Cynthia Anderson and Rick Khona

Recorded July 27, 2020 Archived July 27, 2020 45:12 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id: hub000186

Description

Oncologist Cynthia Anderson (48) talks to her father Rick Khona (80) about how different political views have changed their relationship.

Subject Log / Time Code

Rick Khona says he was a democrat but is now supporting President Trump.
Cynthia Anderson, Rick's daughter, says she is drawn to Democratic Party.
CA says that rooting for Democratic candidates with her dad growing up is a good memory.
RK says that a lot of the U.S. has "third world" thinking
CA says there are different types of immigrants like refugees and students. They shouldn't all be grouped together.
RK discusses how he moved to US from India in 1963 and he talks about differences in immigrants today vs 50 years ago.
CA discusses how there's a lost connection with her dad when Trump came into picture
Rick and his daughter agree the media plays a role in division.

Participants

  • Cynthia Anderson
  • Rick Khona

Venue / Recording Kit

Partnership

Initiatives


Transcript

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00:00 Good, good afternoon. My name is Rick, I'm almost a senior citizen 80 years old and today being a 27th of July.

00:12 And I will be leaving Jacksonville for last performance 40 some prices.

00:19 And then my wife's name is Tracy, Shana and she's my wife for almost 30 years 30 plus years.

00:32 And who am I dad have to say my name and Who We Are

00:39 Oh say can you say my my name and who how I'm related to you Anderson?

00:52 She's overseen adopted daughter of three.

00:57 MCS MD Anderson oncologist in MD Anderson Hospital

01:05 Okay. I'm so my name is Cynthia Anderson. I'm 48 years old today is July 27th, 2020. I am in my house here in Jacksonville, Florida. I'm here with my dad Rick Kona and as he said I'm the oldest of three girls.

01:34 Case you want me to go in the US, but I've been here all go 60 some years, but recently he is resisting my affiliation and since last election I change to Republican and I am supporting President Trump. Can you can you talk about your earliest political memory? Dad was like it one louder. I like this thinking is personality and what he has done for the u.s. In short time.

02:20 And Lyndon Johnson and all the president in the line through next instead of time and following.

02:29 Obama's and Avenue President Trump

02:35 Oh, I lived my life in the US and seen ups and downs in US culture pictures.

02:45 And I have benefited tremendously from USC.

02:51 Contribution to my life

02:53 I have funny thankful to us for allowing me to come and stay here and become a citizen. I've been here for almost 50 some years as a citizen.

03:07 Hey, so I'll describe my earliest political memory.

03:13 I think my earliest memory is President Carter. I was in elementary school during the hostage crisis in Afghanistan. And I remember watching the news with Walter Cronkite and having him recount every day. How many days has it been since the hostages were taken?

03:56 Yeah, I like I said earlier that I supported. I've been all my life and you are.

04:03 In early 2010 8 9 10 the time frame and Obama's presidency.

04:13 And I from the very beginning I could feel.

04:17 The country was

04:20 Leadership was kind of doubtful in my mind man. He was

04:26 Mario party was not

04:30 Pulley in line with us culture US History us

04:38 Constitution

04:42 Little bit liberal Viewpoint in an island that has much and after it happened to that. I almost was thinking about not being in the right place. So I slowly slip resistant. Registered Republican solidifier got shaped was when I was in high school.

05:13 I remember seeing the Cold War ongoing and kind of the effects of the Cold War that were ongoing and really the impact from ongoing hostage situations the tension in the Middle East Via rencontrer is here.

05:39 And and and the closeness with which we were all coming to have potential nuclear war.

05:49 And for me, I couldn't really understand why it was so important to demonize another country or another way of thinking to the point that a nuclear war was better than trying to work through differences and just kind of seeing ongoing political grandstanding and

06:18 The ever-increasing growth of the military during the Cold War kind of at the expense of the ability for domestic programs to flourish.

06:31 That was really I think when I began to identify more with the Democrat Party.

