The Bravery Deficit
Do you feel forced to keep your values to yourself? Are you afraid to speak up about your views and opinions for fear of creating family tension or losing your friends—or your job? Dave Rubin calls this being in the political closet—and it’s time to come out.
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The United States of America is the ____________________ country in the history of the world.
largestfreestpooresthealthiestWhat could all be lost in an instant if one takes the ‘wrong’ side of a hot-button issue?
one’s reputationone’s friendsone’s joball of the aboveBig Tech with its control of search algorithms, its shadowbanning, and deboosting supports political correctness and the resulting limitations of freedom.
TrueFalseWhat is perhaps one’s most important job as a human being?
to take the path of least resistanceto always support the majorityto stand up for the things one believes into have the courage to silence those who disagree___________________________________ the solution to the bravery deficit.
The media isEducational institutions areThe political establishment isYou are
- As the Left tries to shame and silence dissenting views, those who value liberty and individuality must speak out even more boldly.
The essence of free speech is that it must extend to those with whom we disagree and least want to hear; otherwise it has little meaning. If a right is denied to one group, the denial of that right will soon spread to other groups.
View sourceIt is up to targeted groups, like liberty-minded people on college campuses, to push back on attempts to censor speech and shame those who express the “politically incorrect” views.
View sourceRelated reading: “Don’t Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason” – Dave Rubin
View source- Widespread leftist intolerance is designed to make liberty-minded people fear openly sharing their views.
Tolerance has become a one-way street for the Left. According to the progressive Left, if you differ with them on culturally sensitive issues — like sexual orientation or religious beliefs — you’re labeled “intolerant,” no matter how you treat those with whom you disagree.
View sourceWhen Harry Potter novelist J. K. Rowling stated publicly that sex differences are real she was branded as “transphobic” by the left.
View sourceWhen legendary tennis star and feminist Martina Navratilova said it was unfair to women to have to compete against trans-athletes — biological males who identify as females — she faced fierce backlash from the left.
View sourceRelated reading: “‘Crowded Into Silence’: Dave Rubin Warns of Cancel Culture, Mob Mentality” – The Daily Signal
View source- Many on the Left are simply unwilling to be challenged by other views. Conservatives must make the brave choice and speak up.
“Most of what passes for tolerance today is intellectual cowardice, a fear of intelligent engagement,” writes Greg Koukl. “Those who brandish the word ‘intolerant’ are unwilling to be challenged by other views, to grapple with contrary opinions, or even to consider them. It’s easier to hurl an insult—'you intolerant bigot’—than to confront the idea and either refute it or be changed by it.”
View sourceCompanies like Google use words like “diversity” and “inclusion” while censoring opinions they don’t like.
View sourceRelated video: “So, You Think You’re Tolerant?” – Dave
View source- Colleges have increasingly rejected intellectual diversity, and faculty now lean overwhelmingly left.
In a study for Policy Review, Dr. Paul Kengor examined the intellectual diversity of top universities. He found that Stanford University’s history department has 22 Democrats and 2 Republicans. Cornell University has no Republicans and 29 Democrats. The worst disparity came from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Of the 190 professors polled across the social science and humanities departments, only 6 were Republicans while 184 were Democrats.
View sourceIn 2014, only 12% of college professors in the U.S. claimed to be either far right or conservative, as opposed to 60% claiming to be far left or liberal.
View sourceRelated: “The Left Is No Longer Liberal” – Dave Rubin
View source- In politically correct culture, express the wrong views and you might lose your job, your home and your reputation.
In Canada, bill C-16 protects “gender identity” and “gender expression” as a human right. Thus, failing to refer to someone as the gender they ascribe to themselves can be illegal.
View sourceIn New York City, employers and landlords can be fined up to $250,000 for using the wrong pronouns.
View sourceWhen language and words are controlled, censorship quickly becomes compelled speech, which violates the conscience of the individual.
View sourceRelated reading: “The Closing of the Liberal Mind” – Kim R. Holmes
View source- The Left is pushing for widespread suppression of free speech—and too Americans are allowing it to happen.
The most common anti-free speech tactic promoted by leftists on campus and online is to label anything that counters their arguments as “hate speech.”
View sourceThe tech companies that govern the internet use subjective terms like “clickbait” and “fake news” to curtail free speech.
