Sentientism | Baywatch Star & Activist Alexandra Paul - "I don't believe that people are born bad" - Ep:165 @Sentientism | Uploaded August 2023 | Updated October 2024, 13 hours ago.
Alexandra (sentientism.info/sentientist-pledge/alexandra-paul) is an actress, activist and health coach. She has appeared in more than 100 feature films and TV programs starring alongside actors including Tom Hanks, Pamela Anderson, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner and Dan Ackroyd. She is internationally recognized for her 5-year starring role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the TV series Baywatch. She has been a lifelong activist for animal liberation, human population reduction and a range of other environmental and social justice causes. She is an accomplished endurance athlete competing in long distance swimming and Ironman races including the World Ironman Championship.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The audio is on our Podcast: apple.co/391khQO & https://anchor.fm/sentientism.
We discuss:
00:00 Clips & Welcome
- Crystal Heath episode: youtu.be/ceFtoOZw5cE (thanks for the intro!)
02:30 Alexandra's Intro
- Acting, #baywatch , marriage, activism
- "I am an actress by trade but I feel like I'm an activist - that's the thing that feeds my soul... gives me purpose & meaning"
- Human population, animals
- Moving to Oregon
- #YesOnIP13 ballot initiative & David Michelson episode: youtu.be/32wmWL4MXK0
04:55 What's Real?
- Growing up in a Christian #protestant household. Church every sunday.
- Boarding school with church every morning
- "It drives me crazy when our President swears on the Bible because I thought there was separation of church & state..."
- Confirmed into the church at 12 yrs old "When in doubt do what Jesus would do - the kindest thing"
- Midnight mass at 17 yrs old "A pastor said 'we're all born with sin'... I just thought 'that's not true'... that was pretty much the end of me and religion"
- "I also felt that religion didn't deal with the things that needed to be done on earth - like the environment"
- "So I never went back to church after that"
- "The tenet about Jesus doing the kindest thing has evolved into Ingrid Newkirk's... 'be kind, be kind, be kind'" Ingrid episode: youtu.be/M7Ac2Ba2jbM
- "I personally don't have a god"
- "I've got a lot of work to do on earth... I'm not even going to deal with religion because it's just a waste of time.. I need to fix things on earth... I don't consider myself a spiritual person."
- Visiting the Vatican "horrified at the riches in that place"
- "Also the anthropocentric view of the bible - that humans are the centre and we have dominion over everything else... and very male-dominated"
- Protesting the Iraq war & being arrested with the Catholic Workers "They put into practice what is talked about in the Bible about loving your fellow man"
- The meaning, solace & community some get from religion and how activism can provide the same
- "I will not join a religion because of the exclusiveness & the hierarchy... and humans are at the centre"
- "I don't believe that people are born bad... circumstances can twist them... humans get damaged"
- #Moralluck , blame and retribution. #Sentientistjustice sentientism.info/sentientism-in-action/sentientist-justice
- "How good a person would I be" if I'd been born in different (tougher) circumstances
- "I worried that my character was weak... I think that's one of the reasons I've become an activist... I remember being afraid that I was a bad person underneath."
- "It distracts from the pain & suffering that people and animals are feeling now - so that's why I don't have much interest in #spirituality "
- The universe "just seems to small to just be us" #aliens ?
- #Health and #wellbeing and the dangers of wishful thinking / motivated reasoning re: #veganism
- Slippage from scepticism about pharmaceutical industry / medicine into #antivaxx , over-stating dietary health claims, #alternativemedicine , manifesting #thesecret / prayer instead of effective medical care
- "I believe in the science"... "A lot of my vegan friends think Dr. Fauci is terrible... the devil... it's because they were looking at different information [via social media]"
- "I don't know if being plant exclusive is a lot healthier than eating meat and dairy... I'm pretty clear that dairy is bad for you... red meat has a lot of issues [inflammation, antibiotics]"
- "It [animal agri] just causes so much suffering to animals... a lot of problems with climate change... it really is an inefficient way to feed humans"
30:21 What Matters?
34:25 Who Matters?