06:39 And I did kind of end up feeling more drawn to people who were intrigued with cultural understanding.

06:50 And so I love doing things like student exchange Azure hosting students from other countries are visiting other countries and living in homes because I felt like when we would do things like that, we would kind of understand that we were all really just people and that most of our big differences had packed. They really had a path if we could sort of go back and forth with given take so that was for me. I think part of when I decided that I felt more connected to the Democratic party and a connection to some of the challenges of more common people then I did to the connections of people who are kind of higher up on the ladder.

08:04 Can I add something I would like to have that in my work up as engineer. I have brought up in India. Is she in the Life in India travel in Africa?

08:17 Four countries different countries of Sinbad life-and-death struggle so I can appreciate the life in the US which most of the people in the US. Can I take it for granted don't appreciate what's the what us has to offer and I can put the thing in the proper perspective from living that being there in the country with people just tired for the bread into the Healer literally take it for granted lost most of those.

08:51 Necessities of life

08:54 So I guess my perspective is different Vision not to accept some of those things when we were younger going all over the world and all over the country.

09:14 I agree with you. It kind of gave me that stronger appreciation of just how easy it is to get access to basic things here that other people would consider a luxury item and I agree that I wish I saw more people here appreciate what we have access to that that other people don't and the one that always strikes me the most is the ability to get and go to a sink and turn it on and get a glass of water that I could drink.

09:57 It's just amazing to me that something that fundamental is super hard for for so many people.

10:07 There's a question here that says is there something about my beliefs that you just can't understand?

10:28 Let me know if everybody has that on leave.

10:34 And that comes from

10:36 That education be brought up bringing up in the life and what life has more than

10:44 Oh, so that's right. I understand. Somebody's having a different thinking than mine.

10:50 Because you know life is like that people are.

10:54 People beliefs have been developed as they grow up. So it's nothing is hard to change.

11:07 My life is the name of the light to me is making a judgment as you go along.

11:20 No, I won't say anything and you are so I cannot contradict that and I respect that and I think one of the things that was hard for me was.

11:37 I kind of enjoyed when I was growing up and it was political season and election season, especially when it was presidential election season. I kind of enjoyed that you and I could watch at the Democratic National Convention together, you know and kind of both feel kind of excited. You know, whoever was the candidate about ready to come out on stage. It's been a little harder for me, you know knowing that I don't have that anymore. So I kind of miss that and I think our discussions have become a lot more spirited now.

12:22 Because we do know vote differently, but I I can't say that I don't understand why somebody doesn't have the feelings that they do. What I wish is that both sides would spend more time understanding the other side.

12:54 My mic and son is

12:59 The people understand what you mentioned that is good. But my thinking is or my reasoning is the recently the things are really third word attitude media has a lost American us culture and their belief and understanding of each other now Daddy on each other's throat.

13:37 And that as you can see in the night of thing happening is and some mares thinking is really really eye-opening and some milk and pink where did think of life?

14:08 Difficult question actually what you probably know as much as I can tell you what there to be understood by each other.

14:24 Minute to Win It on what part of the US?

14:32 Which is the US has the most enviable lifestyle living and the leaders sofa and education that you as if you were born here that you gained all that you can hear your benefit tremendously. So so USS Morgan and I would say that something for the most of the u.s. Citizen.

14:59 The recent immigrant in recent last maybe 20 years I have my immigrants have come with the US you can just come and take everything. They got everything for you so we could take it. We don't have to do anything. You don't have to contribute anything. You don't have to work. Everything is free free free. We can take it.

15:23 That attitude to me, it doesn't help anybody because they can only do so much you give a given so much to the bank balance is already. We are in debt. So people who are the new members of the society. I think now in last 20 years more than I would say 30 million + people have been migrated with the understanding that you can just come and have a good life in another to do anything so that need to be understood that they need to contribute to this Society to benefit from this Society.

16:08 And that's why I want to make sure that people everybody, you know when I was growing up in 70s and 80s.

