might have been like? And those are some of the historical parts. But then

there's also the America part. I love rock and roll and country in the music that America has brought to us. And so, I'm building a telecaster guitar, which was what the electric guitar is,

certainly in American innovation. And the telecaster is kind of the first super accessible guitar

that a kid can pick up and start a band in his garage. So, I'm building one of those. I've written a country song and I've had the opportunity to speak to a country music artist Darrell Whirley about. Well, it goes into a great country song and we're going to perform the country song. I've done a watermelon eating contest. And we just try to find these pieces that are very American. Can I be a pioneer? Can I be a cowboy? And along the way, I thought it was going

to be me doing insane stupid stuff that might get fun clicks. And I have learned so much about myself and America and the really the people who I come across that keep these traditions and celebrations and history alive, and that's been a really fun part of this as well. Yeah, that's great. We were in Boston together a few months back. Maybe tell us about what you're

“doing in Boston. Well, the American Revolution is really sparked in Boston. And I think about all”

the normal human beings that are partially responsible for starting American Revolution. And I think when we think of Boston, we're thinking about Sam Adams and John Adams and John Hancock and Paul Revere. And they placed such a huge instrumental part in sparking the American Revolution. But it's also farmers and merchants and laborers and folks who were fed up with the tyranny of higher taxes and government oppression who wanted to have their own United States of America, or at least their

own freedom. Maybe they didn't know about it. United States of America at that time. And so it was can I join the Tea Party? In my opinion, America's greatest protest and can I throw tea into the Harbor and can I get on a bicycle and ride down the streets of modern Boston and yell that the regulars are coming or the British are coming and kind of get a feel of what would it be like to warn citizens that the British are coming and you better get ready and you better keep it

or keep the the minute men out and then that that episode culminates with we go to Independence Hall and this is where America is really born the idea of America and that the Declaration of Independence is signed and it really starts in Boston. But it also doesn't end with the signing of the Declaration of Independence that that doesn't guarantee our freedom that doesn't guarantee those in alienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and so it's like

“well George Washington is the person who I think takes a lot of credit and again a lot of normal”

average ordinary people make up the continental army who don't have shoes on their feet who are ill equipped who are not professional soldiers. They are normal human beings who signed up for the cause of liberty and my thought was can I get oughta boat and can I cross the tillowair and so I got into a inflatable rafts because why not and put the ore of the water and got out on the tillowair and got a sense of what it might be like to join George Washington and

go across the tillowair and and night again to no muskets and I wasn't attacking Hessian forces. It wasn't on Christmas it wasn't frozen but you get the sense that this is where this took place

and this is what might have looked like and it's it's it's it's an amazing feeling that

couple of folks because there was a blizzard that night Paris just because of the elements and it was dangerous to do not only because there was a war effort but because the conditions were so bad and my head just kept coming back to again George Washington is the icon the father of our country but normal people were with him that did this with him together he was not alone and I think if liberty were on the line today would I get in that boat with George Washington and I like to

think that I would and that's what this series is really about of we have done this throughout generation of generation after of the the Americans of stepping up and stepping in whether it's times of great struggle like the American Revolution or it's times when innovation was necessary

and Americans have always jumped in headfirst explored innovative, innovative, created and that's

“the American story and I think that's what we're finding out along the way. You know the interesting”

thing is that there's there's probably no small number of the men in those boats with Washington across the Delaware years later we're farming land in the in the in the new country like they sit there on their porch telling their kids about when they're across the the Delaware that freezing night with George Washington. So you you've had the chance to to record with your favorite farmer yes what why did you record with it I like I know we've been friends for a long time

but I know you know your dad's your hero at a wonderful man so tell me you know why you ended up recording with him. That was a lot of fun and and and for full disclosure America doesn't necessarily own farming I think it goes back a little bit further than that right yeah but there's certainly an American identity with farming and we see it in our culture with every beer and pick up truck

