Ed Helms

Outrageous.

Right on. Right on. Yeah. Every time I hear that, I just get all excited about Represent Us.

Right on. Right on. Yeah. Every time I hear that, I just get all excited about Represent Us.

And I think there is just a very pervasive sense in America right now that things are feeling a little broken. No matter what side you're on, if your team won or your team lost, there's still this sense that like, well, still a lot of people are feeling kind of screwed and unheard. And that's really what Represent Us is trying to fix. How did it get started? What's kind of the origin story?

And I think there is just a very pervasive sense in America right now that things are feeling a little broken. No matter what side you're on, if your team won or your team lost, there's still this sense that like, well, still a lot of people are feeling kind of screwed and unheard. And that's really what Represent Us is trying to fix. How did it get started? What's kind of the origin story?

Yeah, so...

Yeah, so...

Right. And this is because political donations are considered a form of speech. Yeah. Under free speech.

Right. And this is because political donations are considered a form of speech. Yeah. Under free speech.

So why are we talking to you in the context of season three of Snafu, which is all about early 20th century prohibition? Well, it's one of the first big sort of conflagrations of values in 20th century America. Of course, culture wars go back centuries.

So why are we talking to you in the context of season three of Snafu, which is all about early 20th century prohibition? Well, it's one of the first big sort of conflagrations of values in 20th century America. Of course, culture wars go back centuries.

And before we go further, I kind of want to I think it'd be cool to actually read a definition of culture war because Wikipedia sums it up quite nicely. So a culture war is a form of cultural conflict.

And before we go further, I kind of want to I think it'd be cool to actually read a definition of culture war because Wikipedia sums it up quite nicely. So a culture war is a form of cultural conflict.

a metaphorical war between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology, moral beliefs, humane virtues, religious practices, et cetera, upon mainstream society or upon the other. In political usage, the term culture war is a metaphor for hot button politics about values and ideologies realized with

a metaphorical war between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology, moral beliefs, humane virtues, religious practices, et cetera, upon mainstream society or upon the other. In political usage, the term culture war is a metaphor for hot button politics about values and ideologies realized with

Intentionally adversarial social narratives meant to provoke political polarization among the mainstream of society over economic matters of public policy and of consumption. So one of the really interesting things about culture wars and prohibition is a perfect example of this is how laws get passed and with very little actual support from the general public.

Intentionally adversarial social narratives meant to provoke political polarization among the mainstream of society over economic matters of public policy and of consumption. So one of the really interesting things about culture wars and prohibition is a perfect example of this is how laws get passed and with very little actual support from the general public.

So in the early 20th century, we had organizations like the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League, and they made a lot of noise, and they also preyed upon a lot of broader cultural fears associating alcohol and drunkenness with immigrants and big cities and crime.

So in the early 20th century, we had organizations like the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League, and they made a lot of noise, and they also preyed upon a lot of broader cultural fears associating alcohol and drunkenness with immigrants and big cities and crime.

Temperance, on the other hand, was portrayed as an expression of the sort of pure and lily-white, lovely, small-town, old-fashioned American values. But even so, Broadly speaking, the general population did not support a national ban on alcohol at all. And yet it passed. So this is where I'm getting back to where you were starting to jump to in the beginning.