DO YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME?

Over the weekend, I had some time to digest a very fruitful and in-depth session with my design team. We focused on learning experiences through play. There is no denying that gameplay has significant educational value. Consider the 2002 Millennium Challenge. The US Dept. of Defense spent over $250 million to explore the scenario of a US invasion of Iran. A retired USMC Lt. Gen, playing for the “red team” (i.e., opposing forces), and shocked US commanders when his opening moves defeated the US Navy during a simulated attack. His tactics were so devastating that the game facilitators had no choice but to reset the scenario, and impose artificial restrictions. His tactics revealed a strategic weakness, and exposed the unknown. Was it worth $250 million? Considering the expensive lessons we learn (or, fail to learn) during actual warfare, I would argue that such simulations are a bargain.

With so much potential (for both learning and fun), we explored game mechanics as a way to make the abstract concepts of digital rights more accessible. We rant into a few obstacles with this approach, but none more frustrating than the fact that there are already several games that attempt to do exactly that. We agreed that we do not need one more in that mix.

Toward the end of that session, I became acutely frustrated by the divide between tactics and strategy. Encryption is important, and I want people to know about it, but I also don’t see it as a solution to systemic issues of user privacy, data collection, and surveillance capitalism. To be clear, I still think that it is a valuable tactic and an essential technology, but it falls short of addressing most of my strategic concerns. Worse yet, addressing these technologies as their discrete parts leaves little room for addressing the issue of digital citizenship, digital rights, and the electronic frontier we all care so much about.

How then, can we present this level of complexity to our intended learners? And *who* are our learners, exactly? We reached consensus that “digital natives” make the most sense — but really it should be everyone who benefits from (or can be harmed by) the internet.

Pictured: a young netizen. There is no way that this kid gave consent for this picture to be distributed, but let’s put a pin in that for now... Intel Free Press — https://www.flickr.com/photos/intelfreepress/8433147083/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Where is the strategy? Where is the awareness? We began to focus these concerns through a framework created by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, and their “six facets of understanding.” Before we can decide how to address *how* learners will understand this complexity, we first needed to develop concrete goals for learning.

The six facets for learners

• Explain: learners can produce written/verbal information relevant to the topic

• Interpret: learners can construct a narrative, linking cause and effect for a given phenomenon

• Apply: by contextualizing what they know, learners can adapt their model of understanding to solve novel problems

• Perspective: learners are able to think through a problem from the perspectives of different actors

• Empathize: can think experientially about other’s interactions with a context, and value how they experience it

• Self-knowledge: be aware of how that knowledge affects their thinking and decision making. Know the limits of their understanding, and what remains unknown to them

In the game monopoly, children (ages 3 to 10) learn zero-sum capitalism, market failure, scarcity, opportunity cost, property rights, legal penalties, and much, much more. The players get to take on the role of a property tycoon, and quickly learn that there are different layers to the game. This was by design: the original intent of the game was to teach players about income inequality. It is a game born out of the Great Depression. One of the often overlooked aspects of Monopoly is that “house rules” are determined by the players. A game of monopoly need not be cut-throat. The rules can be tweaked to be more equitable for all. This is true beyond the board game context—this is core to the very concept of democracy.

Not knowing how to synthesize something so elegant (to address digital rights), I told the group that what I really wanted was a constitutional convention. I wanted people to take on the 21st century equivalent of Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, and Washington. I wanted smartphones and powdered wigs, tough negotiations and duels. I wanted people to think about their dissatisfaction of being mere subjects to the kingdoms of Facebook and Google, to having no higher status than “colonist” on a digital frontier.

Could roleplaying be enough? Could personas to represent different stakeholders facilitate a learning experience? How can we get people to take these roles seriously? I had more questions leaving our session than I came in with.

Upon reflection and a white board session with Nandini, we returned to the idea of game mechanics in a learning experience. I think we both retreat to the territory of fun when things get difficult. Indeed, for such a heavy subject, I do want people to have fun, and make the learning happen under a blanket of stealth; people tend to be more open to new ideas when they step outside of their own context to engage in play, and we wanted to leverage that. As I alluded to earlier, this is also true in the context of war games.

Returning to Wiggins and McTighe, we began synthesizing game mechanics around the six facets.

I’ll do my best to make sense of these scribbles—I promise!

Mechanics under consideration (an incomplete inventory)

• Digital and physical mechanics

• Hidden agendas

• Secret personas

• Objectives with dynamic feedback

• Inevitable conflict, plausible compromise

We now envision a game, where players use their mobile device as an interface, while interacting in physical space. The players are participating in the first constitutional convention of the internet. They are randomly assigned roles that will dictate their objectives (e.g., a movie and television streaming service, a government surveillance agency, or a social media platform). These personas will act as stakeholders, trying to advance their agenda. Players will take turns, negotiating for an objective to be codified into a digital constitution. Players will then anonymously vote (using their mobile device). As certain provisions are agreed upon, the player’s objectives will change in real-time. For example, an video streaming service is naturally harmed by asymmetrical restrictions on bandwidth… unless they also control that restriction themselves, giving them an unfair competitive advantage over competing platforms. If they “lose” the fight to obtain net-neutrality, their agenda shifts to obtain power over the inequality. Likewise, a government agency and a social media platform might both benefit from anti-privacy measures.

