The Importance of Empathy in Addiction

There are basically three ways to learn how to be a good person. We learn by doing and making mistakes, we learn by observing what other people do, and we learn from the stories in our culture. Popular stories play an outsized role in our understanding of virtue and morality, and few stories can match the awesome power of Star Wars.

Today’s guest, Stephen Kent, has figured out how to use one of the most iconic and influential American stories as a common language to teach moral lessons to children. In his book, How the Force Can Fix the World, Stephen takes a deep dive into the virtues of Star Wars, and how they can be an antidote to our modern problems. From the fearlessness of the Jedi, to the hope instilled by the Rebel Alliance, and the redemption sometimes found by the Sith, he lays out an epic set of virtues worth learning from a galaxy far, far away.

We worked with Stephen to create a great viewing guide so that you and your young Padawan can put his work into practice while watching your favorite Star Wars scenes.

This episode is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the Star Wars franchise or Disney.

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Download the Star Wars Viewing Guide: https://action.dadsavesamerica.com/may-the-4th

Purchase a copy of How the Force Can Fix the World: https://www.amazon.com/How-Force-Can-Fix-World/dp/1546000461

Visit Stephen's website: https://www.stephendkent.com/

Follow Stephen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stephen_Kent89?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

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Outline:

[0:00] Intro

[2:14] Growing up as a Star Wars prequel fan

[4:56] Why write a book about Star Wars?

[9:12] Stephen journey as a dad

[11:22] Empathy, masks, and redemption

[25:13] How Stephen and his dad supported each other

[31:02] Fear, control, and hubris

[44:10] Hope, freedom, and boundaries

[55:11] Anyone can fall to the dark side

[1:00:46] Shared stories are a societal foundation

[1:04:41] Outro

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Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/id4byFG2dlM

Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠

Visit our website: ⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠

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Dad Saves America is a channel dedicated to celebrating heroic fatherhood while teaching the next generation of fathers strategies they can utilize in parenting their children. We believe strong children come from a strong family. We’ve had many experts in the studio, including Jonathan Haidt, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Troy Kotsur, John Mackey, Ben Askren, and Adam Carolla.