#12: Politics + Business

Keep your opinions to yourself! The role of politics in business.

Join Jessica Valis & Monique Jenkins in this thought-provoking episode as we dive deep into the world of posting political views on your business social media accounts. Social media has become a powerful platform for self-expression and political discourse. But is it a double-edged sword? We explore the impact of sharing your political beliefs online, like the potential pitfalls like heated debates and alienating friends and followers.

We’ll discuss valuable insights into effective communication, navigating online echo chambers, and maintaining respectful online interactions. Whether you're a seasoned social media user or just dipping your toes into the political discourse online, this episode offers essential guidance on how to engage thoughtfully in today's digital political landscape.

 

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Transcription:

Jessica Valis Welcome to another episode of Design Imposter. Today we're discussing one of those touchy subjects that should be avoided at family dinners and in business. Politics. We're approaching election season and regardless of whether you vote red or blue, everyone's got an opinion about the economy, government spending, immigration, education, social reforms, the Supreme Court, the list goes on and on. The question is, where do you draw the line and how has politics informed your decisions when it comes to running your business?

Monique Jenkins: Before we dive in, Jessica and I want to share some exciting news about our design agencies.

Jessica Valis: We've said in the past that it took us over a year to finally launch our podcast and now we're taking it one step further. We're launching a joint design agency to offer our clients the complete package.

Monique Jenkins: Yes. So we made this decision. We actually talked about it like a year ago when we initially started talking about the podcast. And at the time, I will say I was like, nah. But not because I didn't want to, but because you're so much more on the ball than I am. I was like, I'm going to fail her and I'll have to be doing that. I can't be ruining friendships out here. So I think I was a little bit hesitant because I'm like, I like, I know that you're going to hold me accountable. And at the time, you know, accountability didn't want that. So we are finally going to be launching this, this dual business and I'm super excited about it. I think that we both have incredible strengths in our respective areas. UX's minds, design is Jessica's and we're both effective at that. I'm also really good at sales apparently. Oh yeah. Jessica's so bad.

Jessica Valis: She's the closer.

Monique Jenkins: Yeah, I'm like, give us the money.

Monique Jenkins: Um, yeah, I don't like those numbers. Uh, yeah, I'm, I'm apparently really good at talking to people again. Kudos to Brian on that one. Cause he made that happen. Um, but yeah, uh, we, we wanted to let you guys know that we're going to be joining our businesses and we're super excited and we're going to walk you guys through our journey with us about, you know, how to start a business and all the things in between.

Jessica Valis: Yeah, we figured out, in addition to the accountability, it's just easier to join our efforts and divide and conquer because we work with each other all the time anyway. So it might just be best to just be under one umbrella. And we decided we're still gonna have our own agencies. J .K .in's Creative and Rupert Designs are still gonna be in existence for our current and existing clients. But going forward, we can just build a stronger empire together.

Monique Jenkins: So if you guys have names for a business that you think are suitable, we are compiling a list right now, and the list has like 50 names on it. So if you got something, you should email us, what's our podcast email? It's like Design Imposter Podcast at Gmail or something like that. You should message us and be like, hey, I got the perfect name for you. Because my husband keeps giving me what I would think are stupid and ridiculous names, but he thinks that they're absolutely. And ivory design. I hate him. I really hate him. Yeah. I really, really hate him a lot. Actually, correction to our email address is designimposterponbean .com. So, you know, we'll put it in the link as well. But if you have naming ideas, you should show them to us. And then we'll trademark them. And never give you credit for it again.

Jessica Valis: I've been trying to do like a play on words or a couple of weeks ago when I was in England, they just very witty with like the names of their restaurants and pubs. And there was this one, I was in Oxford and there was one place restaurant. It was called like the Slugging Cabbage. And I was like, dang, they're earthy. You know, that's all organic. But I mean, like, so I'm like, what can I, obviously we're not Slugging Cabbage, but I'm like, okay, what we do? That's like, I don't know, organic and natural. But I was like, I don't know, witty. It's difficult. So we have a, when did we say like we have to pick a name by the end of the year? We can do it or end of October or something.

Monique Jenkins: So come with me, I'd bring the EA game here and help us name this new venture that we're going to start.