“commercial you have there that hands of hands of a farmer and an open land and we I always remember”

as a kid that the Paul Harvey speech about a farmer and I grew up doing a lot of that work of of helping out in the farm and there weren't too many things that I hadn't done on a farm except one thing

I had never been trusted to plant corn and I I feel like there was always a lot of pride and

in ownership on that of you wanted straight rows one to brag to your friends and two so the combine could show your corn more easily and it was always kind of reserved for for lack of a better term like the patriarchy of the of the family and so in my entire life of growing up and living in the farm and being with dad I was never trusted to do this one thing and so he relented this day and we we don't have as much of the farm left as maybe what we did when when back in the

70s after we had some really difficult financial times during the Carter years but we have the back 40 which is the original 40 of that the streams came to over you know 150 years ago and so we're on that plot which makes it a little bit special and dad lets me get on the tractor and

lower the planter and plant a couple rows of corn and it just has nothing that I never done before

and I I was talking to dad about that later and I said you know what if I what if I mess up your row because you you put a lot of pride in straight rows oh well well I'll fix it I'll fix your band and so okay dad you know you got me you can fix the band and we had we had talked about the process and all the sort of things but later on what I got out of them and I I don't know if he's gonna tune in or not but I'll out dad here I said you'll dad when

when was the first time you went to court and I could see him going back into the memory bank and he's in his 70s now and and he had told me that the first time he had went to court and was when his dad had passed away and it was still a very similar thing that it was always reserved for a patriarch of of the family and that when his dad passed away my dad and my uncles and my grandmother took over the family farm he died young and they had to

figure it out like many Americans before them and you could kind of see him going through the

“the anils of history it is mine that yeah I think the first time I planted corn was was when I”

had to do it now luckily I had my dad there to give me a couple pieces of advice so I didn't mess up but we talked about just generations and we also talked about the innovation of farming the original string group of folks that came they were probably clearing stumps they were certainly planting with animals with horses that were drawn and now we don't have any fancy equipment

and AI is a part of farming now and it has become so different that from when we started this

“to where we are today innovation has just taken hold and it really helps make for better crops”

it helps feed the world and so that was a lot of our conversation too about how what is it actually take to put food on somebody's plate and he also knows what we do for a living and talks about the barriers that he has of how to energy policies and the straight-up removes and higher fertilizer process impact when you and I go to the grocery store and want to eat dinner that it's not just put food in the ground you take it out and here it is there are world conflicts impact that

real American policy impacts that inflation impacts that and it's it takes a lot to to get food from

from that field to to somebody's somebody's table it's great so if someone goes online

starting they're they're like wow it's kind of strange really great I really want to hear more about red-white and do what does it look like how many episodes do you have out there and how many more do you think are to come well you are getting me in pre-production which I think is a lot of fun because it's a chance to to see it all and what we're doing right now is

“if you want to follow along go to our Instagram page which is red white and do with underscores in”

between every single letter red underscore white underscore and underscore and do underscore and follow us along on on Instagram and then we're going to release videos on on YouTube

with all these different exercises but we wanted to get past the fourth of July and then settle

into there's a lot more America than just independent state even though it is the greatest holiday and we want to shoot off fireworks and we want to eat hot dogs and we want to celebrate the founding of this nation but so much comes after that and I feel like this series needed to come after that big party to show Americans all the other things that that we are and and what we do and what we stand for but definitely follow us on Instagram at red white and do with all underscores

in between so as you've been undertaken these you know you said that you've learned it's not just been doing crazy things you've learned about people and had some real experience so what you know as it changed how you think about the American people or reinforce something

