As an ex varsity debater I honestly think that debating is stupid. Discussions > debate. People want to be heard, they don’t want to be attacked and shut down.
I mean debates are discussions the ones we see the on the internet with right wing grifters aren’t real debates they are just there to serve as an echo chambers for real
My family thinks I’m an idiot for wanting to change the world, but I’ve gotten them to help me prepare food for community meal events that they didn’t even go to. It’s all about pulling :) Thanks for this video!
I always think back to the Antonio Gramsci quote: "Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will." We all know that the world sucks in many ways. Now is the time to apply ourselves to build the changes we want to see. We all have to focus not only on changing the worlds material conditions, but our own personal conditions as well.
I think a Sunday community gathering where we replace dogma with skills and resource sharing, connecting with neighbors, and making sure everyone is good to go could be a foundational component. Bring back the community without the guilt and baggage. Get the collectivism moving in a positive direction and be present with those around you. Church was a GREAT neutralizer of this stuff but the topic of focus could be less singular, more on what the teaching was actually espousing. Less Christian, more Christ-like and all that jazz.
The thing you're proposing, mephik, was already tried several times. Substituting Christianity with Godless forms of it that only keep some rituals and morals doesn't work.
As a trans person, my experience with convincing and persuading people was never with facts and logic. It was with feels. It is knowing a trans person and their lived experiences that make people the most empathetic. Lived experiences and anecdotes are incredibly powerful. A discussion is not the same as debating. A debate in its current form is a spectacle. It is to humiliate someone with knowledge so that people around them will be affected rather than the person themselves concinced. Now let's see I'm curious what your thoughts are.
Oh! You're focusing on the aspect of representation! Yes that is also entirely valid and important. It's incredibly exhausting. However, what helped me was to not think about results. I simply act. If you spend more time wondering if your actions will succeed, rather than acting, you'll never succeed.
I also don’t particularly like the fact that there is more weight on the logos appeal than on pathos when it comes to the kinds of discussions that concern the rights of people to coexist with each other among society. Facts are great for knowing what is true and what is not (with of course the limitation being that our information only exists within the context of now, and we discover more things we thought were false were true in the future), but it completely ignores the human aspect, and relying solely on facts for discussions about ethics is so backwards.
As soon as we fractionated media into news that catered towards particular worldviews we basically poured gasoline on the fire. The history of media is complex and there's always been biases and issues with newspapers etc, but the concept that journalism was essentially about finding the facts of a story and reporting it, as opposed to presenting the things our audience most wants to hear has driven this spectrum off into cartoon land. People extremely rarely respond to logical arguments, because they identify with and as their views of the world. So any challenge to them causes them to dig in harder, its perceived as a threat because it's taking away its object of identity - this is pack animal behavior essentially, and it is meditated through the limbic system. Logical argumentation requires the frontal lobe, which is a much more abstract process and is phenomenally more expensive biologically.
As someone who has conservative leanings in philosophy (though I'm still mostly leftist in my politics) I think there's still a decent enough pool of conservatives who are decent people who don't want you dead or anything. My advice is describe the ideas of mutual aid, workplace democracy and direct action and then reveal it's called anarchism/libertarian socialism. Remember that their present idea of anarchism is random violence and their present idea of socialism is the government does stuff and their idea of the government is the DMV.
@@EchtelionofGondor Please, could we keep 'authoritarian' as a word meaning that 'decisions come from a centralized place without regards for the people's opinion on the matter', whereas democratic - and thus - democratic socialism - would be distribution of material goods in a way which the populace agrees on and moreover subject to further revision and changes through the democratic process.
@@ueIl I'm just trying to illustrate that we shouldn't use 'authoritarian' as a word to describe the 'governance' - laws exist as a function of agreement between the people in a country therefore democratic and willing; Authoritarian in political context means to be able to act with impunity, disregarding the will of the people; Collectively agreeing on paying taxes to have a society isn't being authoritarian in political terms. But of course you'd necessarily have rule of law same way we do now to get taxes there's no difference, just a different taxing system essentially.
How did it take us THIS LONG to bring back someone on the left to INSPIRE people? Jesus it feels like I've never seen this happen ever. Thank you for doing this
becausd us leftists are depressed nerds who never actually organise or even try to get anything useful done. on a more serious note this guy is doing good work
These videos you've been doing , have really pierced through that depression you speak of in this video. I've felt for a long time that I was pushing against a metaphorical wall. I have the drive but it's being held back. I hope your message gets through to others as well. Thank you.
This mirrors a lot of what Confucius said about leading by example. Philosophy tube ragged on Confucius a bit for not stopping a certain tyranical emperor but ultimately in the long term I think Confucius influenced Chinese history a lot more then that tyranical emperor.
actually no. Confucius was a patron of the court so his philosophy was meant to serve and justify the court and dynastic system. later codified by scholars of the very same system into what is broadly known as Confucianism today. all the ideas of ethics and morality in Confucianism are ultimately impositions upon the peasantry to behave and pay deference to the hierarchy. and this BS philosophy has plagued the Chinese people worldwide to this day. i'm honestly tired of Westerners fetishizing Confucianism. It is a deeply conservative ideology masquerading as a template for 'how to be a good person'.
As a leftist/liberal, it's second nature for me to push back during political discussions with right-wingers because of Donald Trump's existence. If Obama and Mitt Romney were running, I would LOVE to have a thoughtful conversation with my Republican friends. during the Romney & Mcain era the party was respectful, understanding, and actually had policy plans. Now, however, Donald Trump, Fox News, and his entourage have become so hateful and nasty that it makes me sad and angry that someone I care about fall victim to propaganda that might potentially hurt me. This, in turn, causes me to snap. SO now I'm biting my tongue and learning as you said to pull them in by maybe controlling the conversation.
If someone is getting hateful or nasty THEN you start pushing and its a golden opportunity. You don't try to convince them, you try to convince everyone around them
I wasn’t political until your side said they wanted me dead during Covid because I didn’t want to get vaccinated. I wasn’t really political until videos started showing up of drag queens nearly naked dancing with little kids, showering money on each other and doing the splits in thong panties surrounded by literal babies. I wasn’t really conservative until the left started downplaying the violent takeover of city blocks by foreign gangs, and downplaying the murders and grapes of American women by illegal aliens. That’s what your side fed me. The right had literally nothing to do with my politics. I never watched right wing shows, I never watched Fox News, I never skimmed right wing news outlets, I only paid attention to the left.
I think the main thing you should focus on is why are your right wing friends becoming hateful and angry if they werent before. Why is Donald Trump the way he is? Right wing people don't act like that if they don't feel like being pushed back into a corner.
Romney was unfairly treated and the republicans had enough of it. Romney ran on a 30 point tax plan and GDP growth %s. And Democrats said “putting yall back in chains” and “push granny off the cliff” and “binders full of women”. Without the mistreatment of Romney you don’t get Trump.
This format is great mixed in with your more edited videos. Both have their appeal but this format just feels a bit more “real” if that makes sense, but I think that’s just the nature of more unedited content. Maybe try to throw these sorts of videos in on occasion.
could you maybe make a video or list some suggestions on what to read and in what order? starting off with "das Kapital" is quite difficult for most people.
How do you spot the difference when speaking to them? How do you tell? Just curious because I’m just getting into politics now. Seems like most modern “conservatives” just like countering what they perceive as the enemy tribe, it’s not even about policy at this point. If trump supported Medicare for all, they’d back it lol.
Your side creates reactionaries. That’s why they’re called reactionaries. I’ve become right wing just by consuming left wing media, solely because your side is vile inhuman and psychopathic.
@@AJX-2 Seems like a majority of people on the American right would be under the category of reactionary now though no? They want to undo what little social safety net we have for example and roll back workers rights(what little there is as well).
I just found your channel and I think you're doing exactly what the left needs right now. Plainly spoken, inviting, solution oriented and focused on actually engaging with the material world rather than standing on a soapbox on the internet.
I used to be an idiot right winger at some point. I thought I was “centrist” But boy was I wrong. There were some people who were patient with me and I found community. But if you’re conservative and reading this, don’t wait for other people to change your mind. Be curious, interact in good faith with different kinds of people. Because the hate in your heart was manufactured.
this is not the problem; im acknowledging my own past behavior and the impact it really had in the end. Thats being a man, thats being responsible, thats being honest. We cant sugarcoat everything.
No one manufactured my hatred. I don’t consume right wing media. I just have to get unfiltered videos of what the democrats do with children to hate them.
Love young people's optimism and energy, I'm an old lefty and felt the same when I was 20. But after decades of getting my hopes up only to have them dashed time and again. Not completely cynical but I can't see a perfect world coming ever. Better, yes but not perfect. The tide goes in and out and that's how it will always be. There's at least 30% of the country you'll never reach. So many don't pay attention and don't trust anyone. I don't argue with conservatives much, it's a waste of time.