This is as much of a convention as it is a war game.

How does this perform under the six facets?

• Explain: players will learn key terms related to cyber security, digital rights, privacy, and the institutional structures governing the World Wide Web

• Interpret: to perform well at this game, players will need to engage their critical thinking skills and explore the relationships of a highly dynamic and complex system. They will develop mental models to account for economic, social, and political aspects of 21st century technology

• Apply: as their mental model improves, players will begin to think strategically about their objectives, and the objectives of other players. They will improve their ability to persuade and advocate for complex policy positions

• Perspective: players will become aware of the competing stakeholders, their agendas, and the consequences of their proposals over time

• Empathize: players will learn to value differing and conflicting goals, and will understand the gains and loses for themselves and others

• Self-knowledge: players will become aware of the complexity, and will identify gaps in their knowledge through multiple playthroughs

Tackling the challenges for our learners

Bridging knowledge gaps.

Working with a team of three other designers, we began to see points of divergence for our goals. Amanda’s focus on online activism and leveraging new technologies was compelling, but she was driven to do this work independently. Nandini and Michelle were also interested in the digital realm, but were not sure about the framing for citizenship.

One of the key challenges for addressing citizenship in the 21st century is the fundamental misunderstanding by the public of how we interact with these new technologies. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. have removed the traditional political boundaries and geographic limitations of culture and ideas.

This is our stake-holder map, there are many like it, but this one is ours.

The advantage of this style of mapping is that we do not need to work from the current state toward feasible solutions. While the appearance may be linear, we actually developed our ideas for bridging the gaps by first looking forward, to a preferred state. Herbert A. Simon succinctly described the field of design as “changing existing circumstances into preferred ones,” which is exactly what we are plotting with this map. We then can backcast from the preferred state, and identify patterns and opportunities for intervention.

This tool is simple as it is effective. For weeks we had been looking at how technology was affecting citizens’ perception of reality (bots, trolls, hackers, fake news, hoaxes, disinformation campaigns, post-truth, etc.) but we had not adequately considered how bidirectional that perception was. In late 2013, a hacktivist documentary titled, TPB AFK (The Pirate Bay, Away From Keyboard) was released. This film chronicled the political and social aspects of digital sharing, and the rise of Sweden’s “Pirate Party.” Having won seats in parliament in 2009, The Pirate Party of Sweden was a recognized political group. Since then, other nations (e.g., Germany and Iceland) have also elected members from this movement.

The philosophy of the Pirate Party is best understood from their belief that “the internet is real.” They do not make the distinction between interactions “IRL” (In Real Life) and “online.” Instead, they use the term “AFK” (Away From Keyboard) to describe that state. In American politics, we can see the disruption all around us from this misunderstanding. People have been tricked into believing that their online activities are somehow contained, safely behind a prophylactic digital barrier. It’s “on the internet” and therefore not real. Except that it is. Imagine the mayhem that would exist if people believed that their personal vehicles and the roads on which they travelled were somehow a totally self-contained reality, separate from everything else.

Our goal therefor is not to leverage technology to help citizens become more engaged IRL, or AFK, but to help them understand that they are still citizens, even (and especially) when occupying digital spaces.

Who are my learners?

What can we teach about civic engagement?

Last week our teams mapped out the stakeholders for our chosen topic (citizenship and grassroots).

Our stakeholder map was stolen from the studio. This was the last picture taken before it went missing. If have any information, call: 1-800-STOLEN-MAP No questions asked if you return it. Really, at this point we all just want closure.

By looking at the tension between groups, we can easily get overwhelmed. What was most helpful was to recognize where common interests exist between stakeholders. These should provide opportunities for engagement, or perhaps even leverage points between groups in conflict (or perceived conflict). Additionally, we identified a disturbing aspect: asymmetry. While there were mutual and shared interests between our three groups, there were also some goals that actually provided benefits at the expenses of others.

The easiest way to understand this dynamic is to think about big tobacco. Smokers want and desire cigarettes. They are willing to pay for them, even when discouraged through taxation. They smoke throughout the day, despite knowing that it has a negative impact on health. Who benefits the most in this relationship? In the short term, the smoker benefits. In the long term, the tobacco companies benefit. These relationships are exploitative, but also difficult to break.

Reactionary politics benefit a minority of the powerful at the expense of everyone else, but it also provides validation to a cynical and disengaged citizenry. For those who insist that politics is self-serving, and incapable of providing value to the public, it is very easy to be proven correct, even if the outcomes that produce that validation are not beneficial.