16:25 Maybe early 90s

16:30 Feel like maybe an intended for me around the 80s, but we used to not really know how other people voted or what their political affiliation was.

16:43 Like you just didn't come up in a conversation as much as I think it does today and I kind of feel like that shifted that that what I kind of feel like that begin to shift was with the election of Bill Clinton.

17:06 Because I feel like he was in some ways the youngest president. He was probably.

17:17 The most to the left president that the country had kind of seen in a long time and I felt like it when he became sort of like a love him or hate him kind of President. And so people maybe previously that I had known didn't have a strong feelings about who the president was or who the party was there definitely was not the feeling of like, I'm either Santa Claus had come or the end of the world was coming and what I kind of feel like ever since the 90s, it's just become more and more and more polarized and now we're at the point that it's become okay to insult.

18:09 A president or to insult another party or to insult somebody who sees the world differently and I I think that really bothers me. We're sort of being cultivated by our leaders in a to engage in this language of hate and there's this feeling like you can't trust the other person you can only trust me the other person will ruin your life. I'm the only one who can save your life and it's become almost like a parent if acacian of our leaders like like we can't do anything for ourselves. We have to give all of our power to our leaders and I think that really bothers me. I think the sentence I alone can fix it.

19:04 Really bothers me because that's very isolating and it only leaves space for one point of view and there's no chance to hear another opinion or collaborate. I think when it comes to people who come to America would I kind of mourn that we have lost is people understanding the difference between a legal immigrant a student immigrant a refugee or an illegal immigrant.

19:39 And I feel like people who come here as part of legal immigration or come here as part of student immigration really are coming here to be of service. You know, someone who legally gets a visa to come work here in any of our industries of need in some ways are filling a gap that we are not able to fill right here right now. And I think that we saw that the most intact, you know, Silicon Valley really benefited from having high level science. I'm come from all over the world and then

20:22 So those are people who come here with an expectation of service because they applied to come here legally. I think people who apply to come here on a student visa interior coming to get training and then go back and be at service to their country. So I think those folks are service-minded.

20:43 I think that refugees are people in my opinion that we have a duty to help because they're not trying to leave their country because they're having a bad day. They're leaving their country because they face death.

21:01 They are a political minority. They are at Orchard population and if they stay in their country, they are often killed.

21:11 And so I don't have a permanent answer for what we do with refugees, but I do think that refugees are at their own population. I think where we all struggle the most is with illegal immigration, and I think that I don't know that they come here saying that they don't want to be of service. I think it's just they don't have a pathway to figure out how to be a service and we don't really have a great capacity for how to handle them.

21:58 I would add one thing to that us. My experience has been invited on Millenia the US the most of the people that I have come across u.s. People are the kindest people in the world and honest people in the world up to that certain time, then we can see the more people meme.

22:24 Show the wrong way and you can see I can see very clearly when I go to Texas people are so friendly and nice. And now when I go to set Texas, I see the people from other states think you see that attitude towards the poor people and people become so much percentage of population and memories willingness to help you start thinking how much does a limit for something that is one of the

23:24 Kind of getting my Xfinity

23:29 In a people who are inherently just want to live and support their family or support their dreams not necessarily take something away from what somebody else has.

23:52 What's an example of that Dad? What's what's an example of a?

24:05 What what's an example that you have of somebody who was an immigrant who wanted to change America to be like their country?

25:03 Just put the things in proper perspective. I can see Hands in the 1963. I can all the progress and that's happened the growth prosperity and the Moss different cultures coming in here. I'm not against the general tendency should be going to somebody's house you live by their laws. You don't go to that house and try to make that I was like your house and that's what I see generally most new immigrants want to do in this country. They come to America and they want to change America like their country.

25:48 And I can Google Map.

26:11 You can choose whatever you want to do. You go to Miami at Miami. I've been to Houston as seen the streets in Houston. Totally Vietnamese bourbon Chinese. They want to speak that language in Miami.