The problem is that when you start living a rural lifestyle, you actually start becoming more conservative. Suddenly that world view makes a lot more sense when you're left to your own devices and the only time you deal with public servants is when they're telling you what you're not allowed to do on your own land. The political divide between urban and rural didn't just happen by random chance.
I am ideologically conservative but I could not agree with the latter half of this video more. I don’t ever see myself ever being on the left but I think you hit the nail on the with the issues the left suffers. I have read many leftist comments that point out that while the left undoubtedly has deeper intellectual roots than the right, and i don’t disagree with this, many leftist struggles with bridging the gap between theory and reality.
@@Josh-sz8ip I should have been clearer but I was speaking more in regards to modern left leaning politics not philosophy. The left is winning when the intellectual and political war. I don’t believe their philosophy is correct but the modern political right is in a bad place. I am familiar with those philosophers and think they are important to study by conservatives will not be able to compete with the left if we don’t have an intellectual resurgence.
Very well. Conservatism is so much easier to understand, so it's actually astonishing that it took so long for them to win over the working class. Unfortunately, so is Progressivism. I do believe that Liberalism is likely more correct and constructive as a path forward, so the challenge is how do you grow good, yet complicated ideas without being preachy and academic?
@platitron9143 Just how well articulated and knowledgeable he was along with a willingness to stand up against the prevailing narrative during the height of the Cold War. Risking imprisonment and his job with constant harassment by academia and media while doing so. I think if more leftists were like that, a lot more would be accomplished.
As a cultural conservative and Christian. I agree with the left What a good amount of things. We need to help the poor help the homeless. I think we should have free healthcare cuz we spend more than Germany does but have what we have. Logically if we have free elementary through High School then we should have free college. Or at least let community colleges offer 4-year degrees. I personally think BlackRock and corporations shouldn't be allowed to own single family residencies unless they invested in the construction of them until the first sale or if it's a bank who has to take back their loan from a foreclosure. Corporations shouldn't be allowed to buy and sell or rent single-family residencies outside of those two instances. We should encourage more production of new entry level single-family homes. It also lack zoning laws for the people can build things like casitas or duplexes. He also don't think people should be allowed to own more than 10 houses. I'm also pro-gun pro Free speech, pro isolationism. America first Maga, pro religious freedom, and anti illegal immigration (but PRO IMMIGRATION) Wealth inequality is not bad in it of itself, on the presupposition and everyone has enough to survive and extra. So long as someone else's wealth does not subtract from others well-being. Pro family as well.
@@GoblinCorn69 I don't mind at all! By pro family I mean pro nuclear family or encouraging people to get married when they have children. Let's take out my personal religious beliefs on the matter and only focus on empirical data. On that subject, it seems to be very well proven that when children don't have a father in the home, they're vastly more likely to commit crimes become a mass Shooter, be less financially successful or end up in prison. I'm not sure what the statistics are for children raised by single Fathers it might be just as bad I don't know but I would suspect that people need a man and a woman in the marriage. Or if you want to go on a less biblical narrative you can say children a need more masculine and a more feminine person. As only having one likely leave them with an imbalance. Obviously I'm approaching this data from a Christian perspective, but nonetheless, I'm able to acknowledge those biases.
But right now wealth inequality and nationalism is coming from the subtraction of others wellbeing. You just admitted you prioritize social conservatism over everything you agree with the left. Also if you understood how illegal immigration is incentivized by our current Visa process by conservatives you would not be a conservative lmao.
I'm so glad this video showed up on my feed. This is an incredibly enlightening view on how to converse with, lack of better terms "stubborn" mindsets!
Insanely well put and concise. I grew up extremely conservative and changing my ideology certainly didn't come from being debated by leftists. It was by personal connections I had to people who were different from me who showed me how to be a more caring person.
We are all very emotionally driven. Reason is often just a tool to justify what we already believe. You’re very right. Changing people’s minds really just comes down to leading by example and connecting with people on a personal level.
Me and the wife lead by example and volunteer lots in our community and organize many events to help the needy. But we are only reaching people around us. Every community needs compassionate folks to lead by example. Some of our right wing friends are still hard core self centered and will not crack. It’s heartbreaking to see them not soften their attitudes
how would someone approach this when they have tried for years & years to implement these strategies, using discussions & kindness, working to build community, and being open & accepting to discussing all viewpoints, when they’re met with more extreme & audacious viewpoints than ever ? it’s both exhausting & the effort has never matched the reward for me, so i find it difficult to try to keep trying. how do i keep from giving up after 13 years of “gentle discussions” & direct actions that don’t actually convince or connect to anyone that is “too far gone”
Out here in the rural south we say "Still waters run deep." They might look like they're not listening but you can be sure that underneath those "still waters" there's a lot going on.
I'm here with the same question. When I was a young person, this approach actually worked very well - people were still forming their viewpoints, they were malleable, they could still see the benefits of my way of life, of having me around as an empathetic person who could provide something others couldn't, even if they never fundamentally learned to respect me or my kind. But as an adult? I feel utterly helpless in the knowledge that no matter what I do, how much I give, how many times I take the moral high ground, many people feel they fundamentally don't *need* people like me to exist in the world because of immutable characteristics about myself. They quite literally feel they DO get everything they need from their cult-like communities, rendering any out-group as worthless at best, enemy at worst. It's just horrible. There's slight movement sometimes but it is on the timescale of YEARS, and it will never bolster support - eg, your homophobic aunt who comes to realise gay people ain't so bad after twenty or so years and stops saying slurs, but still dislikes pride parades and would never change her vote for example. It's just not enough
As a fairly conservative Christian it is interesting hearing these points from a leftist. This is stuff I’ve heard for years in Christian communities. Although the more that conservatism and Christianity become intertwined, the more “dunking on libs” culture is causing infection.
Means a lot to hear this. Been feeling this way for a while but haven't heard the words put so plainly. I think you are 1000% on this and it will be an uphill battle against OTHER LEFTISTS to really give the left the new spin it needs. I will do what I can too. Thanks for this brother.
Ya now the people with actual sense and knowledge will come and yall will think its just hate but its the truth and you cant fight truth because its like a disease that dosen't need a host your not up against a people or ideology yall are up against the truth
The Western mindset of trying to explain everything can be frustrating. The average worker already knows what’s wrong with society; they’re just too busy working hard to focus on politics. All you need to do is protest in a way that draws attention, even if it means risking personal harm. There’s no need to taunt, debate, or provoke reactions-true change comes from practicing satyagraha.
Amazing work I really hope this channel goes viral we need to develop a more engaging attitude as leftist and I think young men are the most important part of that as they are the backbone of any society or movement which is a big reason I think the liberals are failing they alienate them instead of embracing them and showing them a healthy form of masculinity to aspire to
Harper I am and was depressed since the last years, those were the same years I realised the world we live in and I only watched Twitch Streamers to educate myself and cry about the world and laught at the right wing, you are right. You are hitting me in the right spot, the spot I never wanted to approach in my life or didn't connect them to my political life, but yeah it's true I need to live my value, only then are they real and authentic. Thanks for your videos Harper.
Comrade, this sentiment has been so needed in the left for decades! Thank you for doing what you do, I hope other leftists such as the folks on the deprogram will be able to spotlight your work. As much as I respect your commitment to not being chronically online, and avoiding substituting real work for online views, I think getting in touch with those guys would be great for more doomer leftists to discover you and break the cycle. Thanks again and God bless ⚒️🌹🔥🔻❤️
The best 'puller' I've seen on youtube is Earthling Ed. It's crazy how much better of a chance he has of getting people on his side, by just being nice and understanding with them. He's not perfect, but he does extremely well for the amount of stuff he puts up with!
I would consider myself very left-leaning currently, but I used to be more of a centrist who often got yelled at and shamed by the left - sometimes just due to misunderstandings. Ya know what happened when I got yelled at? I got pushed further right, bc the right was the ONLY community that said “yeah, it’s valid to feel hurt when the left yells at you”. The left NEEDS to understand this, that moral shaming is not a healthy or effective tactic to depend on, and it can actually push away potential allies. Fortunately, some people in the left-abolition space are starting to have this conversation but it’s VERY marginal rn
I will confirm, by putting my beliefs into action and letting people see that I live what I say, in the last 2 years, I have brought more people not only closer to my positions but actually into the hard work of building that better world than I ever did before. This stuff works.