Jessica Valis: All right, but back to politics. I'm not gonna lie, when it comes to my personal life, I am very much involved in investigative politics from voting in local level elections to following statewide policies or Supreme Court decisions going to protests. I think understanding the decisions and actions of our government is critical, especially when you consider all the continuous civil wars and dictatorships around the world, we're lucky to have a democracy. And I believe it's our responsibility to participate with so many others are fighting for what we already have. I don't know, I'm just always involved with it. Every morning I wake up, I listen to the daily, I just need to be involved. Or if I'm like folding my bed and putting away laundry, I'll say, Alexa, what's the news today? And I just watched her like perk up. The yellow ring like, oh, what were you trying to say? But just like eating little tidbits is important to me. So how much of a role does politics play in your life, Monique?

Monique Jenkins: less of a role than at least a year. So I will say story time. The first time that I really paid attention to politics was probably when President Obama got elected. My mom and dad were super happy that we had a candidate who was African -American, who was running. And they took us to this like campaign office. And I was young, a crazy young, probably 18 or so.

Jessica Valis: You were 18 because I remember going to a convention where Obama was speaking in Baltimore.

Monique Jenkins: But I went to the campaign office and I was like super happy and like super excited about this like opportunity And I was so happy because I was like all the first president that I'm gonna be able to vote for is black And I'm so happy and this is gonna be amazing and the people at the campaign office like she's so excited They were like hey take these banners and go outside. So I was on if you are familiar with Maryland. I was on route 40 Weaving a banner and getting honks of support and some very lovely people said some very Unlovely things to me as I was standing outside weaving this banner which just empowers me Let me tell you something you saying something negative about me. I'm gonna go ten times harder So we were good, but that was the first time I remember politics playing a role in my life And I will say I'm not the Jessica of the world Like I'd normally participate in the presidential elections, but I don't often do all of the others But I should and I want to I just really be like Let's see what the president and do and they'll never do what they say they're gonna do But I do try to make sure that I'm at least Adept to the things that are happening in my local government in some respects and now I try to make sure that I participate in Elections on a local level because I didn't do that before

Jessica Valis: Yeah, I started traveling international when I was 18 years old, sophomore in, or no, I was probably 19, sophomore in high school or sophomore in college. And when I went to England, oh, huge difference, you know, English. But when I was over there, I realized that their news is so much more global than ours. Like, America is very America focused when it comes to our news, it has to be a huge natural disaster that killed like at least 100 ,000 people for to make the American news system. So that was kind of what sparked my interest is that like, so many other countries were interested in what was going on in the rest of the world. And just as I listened, I became more aware of everything. But back to politics and business, I've noticed this a lot on social media platforms like LinkedIn. And I've been, you know, I peruse profiles before I connect. And you can definitely go through LinkedIn and just go add connect, repeat, add connect, you know, then repeat the process over and over to increase your numbers. But there is value in actually seeing what kind of content someone posts online. Let's address the elephant or donkey in the room. I'm liberal. And my core pillars stand on the foundation of education, communication, and social justice and diversity. If I find that any content I see online or hear a person opposes my core values, I'm going to avoid that connection or remove it. I've been on some profiles who like, I had connected like a mass bulk connect. And then I was like, let me go back and like backtrack and see if I can connect with this person like through their comments and whatnot. And if I'm on a profile and every other post is like support our troops with an American flag, you know, like this post if you believe our flag is sacred, I hope your niche is American servicemen and women. But it mostly ends up being like patriot fishing for likes and comments. And I just kind of can't stomach that that blanket branding when it comes to politics, or if somebody posts something very hard online.

Monique Jenkins: Yeah. Yeah. I like to think of this is going to be a horrible correlation. It's a good correlation, but it's like two things that you don't mention at the same time, which is religion and politics. I like to think about politics the same way that I think about religion. I have my own beliefs, but I'm willing to listen to someone else. I'm not willing to listen to ludicracy. Like, I'm not going to do that with you. But I try to be as open to other people's perceptions as humanly possible. I have made the argument in our household that in order for us to truly bridge the gap between politics, I personally believe that we should have, if we have a Democratic president, I want a Republican vice president so that there is always some commonality between both parties. If the true mercy of democracy is that we have to be able to see across the aisle in all respects, then I think two people from two different parties should have some common interests that are, you know, correlate to the American public in general. But back to politics and business, I do think that you can use politics in your business for good or for evil. I think that it helps you to craft like minds, which is great. But I think it also helps in being able to have very stark and frank conversations with people who potentially don't believe the same thing as you. It attracts the audience segment that you want. It can detract people that you don't want. I'm actually doing an event in February. Shout out to my speaker on using LinkedIn to deter or attract the audience that you want to deal with. And I think that, you know, as Jessica said, before you add someone, you go and you look at their content and you see what they're posting about and you see if there's alignment there. I do the same thing when, you know, I was looking for jobs. I go on someone's profile and see what they've commented on. I see what their interest is. I see if there is a like -minded interest between me and the employer that I'm going to be working on, not on specifically the employers or the company's page, but like the person who I'm going to interview with. I go down and I see, oh, you know, they commented on, like, you know, the fact that they love diversity and that they want that to be a huge part of their organization or, you know, they were trolling people and I can see that too. And then I can make, you know, decisions from that perspective. So I think in your business, you have to do the same. When you see a client or a client comes to you, you need to invest some interest in making sure that you guys have alignment on a larger scale because you don't want to be working on projects that don't align with you spiritually, as well as, you know, other ways.