26:28 They want to speak that language. You want to grab my current entertain you if you cannot speak their language, my mom went to my wife went to US Embassy in the morning and they expect her to speech examples how to speak Spanish this if you don't know who this is what I mean by examples of decomposers country they want

26:57 Really got to be like this Saturday only small percentage of the population 300 million. We got to change my what country has a Spanish-speaking people going to wait out of the line to help you go another foreign country and find out how they work.

27:39 So you are more generous.

27:43 But I can see the future if we continue the path of last 10-15 years.

27:50 Is going to us Lucifer.

27:57 If you have to see the force that you can be able to predict what will happen on the baby moving gradually.

28:08 As you can see, I'm not freaking storm day to be asking Spanish to be second language in most of the school. They want Spanish to be spoken. This is not American culture.

28:20 Can I ask a question going back to when you know Ricky or saying that you were a Democrat for almost all of your lights in the US and then no that's recently started supporting. Can you talk about that. Time whenever you shifted and decided to start supporting Trump and how did that conversation go with you Sunday? I can you guys talk about what that was like in your relationship during that election in 2016, and it doesn't change anything between

28:56 Lifeguard John Olivia believe that you don't discuss religion and politics if you want to keep the friendship ranking is President Trump has many of his own flaws Nobody's Perfect.

29:14 So I look at the broader picture how that affects our America president President Trump is the one person he has a senate and Congress and the 300 plus million people to trim him when sometimes he does out of the line.

29:40 It's not always possible, but I can see he's thinking for all the US picture from going down further. I think this will be the chance for us did not suffer any more visitation in the culture and there is u.s. Is historical.

29:59 What is our culture lifestyle?

30:04 But if you continue the boss of Obama, I think you has anyone next president passes potential Biden us will never

30:14 Much more to think about

30:59 Yeah, I think I'm so I think the question you're asking Wednesday is really like them. How did that transition kind of affect our relationship as you know father daughter.

31:13 And so it's it's been hard it. It's been hard. I I definitely feel a bit of lost connection. I think I'm with you dad. I think your views are really strong and

31:38 That you feel strongly enough about them that you know when we're around each other you bring them up a lot. And so it's been it's been hard. It's been uncomfortable and I I think that you know, my kids Asha and I J kind of struggle with it too. And so it's been kind of a? I think for for any of us in the family who either don't feel as strongly as you do about politics or who feel differently. It's it's been uncomfortable.

32:21 And so I definitely feel less relaxed. I think when we're together because I know that you like to watch the news and I kind of have the news on the psyche of the continuous news cycle on TV. So it's it's hard for me when I come over to feel like I can relax because

32:51 It it's just become such a big issue.

32:55 And so

32:58 I think that.

33:00 Where it's helped me is I you know, I I kind of had this realization being 48 that I'm probably over halfway through my life and made it possible. I live to be Ninety Six. It's less likely that I will live to be 96 and so

33:22 Given that it's past the halfway mark.

33:28 I think I just decided to turn away from the politics of negativity, you know of insulting another leader of belittling another leader. I kind of don't I used to really enjoy election years. I Used to Know look forward to watching political speeches and debate and now I just don't I don't enjoy watching them anymore because people's emotions get so fired up and we kind of lose our respect for each other and I think that you know you talked about

34:12 Everyone being the kindest people, you know that you've met I kind of I kind of miss that time when everybody went kindness mattered more than arguing over politics.

34:28 And I also feel like as a community or as a society people used to be a lot more civic-minded and they are now people used to have more of a cause that they wanted to work for in a positive way. And now I just kind of feel like people are more just so fed up one of those one of the men I think they'll pretend fuel to the fire highlight or they'll make it such a big thing to even out in the news media and we are thinking

35:26 So why we have to be pardoned?

35:34 Make your own this reasoning.

35:38 Because I know and also one more thing.

35:42 What religious belief and rabies political belief?

35:47 Should be kept two person should reflect his attitude outside.

35:52 Because that's one purpose of religion is compassion and you are convention Nation reflect your thinking.