“one way or another it certainly does I think innovation is what typically comes with”

everything that we do and it's how fast America has innovated and changed and we just talked about that with farming we talked about that with I bet in auction deer again auctioneering itself is not American but the chant five now 10 10 now 15 20 5 30 and I grew up at a lot of farm sales no is enamored with the chant where does that come from how do you learn that how do you talk so darn fast and my uncle was an auctioneer and he put me in touch with a friend of his who

was also an auctioneer and and he started talking about that this is how they started trading tobacco and things and and selling in the south and it it's to move the it's to move the the story along and to keep you interested and they don't want any gaps so you you find it fascinating and you keep it and so it so he keeps talking and he had talked about how his business now is not in front at an auction house in front calling out the numbers and selling them and hitting

the gavel that's all online and that it's maybe changing the chant and that American piece of history of the chant potentially could go away in a few decades but with it being on the internet instead of having 50 or 100 people at a auction house he has access to potentially thousands of people who are looking for very specific items that he can sell towards we went to a 100-year-old grocery store and it was something similar with a small town over by Springfield Illinois

you know you know cow or neck of the woods and and he talked about how there aren't enough people in this town to really warrant a grocery store but he started using the internet to sell sausages and he still sausages all across the United States and people will make a special trip to come in or he'll ship them frozen and we constantly see these different iterations I even think about Lewis and Clark make the story of Lewis and Clark is so fascinating another Illinois

story because I'm a Homer here but they launch around Wood River Illinois around Wood River and they're going out into the wilderness and they have a little bit of knowledge based on

own and I think about we're still doing that we're still trying to strive to whether it's

get to Mars or explore the deepest parts of the ocean or explore a part of space that we've never

seen before that we really don't know and there are still people out there that in my mind are so similar to what Lewis and Clark were doing in the name of of exploration this is dangerous I may not come back from this but in the name of science and in the name of

“exploration and curiosity I'm going to do it anyway and I think that that comes through”

a lot in these stories of kind of the fabric of America which is really fascinating but it really is a story of innovation it just strikes me that America you said something that really is interesting to me that you know the pace of innovation in America's history it's just been so rapid and it's so true and and a part of that's where it has fallen in history and you know the worldwide pace of innovation also but America really picked the mantle when it's been the leader in it

and for a few centuries now and it's just it just strikes me like the courage and kind of hoodspot that people had you know to get an wagon and drive across you know treacherous areas to

just go and have a better life to better farm land to go mine or whatever it's just amazing

and you look at America's history and then you know taking that spirit and applying it's all the different industries you know I just talked to you know the former CEO and the energy industry and he was talking about just the innovations around natural gas and other things it's just the revolution that that's created and it's just incredible the the the pace of innovation innovation

“and you know it's one of the lessons that I think we try to put forward on the show is let's not”

squash that with over regulation or or lose that spirit you know I think unfortunately government of bureaucracy can stop that and you know that that's like the secret sauce here like there's just so much good there's so much good that's been produced for society and for people by embracing that entrepreneurship and that spirit of innovation and I'm so glad that you've got a showcasing it and so much fun um are there any other uh when you're you're 100% right and it's often not the

big guy doing I don't think anybody put their money on their right brothers creating flight um you're like basically and I think the yeah and I think what's fascinating is what worries me is that we have put so many regulatory burdens and red tape on innovation and exploration

“that we need to be mindful of who we've been for 250 years and where we're going to go for 250”

years and that a great idea can come out of a garage at a great idea can come out of somebody's basement and if we make it impossible for those dreamers who set out to do can't make that happen then we're going to hold ourselves back and the innovation that we've seen in America will will be will be held back and if the government gets in the way and feels like you know the only innovation that can happen is from the government well that has not been the history of of our

country it has been done again by normal average ordinary American people who really in a lot of ways are looking for better mouse traps how can I fiddle with this thing how can I make this

better how can I continue to innovate and how can I go explore and I am always concerned you know