View sourceGoogle famously fired James Damore for writing a memo leftists deemed an “anti-diversity screed.”
View sourceRelated reading: “How the Left Became So Intolerant” – The Heritage Foundation
View source- Leftist media, politicians and academics are eroding the principles of free speech and tolerance.
The left’s intolerance begins in the academy, where most professors are liberal, and spreads through media, into politics.
View sourceThe silencing of dissenting voices reveals that leftist leaders and activists do not truly embrace the principle of tolerance, but only use it as a convenient political tool.
View sourceMembers of the gay community, minorities, and immigrants who are not in lockstep with current leftist orthodoxy are shunned and excluded by the left.
View sourceEven moderate Muslims critical of extreme forms of Islam have been marginalized by the left and portrayed as puppets for the right wing.
View sourceWatch: “The Rubin Report”
View source
Do you watch Fox News with your finger on the back button in case someone enters the room? Do you methodically clear your browser history to erase all evidence of PragerU videos? Do you hide your subscription to The Ben Shapiro podcast? Or, and perhaps most dangerous of all, are you afraid of getting caught watching The Rubin Report, which is hosted by the very scary—but quite dapper—Dave Rubin?
If the answer to any of these questions is '’yes,” then you’re in the political closet, and it’s time to come out.
Here’s the good news: If you currently reside in the United States of America, you live in the freest country in the history of the world. Beyond some basic limitations, you can do whatever you want and, with hard work, become whatever it is you want to be.
Pretty great, ain't it? So why the long face? Because you know that something is out of whack. You really don't feel free to say what you want. Or share your true thoughts on Facebook. Or even associate with those you'd like to.
And why is that?
I’ll tell you why: because there’s a mass affliction spreading throughout the Western world. It’s called “the bravery deficit.” People—good people like you—are afraid to say what they think.
And there’s little wonder.
Believe that men can't give birth? Congrats, you’re a transphobe. Want people to keep more of what they earn because they know how to spend it better than the government does? Bravo, you’re a greedy capitalist! Understand that the gender pay gap is because men and women often choose different professions and different hours, not because of rampant sexism? Hooray, you’re a misogynist!
Take the “wrong” side of any hot-button issue and your reputation, your friends, and your job can all be lost in an instant. You will likely never get a chance to confront your accusers, most of whom are anonymous. And you may feel forced to issue a faux apology to save yourself (which, by the way, it usually won’t).
The understandable temptation is to think that this politically correct madness will soon end—just die out on its own. Well, it won’t.
Activists and their mainstream media allies like the New York Times and CNN, propaganda outlets like Media Matters and the Southern Poverty Law Center, and your local university will make sure of that. Big Tech, with its control of search algorithms, its shadowbanning and deboosting, are also in on the game.
If you’re one of the people who believes that if you just remain quiet that things will get better, well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re a frog in a slowly boiling pot. And it doesn’t end well for the frog.
So what can you do? Believe it or not, the solution is not that hard.
Step One: Think for yourself.
Step Two: Say it out loud.
Just because a former bartender says the world is going to end in twelve years because of climate change doesn’t mean it’s true. Doomsdayers have been saying the same thing for decades and we’re still here.
Just because a filmmaker says we should model our health care system on Cuba’s doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Would you rather have heart surgery in Houston or in Havana?
And just because a career politician is a millionaire with three houses who rails against the rich doesn’t make him a hypocrite. Oh, wait—in that case, it actually does.
The point is, perhaps your most important job as a human being is to stand up for the things you believe in. Don’t take the path of least resistance. Be better than those who would silence you, deplatform you, and mob you.
How? Just…stop…being…afraid.
The mob depends on the fact that everyone is scared to say what they think. Don’t give them that power.
All of the successes of America, and the Western values that gave birth to America, are being eroded as we speak. We can’t just blame Hollywood, the media, and the political establishment any longer. It’s time to look in the mirror.
Think of the bravery of your grandparents, and your ancestors before them, who undoubtedly had it far worse than you do today. If they were brave, then you can be brave too.
It’s time to come out of the closet—the political one.
You are the solution to the bravery deficit.
So what are you waiting for?
I’m Dave Rubin, author of Don’t Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason, for Prager University.
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