Decoding a learning experience: a case study of factitious

One major area of concern going into the 2020 election is the role of social media in spreading disinformation. While I firmly believe that social media companies (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) need to take a more proactive role in combating fake news (and other propaganda), users and community stakeholders can also help to fight against the tide. One helpful tool is an online game, factitious.

Source: factitious.augamestudio.com

The rules are simple: players are presented with a headline, text, and images — is it real or fake? The correct answer will be rewarded with points, while incorrect answers will provide helpful tips for how to spot a fake. Why is this game important? One of the hard-learned lessons from the 2016 election year was that people often share a news story without ever vetting the contents. Even worse, many Facebook users were willing to share a news story without ever having read the article.

What works: the game is simple, informative, entertaining, and free to the public. What could be better: the game is low stakes, and while that certainly encourages players to give it a try, it doesn’t have any replay value, or real incentives for competition. This could be improved.

Related links:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/05/09/how-misinformation-spreads-on-social-media-and-what-to-do-about-it/

https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-to-combat-fake-news-and-disinformation/

https://www.cits.ucsb.edu/fake-news/protecting-ourselves-teach

https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/anti-misinformation-actions/

Citizenship and technology: questions and hypotheses

This week we continued to explore citizenship from the lens of learning experience design (LxD). This issue is complex, affecting countless individuals, institutions, systems, and more. It was helpful to visualize the issue with a team (we continued a second day of whiteboard sketching, with post-its for card sorting. Ultimately, this helped us to identify the categories of “Five Ws” (Who, What, When, Where, Why) and How.

Who: voters (including potential voters). In 2016, voter turnout was at a 20–year low. Nearly half of voting-age Americans did not cast a ballot in 2016. It could be easy — even tempting — to look at this group and condemn their inaction. After all, Hillary Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes than Donald Trump, but lost the electoral college due to roughly 100,000 votes spread between three so-called “swing states.” If we ever are to have a health democracy, we need more people to vote, and they need to vote consisently. There are no “off years” for civic duties.

What can be done to increase voter turnout? This varies from one state to the next, so this question cannot be addressed at a national level, unless we first address the specifics of each state. Since the focus of this class is not public policy, we should instead look at voters and what resources would help them to understand the election process. There are many competing ideas, and it is likely that not just one policy or change to our elections will do the trick. Ultimately, we need voters to understand the necessary steps in the process, from registration to the act of casting a ballot.

When? Now.

It is not particularly helpful to only look at voters during our election years — every year, all year is what we need. Voting is only one small piece of civic responsibility. Volunteering in your community, military service, writing and calling your representatives, participating in demonstrations, jury duty, and even paying your taxes are major areas of concern, and these activities happen every day (if not to you, then to someone you know) in the United States.

Where can we reach eligible voters? One of the challenges with an always-online culture is that attention itself has become a commodity. There is serious competition for clicks and participation. This constant battle for your attention leaves only razor-thin margins for the less exciting, less sexy areas of real life. Combating distraction presents a real challenge.

Why is voting turnout is low? This question is more difficult to answer. Voter suppression tactics, gerrymandering, apathy, and public misperceptions and attitudes about democracy are major factors.

How can we change that? Before we can answer that question, we must first understand what factors determine a person’s level of political engagement. This should be a serious area of focus for further research.

Further Reading:

Voter turnout (https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politics/popular-vote-turnout-2016/index.html)

Swing state voter margin (https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/swing-state-margins/)

Voter suppression (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/10/voter-suppression-wisconsin-election-2016/)

Gerrymandering(https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/what-is-gerrymandering.html)

Topics of interest: challenges in exploring the design of learning experiences

After the results of the 2016 election, many Americans (including a candidate who received nearly 3 million more votes than Donald Trump) wanted to know: what happened? What has unfolded since then has been an endless firehose of scandals, breaches of public trust, attacks against journalists, amplification of white nationalism, and a polarization of politics unlike anything seen in recent decades or even generations. For many, this question has been more about whether we are reliving 1968 or 1934. Depending on what happens in this year’s election, we may have an answer to that dreaded question.

I believe that recent events and how we interpret them are dangerously subjected to a “fragmentalization” of narrative: this happened, and that happened, because (?). It is in our nature to seek out patterns — we depend on them to make sense of our reality — but just like Rorschach tests, cloud formations, tea leaf and palms readings, what we *think* we see is often much more subjective than we are willing to admit. These truthy relationship between separate parts can easily deceive us, and make it harder to see firmer (but much less pleasant) truths. The facts remain the same, even if our interpretation of them varies wildly.

This is why I am choosing to engage in two important topics this semester: technology and citizenship (i.e., civic engagement). I believe that in our ever-increasingly digital world, that it makes no sense to separate these two topics. They are deeply interlinked, (from our political discourse online, Tweets by the President and his feverish supporters, the sharing of stories on social media, cybersecurity, data breaches, electronic voting, online privacy, and so much more) technology influences politics, just as politics influences technology. What we do to one, through innovation or policy, will affect the other. In other words: to understand 21st century politics is to understand the fifth dimension — cyberspace.