Jessica Valis: Two things. When you said ludocracy, I immediately wanted to go, Luda! The third one, you're a piece of... See, that's a piece of...

Monique Jenkins: ...

 

Speaker 3 This is why this podcast is gonna take off. Because of that foolishness.

Jessica Valis: And then kind of something else where you're like, choosing who to work with or who not to work with. I just sometimes think of like the products that we use every day, like a potato chip company. And you found out that they donated to XYZ company or XYZ campaign and that opposes your value. Like I know it's only a 50 cent bag of potato chips, but there are other potato chips in this aisle. So that's something that I do. If I find out something. But I've also seen a lot of business profiles where people take a very hard line on some hot button issues like immigration or gun reform. And I find it to be very, very alienating. But I mean, if it's a core value of your business, maybe you're in immigration law or you're a gun lobbyist. Then sure, it makes sense. But sometimes I feel like if you had just kept these opinions quiet, we could have just continued on having a conversation and chose to ignore each other's political beliefs.

Monique Jenkins: I wasn't saying, I want you to scream your beliefs at the top of your lungs. So I know who to vibe with and who not to vibe with. Like people are like, oh, isn't it good sometimes that people are like racist, but they like keep it to themselves. And I'm like, no, cause then I don't know who I'm dealing with. Like I'd rather you be like, yeah, I don't like black people and I'd be like, all right, bye. Like I just want you to be true and authentic to yourself and then be okay with the repercussions of what you're true and authentic to. If you know, you know, in the matter of gun reform, that you absolutely love guns. You think everybody should have a gun? Guns are great. Stand on that. And then don't come to me and be like, hey, I need a design that has to do with guns. Cause that's not, that might not be aligned with my core values. I'm fine with guns. But, you know, I do think that there should be gun reform. But from what I'm saying is like, stand on the beliefs that you hold as a business and then be able to face the repercussions of whatever that is. So do what you want to do, but then don't shy away from that. Like deeply invest in what you're saying.

Jessica Valis: What are some political topics that completely turn you off from a prospective client or a service provider?

Monique Jenkins: Okay. Let me think about this. If you've said that you didn't believe in immigration, like there are problems with our immigration laws, if you completely had an issue with the fact that we need stricter punishment on human trafficking, if you said that you absolutely loved DeSantis, I'd be like, get out of here. So those are things that would completely, people and topics that would completely turn me off from allowing me to work with that particular person.

Jessica Valis: Yeah, I mean, even though we've just come out and pretty much said, like, we're liberal, we're Democrat, this is an invalid form. We're liberal scabs. Yeah. That doesn't mean that I'm not going to work with somebody who is not.

Monique Jenkins: Yeah. But I will say, I'm not a pollumist, a voting for a Republican. I want to vote for people that make sense and make sense doesn't cross red and blue. Just make sense in your statements. Don't be making up imaginary stuff and just be like, oh, she should follow along with this. And that's Democrat or Republican. Although I've always voted Democrat and will probably always do so. I just think that there should be some common sense to these things. And I don't care if that comes from a Republican or a Democrat, as long as it comes from a place of sanity. As long as you got sanity, you can get money.

Jessica Valis: Yeah, I'm running for the local borough council for my town this November as a write -in. And I'm on a ticket with three other individuals because there's sport open and we want to take over a council. And I am definitely the minority in this group. I'm the only Democrat running and everybody else is Republican and they'll make comments and, you know, just like, they'll talk about the president or like, I can't believe they're doing that to Trump. And you just got to sometimes you just got to brush it off and be like, listen, we're all working to work a common goal here. It's okay. I will still be your friend. Our kids can still play together. Just don't go crazy on me.