If you're not on Bluesky, I would love to see you on there. A lot of liberals are just shutting down and don't want to talk to conservatives. They dont even want to "dunk" on them, they just block and move on. They are very hostile to different opinons and I think it's just going to get worse. I'm on there to spread this same message. I do believe we need better communicating skills we need to get everyone on the same page.
I think we are in a checkmate situation. Right wing media has done such an excellent job of all lining up behind blatant lies that most of this country treats it like a team sport. Trump can make up whatever he wants or blame anything on anyone and he has dozens of people willing to back him up. There is no way to fight against this level of propaganda when so many people don't even care whats true or not.
@@VINIDAGWOODS The left-wing media literally called him Hitler, a racist, and white supremist, and then blamed his victory on young men radicalized to the far-right by Joe Rogan 😆 Don't pretend that propaganda only exists on the right. Demonization of the other side is a fundamental element of both left-wing and right--wing propaganda.
@@L-8 He is a wannabe dictator, he is racist. It's not false propaganda from centrist (not left-wing) media, and in fact you don't need CNN or MSNBC to know this. The problem with the liberal media was that they did not address ppls material conditions, and shut down any progressive alternative, so people have been given the choice of an genocidal empty suit or a wannabe dictator. Many lefties just stayed at home and I don't blame them
Look… I’m seeing the point you’re making about how we need to inspire people to be better. But I feel like your point fails to consider the ideological split and demographic divide of the people “the left” (“the left” isn’t, to my understanding, unified. It is a group of groups of people with different ideologies and opinions hence the quotes) appeals to. And before I continue, the left does appeal to certain demographics, white cis men are not one of them. There are reasons for this rooted in if not fair, understandable historical cause, but even so I think that is a fundamental problem of "the left" which you do address. The other large problem I'm finding (which you don't seem to address, but regardless I think you provide an elegant solution to) is that the left is appealing to demographics which will inherently come into great conflict without a unifying purpose. I can't speak for all ethnic minorities, but for the Latino community, especially amongst those older than gen z, there is a large anti-LGBT bias. Trying to get those voters to vote together without some unifying belief is difficult. Doing so without that unifying belief being fear of the opposition seems (at least at present) near impossible. Your proposed solution of the unifying goal seems good to me. It does also seem weak to me. I am engaging here in poor sportsmanship as I do not have a better proposal than yours. But I feel that the the fact that "the left" appeals to such different and ideologically incompatible voters is a significant factor to its lack of power, momentum, political sway or stability. "The right" has long had unifying factors of tradition which, even though they may vary amongst the demographics that make up "the right", all demographics understand readily. "The left's" appeal to "a better world" would hit upon base human fears of the unknown. It would, and evidently has, turn away those who would support it as it is harder to conceptualize a future that hasn't been than a past that has. Ideologically, I agree with your point. I think we should strive for a better future. Cities where children can walk to school every day without their parents being in fear. Volunteering being the norm. Renewable energies, and even non-renewables but significantly cleaner such as nuclear, making up the majority of our energy supplies. Mental well-being being prioritized over excessive work hours and profit margins. These causes are just, they are what we fight for. They cannot be our rallying call. Too deep are the roots of prejudice and tradition that bind us and separate us. We must cut free from these roots, this is without question I should hope, but having our motivation to forsake their comfort be to forsake their comfort seems to me a counterproductive argument. a rallying call that will, against our better judgment and intentions, cause us to become more deeply nested in that which we know and don't fear. I don't know... this is a TH-cam comment after all. But I think we need something else, something more base, more tangible than "betterment" to inspire us. Let me know what your thoughts are if you can.
Said another way: If you believe things are hopeless you won't act to change things, and thus nothing changes. But if you choose to act, true it might not work, but a .01% chance of success is still better than 100% chance of failure. Pessism is a self fulfilling prophecy, but cautious hope is a practiced tool that gives the opportunity for change.
Thanks for this! Your videos have been really great and motivational for me! I’ve held vaguely leftists beliefs since, really, I’ve known anything about politics, but only now have I actually been putting in some effort to “be a leftist” (starting to read theory, thanks in part to your channel, practicing more self discipline and trying to begin organizing). As a young (hs aged) American leftist, do you have any suggestions for when and where to get involved and organize? Because I’m pretty eager to do so but don’t reallyyyy know where to start; Ive done some local volunteer work for a local environment group who are vaguely, vaguely anti capitalist through an extracurricular running club I’m a part of but other than that don’t know where to go or what to do
That's awesome! Volunteering is a good way to get the wheels turning... but it's not really a "political" activity because it doesn't challenge power. Seems like you already got that under your belt. Depending on your city you'll have different options for groups. If you're in HS you may be too young to join... I know there are groups for young people like YDSA, but again I don't know where you're located. It's always situational, but I think you'd have luck just getting involved with what you can find and branching out from there... if you become a regular and connect with people in that environmental group who're plugged in, for example, they can let you know what other options/groups there are out there. It's kinda funny but in the age of social media I still think personal networks are king for this sort of thing, especially on a local level (which is where most of our effort should be focused anyway.) Hope this helped. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions (I don't respond here, too many comments, insta link on channel page)
Interesting. Your video has given me pause to actually think about how to view these upcoming years so that I'm 1; not so despondent, and 2; I don't distinctly slap the hands of the people that don't feel the same way as you said, and as I know, it only affirms their beliefs. This really has given me a complete mind shift. 7 minutes! Thats all it took?
You couldn't have possibly said it any better. I'm trying to be a model of what I know the world can be. It can personally be exhausting sometimes, but I've seen it work first hand. Love, patience, and determination is key.
What a great insight. That self righteous feeling after you "own" someone is nice and all but it doesn't achieve anything. Actions speak louder than words. Thank you for this video sir
As a conservative, I’ve always found liberal ideology compelling in many ways. However, what keeps me at a distance is the frequent lack of evidence to support its ideas, perhaps why liberals are often labeled 'hopeful idealists.'
For me the overall economic numbers under different presidents are enough evidence.(I found them on a .gov website) Also wealth inequality is really bad and Republicans will only make it worse. Yes I went against everything this video said 😭
Just curious, what exactly do you mean by liberal? I'd consider myself a liberal, but not a leftist. I think capitalism is the best method, and should be laced with socialist policies to keep things in check. But speaking of generally liberal things, what are your big hang-ups? Just curious
also ive heard alot of people say capitalism bad but i haven't heard anyone explain why we should switch to their ideal system and no other. i don't need to be told why capitalism is bad. try and convince me why your system is any better
@@AYTM1200 It's the economic structure that values profits over people. Our modes of production and distribution are wasteful and inefficient, instead of producing as much as we need and distributing resources to those that need it in the most efficient and egalitarian way possible we manufacture scarcity for profit. Capitalism is outdated, we need to move on and evolve. We can call it something new but we need a new economic structure that actually benefits the working class and doesn't allow the ruling class to oppress us.
I don’t normally download videos (YT premium) but I’m downloading this one. Have a feeling I’m gonna need to listen to this a few hundred times over the next 4 years.
My whole family was Maga in 2016 and 2020. Yet I can still talk to them and agree on most things. As frustrating as people's missteps are, remember they're not the enemy. They're ordinary, good people. Show them respect and a ton of patience, they'll come around. My mom and little brother have since turned against Trump.
Capitalism is defined by the ability to generate profit just by owning things rather than through labor. That’s what “private property” means in that context, not stuff like your toothbrush.
Getting into a positive mindset and being nonconfrontational is always a win for everyone. The hard part is connecting people to make a change. Plenty of people walking around that got their heart right and that's as spiritual and effective as we get. Inside we know we can't do anything on a grand scale. I will confidently affirm we as citizens of the United States can not make the changes we want for this country, by design. We can make big differences in little lives and that's important but we imagine an invisible spiritual world where we are bigger to mentally compensate for our inadequacy.. I think this may be what you see with the attitude of boomers. Lived thru the 60s yet seem so gullible (not sure how much of that is old age). They basically, lived thru enough government intervention to show them its not worth trying, the government will take what they worked for. The government takes what we work for, not taxes lol, lives, health etc thru war, slavery genocide, disrespecting culture (natives) I can go on and on
3:20 My grandma used to tell me the following story: The Summer-Sun and the Winter-Wind saw a traveler walking up ahill on a cold morning. The Winter-Wind said: I bet you, that I can blow this man's coat right off his back and you can't. The Summer-Sun smiled and took on the bet. The Winter-Wind sucked up as much air into his cheeks as he could and blew it all out at the traveler. The traveler recognized the cold winds and tucked into his coat even tighter than before. With all his might and power, the Winter-Wind couldn't blow the traveller's coat away. It's my turn - the Summer-Sun said. The Sun came out and chased all the clouds away. The cold winds disappeared far into the sky and all the little animals came out to enjoy the warmth. The traveller, stopped in his tracks, looks up at the clear sky and takes off his coat, all by himself. The Winter-Wind got angry and stormed off, while the Summer-Sun and the traveller enjoyed a warm moment together. The Winter Wind is a person, who wants to convince you by force and fear. People resist force. The Summer Sun is a person, who leads by example. He is the true leader, who is compassionate, warm but also mighty. Nothing can disturb his peace, because he isnt fighting anyone, he is an example to all, even the ones he doesnt agree with him. He shows, he doesn't command. Be more like the summer sun and less like the winter wind.