Here are some specific questions worth exploring: how can we combat disinformation, fake news, state-sponsored propaganda, bots, and trolls? If we are living in a post-truth era of hopelessly tribal politics, how do we exit from it? Is that even possible? Voter turnout in general elections has been flat (around 55%) since the 1970s, how can we get more eligible voters to engage in their civic duties? How can we promote a more confident and informed public? I have some ideas about all of this, but will wait until class tomorrow where we can discuss. I hope to get some good feedback.

Why putting on the brakes is not enough

Here is some uplifting news! (Not really):

https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/pittsburgh-hate-crime-threat-pittsburgh-police-investigating-threat-made-on-social-media/982307553?utm_source=homestream&utm_medium=site_navigation&utm_campaign=homestream_click

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, knows his platform allows for bad craziness to spread like cancer, but fuck it! He’s still getting rich. Who cares if his platform amplified the worst voices in this country, and did so at the shared expense of everyone else? Right? Anyone who still works for Twitter should seriously reconsider what they are doing with their lives. Imagine getting paid to provide Nazis a global megaphone. How do you sleep at night, @Jack?

Thoughts on Ruined by Design, by Mike Monteiro:

I’ve finished reading Mike Monteiro’s book, Ruined By Design, and his message is clear: “as designers, we need to think of ourselves as gatekeepers.” This means we must refuse to put harmful designs (in any form) into the world. He uses the analogy of the Hippocratic Oath, and a doctor’s pledge to “first, do no harm,” and argues for designers to adopt a code of ethics.

I can hardly disagree with the notion that designers, like many other professions, ought to operate under a set of values. But is this enough? No. It is not enough to *not* do unethical design. It’s a good start, but it is not enough. For every harmful act, for every data breach, for every easily preventable hack, for every racist and hateful Tweet, for every man-made environmental catastrophe, and for every preventable tragedy brought upon us in the name of “innovative technology” and “disruption,” there is another mile we all travel on this dark highway. Refusing to do something harmful is a neutral act, and ought to be perceived as part of a neutral position. If you are someone who remains “neutral” on climate change, staggering wealth inequality, or the very real threats of fascism and white nationalism, then you’re not really part of the solution - you’re just a speed bump.

We need to reverse this, and Mike Monteiro is passionately calling for us to start by putting on the brakes. It’s not enough, but it is an essential first step. What we desperately need is positive change. We are going down this road at the speed of internal, infernal combustion. We are going faster than hot chrome and sweaty sex. Running in the red.

Almost everyone (aside from a handful of oligarchs and their Fox News sycophants) agrees that we should (at the very least) slow down. And if you suggest we stop, do you know how you will be labeled? You will be called a “far-left radical.” As if wanting every hard working family in this country to live with some basic level of dignity is a communist plot! As if wanting Twitter and the rest of Silicon Valley to actually be held responsible for what they put out into the world is “too liberal” or “too PC.” Well, call me liberal, but I cannot see the value in letting racist assholes have a platform to make terroristic threats against hospitals. Seriously: Fuck you, Jack Dorsey.

Why are these matters controversial at all? Maybe it is because the only thing more grotesque than this horrify status quo is: ourselves. We have been ignoring hard truths for such a long time that we often fail to see how far off we have wandered. It’s after midnight. The road is dark. The engine is running in the red. Why? From wealth inequality, to endless wars, to climate change, we live in a world where crisis is the status quo. Why?

(?)

What the author correctly identified is that this is because it is designed that way. We can’t fix this by simply refusing to go further down this road; we need to actively work against the designs that lead to ruin. We need to take the wheel. And if we crash, we need to pile up the debris and preserve only that which functions as a warning sign: to tell future generations not to go down that same path ever again. I’ll let Mike have the last word on this.

If we want positive search results, we should do positive things. If we want to reassure the users of our products that they can trust us, we should do positive things. There’s a reason I wrote these last three chapters in this order. Community breeds standards; standards breed accountability; accountability breeds trust; licensure validates that trust. It’s a journey. It may be a long journey, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth taking.

Do positive things.

Monteiro, Mike. Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It (p. 206). Mule Books.

Trump Gave a Speech Today, Oh boy.

Thank you very much, Tony. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you very much.👏👏 (Applause.)

✊✊

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

👏👏

Thank you very much. You know, I’ve been here before. (Laughter.) You do know that. Before the big day on November 8th, I was here. I want to thank 👋Mark Meadows and all of the folks that have really made this possible. And, Tony, tremendous guy.

We have some incredible people that we love and that we’re involved with. So we all know that. And I’m being followed by Mr. Bennett — you know that, right? And I’ve been watching him say nice things about me before I knew him. Those are the ones I like 👋👈— (laughter) — where they speak well of you before you know them. Right?🤚

But I really want to thank everybody, and, Tony, for your extraordinary leadership of this organization. And I want to thank, also, Lawana, for your dedication to the faith community and to our nation. Work so hard.