Monique Jenkins: Funny story, I was in the grocery store like a week ago or two weeks ago and I was, I had just checked out and I was about to walk out of the store and this guy walked by me and he was like, crazy thing that Biden is doing to these grocery prices. And I was like, sir, we did not say hello first. We are just bypassing each other. Like we literally said, you didn't say hello. He said, hello, can I talk to you for a second? Don't you think it's crazy what Biden's doing to his grocery prices? And passing and then look back and like nodded at me and I was like, what the hell is happening right now? I was like, I was trying to buy my milk and get out of here in the next five minutes. So like random funny things like that always happen to me, it seems.

Jessica Valis: Yeah, I really like when you're driving around and you can tell somebody's entire life story based on their bumper stickers and their like rear -room ear stickers. And you're like, oh, they go to Disney World at least once a year based on how many do these stickers there are. They're also a gun -touting family. So you know there's a gun in the back trunk, so don't cut them off. And then they also spend time with their golden noodle. So I always like when you could piece together that story, but on Wednesday I went around with two of the people that are campaigning with me and we went door to door to give a little welcome letter. Everybody wrote something to introduce ourselves. And how do we went to each of the houses? I was definitely looking at the cars to see what kind of bumper stickers there were. And then that would kind of, I wouldn't say like alter how I adjust, like alter how I talk to people, but it would just inform my decision. So there were a couple that had like, you know, stand your ground. You won't take my gun. And I'm just like, I mean, this in no way correlates to my running for local office, which mostly has to do with like zoning and like let's put a stop sign here. And it's like it has nothing to do with it. But you know, you just take a step back and you just, you know,

Monique Jenkins: Yeah, you think twice before you knock on that door. Cause I don't know. That's me. I'm gonna be like.

Jessica Valis: when I see a dog in the yard. Oh, yes. Oh, if I hear a dog barking inside, I'm like, I don't want to deal with this house. Not because I'm afraid of the dogs, but because I just can't deal with it.

Monique Jenkins: Nola is famous in our neighborhood, but she also has stole a chicken wing out of the hand of one of my neighbors. I'm like, she's not gonna bark at you because she's just not the type of dog that barks. She only barks when she's inside of the house and she sees another dog. But if you took her outside in front of that same dog, she ain't gonna do nothing except like lick you a lot and steal food out of your hands. But I can see why you wouldn't want to stop at a house that had a dog. I definitely want a bigger dog, a protection dog. I want a dog that'll bite somebody. I'm like, if an intruder breaks into my house, this dog right here is gonna be like... That need a golden retriever then. Yeah. I'm like, you got treats? I'm like, Nola, no, they're trying to rob us.

 

Speaker 3 Thank you.

Jessica Valis: Nope. Okay. So one thing you can do to talk about politics in a way that does not alienate is to keep it election based as in like, make sure you go and vote. What is your voting plan? All right. So I run a Facebook group for my borough, an official Facebook group. And as we lead up to the elections, I've told the other people I'm running with, like, we do not bombard this page with stuff about our campaign. This is not the place. This is more just like informational what's going on in the borough. What can we do? You know, how can we approve things? But I will post stuff like, have you registered to vote? The deadline is such and such. This is the polling place. Mail and ballots are due this day. So I think if you can keep it neutral like that, then I think it's fine. You want to people, you heard people to participate in a free and fair election, regardless of how they vote. And, you know, I don't need to say anything else about, you know, I'm going to be the only Democrat you ever wrote for, like, there's no there's no need to talk about that. It's because the issues at the end of the day are not related to our system. And with local elections being so small, you really just want to get people out to vote. Because usually people just care about, you know, big presidential one, that's the one that's the only one they care to.

Monique Jenkins: Yeah, those people are named Monty Jenkins.

Jessica Valis: How has politics impacted your business in any way, Monique?

Monique Jenkins: At this point, no. I will say I worked for a political organization, Politico. So I have designed with politics in mind. So the RNC and DNC, I designed some of the booths and things that are there with my fellow designers at Politico. And I was designing stage designs as well as newspaper ads and invitations and things like that to the events that the Politico events team ran. So I have designed with politics in mind, or at least politicians in mind, but I don't think that one way or another, maybe because of that particular junction in my life, I wasn't as involved in politics as I am right this second aside from voting for Obama at that particular junction. Something that I paid attention to. BTDubs. I apparently designed an event where we had Obama as a speaker when he was a senator and didn't even go. I was like, I don't know what his man is. I just put his face on a poster and kept it rolling.

Jessica Valis: You and I designed a website that was presented at the White House. Yeah, I was like, so.