As a sales professional, every salesperson should watch this. Our entire job is to persuade without arguing. You could argue it’s not even the goal to persuade in the first place. People want to feel heard, and that’s the first place to start - label and acknowledge their side. Don’t just listen, but mirror and let them know you heard. When people feel heard, it’s a superpower for influence. It takes people off the defensive. more people should learn these skills, great video!
Conservatives disagree with me on many policies. Yet, they flock to me because I have a stable job, I donate to the poor, I’m a bright and charismatic figure. We may disagree on climate change, abortion and contraception, fascism, extreme authoritarianism, women’s rights, trans rights, systematic racism, Native American treatment, the war on drugs, immigration policy, tariffs, sanctions, destabilization of foreign governments. Even though I’m open about all these things, because they see my stand up go getter attitude, they know I’m a good old fashioned American hard worker and thus respect me. NOT
While I am not learning a lot of new things from you, I am heartened to see someone it’s good communication skills explaining these concepts with clarity. As someone who through trial and error has been following a lot of your advice before I found you I it gives me greater confidence in what I am doing to know it is working for someone else. A thing I would remind people is that it to be comfortable with stumbling and messing up but now with giving up. I can testify the amount of influence being the person you describe in people’s lives gives you to push them in the right direction is massive. There are so many people who when I talk to them and I explain or advocate for something, the only follow up is usually questions wanting to know more or trying to understand better. And these are people who are not leftists(yet). When you are the kindest, most helpful, altruistic, and fulfilled person in a persons social network, that does a lot of the lifting in persuading people to see things the way you do. Well it is more accurate to say that people will be predisposed to want to know what you seem to know and see things the way you do. I hope this makes sense.
As a conservative, I absolutely love this video. Both sides are guilty of pushing against each other instead of actual understanding. I can only hope that each of us personally make a commitment to better our lives and the lives of those around us instead of being caught up in labels.
Making baseless, generalizing statements about entire groups of people just proves how politics is insanely divisive, and comments like this only make it more divisive.
@@AYTM1200 YT has deleted my comments too. Don't blame my side for it, it's just that the youtube auto-mod sucks. When will y'all stop making conspiracy theories? It's getting tiring.
I love this. Your videos are inspiring and galvanizing in a way that the usual cynical humor or depressed intellectualizing of the online left doesn’t provide. Those things can serve purposes too, but you’ve really found a niche that hasn’t been filled yet.
As someone who does not agree with [almost] any opinion held on this channel, I can't help but agree that the biggest change the left needs to make in their behavior is not pushing others to join their side, but rather 1. being a competent and admirable figure for emulation such that others are naturally motivated to join the cause and 2. inviting participation and open discussion of ideas to allow people to pick for themselves. We need more lefties like Harper.
Not looking miserable and having hatred against anything that opposes your believes sure would help the liberals, but at the end of the day, once all parties have a similar pull, the winning one will be the one with the better ideas. If all parties market themselves equally well, the winner will be the one who deserves it, as the publics judgement of what you stand for will be the only deciding factor left.
My hottest take as a leftist is that we should go back to talking about class issues, nonstop. I'm of the opinion that what has come to be dubbed as "woke" is a misguided and system-friendly effort drain for our political will. We have alienated a huge part of the working class, and many of us have come to feel that having LGBT characters in multi million dollar Hollywood productions equates to real progress. Just the eagerness with which capital has embraced these ideas should raise any leftist's eyebrows. Back to the basics, please.
As an ex varsity debater I honestly think that debating is stupid. Discussions > debate. People want to be heard, they don’t want to be attacked and shut down.
Yup, debates are for showmen.
@@tlpineapple1Showmanship is very useful
@samueloak1600 in what way?
I mean debates are discussions the ones we see the on the internet with right wing grifters aren’t real debates they are just there to serve as an echo chambers for real
@@tlpineapple1 Charisma appeals
My family thinks I’m an idiot for wanting to change the world, but I’ve gotten them to help me prepare food for community meal events that they didn’t even go to. It’s all about pulling :) Thanks for this video!
What do you mean by wanting to change the world? Like push socialism?
@@J0p123hep By saying "change the world", people usually mean making it a better place for everyone. You're being purposefully obtuse.
@@J0p123hep socialism is arguably good tho?
@@J0p123hepbot ?
@@J0p123hep kinda lame of you, ngl
I always think back to the Antonio Gramsci quote: "Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will." We all know that the world sucks in many ways. Now is the time to apply ourselves to build the changes we want to see. We all have to focus not only on changing the worlds material conditions, but our own personal conditions as well.
I think a Sunday community gathering where we replace dogma with skills and resource sharing, connecting with neighbors, and making sure everyone is good to go could be a foundational component. Bring back the community without the guilt and baggage. Get the collectivism moving in a positive direction and be present with those around you.
Church was a GREAT neutralizer of this stuff but the topic of focus could be less singular, more on what the teaching was actually espousing.
Less Christian, more Christ-like and all that jazz.
Except republicans want everyone else to make the effort,so they can just there being abusive and entitled.
The thing you're proposing, mephik, was already tried several times. Substituting Christianity with Godless forms of it that only keep some rituals and morals doesn't work.
I also remember a Gramsci quote, something along the lines of violence being justified when backed by the majority.
@@Eldorado-n9e What mephik described was basically my Unitarian Universalist church. It works well!
As a trans person, my experience with convincing and persuading people was never with facts and logic. It was with feels. It is knowing a trans person and their lived experiences that make people the most empathetic. Lived experiences and anecdotes are incredibly powerful.
A discussion is not the same as debating. A debate in its current form is a spectacle. It is to humiliate someone with knowledge so that people around them will be affected rather than the person themselves concinced.
Now let's see I'm curious what your thoughts are.
Oh! You're focusing on the aspect of representation! Yes that is also entirely valid and important.
It's incredibly exhausting. However, what helped me was to not think about results. I simply act. If you spend more time wondering if your actions will succeed, rather than acting, you'll never succeed.
I also don’t particularly like the fact that there is more weight on the logos appeal than on pathos when it comes to the kinds of discussions that concern the rights of people to coexist with each other among society. Facts are great for knowing what is true and what is not (with of course the limitation being that our information only exists within the context of now, and we discover more things we thought were false were true in the future), but it completely ignores the human aspect, and relying solely on facts for discussions about ethics is so backwards.
As soon as we fractionated media into news that catered towards particular worldviews we basically poured gasoline on the fire.
The history of media is complex and there's always been biases and issues with newspapers etc, but the concept that journalism was essentially about finding the facts of a story and reporting it, as opposed to presenting the things our audience most wants to hear has driven this spectrum off into cartoon land.
People extremely rarely respond to logical arguments, because they identify with and as their views of the world. So any challenge to them causes them to dig in harder, its perceived as a threat because it's taking away its object of identity - this is pack animal behavior essentially, and it is meditated through the limbic system. Logical argumentation requires the frontal lobe, which is a much more abstract process and is phenomenally more expensive biologically.
I feel this feeling exactly when it comes to debates.
oooo opinion invalidated
"Immigrants bad."
A few moments later . . .
"Why am I president of the United States?"
Turns out most people don't like mass immigration. Weird.
I stg trump DIDN'T want to be there
More like "Immagrants are rapists...."
Be accurate
@@n1rvana_I think he was just hoping he could run out the clock
No, illegal immigrants are bad.
As someone who has conservative leanings in philosophy (though I'm still mostly leftist in my politics) I think there's still a decent enough pool of conservatives who are decent people who don't want you dead or anything. My advice is describe the ideas of mutual aid, workplace democracy and direct action and then reveal it's called anarchism/libertarian socialism. Remember that their present idea of anarchism is random violence and their present idea of socialism is the government does stuff and their idea of the government is the DMV.
There is no libertarian socialism, there is only authoritarian socialism. If you distribute Material goods you NEED a distributor (the state).
@@EchtelionofGondor and when everyone's the state.... no one will be.
@@EchtelionofGondor Please, could we keep 'authoritarian' as a word meaning that 'decisions come from a centralized place without regards for the people's opinion on the matter', whereas democratic - and thus - democratic socialism - would be distribution of material goods in a way which the populace agrees on and moreover subject to further revision and changes through the democratic process.