It’s great to be back here with so many friends at the 2017 Values Voter Summit, and we know what that means. (Applause.) We know what that means. America is a nation of believers, and together we are strengthened and sustained by the power of prayer. True.

As we gather for this tremendous event, our hearts remain 🤚sad and 👋heavy for the victims of the horrific mass murder last week in Las Vegas. It was an act of pure evil.

👌👋But in the wake of such horror, we also witnessed ✋👋the 👌true ✋character👋 of our nation. 👌A mother ☝laid ✋on 👋top of ✋her ✋daughter ✋to shield ☝her ✋from gunfire. 👋A husband ✋died 👋to 👋protect ✋his 👋beloved wife. ✋Strangers 👋rescued strangers, police offices— ✋🤚and ✋🤚you ✋🤚saw that, ✋🤚all of those incredible police officers, how brave they were, how great they were 👋running into fire. (Applause.) 🤚And first responders, 👋they rushed right into danger. 🤚

Americans defied evil and hatred with courage and love.

The men and women who risked their lives to save their fellow citizens gave proof to the words of this scripture: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Applause)

All of America is praying for the 🤚wounded and the grieving, and we will 👌be with them today 👌and 👌we will 👌be with ✋them 👋forever. (Applause.) ✋Just want to finish by saying that — to the 🤚— really, and we understand it was so horrific to watch and so terrible — but to 🤚those who lost the ones they love: We know that we 👌cannot ✋erase your pain, 👌but we promise 👌to never, 👌ever ✋leave 👋your side. 👌We are one 👌nation, 👋and we 👌all hurt together, ✋we hope together, 👌and we heal together. (Applause.)

We also stand with the millions of people who have suffered from the massive fires, which are right now raging in California, and the catastrophic hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, in 🤚Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands. And I will tell you, I left Texas, and I left Florida, and I left Louisiana, and I went to Puerto Rico, and I met with the president [governor] of the Virgin Islands.

These are people that are incredible people. They’ve suffered gravely, and we’ll be there. We’re going to be there. We have, really — it’s not even a question of a choice. We don’t even want a choice. We’re going to be there as Americans, and we love those people and what they’ve gone through. And they’re all healing, and their states and territories are healing, and they’re healing rapidly.

🤚In the wake of the terrible tragedies of the past several weeks, 🤚the American people have responded with goodness 🤚and generosity, and bravery. You’ve seen it. The 🤚heroism of everyday citizens reminds us that the 🤚true strength 🤚of our nation is found in the hearts and souls of our people.👌

When 👌America ✋is unified, 👌no force on 👌Earth 👌can break ✋us apart. 👋

GUY IN AUDIENCE: “That’s right!”(Applause.) 

✋👋We love our families. ✋We love our neighbors. 👋We love our country. 🤚Everyone 🤚here today 🤚is brought together by the 🤚same shared and timeless values. 👌We cherish 👌the sacred 👌dignity 👌of 👌every 🤚human life. (Applause.)

✋We believe ✋in strong ☝families 👋and safe 👋communities. 👌We honor the✋ dignity of work. 👋(Applause.) We defend our Constitution. 👌We protect 👌religious 👌liberty.✋ (Applause.) ✋We 👋treasure our freedom. 👌We are proud of our history🤚. We support🤚 the rule of law👋 and the incredible 👋men and women 👋of law enforcement. (Applause.) ✋We celebrate our heroes, 👋and we salute every American who wears the uniform. (Applause.)

👌👌We 👌👌respect ✋🤚our ✋🤚great ✋🤚American flag. ✋🤚

(Applause.) 👍Thank you. 👈Thank you. Thank you.👈👍

✋🤚And we stand united behind the customs, beliefs and traditions that define who we are as a nation and as a people.

👌✋George ✋🤚Washington said that ✋🤚“religion and ✋🤚morality are indispensable” ✋🤚to 👌👌America’s happ-un-, none - and [unintelligible] ✋🤚really, ✋🤚prosperity ✋🤚and totally to its success. 👌It is 👌our 👌faith 👌and 👌our 👌values ✋that inspires us to 👌give with charity, 👋to 🤛act with courage, 👋and 👌to sacrifice for👋 what we know is right.

👌The American🤚 Founders 🤚invoked our Creator 🤚four times in the 🤚Declaration of Independence — 🤚four times. (Applause.) 

GUY IN AUDIENCE: “Yes!”

✋How 👋times ✋🤚have 🙏changed. ☝️☝But ✋🤚you know what✋🤚, now they’re 👈👉changing👇👇 back 👉👈again. 👆👆Just remember that. (Applause.)

👉

Benjamin Franklin✋🤚 reminded his colleagues at the 👌Constitutional ✋Convention to begin 👌by bowing 👌their heads ✋️in prayer.

👌Religious ✋liberty is 👋enshrined 👌in the very 👌first ✋amendment 👋of the Bill of Rights. 👌And ✋we all pledge 👋allegiance 👌👌✋🤚to — very, ✋🤚very ✋🤚beautifully — “✋🤚one nation under God.✋🤚” (Applause.)

