My Story

[Writer’s Note: This was originally posted on my website on 3/15/2019. There is a full podcast in video and audio format covering this article.]

I grew up in the Midwest in a blue-collar family. My parents voted Republican, most of the time, but did not stress any strong political influence other than the conservative manner in which I was raised. For example, we went to church, were taught family is important, and were physically punished when out of line (this seems like a more conservative concept today). I grew up in the country so I was away from most urban cultural influences at a young age.

After high school, I went to university in a large city. There I was exposed to a diverse culture for the first time. Because of my conservative and religious upbringing, I was always taught to find the beauty in other cultures. My exposure to different cultures helped me understand what culture really was and the influence it has on everything, including politics. As Andrew Breitbart said, “politics is downstream from culture.” (At the time, I did not understand this concept nor did I know of Andrew Breitbart)

Even though I was never political before, I started to notice the effect culture had on what people thought about economics, social policy, and other political points of view. I was brought up knowing intuitively, because of what I experienced growing up, that a free market was the best way to force the best ideas to rise to the top, but I began to see push-back against that simple notion caused by a culture of post-modern socialism. At the time I did not understand what “post-modern” or “socialism” even was. Because I did not understand why people could possibly think something like socialism, which at the time I at least knew was tried and failed in the Soviet Union, would be something people would actually consider, so I tried doing some research of my own. I went through articles I found on the internet from publications like CNN and The New York Times and found there is large support behind socialist policies. For the next few years, I went on believing that maybe socialism could be tried again and finally succeed in its attempts to bring economic equality.

During my last few years at university, I began to pass my time between classes by listening to this new medium called “podcasting.” I had always like watching comedy specials, so naturally I listened to several comedians, my favorite being Joe Rogan. Listening to Joe talk about the culture through his experiences and the interesting characters he invited on his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), helped my see culture, politics, health, fitness, and overall life experiences I have never seen or heard of before. In 2015, I listened to Joe with another guest, who I can’t remember at this time, talk about a crazy podcast Joe had with a very provocative character (I did not listen to every JRE podcast because of the length and volume of podcasts so I skipped around to what I thought would be more interesting guests). This infamous provocateur was of course Milo Yiannopoulos, a conservative writer/commentator for the Breitbart publication. He was funny, charming, and most of all, provocative. I did not agree with most of what he said, but it did feel good to hear someone make fun of the politically correct culture that began to emerge around that time. (At this point I would like to make the obvious clarification that I do not agree with Milo on most of his personal choices and findings that have come out since that podcast)

Through the connections with Milo to the Breitbart site, I found a conservative voice that would ultimately lead me down the path of exploring true conservative principles. The editor at large at the time was Ben Shapiro. I began to read his articles and watch the “Ben Shapiro Thug Life” videos watched by millions on YouTube. Through Ben, I found other conservative voices like, Steven Crowder, Andrew Klavan, Dennis Prager, Mark Levin, and many more. He also lead me to some voices on the Left like Sam Harris, Jonathan Haidt, Dave Ruben, and others that would emerge from later interviews with Ben. He also encouraged his listeners to read more books, especially books with opposing viewpoints. Now I am in the habit of switching off between reading books with views I mostly agree with and books I mostly disagree with (aka the best way to learn).

The first book that I read since the last book I was forced to read in high school was Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. Sowell quickly became my favorite author after that experience. I am proud to say that I have read several books since then ranging from economics to human behavior/psychology. This opened up my mind to the ways other people think and what the best methods are to help others understand my position better.

Since then, I have joined many Facebook groups trying to find a place I could really test my knowledge through debate with people who do not agree with me. I made sure to follow a few simple rules of debate that I list as follows:

• No character attacks
• No insults
• Be clear and concise
• Thoroughly thing through every point
• Do not have a conversation end in anger
• Always show appreciation for every person involved with the conversation before it’s over

I have found lately the health of debate on social media has taken a turn for the worst. Having a conversation with many on the progressive Left ends with me being called a “racist Nazi,” and conversations with the Trumpian Right ends with me being called a “cuckservative.” I have also found conversation with the moderate sides of both political ideologies became toxic because of what is widely known as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The moderate Left and Right team up to demonize everything President Trump does while Trump’s base defends everything he does. It is rare to find people honestly calling “balls and strikes” during this administration (I full well understand this administration must own the blame for most of that). I personally think this President has governed very conservatively in some cases, especially compared to both President Bush’s, but also stands directly against conservative ideals on things like trade and immigration.

That is where I find myself today. Struggling to advance an honest conservative voice with others who are not online superstars like Ben Shapiro, Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, and others with their star power. Considering this position, I thought it was time to see if others would like to share their experiences and have a civil debate on the issues by starting to write and podcast about my thoughts and how I continue to learn and grow throughout my life. This is where I am now and I hope some will listen, debate, and follow me for the ride.

P.S. If you are still reading, and I hope you are, I will be republishing my writing from my website on Medium so there may be some older stories I cover, although I do not often cover current events. I shut down my website because I have changed my main resource of communication and content hosting to Locals.com. Although I will be publishing my long-form written content on Medium, you can find my more regular content, podcasts, and interactive community at engineeringpolitics.locals.com. Please feel free to join this growing community if you want to stay up to date and/or support this content. Thank you for your consideration!

Note: None of the persons, podcasts, or books referenced above reflect my ideas and personal beliefs, nor should they be held accountable for anything published on this site in the future.