@@Library4Lichhow tf you gonna convince people to redistribute their earnings without force, knowing that humanity is innately greedy?
@@ueIl I'm just trying to illustrate that we shouldn't use 'authoritarian' as a word to describe the 'governance' - laws exist as a function of agreement between the people in a country therefore democratic and willing; Authoritarian in political context means to be able to act with impunity, disregarding the will of the people; Collectively agreeing on paying taxes to have a society isn't being authoritarian in political terms.
But of course you'd necessarily have rule of law same way we do now to get taxes there's no difference, just a different taxing system essentially.
How did it take us THIS LONG to bring back someone on the left to INSPIRE people?
Jesus it feels like I've never seen this happen ever. Thank you for doing this
becausd us leftists are depressed nerds who never actually organise or even try to get anything useful done. on a more serious note this guy is doing good work
Jeremy Corbyn...
There's plenty, Guess you didn't look that hard.
Because they're too busy fighting among each other.
The left are too busy crapping on Biden and Harris along with the conservatives
These videos you've been doing
, have really pierced through that depression you speak of in this video. I've felt for a long time that I was pushing against a metaphorical wall. I have the drive but it's being held back. I hope your message gets through to others as well. Thank you.
I see you. Keep going.
This mirrors a lot of what Confucius said about leading by example. Philosophy tube ragged on Confucius a bit for not stopping a certain tyranical emperor but ultimately in the long term I think Confucius influenced Chinese history a lot more then that tyranical emperor.
actually no. Confucius was a patron of the court so his philosophy was meant to serve and justify the court and dynastic system. later codified by scholars of the very same system into what is broadly known as Confucianism today.
all the ideas of ethics and morality in Confucianism are ultimately impositions upon the peasantry to behave and pay deference to the hierarchy.
and this BS philosophy has plagued the Chinese people worldwide to this day.
i'm honestly tired of Westerners fetishizing Confucianism. It is a deeply conservative ideology masquerading as a template for 'how to be a good person'.
Digging your fundamentally optimistic tough love kind of teaching style. It's the right kind of mix between firm but fair.
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As a leftist/liberal, it's second nature for me to push back during political discussions with right-wingers because of Donald Trump's existence. If Obama and Mitt Romney were running, I would LOVE to have a thoughtful conversation with my Republican friends. during the Romney & Mcain era the party was respectful, understanding, and actually had policy plans. Now, however, Donald Trump, Fox News, and his entourage have become so hateful and nasty that it makes me sad and angry that someone I care about fall victim to propaganda that might potentially hurt me. This, in turn, causes me to snap. SO now I'm biting my tongue and learning as you said to pull them in by maybe controlling the conversation.
If someone is getting hateful or nasty THEN you start pushing and its a golden opportunity. You don't try to convince them, you try to convince everyone around them
I wasn’t political until your side said they wanted me dead during Covid because I didn’t want to get vaccinated. I wasn’t really political until videos started showing up of drag queens nearly naked dancing with little kids, showering money on each other and doing the splits in thong panties surrounded by literal babies. I wasn’t really conservative until the left started downplaying the violent takeover of city blocks by foreign gangs, and downplaying the murders and grapes of American women by illegal aliens. That’s what your side fed me. The right had literally nothing to do with my politics. I never watched right wing shows, I never watched Fox News, I never skimmed right wing news outlets, I only paid attention to the left.
I think the main thing you should focus on is why are your right wing friends becoming hateful and angry if they werent before. Why is Donald Trump the way he is? Right wing people don't act like that if they don't feel like being pushed back into a corner.
Romney was unfairly treated and the republicans had enough of it.
Romney ran on a 30 point tax plan and GDP growth %s. And Democrats said “putting yall back in chains” and “push granny off the cliff” and “binders full of women”.
Without the mistreatment of Romney you don’t get Trump.
Trump is less hateful and nasty than any democrat who has run in the last 3 cycles.
Hope you enjoy the shorter video and minimal editing. Wanted to get this message out before thanksgiving.
The video speed and quality is extremely engaging you have it down perfectly 👍🏻
This format is great mixed in with your more edited videos. Both have their appeal but this format just feels a bit more “real” if that makes sense, but I think that’s just the nature of more unedited content. Maybe try to throw these sorts of videos in on occasion.
could you maybe make a video or list some suggestions on what to read and in what order? starting off with "das Kapital" is quite difficult for most people.
What is your political pov?
Edited in:
Marxist Leninist?
Anarcho syndicalist?
Democratic socialist?
"Libertarian socialist"?
@@AnonymousThinker-zz9dz he said he was a leftist if you watch the video
Conservatives, sure, you can reason with them. Reactionaries on the other hand are a complete waste of your time and I've had decades to learn that.
How do you spot the difference when speaking to them? How do you tell?
Just curious because I’m just getting into politics now. Seems like most modern “conservatives” just like countering what they perceive as the enemy tribe, it’s not even about policy at this point. If trump supported Medicare for all, they’d back it lol.
@@andrewwittekind5693 Reactionaries are a more ,,radical,, form of conservatives. They´re like the conservative form of antifa. Think Freikorps.
Your side creates reactionaries. That’s why they’re called reactionaries. I’ve become right wing just by consuming left wing media, solely because your side is vile inhuman and psychopathic.
@@andrewwittekind5693Conservatives believe in progress, they just want to do it slowly. Reactionaries don't believe in progress at all.
@@AJX-2 Seems like a majority of people on the American right would be under the category of reactionary now though no? They want to undo what little social safety net we have for example and roll back workers rights(what little there is as well).
I just found your channel and I think you're doing exactly what the left needs right now. Plainly spoken, inviting, solution oriented and focused on actually engaging with the material world rather than standing on a soapbox on the internet.
Very good anaylsis
Agreed. Intellectually driven and inspiring.
I used to be an idiot right winger at some point. I thought I was “centrist” But boy was I wrong. There were some people who were patient with me and I found community.
But if you’re conservative and reading this, don’t wait for other people to change your mind. Be curious, interact in good faith with different kinds of people. Because the hate in your heart was manufactured.
"I used to be an IDIOT right winger at some point"
This, right here is the problem
this is not the problem; im acknowledging my own past behavior and the impact it really had in the end. Thats being a man, thats being responsible, thats being honest. We cant sugarcoat everything.
No one manufactured my hatred. I don’t consume right wing media. I just have to get unfiltered videos of what the democrats do with children to hate them.
@@thanatosdriver1938Brave of you to attack someone who is acknowledging his past and how he's changed. Shameful.
what does this even mean
A better world is always possible
we can organize and in past have done great things through it
Love young people's optimism and energy, I'm an old lefty and felt the same when I was 20. But after decades of getting my hopes up only to have them dashed time and again. Not completely cynical but I can't see a perfect world coming ever. Better, yes but not perfect. The tide goes in and out and that's how it will always be. There's at least 30% of the country you'll never reach. So many don't pay attention and don't trust anyone. I don't argue with conservatives much, it's a waste of time.
Would making a small farming collective be something that could hold of weight
Yes, and could locally win rural people over
Absolutely. That’s a huge way to build your local community. Every movement starts at local organizing.
Personally I feel this is the only method that could be successful in confronting capitalism.
The problem is that when you start living a rural lifestyle, you actually start becoming more conservative. Suddenly that world view makes a lot more sense when you're left to your own devices and the only time you deal with public servants is when they're telling you what you're not allowed to do on your own land. The political divide between urban and rural didn't just happen by random chance.
@@MrFreeGman which kind of conservative does one become?
Nationalist? Traditionalist (Religion)? Racist? Market fundamentalist?
I am ideologically conservative but I could not agree with the latter half of this video more. I don’t ever see myself ever being on the left but I think you hit the nail on the with the issues the left suffers. I have read many leftist comments that point out that while the left undoubtedly has deeper intellectual roots than the right, and i don’t disagree with this, many leftist struggles with bridging the gap between theory and reality.
Absolutely
Julius Evola. Plato. Nietzsche. Socrates. Aristotle. Right wing philosophy starterpack
@@Josh-sz8ip I should have been clearer but I was speaking more in regards to modern left leaning politics not philosophy. The left is winning when the intellectual and political war. I don’t believe their philosophy is correct but the modern political right is in a bad place. I am familiar with those philosophers and think they are important to study by conservatives will not be able to compete with the left if we don’t have an intellectual resurgence.
Very well. Conservatism is so much easier to understand, so it's actually astonishing that it took so long for them to win over the working class. Unfortunately, so is Progressivism. I do believe that Liberalism is likely more correct and constructive as a path forward, so the challenge is how do you grow good, yet complicated ideas without being preachy and academic?