👌This ✋is✋ America’s heritage, 👋a country that never 👌forgets that 🤚we are all — 👋all, every one of us 👋— made by the same God in Heaven. (Applause.)

✋When I came to speak 👋with you last year, I made you a promise. Well, one of the promises I made you was that I’d come back. ✋🤚See? ✋(Applause.) ✋🤚And I don’t even need your vote this year, right? That’s even nicer. (Laughter.)

✋But ☝I pledged 👌that, ✋in a Trump administration, 👌our nation’s ✋religious 👋heritage 👋would be cherished, 👋protected, ✋and defended 👌like you have never 👌seen 👆before. ☝That’s what’s happening. ☝👌That’s what’s happening. ☝👌You see it every day. ☝You’re reading it.👌

✋So this morning ✋I am honored and thrilled ✋to return as the first sitting President to address 🤚this incredible gathering of friends — so many friends. (Applause.) So many friends. And I’ll ask👉 Tony and all 👉our people ✋that do such a great job 👋in putting this event together ✋— can I take next year off or not? (Laughter.) Or do I have to be back? I don’t know.

AUDIENCE: No!

THE PRESIDENT: 👈He’s saying — they’re saying no. Lawana is saying no. That’s means no. (Laughter.)

☝So I’m here to thank 👌you for your ✋support 👋and to 👌share with you ✋how we are delivering 👋on that promise, ✋defending 👌our shared values✋, and 👌in so doing, ✋how we are ✋renewing the 👋America we love.

✋In the last 10 months, 👌we have followed through ✋on one promise 👌after ✋another. (Applause.) ✋I didn’t have a schedule, but if I did have a schedule, I would say we are substantially ahead of schedule. (Applause.)

Some of those promises are to support and defend the Constitution. I appointed and confirmed a Supreme Court Justice in the mold of the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia, the newest member of the Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch. (Applause.)

👏👏👌👈

To protect the 🤚unborn, I have reinstated a policy 🤚first put in place by President Ronald Reagan, 🤚the Mexico City Policy. (Applause.) To protect religious liberty, including protecting groups like this one, 👌I signed a 👌new executive ✋action in a 👌beautiful 👌ceremony ✋at the White House 👌on our National ✋Day of Prayer 👋— (applause) — which day we made official. (Applause.)

✋Among many historic steps✋, the 👌executive order ✋followed through on 👌one of my most✋ important campaign 👋promises 👋to so many of you: 👌to prevent 👌the horrendous ✋Johnson Amendment ☝from interfering ✋with your First Amendment rights👋. (Applause.) 👉Thank you. 👌We will not allow government ✋workers to censor ✋sermons 👋or target our ✋pastors 👋or our ministers 👋or rabbis. 👋These are the people ✋we want to hear from, ✋and they’re not going to be silenced any longer☝️. (Applause.)

🤚Just last week, based on this executive action, the 🤚Department of Justice issued 👌a new guidance 👌to all federal agencies to ensure 👌that no religious 👌group is ever targeted under my 👌administration. 👌It won’t happen. (Applause.)

👌We have ✋also taken action to protect the conscience ✋🤚rights of groups like the ✋🤚Little Sisters of the Poor. You know what they went through. (Applause.) What they went through — they were going through hell. And then all of the sudden✋🤚 they won. They said, how did that happen? (Laughter.)

We want to really🤚 point out that the Little Sisters of the Poor and other people of faith, they live by ✋👌a beautiful👌 calling, and we will not let 🖐bureaucrats take 🖐away that calling ✋or take away their rights. ✋️(Applause.)

👌We are stopping ✋cold 👌the attacks ✋on 👋Judeo-Christian values. (Applause.) 👉👉Thank you. 👉Thank you very much. ✋And something I’ve said so much during the last two years, but I’ll say it again as we approach the end of the year. You know, we’re getting near 👌that beautiful ✋Christmas season 👋that people 🖐don’t talk about anymore. (Laughter.) 🖐They don’t use the word🖐 “Christmas” because 🖐it’s not politically correct. 👋You go to department stores, 👐and they’ll say, ✋🤚“Happy New Year” 👐and they’ll say other things. ✋🤚And it will be red, 👋 they’ll have it painted, 👋but they don’t say it. Well, guess what? We’re saying “Merry Christmas” again. (Applause.)👍👏

🎤And as a Christmas gift to all of our hardworking families, we hope Congress will pass 👌massive 👌tax cuts 👌for the 👌American people.👌 (Applause.) That includes 🤚increasing the child tax credit and expanding it to eliminate the marriage penalty. (Applause.) 👌Because we know that the ✋American family is the true 👌bedrock of ✋️American life. So true. (Applause.) This is such an exciting event because we are really working very hard, and hopefully Congress will come through.