36:01 In the linear relationship with other people has to be

36:08 That's how the what I would call your education as you can not the right word your development mental development should contribute and make you may be able to.

36:24 That's the reasoning and not affect your personality relationship.

36:39 They are so fired up miss me up. They want to sell commercial. They want to shout the news. So we have to be smart enough to make reasoning.

37:09 Yeah.

37:36 Yeah, I agree with you actually dad on a lot of things. I do think that there is a lot of over magnification of what a situation really is to make it look terrible. I think that you know, I see a lot of that right now with with covid-19, you know two people living outside of Florida. They may have this image that all over the state just looks like pandemonium.

38:17 And that everybody is just falling down on the ground everywhere sick from covid-19.

38:24 But you know the reality is that you and I

38:28 With some modifications, we we just we get up we go to work we go to the grocery store. We come home. It's not like people are come. It's not like we're on the brink of disaster in every single location on the other hand when we do see something that's as bad as it is. We kind of don't believe it. You know, we kind of feel like oh they must be exactly can't really be that bad and then people who were really in a tough situation are suffering because they can't get any compassion from somebody else. They feel like their problem isn't even being heard.

39:12 And so what I kind of feel is like everybody then just has to get louder and louder and louder and louder because it says that the only way they feel like they can be heard is to shout and a shout over the other person in to get angry.

39:28 So

39:30 But I think it's interesting that you say that religion and political beliefs should be kept to ourselves and I think that actually think that's a little bit hard for you. I think that when we go to a restaurant or we are gathered together, I think that you share a lot of how you feel about the world when you talk to family members you share a lot about how you feel about China or how you feel about

40:06 Trump or how you feel about Narendra Modi. So it's interesting for me to hear you say that you know, you think it's should be an internal filter in an internal dialogue as I think that's one of the challenges that I have. Is that for you? It's very external and I I I end up feeling

40:34 Yeah, like I said, I feel like a little bit like I sort of lost the way my relationship used to be with you where?

40:42 Politics was not really a big part of our relationship. And now I feel like it's a really big part and it's kind of become I've had to kind of make a decision to

41:01 You know except that I don't have the political companion. I used to have and to accept the money and after talking to you. Do you have to compartmentalize your thinking and you're my father tells me I didn't like it when guys bring up again.

41:37 To be a good parent Jarvis TV on go bigger because you can appreciate the sacrifice and that it was even though we didn't like everything that come.

41:59 At the time

42:01 The same thing with your kids even have to think I will talk to you next year to compartmentalize in your brain with parents. Our parents are kids are kids and not really still love them for what they are and what they're done for us.

42:21 And now we thinking is our reasoning and Views at Shepherd Soviet economy. What's the Mayan final point the parents and kids we just love and respect each other respect you for that.

42:39 Thinking and behavior and belief

42:43 Yeah, I think that's the really the greatest lesson, you know, it's been interesting for me. I think to sort of redefine how I see people and and how I sort of connect you know with you Dad and I think that I sort of came to that same conclusion. I think it is hard for the hardest thing for me is if I see someone speak disrespectfully about somebody else. So if we speak disrespectfully about a political opponent if we speak disrespectfully about a political party if we speak disrespectfully about an ethnicity.

43:34 That's that's really hard for me because I can't feel any kindness, you know in that moment. If and I I think in some ways it's one of the reasons why we all love animals so much, you know our pets so much because they just love us blindly and they don't know anything about how we vote or how we you know, what our views are on anything. They just want love from us and none of that matters. You know, I think it's one of the reasons we love children and pets so much because none of it matters it just want to feel Joy and I think that I have come to feel like in this part of my life. I just I just want to feel Joy and I don't mind being with somebody who feels differently about politics. I just have trouble

44:34 Feeling Joy when politics becomes negative.

44:41 And there's we've lost respect for anybody who sees the world differently than the way we do.

44:56 Everything else Lori good place to stop for you too and concluded by wanted to chat.