I see my kids always want to make a couple extra bucks and you always see oh it's open up a lemonade stand but you probably need to have these you know regulations and bank accounts and all this sort of stuff and it's like we should really be mindful of if these regulatory burdens stop us from being the innovators that have really defined a nation you know I'm reminded as around this you know celebration of America soon 50th anniversary and we look at the

declaration of independence it's allowed me to reflect on like what makes us different you know kind of go back to it right and I kind of go back to in the declaration that our rights come from our creator not from a king or from the government and then I also think about how you know this revolution was sparked largely run economic issues you know because they're tied to our freedom you know if we can determine how we can make a living or how we spend our money and we're not

over tax I mean those are real issues that this revolution was fought over and those are things

had still has some remnants of in other places in the world you know that's why it was such a

revolutionary concept so I think it's it's in our DNA as a nation to be innovative to take

that responsibility on us and say hey no I have this individual liberty to go out and try to

“improve and try to improve my lot in life and make things better that's why we have the American dream”

yeah I mean I think the American dream is something that I don't know if they intended but it's certainly enshrined in the declaration of independence and and you mentioned that our our our our rights are inherent they they are not derives as you mentioned from from a king or a government and in this revolutionary idea that the government exists to protect your rights not to define them or take them away and I don't know if they meant it at the time but life liberty in the pursuit

of happiness they didn't say a guarantee of happiness they said you can go out there and you can get after it and I think that that is so much of of the American experience and I think about not only the history that we've done but also the innovation and also the celebration some of the best part of this series have been the the celebrations that we've jumped into I did a watermelon eating contest and there's not a lot of let's go back into the handles of history and find out why do Americans

do watermelon eating contest will we do it one because we're a nation of abundance and and thankfully we are incredibly blessed with our form of government free enterprise that has led to that but also because on a hot summer day in July why wouldn't you put your hands behind your back and see how much watermelon you could eat 90 seconds because Americans have a way of turning everything into a

“competition a way of having fun and what I have seen through this that I think may not be unique”

entirely to the United States but it's also a great sense of community we come together to celebrate we come together to do things we come together to eat watermelon in every single city municipality little small town in America has some sort of celebration that they do to celebrate where they come from and their heritage and it often comes from this community driven thing that we want to be together we want to root for each other and that's something that I

thought was a lot of fun with the watermelon eating contest I met a family who they do it together you mentioned that your family is eating watermelon in a contest together yeah we we had the time where they had three age groups and a from child one each age group so I was very proud of them but they bring homemade sides and they cheer people on and there's a little bit of trash talk

“and there's a little bit of competition I think it's just one of those great”

examples of like there doesn't always have to be this deeper meaning other than

its community and it's you know they family freedom where we get together and want to celebrate the goodness of our communities and who we are and what we can do and I don't think anything really beats that beyond beyond a watermelon to eat contest it's awesome well okay I yeah I'm actually super excited that post independence day you know there's a lot of things a a fp's doing a lot of you know vertical student 50th celebrations across the country but this can be something that

everybody can plug into you know as we're in the second half of this celebration year that everybody can tune into and keep track of red white and do very excited for it I know I know I'll be doing well well thank you so much me fall along I mean people have given me somebody great tips but it's just a great opportunity to reflect the America special we have special people and special history and special traditions and special communities and I think it's just a great opportunity

to take the things that make America America from George Washington to baseball to watermelon eating contest of farming and talk about where we've been the people who are doing it can I step in their boots for just a minute and give it a try and typically fail but like most Americans I get back up and I try to get can you're used to failing I'm I'm I'm I'm sure yes I am it's the best lesson

it's the best teacher all right well and so it's it's go to first you go to Instagram

that red underscore white underscore do is that correct and do and do red white and do that's right nice all right well everybody go check it out can't swim the all-time great entertainers and great Americans who that's something to teach us well having fun so can't thanks so much for joining

one together David nice we totally will ah cool well folks if you like this episode and like

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taken for granted don't take them for granted go out there and defend liberty for you thanks for joining

us and we'll see you on the next episode thank you for listening to American potential you may

“listen to more stories from Americans working every day to expand freedom and opportunity”

and their communities by visiting americanpotential dot com