I Choose Freedom

Public shaming campaigns won't change that.

My openness to diverse perspectives, in addition to my critiques of a few sacred cows on the left, has spurred an entire cottage industry of YouTube channels that thrive off condemning my alleged heresy. Disagreeing with my views is one thing. But the orchestrated effort to mischaracterize me is unacceptable and sadly needs to be addressed.

I recently had a civil conversation with Glenn Beck, which I’ll admit I enjoyed. We acknowledged our obvious differences of opinion, but also found areas of common ground, which I never would have predicted a few short years ago. That allegedly offended a TYT contributor to such an extent that he made a public spectacle out of quitting the network and asked our viewers to abandon us for whatever he’ll be doing next. I genuinely wish him luck in his future endeavors.

But I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to speak to Glenn Beck. Nothing I said was outrageous or offensive. Anyone interested can watch the conversation below:

During our talk, Beck surprisingly conceded to getting things wrong in the past. He regrets supporting Bush-era foreign policies and even spoke out against political corruption and the greedy pharmaceutical industry.

In my view, the interview was an opportunity to share my values with a new audience that might have misconceptions about the left. Much of what I said aligns with the majority of Democratic voters. But I also critiqued the Democratic establishment, along with some of the toxic pathologies present in the far left. That includes the cult-like behavior that bars even the slightest deviation from pre-approved talking points and gatekeeping who people are allowed to converse with. Our (now former) contributor basically proved my point by quitting the way he did.

Some seem to have a hard time processing that I don’t respond to manipulative tactics or public spectacles meant to shame me to submission. I have admitted when I’ve been wrong in the past, and I don’t feel I’ve done anything wrong here. Additionally, people who are serious and confident about their views should want to defend them through dialogue and debate rather than taking their ball and going home.

My Political Views

For those fixated on my political identity because they’re concerned I’ve made a pivot to the right:

• I still want to reform immigration to create legal pathways to citizenship. I also believe Dreamers should be protected from deportation.

• I still think single payer, or a public option in the very least, is the best way to reform our broken healthcare system.

• I’m firmly pro-choice and believe the viability standard set by Roe v Wade was the correct approach.

• I support gay marriage and believe members of the LGBT community should be protected from discriminatory practices.

• I absolutely loathe neoconservatism, full stop.

• I still believe private prisons should be abolished and that there shouldn’t be a profit motive behind incarceration.

• I want the U.S. to pursue the nordic model of rehabilitative criminal justice rather than locking people up in inhumane conditions. But that shouldn’t be mistaken for the prison and police abolitionist model or the hands-off approach cities run by Democrats have experimented with over the last several years.

• I support the Pro Act and want to make it easier for workers to unionize.

There’s a lot more I can add to that list. But you get the picture. The reason I consider myself unaligned with the Democratic party is because they either don’t sincerely represent these values or barely fight to pursue or protect them. Neither do the Republicans.

I also have a handful of views that differ from the far left, and that’s where much of the backlash against me comes from.

• I think recent criminal justice reforms, while well intentioned, have been implemented poorly in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and New York. Someone who’s been arrested dozens of times for violent offenses, like randomly sucker punching elderly women in public, shouldn’t be free to hurt others.

• Private non-profits who are given government grants to carry out homeless services should be audited yearly.

• Harm reduction policies in lieu of robust investments in detox and rehabilitation programs have had deadly consequences. Opioid-related deaths rose 67% between 2017 and 2023 according to KFF. I think the left needs to recalibrate its approach.

• I have no problem with the deportation of migrants who commit crimes or take part in criminal gangs. I fail to understand why anyone would have a problem with that.

• Women’s rights matter just as much as transgender rights do. I strongly disagree with the notion that fairness in women’s sports is somehow transphobic.

• I think identitarianism has manifested in extremely divisive and toxic ways on the left and in society more generally. The Caitlin Clark/Time Athlete of the Year debacle is a good example of what I’m talking about.

In addition to everything listed above, I’m also a lot less interested in focusing my energy on traitors to the left these days. There’s been so much outrage over me telling Piers Morgan that maybe I was wrong to say Dave Rubin’s pivot to the right was insincere. The truth is, I wasn’t interested in discussing him. I don’t know what’s in Rubin’s head and I honestly don’t care either way. I’m not sitting around thinking about Dave Rubin. I don’t watch any of his content. It’s been several years since he “left the left” and I find speculative discussions about him a dull distraction to the bigger picture.

Finally, rather than simply preaching to the choir, I’m going to continue talking to audiences across the political spectrum to share my thoughts and ideas and see if there are areas of common ground. The country needs to heal. If wanting to connect with people on issues like healthcare, corruption, labor unions and more is considered heresy for some on the left, they’ve lost the plot.