One of the left's major Achilles' heels is its inability to tolerate dissent. Once an official narrative or marching order is given, leftists fall into lockstep from the media to your loyal dyed-in-the-wool blue neighbor.
The hive mentality has its benefits. It's certainly easier to get people to fall in line and execute an agenda when no one is complicating the rhythm of the march, but it's also a temporary boon. We are not bees or ants. At some point, human nature wins out and someone will want something else, or something more, and the once well-oiled machine that won elections and sparked movements starts to wobble, then crash.
You're seeing it now in the Democrat Party, as the radicalism they flirted with to get votes is now consuming the party and killing its momentum. The American people are walking away, and even Democrats seem increasingly tepid about its direction.
The thing is, it's easier to fall into that mentality than one might think, and it usually happens when achieving or maintaining victory is the order of the day, and it's a mistake that I pray conservatives don't make themselves. Donald Trump's victory wasn't just a win for Republicans; it marked an incredible cultural turn in human history, and one that we'll be talking about for decades to come.
A sort of fear comes with a victory that large. A lot is riding on the success of this turn, because if it maintains, then we change the course of our nation for the better, and we will enter another golden era as promised by the Trump administration. I have absolute faith that will happen, but many believe that this means that questions can't be asked, dissatisfaction should be dismissed, and jokes shouldn't be made.
If it runs contrary to the body politic, it must be destroyed.
On Thursday, I wrote a piece reviewing the first two episodes of the latest season of South Park, a season that has been satirizing the Trump administration pretty heavily. To write that article, I made a point to confirm that I'm a long-time fan of the show and was judging it from that perspective, not necessarily from the perspective of a Trump supporter. I'd already seen quite a few columns posted from that angle, and I wanted to give one that was a bit more nuanced.
Read: An Honest Review of South Park's Latest Season (So Far) From a Loyal South Park Fan
My judgment of the episodes did not come to the Trump administration's defense like others had, and I judged the show on the quality of the jokes made, not who they were about. I also used my knowledge of the show and the comedic style of show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker to both criticize and make predictions about the season's direction.
There were quite a few people who didn't agree with my take... and that's great.
I love that the comments on my articles are filled with differing opinions, debate, and discussion. It's healthy to disagree and see each other's points of view, even if they come from opposing angles. Someone might have differing insight, knowledge, life experiences, et cetera, that can change a person's mind or shed light on a topic of conversation that makes the picture a bit more clear.
RedState is, and always has been, a place where diversity of opinion has been appreciated and encouraged. Our writers, while all conservative and pro-life, hold varying opinions on policy and culture. Even when we agree, why we agree might even be different.
As a matter of fact, on this very topic my friend and colleague Nick Arama didn't think the episodes were funny at all, and you may find yourself more in line with her thinking while others might relate more to my perspective.
Read: DHS Decimates 'South Park' With the Perfect Troll, Their Response Is Truly Lame
Read: JD Vance Has a Little Fun With South Park's Depiction of Him
However, others didn't like that the article was written at all. This is something that I see from time to time, and on myriad subjects. Demands are made that we stop "wasting our time" on certain cultural subjects, or that certain expressions of opinions about a topic shouldn't be allowed because they fall outside of mainstream conservative opinion or don't complement the body politic enough.
And it's here that I have a problem.
I want to be very, very clear about something, and I think I can speak for the rest of my colleagues here when I say this:
We will never insult your intelligence by telling you what you want to hear. We'll never stroke your ego for money or simply to make you read us more.
We are a group of writers who are going to give you facts and opinions to the best of our ability — not as brick-in-the-wall writers who obey a specific narrative — but as independent minds with a diverse range of perspectives, interests, and focuses. We feel that's the most honest and respectful way to be a writer.
This means that you have a plethora of authors and subjects here at RedState that you can choose from that may pique your interest... but it also means that you're going to come across topics, commentary, and opinions that you don't like or aren't interested in. If that's the case, you can disagree with what's written or pass on it entirely. Again, if you do disagree, feel free to express why. Start a lively (but civil) debate.
But we need to be careful not to fall into the trap that the left found themselves in and demand ideological uniformity or demand that articles or opinions never be written simply because the topic isn't interesting to a particular individual, or because they might disagree with the expressed opinion. Don't fall into the habit of thinking that free speech is allowed only if it agrees with your sentiments.
We are free speech champions. We sort through disagreements by using debate and respectful expression, not by silencing and censorship. We value different opinions and don't create ideological bubbles around ourselves where we grow increasingly ignorant of the outside world, as well as tell ourselves comforting lies that slowly erode our mind and spirit.
We are free people with free minds, and we are glad you're here as part of our community.
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