Monique Jenkins: Outside of that project, which was in the energy sector, it didn't really have anything to do with politics outside of lobbying and things like that. I don't think that politics has played a part in my business, but I think you attract the people that you vibe with and you deter the people that you don't vibe with. So I haven't had anyone come to my business and be like, hey, I want to design something for Trump, even though you're a liberal, would you be willing to? I would be willing to sit down and have a conversation with that man because I'm intro to see how his mind works. But I don't think that it's been problematic at this particular junction. I will say that I don't tend to post anything about politics at the time outside of like my personal page. Like I tell people to go vote and things like that on my personal Facebook and Instagram and things like that. But I don't think I've ever in my business been like, y 'all should go vote. Maybe, I mean, we have this joint venture now. So we will. And I think we should inform people that is their duty to go vote. But other than that, I don't think that politics has played a part in my business. Yeah. What about you?

Jessica Valis: Um, not at all. Um, and I think when we do start this venture and we, you know, have social media and stuff like, yeah, we just said on this podcast, how we feel, I don't think it can really be avoided. Um, otherwise we would just have the most boring episode of all time when we say, oh, you don't talk about politics and religion at the dinner table or your social media and episode. Um, as it just gives more context. But when we start our social media, I don't think anything would extend beyond like that. Just make sure you go in both. You know, it's election day, you know, while taking calls today or whatever it is. So, um, otherwise

Monique Jenkins: It's at CS advocating for the policies that are important for us and the policy that directly affect us like that I'm on forgiveness. Oh, please someone help me. Okay. Let's talk about this across party lines guys. Okay. I made a mistake

 

Speaker 3 I was 18 years old and I made a mistake. I mean, there should be better financial.

Monique Jenkins: literacy and education in these systems, I just need help now. Okay. What is this? I don't like it. Yeah. So like aside from policy issues that I think that we have commonality on like student law reform, which we should talk about, there won't be like, you know, go for a particular person. You vote to your own heart's content, but you should exercise that opportunity to do so regardless of your party lines.

Jessica Valis: Yeah, I think if, you know, an announcement came out that was like, you know, universal childcare, I would be like, posting that on our social of you, like, you go moms, you go work in dads. Like we got something to free up your time, go live out your, you know, entrepreneurial dreams, you know, own your ambition. I think stuff like that might be important. Now, some people might be like, my tax dollars, you're always going to get those people. Yeah. But I think some things are worth celebrating when you think it's a major victory.

Monique Jenkins: Yeah, I mean our tax dollars is paying for healthcare, but I'll see y 'all still be paying premiums and deductibles and all that other stuff So, you know

Jessica Valis: Listen, I've been overseas, I've had to get medical treatment, and I walked into the clinic, I walked out, no credit card, no nothing. So yeah, I could see how it's beneficial. Yeah, I'm just psyched.

Monique Jenkins: But yeah, I think that's accurate.

Jessica Valis: I was on LinkedIn the other day and somebody I'm connected with said, why aren't we talking about politics more? We should talk about it. We need to hear what the other opinions are to expand our horizons and it's how we learn. And I mean, I agree with that. I don't know if social media is the place for it because people use social media like a diary and they do not think of the consequences to their actions and I think people just go down this slippery slope of arguments, God forbid you like disagree with what they're saying or it's just an echo chamber of people who agree with you. In my Facebook group that I do for the borough, if somebody says something and I know that I know they're going to vote for the people who are already in office, I'm not just going to blatantly ignore what they're saying or try to start an argument because I want to make sure that free speech is part of this platform. But I'll comment and try to see their side or be like, thank you for giving me this perspective. I don't need to go on a big rant or say, you know, this is what I believe because that's not the place for it. This is supposed to be the platform for everybody. But if it was like my own personal office with Jessica Vatlas Page and somebody wanted to start an argument.

Monique Jenkins: Let's go. We got you. I'm right there. Yeah. I mean, I do think we're a little sensitive. I don't remember being this sensitive when I was younger. We're a little bit sensitive right now, I think, as a society community and all that stuff in between. But I do think that, like, you know, it's important, at least to me, to listen to both sides of the aisle. I don't think that there has to be agreement, but I think that understanding someone, how someone else got to that perspective is important. As a user experience problem, for me specifically, it is interesting to think about that. And this conversation has me thinking that, um, come next election, I need to do some UX and politics events. Like, I've done some before, but I'm like, ooh.