@@jenlet3956I’m just curious, which parts of leftist ideology do you disagree with, and which of your values draw you to conservatism?
I think Michael Parenti can serve as an excellent example.
Hey friend, care to elaborate ?
@platitron9143 Just how well articulated and knowledgeable he was along with a willingness to stand up against the prevailing narrative during the height of the Cold War. Risking imprisonment and his job with constant harassment by academia and media while doing so. I think if more leftists were like that, a lot more would be accomplished.
Maybe I'm too hopeful but if this channel blows up we could see a new left thats less about destroying its enemies and more for building a new future
So more about what conservatives have already been doing since Socrates. Yes you are finally learning why free speech is good.
As a cultural conservative and Christian. I agree with the left What a good amount of things. We need to help the poor help the homeless. I think we should have free healthcare cuz we spend more than Germany does but have what we have. Logically if we have free elementary through High School then we should have free college. Or at least let community colleges offer 4-year degrees.
I personally think BlackRock and corporations shouldn't be allowed to own single family residencies unless they invested in the construction of them until the first sale or if it's a bank who has to take back their loan from a foreclosure. Corporations shouldn't be allowed to buy and sell or rent single-family residencies outside of those two instances.
We should encourage more production of new entry level single-family homes. It also lack zoning laws for the people can build things like casitas or duplexes. He also don't think people should be allowed to own more than 10 houses.
I'm also pro-gun pro Free speech, pro isolationism. America first Maga, pro religious freedom, and anti illegal immigration (but PRO IMMIGRATION) Wealth inequality is not bad in it of itself, on the presupposition and everyone has enough to survive and extra. So long as someone else's wealth does not subtract from others well-being. Pro family as well.
what does pro family mean if you dont mind me asking?
So you're like me 😂😂😂😂😂.
@@GoblinCorn69 I don't mind at all! By pro family I mean pro nuclear family or encouraging people to get married when they have children. Let's take out my personal religious beliefs on the matter and only focus on empirical data. On that subject, it seems to be very well proven that when children don't have a father in the home, they're vastly more likely to commit crimes become a mass Shooter, be less financially successful or end up in prison.
I'm not sure what the statistics are for children raised by single Fathers it might be just as bad I don't know but I would suspect that people need a man and a woman in the marriage. Or if you want to go on a less biblical narrative you can say children
a need more masculine and a more feminine person. As only having one likely leave them with an imbalance.
Obviously I'm approaching this data from a Christian perspective, but nonetheless, I'm able to acknowledge those biases.
But right now wealth inequality and nationalism is coming from the subtraction of others wellbeing. You just admitted you prioritize social conservatism over everything you agree with the left. Also if you understood how illegal immigration is incentivized by our current Visa process by conservatives you would not be a conservative lmao.
You are a thoughtful person. Most people just parrot what they hear "their side" say. In my experience, thoughtful people are rarely super partisan.
“Charisma is the flame of purpose” is a powerful quote. I couldn’t find it anywhere online. Is that an original?
yep
I'm so glad this video showed up on my feed. This is an incredibly enlightening view on how to converse with, lack of better terms "stubborn" mindsets!
Insanely well put and concise. I grew up extremely conservative and changing my ideology certainly didn't come from being debated by leftists. It was by personal connections I had to people who were different from me who showed me how to be a more caring person.
yep. Charismatic leaders are mostly the problem, but they can also be the solution
God I got called out immediately. Great vid.
We are all very emotionally driven. Reason is often just a tool to justify what we already believe.
You’re very right. Changing people’s minds really just comes down to leading by example and connecting with people on a personal level.
Me and the wife lead by example and volunteer lots in our community and organize many events to help the needy. But we are only reaching people around us. Every community needs compassionate folks to lead by example. Some of our right wing friends are still hard core self centered and will not crack. It’s heartbreaking to see them not soften their attitudes
how would someone approach this when they have tried for years & years to implement these strategies, using discussions & kindness, working to build community, and being open & accepting to discussing all
viewpoints, when they’re met with more extreme & audacious viewpoints than ever ?
it’s both exhausting & the effort has never matched the reward for me, so i find it difficult to try to keep trying. how do i keep from giving up after 13 years of “gentle discussions” & direct actions that don’t actually convince or connect to anyone that is “too far gone”
just ignore them if you can then
Out here in the rural south we say "Still waters run deep." They might look like they're not listening but you can be sure that underneath those "still waters" there's a lot going on.
I'm here with the same question. When I was a young person, this approach actually worked very well - people were still forming their viewpoints, they were malleable, they could still see the benefits of my way of life, of having me around as an empathetic person who could provide something others couldn't, even if they never fundamentally learned to respect me or my kind.
But as an adult? I feel utterly helpless in the knowledge that no matter what I do, how much I give, how many times I take the moral high ground, many people feel they fundamentally don't *need* people like me to exist in the world because of immutable characteristics about myself. They quite literally feel they DO get everything they need from their cult-like communities, rendering any out-group as worthless at best, enemy at worst. It's just horrible.
There's slight movement sometimes but it is on the timescale of YEARS, and it will never bolster support - eg, your homophobic aunt who comes to realise gay people ain't so bad after twenty or so years and stops saying slurs, but still dislikes pride parades and would never change her vote for example. It's just not enough
It seems political reactionary behavior is the norm nowadays. There are still people with some level of ideological openness though.
As a fairly conservative Christian it is interesting hearing these points from a leftist. This is stuff I’ve heard for years in Christian communities.
Although the more that conservatism and Christianity become intertwined, the more “dunking on libs” culture is causing infection.
00:40 thank you for pointing this out 🙌🏽 being “right” gets in the way. Little battles will win the war.
Means a lot to hear this. Been feeling this way for a while but haven't heard the words put so plainly. I think you are 1000% on this and it will be an uphill battle against OTHER LEFTISTS to really give the left the new spin it needs. I will do what I can too. Thanks for this brother.
keep posting bro this is great. Don’t get discouraged by the low views man
The algorithm has picked it up. The views won't stay low for long.
Ya now the people with actual sense and knowledge will come and yall will think its just hate but its the truth and you cant fight truth because its like a disease that dosen't need a host your not up against a people or ideology yall are up against the truth
So, ethos, not logos or pathos.
The Western mindset of trying to explain everything can be frustrating. The average worker already knows what’s wrong with society; they’re just too busy working hard to focus on politics. All you need to do is protest in a way that draws attention, even if it means risking personal harm. There’s no need to taunt, debate, or provoke reactions-true change comes from practicing satyagraha.
okay, so don't distribute pamphlets but self immolate - got it!
Capital can buy people, but it cannot buy up personalities, personal interests, and experiences.
Amazing work I really hope this channel goes viral we need to develop a more engaging attitude as leftist and I think young men are the most important part of that as they are the backbone of any society or movement which is a big reason I think the liberals are failing they alienate them instead of embracing them and showing them a healthy form of masculinity to aspire to
Harper I am and was depressed since the last years, those were the same years I realised the world we live in and I only watched Twitch Streamers to educate myself and cry about the world and laught at the right wing, you are right. You are hitting me in the right spot, the spot I never wanted to approach in my life or didn't connect them to my political life, but yeah it's true I need to live my value, only then are they real and authentic. Thanks for your videos Harper.
Interesting that you laugh. Most leftists agree that the right won the culture war and that seems more dire than funny.
Comrade, this sentiment has been so needed in the left for decades! Thank you for doing what you do, I hope other leftists such as the folks on the deprogram will be able to spotlight your work.
As much as I respect your commitment to not being chronically online, and avoiding substituting real work for online views, I think getting in touch with those guys would be great for more doomer leftists to discover you and break the cycle.
Thanks again and God bless ⚒️🌹🔥🔻❤️
This applies to conservatives winning over leftists as well! Living out your beliefs is important if you want your beliefs to live out.
The best 'puller' I've seen on youtube is Earthling Ed. It's crazy how much better of a chance he has of getting people on his side, by just being nice and understanding with them.
He's not perfect, but he does extremely well for the amount of stuff he puts up with!
actions speak louder than words - one of my mom's mantra's!
I really get this, and yet I'm so terminally lazy.
me fr
Communist being lazy? I for one am shocked
Build or find real life community to overcome
I would consider myself very left-leaning currently, but I used to be more of a centrist who often got yelled at and shamed by the left - sometimes just due to misunderstandings. Ya know what happened when I got yelled at? I got pushed further right, bc the right was the ONLY community that said “yeah, it’s valid to feel hurt when the left yells at you”. The left NEEDS to understand this, that moral shaming is not a healthy or effective tactic to depend on, and it can actually push away potential allies. Fortunately, some people in the left-abolition space are starting to have this conversation but it’s VERY marginal rn
Discussion and Charisma definitely have greater potential than Argument and Debate
I will confirm, by putting my beliefs into action and letting people see that I live what I say, in the last 2 years, I have brought more people not only closer to my positions but actually into the hard work of building that better world than I ever did before. This stuff works.
