Daily Inspiration: Meet Paul Johnson and Dr. Emily Bashah

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Johnson and Dr. Emily Bashah. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Dr. Bashah’s parents escaped persecution by the Ba’ath party in Iraq, who tortured, confiscated property, and murdered members of her family. Her parents emigrated to the United States for safety, freedom, and opportunities for their family. As a young Jewish woman, Dr. Bashah traveled to the Middle East and worked in other Arab countries, immersing herself in the culture, history, and language. The trauma of her parents and her experiences in the Middle East led to Dr. Bashah’s desire to pursue psychology. As a cultural expert, she has been appointed to forensic cases of individuals involved in terrorism and capital crimes. These experiences have contributed to studying the connections between terrorism, genocide, and extreme political ideologies. Combined with lessons from her psychological practice, the book, “Addictive Ideologies,” examines how individuals are susceptible to such radical movements.

Paul’s father hitchhiked to Phoenix with his brother when they were 8 and 11. Paul’s mother picked cabbage in Levine with her sister. The two met, married, and bought houses in the same Sunnyslope neighborhood. Paul grew up with his 8 brothers and sisters in Phoenix. As Mayor of Phoenix, he had to navigate the city through a recession, deal with several racially charged issues from police shootings to the MLK controversy, a mass shooter at city hall, and his actions on juvenile violence with a kids gun law, school uniforms, and curfew led him to be sued concurrently by the NRA and the ACLU. He remains active in political reforms designed to reduce the influence of extremists in the political system. His work on political reforms to reduce the role of extremists in the political process gives him a unique perspective on what is happening politically.

Dr. Bashah’s and Paul’s collaboration in life and work marry their combined skills and backgrounds in clinical and forensic psychology, politics, and geopolitical issues. They address the problems of addictive ideologies while offering insight and wisdom for healing, growth, and transformation. They believe collaborating towards a worthy purpose is essential to unleashing the power of the human spirit.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Dr. Bashah’s family came out of Iraq as persecuted Jews. Her family members were stripped of all their material possession, terrorized, tortured, and some of them were murdered. Her parents escaped with their lives. Dr. Bashah’s family story is one of immigrants who built a prosperous life in the United States, albeit with struggle and perseverance. Because of her family story, as a young adult Dr. Bashah began her journey across the Middle East, staying in various countries and living and working directly with Arab communities.

Dr. Bashah learned to approach disparate groups across the Middle East as a voyager. She lived in impoverished areas in Arab communities and witnessed the effects of political corruption, famine, and disease in Northeast Africa. Survival, trauma, and perseverance existed for many in developing countries. This became instrumental in her desire to go into psychology and aided in her ability to evaluate people charged or convicted of serious crimes, including first-degree murder and terrorism.

Paul grew up in Sunnyslope as one of 9 children in an area at the time that was one of the city’s highest poverty pockets, the same place he would raise his children. Paul became a parent at 18 years old, married, and worked his way through night school. His oldest son was born premature and spent most of the first year of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit. To take care of his family, Paul became a subcontractor and struggled at a young age to find work, pay payroll, and deal with the challenges of a small business. At 24 years old, Paul made a run for the Phoenix City Council. After knocking on over 60,000 doors in 9 months, Paul was elected the youngest Councilmember in Phoenix history. Four years later, Paul became the youngest Mayor ever elected in the City of Phoenix.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
Dr. Emily Bashah is an author and licensed Clinical Psychologist with a private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. An expert witness in criminal, immigration, and civil courts, she has worked on high-profile cases covering issues of domestic terrorism and capital offenses, and first-degree murder.

Dr. Bashah was awarded the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Policy Fellowship and served within the American Psychological Association’s Public Interest Government Relations Office in Washington, D.C. A frequent expert guest in media, Dr. Bashah clinically specializes in mental illness, personal and collective trauma, addiction and grief and loss, as well as family and relationship dynamics.

Hon. Paul E. Jonhson Jr. is the Co-founder and President of Redirect Health and host of The Optimistic American podcast. At 30 years old, Paul became the youngest mayor of Phoenix, Arizona; as mayor, he and his administration were showcased in the New York Times, Forbes, and People, among other national media outlets, for efforts leading to the Bertelsmann Award honoring Phoenix as the “Best Run City in the World.”