Jessica Valis: You had some holidays. I mean, here's how UX and politics kind of align, is that UX is all about the research, right? So you can have the CEO who says, I really want to use blue. I mean, this is just like the face of the concept, right? I really want to use blue. And your research shows that your clients would prefer purple. So if somebody wants to have an argument or discussion with me, show me the research. Show me the facts and statistics to sway my opinion, because I'm not trying to go off of emotion in my own. I mean, I do obviously have core values, but I want to, if you can show me a stat to change my core value, then I'm all for it. But you can't just say something online and be in like, you know, this, I can't believe they're doing this to our children or I can't believe they're going to do this. Show me the article, show me where you read it. And then make sure one, that it's from a neutral source too. So, you know, don't send me something from Fox, don't send me something from CNN. Like I want to see the government report where I want to see the independent study so that I can make the informed decision about it. So.

Monique Jenkins: I agree. I will say, I think it was, this was 2020. In October, we held an event about changing the face of voting with UX during getting our master's degree. You know, Catherine Summer, she was one of our professors. I did an event with her about making voting more usable and accessible through inclusive design. Because if you look at some of the forms that you have to look at when you are voting or on a state level, they're horrible. And I think they sometimes, they're horrible by intention. But Catherine is the professor of division of science and information, arts and technologies at the University of Baltimore. And I think that she gave a really good presentation on how, you know, what role UX can play in voting and voting and how there should be more UX designers who help to make the voting process as easy as humanly possible. I also think that you should be able to vote on your phone. You shouldn't have to go to a voting booth. There's a way to keep the integrity guys and make it easy. But I think that the purpose is not to make it easy. The purpose is for it to be a bit difficult. So, I hope to think there's some events. The research is just making wild statements about the government.

 

Speaker 3 Since we are ugly. Things come to sea.

Jessica Valis: One way that I think politics and design kind of go hand in hand is so me and these three other individuals we're running as bright ends. So that's four names. Well, the one person's already on the ballot and the three others were were bright ends. So that's three names that you need to know how to spell exactly because if you vary the name, then the election office will count it or you have to contact them and convince them that like you are the same person. So yeah, so if somebody spelled like my name is Jessica fallus the as in boy instead of the as in Victor, then I would have to be like, Oh, they just misheard my name so many times as you can see, there's no fallus located in my township. So what we decided to do, I designed these things called pawn cards, which are essentially a business card, and all the names are written out. So you can take this pawn card into the voting booth, know how to spell the name out. But instead of just spelling the names out. So you knew how to spell them. I replicated the design of the actual ballot. And I found out the order of the people who are already on the ballot. And I showed you like this is you know, you're going to fill in the second button below. There's one more person that you can circle don't circle it and then write the three names below. And it's not like the English version of the ballot, the Spanish translation next to it. So I tried to make it look exactly like people would see it. So there would be no confusion. Nice. That's super smart. And then on the other side, you know, just wrote instructions like make sure you completely fill in your bubble, make sure the names are spelled correctly. And so I think I mean, that's just one way to make the user experience better for my potential constituents. Nice. Thanks. Yeah, I'll post a picture of it. Nice. On the Insta show the people show the people. But anyways, I don't think there's much more we can really like cover on this topic. Everybody's going to have their own opinion. And for me, I think as long as you, I don't know, keep it hush, and don't use your social media as a platform to project your political views. And I think we'll be okay. But it all comes back to that vibe check. And sometimes you don't need to say your views in order for me to get those feels. So just keep it, keep it peachy guys. We're getting into subjuted territory these next couple months and year. And, you know, it's okay, you vote for who you vote for. It's a democracy.

Monique Jenkins: No, so that's all I need for. That's what it is all about. Do what you want. Do you civic duty is what you get from this podcast episode. Do your civic duty regardless of party lines.

Jessica Valis: Take your baby, get a little I voted sticker for your baby. I get to take Ziri this time when I go hoody. I'm so excited about that. I took Finn when he was like a month old to go vote, and I gave him a little I voted sticker. They should have like I voted with mommy.

Monique Jenkins: God, we should make those. I voted with mommy stickers. Oh, little pins.

Jessica Valis: Yes! I wrote it with daddy.

Monique Jenkins: Yes, that's so cute. Yeah, we about to start selling stickers y 'all. We'll be ready by next election.

Jessica Valis: That baby democracy, everything I say goes, or maybe dictatorship.

Monique Jenkins: It's exactly where I'm at right now. Awesome. All right. I think this is a wrap on this episode. Like Jessica said, you guys have a great rest of your week and we'll see you on the next one. Bye.