I think our efforts would be better spent on the half of eligible voters who abstain.
You're speaking to my soul right now. Thank you for making this video
If you're not on Bluesky, I would love to see you on there. A lot of liberals are just shutting down and don't want to talk to conservatives. They dont even want to "dunk" on them, they just block and move on. They are very hostile to different opinons and I think it's just going to get worse.
I'm on there to spread this same message. I do believe we need better communicating skills we need to get everyone on the same page.
I think we are in a checkmate situation. Right wing media has done such an excellent job of all lining up behind blatant lies that most of this country treats it like a team sport. Trump can make up whatever he wants or blame anything on anyone and he has dozens of people willing to back him up. There is no way to fight against this level of propaganda when so many people don't even care whats true or not.
@@VINIDAGWOODS The left-wing media literally called him Hitler, a racist, and white supremist, and then blamed his victory on young men radicalized to the far-right by Joe Rogan 😆
Don't pretend that propaganda only exists on the right. Demonization of the other side is a fundamental element of both left-wing and right--wing propaganda.
@@L-8 He is a wannabe dictator, he is racist. It's not false propaganda from centrist (not left-wing) media, and in fact you don't need CNN or MSNBC to know this. The problem with the liberal media was that they did not address ppls material conditions, and shut down any progressive alternative, so people have been given the choice of an genocidal empty suit or a wannabe dictator. Many lefties just stayed at home and I don't blame them
Leading by example will help, for sure. Also trying to remain calm 😂
Look… I’m seeing the point you’re making about how we need to inspire people to be better. But I feel like your point fails to consider the ideological split and demographic divide of the people “the left” (“the left” isn’t, to my understanding, unified. It is a group of groups of people with different ideologies and opinions hence the quotes) appeals to. And before I continue, the left does appeal to certain demographics, white cis men are not one of them. There are reasons for this rooted in if not fair, understandable historical cause, but even so I think that is a fundamental problem of "the left" which you do address. The other large problem I'm finding (which you don't seem to address, but regardless I think you provide an elegant solution to) is that the left is appealing to demographics which will inherently come into great conflict without a unifying purpose. I can't speak for all ethnic minorities, but for the Latino community, especially amongst those older than gen z, there is a large anti-LGBT bias. Trying to get those voters to vote together without some unifying belief is difficult. Doing so without that unifying belief being fear of the opposition seems (at least at present) near impossible. Your proposed solution of the unifying goal seems good to me. It does also seem weak to me. I am engaging here in poor sportsmanship as I do not have a better proposal than yours. But I feel that the the fact that "the left" appeals to such different and ideologically incompatible voters is a significant factor to its lack of power, momentum, political sway or stability. "The right" has long had unifying factors of tradition which, even though they may vary amongst the demographics that make up "the right", all demographics understand readily. "The left's" appeal to "a better world" would hit upon base human fears of the unknown. It would, and evidently has, turn away those who would support it as it is harder to conceptualize a future that hasn't been than a past that has. Ideologically, I agree with your point. I think we should strive for a better future. Cities where children can walk to school every day without their parents being in fear. Volunteering being the norm. Renewable energies, and even non-renewables but significantly cleaner such as nuclear, making up the majority of our energy supplies. Mental well-being being prioritized over excessive work hours and profit margins. These causes are just, they are what we fight for. They cannot be our rallying call. Too deep are the roots of prejudice and tradition that bind us and separate us. We must cut free from these roots, this is without question I should hope, but having our motivation to forsake their comfort be to forsake their comfort seems to me a counterproductive argument. a rallying call that will, against our better judgment and intentions, cause us to become more deeply nested in that which we know and don't fear.
I don't know... this is a TH-cam comment after all. But I think we need something else, something more base, more tangible than "betterment" to inspire us. Let me know what your thoughts are if you can.
Said another way: If you believe things are hopeless you won't act to change things, and thus nothing changes. But if you choose to act, true it might not work, but a .01% chance of success is still better than 100% chance of failure. Pessism is a self fulfilling prophecy, but cautious hope is a practiced tool that gives the opportunity for change.
Thanks for this! Your videos have been really great and motivational for me! I’ve held vaguely leftists beliefs since, really, I’ve known anything about politics, but only now have I actually been putting in some effort to “be a leftist” (starting to read theory, thanks in part to your channel, practicing more self discipline and trying to begin organizing). As a young (hs aged) American leftist, do you have any suggestions for when and where to get involved and organize? Because I’m pretty eager to do so but don’t reallyyyy know where to start; Ive done some local volunteer work for a local environment group who are vaguely, vaguely anti capitalist through an extracurricular running club I’m a part of but other than that don’t know where to go or what to do
That's awesome! Volunteering is a good way to get the wheels turning... but it's not really a "political" activity because it doesn't challenge power. Seems like you already got that under your belt.
Depending on your city you'll have different options for groups. If you're in HS you may be too young to join... I know there are groups for young people like YDSA, but again I don't know where you're located.
It's always situational, but I think you'd have luck just getting involved with what you can find and branching out from there... if you become a regular and connect with people in that environmental group who're plugged in, for example, they can let you know what other options/groups there are out there. It's kinda funny but in the age of social media I still think personal networks are king for this sort of thing, especially on a local level (which is where most of our effort should be focused anyway.)
Hope this helped. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions
(I don't respond here, too many comments, insta link on channel page)
@@HarperOC thank you!
Interesting. Your video has given me pause to actually think about how to view these upcoming years so that I'm 1; not so despondent, and 2; I don't distinctly slap the hands of the people that don't feel the same way as you said, and as I know, it only affirms their beliefs. This really has given me a complete mind shift. 7 minutes! Thats all it took?
You couldn't have possibly said it any better. I'm trying to be a model of what I know the world can be. It can personally be exhausting sometimes, but I've seen it work first hand. Love, patience, and determination is key.
What a great insight. That self righteous feeling after you "own" someone is nice and all but it doesn't achieve anything. Actions speak louder than words.
Thank you for this video sir
Great call to action!
Incredibly great take
As a conservative, I’ve always found liberal ideology compelling in many ways. However, what keeps me at a distance is the frequent lack of evidence to support its ideas, perhaps why liberals are often labeled 'hopeful idealists.'
For me the overall economic numbers under different presidents are enough evidence.(I found them on a .gov website) Also wealth inequality is really bad and Republicans will only make it worse.
Yes I went against everything this video said 😭
What kind of liberal ideas are there that lack evidence?
If you watched this video that makes you a principled conservation
Just curious, what exactly do you mean by liberal? I'd consider myself a liberal, but not a leftist. I think capitalism is the best method, and should be laced with socialist policies to keep things in check. But speaking of generally liberal things, what are your big hang-ups? Just curious
@@officialmonarchmusic"Lack of evidence to support its ideas" whatever the fk that means.
so we just lacking rizz?
I love these videos they made me wake up and start doing shit instead of arguing with some random troll on reddit
Beautiful video, great job
also ive heard alot of people say capitalism bad but i haven't heard anyone explain why we should switch to their ideal system and no other. i don't need to be told why capitalism is bad. try and convince me why your system is any better
So you do agree that capitalism is bad?
People who are still arguing capitalism vs socialism are economically illiterate and don't understand the root cause of the issue.
@@AYTM1200 what do you mean?
You think we can't move beyond Capitalism?
@@itcouldbelupus2842 our main issue in modern economics isn't economic structure it's fiscal and monetary policy.
@@AYTM1200 It's the economic structure that values profits over people.
Our modes of production and distribution are wasteful and inefficient, instead of producing as much as we need and distributing resources to those that need it in the most efficient and egalitarian way possible we manufacture scarcity for profit.
Capitalism is outdated, we need to move on and evolve.
We can call it something new but we need a new economic structure that actually benefits the working class and doesn't allow the ruling class to oppress us.
I don’t normally download videos (YT premium) but I’m downloading this one. Have a feeling I’m gonna need to listen to this a few hundred times over the next 4 years.
My whole family was Maga in 2016 and 2020. Yet I can still talk to them and agree on most things. As frustrating as people's missteps are, remember they're not the enemy. They're ordinary, good people. Show them respect and a ton of patience, they'll come around. My mom and little brother have since turned against Trump.
What are your thoughts on "how to win friends and influence people" by dale carnegie
Mostly teaches you how to be agreeable, which can be good but will only take you so far. Sometimes confrontation is needed.
