Feb 15, 2017
Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report used to be a big progressive. He
even had a show with The Young Turks! But now he's not a
progressive. He has left the left. Why? Dave Rubin shares his
story.
Do you believe in freedom of religion?
If you believe these things, you’re probably not a progressive. You
might think you’re a progressive. I used to think I was. My show,
“The Rubin Report,” was originally part of the progressive “Young
Turks” network.
Progressives struck me as liberals, but louder. Progressives were
the nice guys; they looked out for the little guy; they cared about
women and minorities; they embraced change.
In short, who wouldn’t want to be a progressive?
But over the last couple years, the meaning of the word
“progressive” has changed.
Progressives used to say, “I may disagree with what you say, but I
will fight to the death for your right to say it.” Not anymore.
Banning speakers whose opinions you don’t agree with from college
campuses – that’s not progressive. Prohibiting any words not
approved of as “politically correct” – that’s not progressive.
Putting “Trigger Warnings” on books, movies, music, anything that
might offend people – that’s not progressive either.
All of this has led me to be believe that much of the left is no
longer progressive, but regressive. This is one of the reasons I’ve
spent so much time on my show talking about The Regressive
Left.
This regressive ideology doesn’t judge people as individuals, but
as a collective.
If you’re black, or female, or Muslim, or Hispanic, or a member of
any other minority group, you’re judged differently than the most
evil of all things: a white, Christian male. The Regressive Left
ranks minority groups in a pecking order to compete in a kind of
“Oppression Olympics”. Gold medal goes to the most offended.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream that his children would be judged
by their character and not their skin color was a liberal idea, but
these days, it’s not a progressive ideal.
And what about religious freedom - the idea that no one else can
tell you what you have to believe? Surely progressives still
support that basic right.
Well, not so much.
I’m a married gay man, so you might think that I appreciate the
government forcing a Christian baker or photographer or florist to
act against their religion in order to cater, photograph or
decorate my wedding. But you’d be wrong. A government that can
force Christians to violate their conscience can force me to
violate mine. If a baker won’t bake you a cake, find another baker;
don’t demand that the state tell him what to do with his private
business.
I’m pro-choice. But a government that can force a group of Catholic
nuns - literally called the Little Sisters of the Poor - to violate
their faith and pay for abortion-inducing birth control can force
anyone to do anything.
That’s not progressive; that’s regressive!
Today's progressivism has become a faux-moral movement, hurling
charges of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia
and a slew of other meaningless buzzwords at anyone they disagree
with.
The battle of ideas has been replaced by a battle of feelings, and
outrage has replaced honesty. Diversity reigns supreme – as long as
it’s not that pesky diversity of thought.
This isn’t the recipe for a free society, it’s a recipe for
authoritarianism.