54:37 A Better Future
& much more... (sentientism.info for full notes)
#sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all #sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info/. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall sentientism.info/wall/.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. E.g.: facebook.com/groups/sentientism.
Alexandra (sentientism.info/sentientist-pledge/alexandra-paul) is an actress, activist and health coach. She has appeared in more than 100 feature films and TV programs starring alongside actors including Tom Hanks, Pamela Anderson, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner and Dan Ackroyd. She is internationally recognized for her 5-year starring role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the TV series Baywatch. She has been a lifelong activist for animal liberation, human population reduction and a range of other environmental and social justice causes. She is an accomplished endurance athlete competing in long distance swimming and Ironman races including the World Ironman Championship.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The audio is on our Podcast: apple.co/391khQO & https://anchor.fm/sentientism.
We discuss:
00:00 Clips & Welcome
- Crystal Heath episode: youtu.be/ceFtoOZw5cE (thanks for the intro!)
02:30 Alexandra's Intro
- Acting, #baywatch , marriage, activism
- "I am an actress by trade but I feel like I'm an activist - that's the thing that feeds my soul... gives me purpose & meaning"
- Human population, animals
- Moving to Oregon
- #YesOnIP13 ballot initiative & David Michelson episode: youtu.be/32wmWL4MXK0
04:55 What's Real?
- Growing up in a Christian #protestant household. Church every sunday.
- Boarding school with church every morning
- "It drives me crazy when our President swears on the Bible because I thought there was separation of church & state..."
- Confirmed into the church at 12 yrs old "When in doubt do what Jesus would do - the kindest thing"
- Midnight mass at 17 yrs old "A pastor said 'we're all born with sin'... I just thought 'that's not true'... that was pretty much the end of me and religion"
- "I also felt that religion didn't deal with the things that needed to be done on earth - like the environment"
- "So I never went back to church after that"
- "The tenet about Jesus doing the kindest thing has evolved into Ingrid Newkirk's... 'be kind, be kind, be kind'" Ingrid episode: youtu.be/M7Ac2Ba2jbM
- "I personally don't have a god"
- "I've got a lot of work to do on earth... I'm not even going to deal with religion because it's just a waste of time.. I need to fix things on earth... I don't consider myself a spiritual person."
- Visiting the Vatican "horrified at the riches in that place"
- "Also the anthropocentric view of the bible - that humans are the centre and we have dominion over everything else... and very male-dominated"
- Protesting the Iraq war & being arrested with the Catholic Workers "They put into practice what is talked about in the Bible about loving your fellow man"
- The meaning, solace & community some get from religion and how activism can provide the same
- "I will not join a religion because of the exclusiveness & the hierarchy... and humans are at the centre"
- "I don't believe that people are born bad... circumstances can twist them... humans get damaged"
- #Moralluck , blame and retribution. #Sentientistjustice sentientism.info/sentientism-in-action/sentientist-justice
- "How good a person would I be" if I'd been born in different (tougher) circumstances
- "I worried that my character was weak... I think that's one of the reasons I've become an activist... I remember being afraid that I was a bad person underneath."
- "It distracts from the pain & suffering that people and animals are feeling now - so that's why I don't have much interest in #spirituality "
- The universe "just seems to small to just be us" #aliens ?
- #Health and #wellbeing and the dangers of wishful thinking / motivated reasoning re: #veganism
- Slippage from scepticism about pharmaceutical industry / medicine into #antivaxx , over-stating dietary health claims, #alternativemedicine , manifesting #thesecret / prayer instead of effective medical care
- "I believe in the science"... "A lot of my vegan friends think Dr. Fauci is terrible... the devil... it's because they were looking at different information [via social media]"
- "I don't know if being plant exclusive is a lot healthier than eating meat and dairy... I'm pretty clear that dairy is bad for you... red meat has a lot of issues [inflammation, antibiotics]"
- "It [animal agri] just causes so much suffering to animals... a lot of problems with climate change... it really is an inefficient way to feed humans"
30:21 What Matters?
34:25 Who Matters?
54:37 A Better Future
& much more... (sentientism.info for full notes)
#sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all #sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info/. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall sentientism.info/wall/.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. E.g.: facebook.com/groups/sentientism.