You blame "capitalism", can you ever define what that is? Doesn't capitalism just mean that private ownership is allowed?
thats not what the video is about
@@GoblinCorn69 It says in the first seconds that "capitalism" is destroying the world.
Capitalism is defined by the ability to generate profit just by owning things rather than through labor. That’s what “private property” means in that context, not stuff like your toothbrush.
Being a good looking person like yourself helps persuading others too!
Fantastic video. I need to get to work. WE need to get to work.
Yes sir 👏
I’ve been wanting to join a DSA group. Getting involved will be really hard for me, but if I can make a connection it will get easier.
Well said
Getting into a positive mindset and being nonconfrontational is always a win for everyone. The hard part is connecting people to make a change. Plenty of people walking around that got their heart right and that's as spiritual and effective as we get. Inside we know we can't do anything on a grand scale. I will confidently affirm we as citizens of the United States can not make the changes we want for this country, by design. We can make big differences in little lives and that's important but we imagine an invisible spiritual world where we are bigger to mentally compensate for our inadequacy.. I think this may be what you see with the attitude of boomers. Lived thru the 60s yet seem so gullible (not sure how much of that is old age). They basically, lived thru enough government intervention to show them its not worth trying, the government will take what they worked for. The government takes what we work for, not taxes lol, lives, health etc thru war, slavery genocide, disrespecting culture (natives) I can go on and on
one banger after another.
a great, compelling message. i believe a lot of people needed to hear this
Fr
Trumpism isn’t Conservatism though.
The logical conclusion of conservatism
Trumpism dominated conservatism, though.
It's not, but seemingly 90% of conservatives have decided it's what they like now.
I agree.
It's reactionary and right wing.
Left wing conservatism is both possible and necessary
@@chopeda5822 can you expand on what that looks like in your view?
3:20
My grandma used to tell me the following story:
The Summer-Sun and the Winter-Wind saw a traveler walking up ahill on a cold morning. The Winter-Wind said: I bet you, that I can blow this man's coat right off his back and you can't. The Summer-Sun smiled and took on the bet. The Winter-Wind sucked up as much air into his cheeks as he could and blew it all out at the traveler. The traveler recognized the cold winds and tucked into his coat even tighter than before. With all his might and power, the Winter-Wind couldn't blow the traveller's coat away.
It's my turn - the Summer-Sun said. The Sun came out and chased all the clouds away. The cold winds disappeared far into the sky and all the little animals came out to enjoy the warmth. The traveller, stopped in his tracks, looks up at the clear sky and takes off his coat, all by himself. The Winter-Wind got angry and stormed off, while the Summer-Sun and the traveller enjoyed a warm moment together.
The Winter Wind is a person, who wants to convince you by force and fear. People resist force. The Summer Sun is a person, who leads by example. He is the true leader, who is compassionate, warm but also mighty. Nothing can disturb his peace, because he isnt fighting anyone, he is an example to all, even the ones he doesnt agree with him. He shows, he doesn't command.
Be more like the summer sun and less like the winter wind.
just in time for thanksgiving
How did it go? My parents wouldn't let me bring up politics
As a sales professional, every salesperson should watch this. Our entire job is to persuade without arguing. You could argue it’s not even the goal to persuade in the first place. People want to feel heard, and that’s the first place to start - label and acknowledge their side. Don’t just listen, but mirror and let them know you heard. When people feel heard, it’s a superpower for influence. It takes people off the defensive. more people should learn these skills, great video!
Bernie sanders 2016 economic populism
What?
@@TommySanders-tp3ob That is a good example of how to bring outsiders into the coalition. I saw it for myself with people I know
If capitalism has failed, what is your alternative?
More socialist capitalism is the best option I guess. And yes we know that communism doesn't work but that doesn't mean that capitalism does
Christian nationalism.
Conservatives disagree with me on many policies. Yet, they flock to me because I have a stable job, I donate to the poor, I’m a bright and charismatic figure. We may disagree on climate change, abortion and contraception, fascism, extreme authoritarianism, women’s rights, trans rights, systematic racism, Native American treatment, the war on drugs, immigration policy, tariffs, sanctions, destabilization of foreign governments. Even though I’m open about all these things, because they see my stand up go getter attitude, they know I’m a good old fashioned American hard worker and thus respect me.
NOT
reductive, you are proving the video right
While I am not learning a lot of new things from you, I am heartened to see someone it’s good communication skills explaining these concepts with clarity. As someone who through trial and error has been following a lot of your advice before I found you I it gives me greater confidence in what I am doing to know it is working for someone else. A thing I would remind people is that it to be comfortable with stumbling and messing up but now with giving up. I can testify the amount of influence being the person you describe in people’s lives gives you to push them in the right direction is massive. There are so many people who when I talk to them and I explain or advocate for something, the only follow up is usually questions wanting to know more or trying to understand better. And these are people who are not leftists(yet). When you are the kindest, most helpful, altruistic, and fulfilled person in a persons social network, that does a lot of the lifting in persuading people to see things the way you do. Well it is more accurate to say that people will be predisposed to want to know what you seem to know and see things the way you do. I hope this makes sense.
As a conservative, I absolutely love this video. Both sides are guilty of pushing against each other instead of actual understanding. I can only hope that each of us personally make a commitment to better our lives and the lives of those around us instead of being caught up in labels.
As a conservative this was a great video and I appreciate people looking to make things better and keep people open minded, thank you for making this
Ok Mr secure beliefs, what is a woman?
What is hijra?
Ok Mr conservative. What is a cult?
@@lobiqpidol818 hilarious that TH-cam deleted my rebuttal
Someone who's legally/socially considered to be a female, but they might not have been born as a female. Please get a new line 🥱
This is pretty good content, man. Keep up the good work!
Wear a Kamala shirt and everyone is nice. Wear a Republican shirt and you get the stares everywhere. That kinda shows who are the friendliest.
Making baseless, generalizing statements about entire groups of people just proves how politics is insanely divisive, and comments like this only make it more divisive.
@@MikelamakesvidsI think there's a video of people doing that experiment. It might just be a one of instance but it says a lot.
@@AYTM1200 That's anecdotal evidence. It still doesn't help.
@@Mikelamakesvids my comment is gone, we can thank your side for YT and social media censorship.
@@AYTM1200 YT has deleted my comments too. Don't blame my side for it, it's just that the youtube auto-mod sucks. When will y'all stop making conspiracy theories? It's getting tiring.
I love this. Your videos are inspiring and galvanizing in a way that the usual cynical humor or depressed intellectualizing of the online left doesn’t provide. Those things can serve purposes too, but you’ve really found a niche that hasn’t been filled yet.
As someone who does not agree with [almost] any opinion held on this channel, I can't help but agree that the biggest change the left needs to make in their behavior is not pushing others to join their side, but rather 1. being a competent and admirable figure for emulation such that others are naturally motivated to join the cause and 2. inviting participation and open discussion of ideas to allow people to pick for themselves. We need more lefties like Harper.
Couldn't agree more
Great video, just commenting for the almighty algorithm
Your teaching people the 48 laws of communism. They will surely wind up in a gulag.
By the end of the video, I realized you really are a professional with rhetoric. Wonderful vid and message!
The ones you “win over” aren’t the ones you want.
I gotta say, it is absolutely hilarious watching one half of the country have some form of life changing crisis every four years.
> "capitalism bad"
> 5 minutes later
> "you need to deeply understand your beliefs"
🤣🤣🤣
Capitalism is objectively bad
😂Typical commie shit
😂😂😂😂 communists don't like capitalism 😂😂😂😂😂 am I right 😂😂😂😂😂
Weird, I thought “deeply understand” and “explain in-depth every time the subject is brought up” meant different things
@@gregariosity they do. However, anybody who says "capitalism bad" doesn't understand capitalism.
Not looking miserable and having hatred against anything that opposes your believes sure would help the liberals, but at the end of the day, once all parties have a similar pull, the winning one will be the one with the better ideas. If all parties market themselves equally well, the winner will be the one who deserves it, as the publics judgement of what you stand for will be the only deciding factor left.
I think the biggest problem with all of that is how we have one side that has zero respect for truth or accuracy.
So basically clean your room before you tackle problems outside of you. Nice
My hottest take as a leftist is that we should go back to talking about class issues, nonstop. I'm of the opinion that what has come to be dubbed as "woke" is a misguided and system-friendly effort drain for our political will. We have alienated a huge part of the working class, and many of us have come to feel that having LGBT characters in multi million dollar Hollywood productions equates to real progress. Just the eagerness with which capital has embraced these ideas should raise any leftist's eyebrows. Back to the basics, please.