Currently, Paul Co-founded Redirect Health alongside Dr. David Berg and Dr. Janice Johnston. He and his partners have grown to Redirect to be medically licensed and insured in all 50 U.S. states and have saved its employers and members over $200 million in unnecessary spending. He has spent significant efforts on political reforms, restoring civility in politics, reducing dark money in politics, and changing the primary system to include independents.

Mr. Johnson was named among the Top 16 People Most Likely to Watch in Arizona for his efforts in 2016. He was also inducted into Marquis Who’s Who with the Humanitarian Award in 2021. In addition, Redirect Health has received several awards from industry associations over the years. Mr. Johnson has been civically active in his community with Arrowhead Health Centers, the John C. Lincoln Hospital Foundation, the City of Phoenix Bond Commission, and the Greater Phoenix Economic Commission.

Dr. Bashah and the Honorable Paul E. Johnson Jr. are the coauthors of “Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning in Agency When Politics Fail You.” As the podcast co-hosts of the Optimistic American, Dr. Bashah and Paul are devoted to helping Americans regain their sense of agency.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Dr. Bashah recalls her mother cooking delicious food, bread, and Arabic delicacies. She remembers her mother dressing her warmly in cold winters to build snowmen and tobogganing down the hills in their home in Quebec, Canada. When her grandmother would visit from Israel, Dr. Bashah recalls the excitement as she anticipated her loving grandmother coming into the house in the late hours of the night with a suitcase filled with Arabic sweets and treats. The rosewater, toasted sesame, and cardamon odors filled the house with Nana Madoo’s goodies.

When Dr. Bashah’s family emigrated to the United States, her mother and father fulfilled the hard-working immigrant stereotype. Her father worked 12-hour days as an auto mechanic, and her mother worked as a nanny, housecleaner, and cook. As a child, Dr. Bashah asked why other families hire a mother; where are theirs? Dr. Bashah’s mother instilled an important lesson: never to misjudge another based on assumptions, in that you never know what people lived through, endured, and what their gifts may be. She talked about herself and the difficulties she confronted as an ethnic immigrant. It’s an important lesson that Dr. Bashah continues to practice today. You never truly know what people are capable of until you give them a chance to reveal their skills, talents, and wisdom to you. Dr. Bashah’s admiration for her parents grew by seeing how hard they worked, but more importantly, she was inspired by her mother, who didn’t resent those in better financial shape but instead used them as models to help her children. Dr. Bashah’s mother worked cleaning other people’s homes. Dr. Bashah remembered going from home to home with her mother, who would work long hours, and she would often think about how beautiful many of the homes were. Her mother always stressed to Dr. Bashah that people could live in homes like this because they received an education and worked hard.

As the oldest brother of 9 children, Paul loves his family. When he was 6 years old, Paul’s father took them to the job site. Every day at about 3 pm, Paul’s father came home right after school and loaded the kids to go to the job site. The older ones learned the labor trades. The young ones were provided a bucket to fill up with stray nails. When the bucket was full, Paul’s father dumped them on the driveways, and the children had to separate them. While they all thought they hated the job site, they all remember their wonderful times together and the skills and lessons they learned from their father.

One of Paul’s favorite lessons from his father involved being a construction worker. This worker one day showed up at the Johnson home to get paid. Young Paul answered the door and told the worker his dad would come. He then closed the door leaving the man outside. When his father came, he asked where the man was, and Paul said outside. His dad looked puzzled and went to the door to bring him in. He made Paul get him an iced tea, which irritated young Paul.

When he left, Paul’s father asked him to come over and talk with him. He asked young Paul why he had left the man outside. Paul said, “Dad, he was dirty, drywall all over him, he smelled bad, and I know he was once in prison. Why do we want to let people like that in our home?” His father told Paul he was disappointed in him, and it caught Paul’s attention because his father was so rarely disappointed. His father said, “Paul, if you think there is someone South of you, then there must be someone North of you. There is no North or South, just East, and West, at different horizon levels.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Optamerican.com, www.redirecthealth.com, www.bashahpsychological.com
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