You saw what we did yesterday with respect to healthcare. ✋It’s step✋ by step by step. ✋(Applause.) And that was a very big step yesterday. Another big step was taken the day before yesterday. And one by one it’s going to come down, and we’re going to have great 👌healthcare in our country. ☝We’re going to ☝have great healthcare☝ in our country. (Applause.) 👋We’re taking a little different ✋👋✋route than we had hoped, because getting Congress — they forgot what their pledges were. (Laughter.) So we’re going a little different route. But you know what? In the end, it’s going to be just as effective, and maybe it will even be better. (Applause.)

For too long, ✋politicians have tried to ✋centralize the authority among the hands ✋of a small few ✋in our nation’s capital. 🤚🤚Bureaucrats think they 🤚can run your lives, 🤚overrule your values, meddle in your faith, and tell you how to live, 🤚what to say, and 🤚how to pray. ✋But 👌✋we know✊️✋ that parents, ✊️✋not bureaucrats, 👌know best ✋how to raise 👋their children👌 and create a thriving👋 society. (Applause.)

☝✋We know ✋that faith and prayer, not federal 🤚regulation — 🤚and, by the way, 🤚we are 👌cutting regulations 👌at a clip that nobody 👌has ever seen before. 🤚Nobody. 🤚(Applause.) 🤚In nine 🤚months, 👌we have cut more 👌regulation than 🤚any President 🤚has cut during 🤚their term in office. 🤚So we are doing the job. 🤚(Applause.) And that is one of the major reasons✋, in addition to the enthusiasm for manufacturing ✋and business and jobs ✋— and the jobs 👋are coming back.

✋That’s one of the major reasons ✋— ✊️✋regulation, what we’ve done ✋— that the stock market ✋has just hit an all-time✋ historic high✋. (Applause.) 👌That just on the public ✋markets we’ve made, ✋since Election Day, $5.2 ✋trillion in value. ✋Think of that: $5.2 trillion. (Applause.) And as you’ve seen, the level of enthusiasm is the highest it’s ever been, and we have a 17-year low in unemployment. So we’re doing, really, some work. (Applause.)

✋We know that👌 ✋it’s the family ✋and the church, ✋👌not government officials✋, that 👌know best ✋how to create ✋strong ✋and loving ✋communities. (Applause.) 👌And ✋above all else, ✋we know this: 👌In America, we don’t worship👌 government ✋— 👌we worship ✋God. (Applause.) 👋👋👇👉👇👌Inspired by that ✋conviction, 👌we are 👌returning ✋moral clarity ✋to our ✋view of the ✋world 👌and the 👌many grave 👌challenges✋ we face.👋

This afternoon, in a little while, I’ll be giving a speech on Iran, a terrorist nation like few others. And I think you’re going to find it very interesting. (Applause.)

DRUNK GUY IN AUDIENCE: “Woo!”

Yesterday, things happened with Pakistan, and I have openly said Pakistan took tremendous advantage of our country for many years, but we’re starting to have a real relationship with Pakistan and they’re starting to respect us as a nation again, and so are other nations. They’re starting to respect the United States of America again, 👇and I appreciate that. (Applause.) And I want to thank the leaders of Pakistan for what they’ve been doing.

✋In this administration, 👌we will ✋call evil ✋by its name✋. (Applause.) 👌✋We stand with our friends and 👌allies, ✋we forge new partnerships ✋in pursuit of peace, 👌and we take ✋decisive action ✋against those who would threaten 👌 our people 👌with harm. 👌(Applause.) And we will be decisive — 👌because we know that 👌the first 👌duty of 👌government👌 is to 🤚serve its citizens. 👌We are defending 👌our borders, 👌protecting our workers, 👌and enforcing our laws. 👌✋You see it every ✋single day like you haven’t✋ seen it in many, many years — ✋  if you’ve seen it at all. (Applause.)

👌In protecting America’s interests abroad, 👌we will always support ✋our cherished ✋friend and partner, ✋the State of Israel✋. (Applause.) 👇👌✋We will confront the ✋dangers that imperil our nation👌, our allies, ✋and the world, ✋including the threat of 👌radical ✋Islamic terrorism. ✋️(Applause.)

🤚We have made great strides 🤚against ISIS — tremendous 🤚strides. 🤚I don’t know if you’ve seen 🤚what’s going on, but tremendous🤚 strides against ISIS. They never got hit like this before. (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE: (Inaudible.)

👉Stand up. Stand up. Let me see — 👉he’s a rough guy. I can see it.

👐But they’ve been just ruthless and they’ve 🤚ruthlessly slaughtered innocent Christians, along with the vicious killing of innocent Muslims and other religious minorities. And we’ve made their lives very, very difficult — believe me. (Applause.)

👌We’ve done more against ISIS in nine 👌months than the previous 👌administration has done during its 👋whole administration — by far, by far. (Applause.) And ISIS is now being dealt one defeat after another. 👌We are confronting ✋rogue regimes from Iran to North Korea, and we are 👌challenging the communist dictatorship 👌of Cuba ✋and the socialist oppression of Venezuela. ✋And we will not lift the sanctions on these repressive regimes until they restore political✋ and religious freedom ✋️for their people. (Applause.)

