Toxic Debate

Nate Chaffetz, The Editor in Chief and founder of Practical PNW spent 5 years working in TV, documentary, TV and cable news. He left that world because the content was toxic. All his superiors leaned on him to pump out bombastic clickable copy. Nuance, logic, and thoughtfulness never made “good TV.” So he left New York City, the cable news center of the Universe and moved to Seattle, WA. Sadly, it seems toxic debate dominates local politics here as well.

Start Local

Political discussion is broken at every level. The rhetoric increased blood pressure, heart rate, and emotional response. There is no way that thoughtful solutions will form in this environment. The hypothesis of Practical PNW is that if is possible to change the way we engage in politics, that we must start locally. The PNW is our home. We have a stake in its future. And we can drastically influence policy, even as an individual here compared to anything done in DC.

Success, Defined

Practical PNW will be a true success if we meet these goals in three criteria:

1. Meaningful impact on political discussion, nudging towards logic and fact from emotion.

2. Respected as a source of accountability for leaders and policies.

3. Has a direct impact in terms of implementing policy that is objectively effective.

These are extremely challenging goals. Those of us undertaking this experiment feel their weight. But what is the point of attention for attentions sake? You can make a comfortable life in punditry, but why speak if it affects no change?