🤚👌🤚All of these bad actors🤚 share a common enemy, 🤚👌the one force they cannot stop, 👌the force deep within our 👌👌souls, 🤚👌and that 👌is the power of 👌hope. 🤚That is why, 👌in addition 🤚to our great military might, 👌our enemies truly fear 👌🤚the United States. 👌Because our 👌people 👌✋👋never lose faith, 👌never give in, 👌✋and always hope✋ for a better ✋tomorrow.👌

👌✋Last week, Melania and I were reminded of this in a powerful way when we traveled to Las Vegas. 👌👋We visited a hospital where some of the survivors were recovering from absolutely horrific wounds. We met a 👌young man named 🖐Brady Cook. He’s 22 ✋and a brand-new👌✋ police officer. 👌That night 🤚was Brady’s second day 🤚in field training — 🤚his second day as a policeman🤚, can you believe that? 🤚But when the shooting began, 🤚he did not hesitate. 🤚He acted with 🤚incredible courage, rushing into the hail of bullets, 🤚and he was badly shot in the shoulder.

This is what Brady said: “👌I didn’t expect it, but it’s 👌what I signed up for✋. When stuff 👌goes down, ✋I want to 👌be there 👌✋to face evil 👌and to protect the good, 👌innocent👌✋ people that need it.” ✋And here’s a young guy✋, great guy — and second day. I said, ✋Brady, don’t worry about it, it’s going to be easier ✋from here. (Laughter and applause.) Brady is a hero, 🤚and he can’t wait to get back on the job.

Several weeks before, 🤚when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, 🤚a local furniture storeowner, who’s known in 🤚Texas as “Mattress Mack,” 🤚decided he had to help. 🤚When the rain began to flood 🤚the streets of the city, 🤚he sent out his furniture trucks 🤚to rescue the stranded. 👌He brought them back to his stores, ✋and gave them food ✋and a clean, dry place to stay, even if it 👌meant ruining countless dollars’ worth of furniture.

👌👋🖐As “Mattress Mack” put it, “👌My faith defines me, ✋it’s who I am.” “👌We can afford the cost👌…what✋ we can’t afford” — we can’t — 👐and he said this very strongly, ✋🤚“what ✋👌we can’t ✋afford is to 👌cause people to ✋lose hope.”

👌In Brady ✋and Mack, 👌we see the strength ✋of the American spirit. ✋This spirit 🤚of courage and 🤚compassion is all 🤚around us, every day. It is the 👌heartbeat 👌of our 👌great nation. 👌And despite 👋✋🤚👋certain coverage, 👐that ✋🤚beat is stronger👐✋🤚 than it’s ever 👐✋🤚been before. 👐✋🤚You see right through it. ✋🤚(Applause.) That👐✋🤚 beat is stronger than it’s ever been.

🤚We see this spirit in the men and women who self-la-la-lesifily🤚 enlist in our armed forces and, really, who go out and risk their lives for God and for country. And we see it in the mothers and the fathers who get up at the 👋crack of dawn; they work two jobs and sometimes ✋three jobs. 👌They sacrifice every 👌✋day for the ✋furniture and — future of their children. 👌They have to go out. 👌They go out. 👌They work. 👌The future of their children👋 is everything to them. 👋They put it before everything. ✋And they make ✋sure that the future ✋of their children✋ has God involved in it. ✋So important to them.✋(Applause.)

👌We ✋see it in the church communities ✋that come together ✋to care for one another, to pray for each other🤚, and to stand 👌strong with each 👋other in times of need.👌

👌✋The people who grace 🤚our lives, and fill our homes, and build our 🤚communities are the true strength 👌🤚of our nation, and ✋👌the greatest hope for 👌a better tomorrow.✋

👌As long as we have 👌pride in our country, ✋👌confidence 👋in our future, 👌and faith ✋in our God, 👌then America 👌will ✋️prevail.

👌We will defeat ✋every evil, 👌overcome every threat, ✋👌and meet 👌every ✋single challenge. ✋We will 👌defend our ✋👌faith and protect ✋our traditions. 👌We will find the best in each other👋 and in ourselves. 👌We will pass on 👌✋the blessings of liberty, ✋and the glories ✋of God, to our children. 👌Our values ✋will endure, 👌our nation will thrive, 👌✋our citizens will✋️ flourish, and our freedom will triumph.

Thank you 🤚to the Value Voter Summit🤚. Such an incredible group 🤚of people you are. Thank you to all of the faithful here today. 👌And thank you to the people ✋of faith all across 👋our nation and all over the 👋world.

👌✋May God bless you. 👌May God bless the ✋United States of America. Thank you 👉very much, everybody. 👏(Applause.) Thank you👉👏.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/10/13/remarks-president-trump-2017-values-voter-summit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZzUbL5Yqhk