I was a very hardcore conservative as a teenager, and even into college. Hannity, Ingraham, Beck, the whole deal (I still hear Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” and think of driving down the road and listening to talk radio). This was 2001-2009ish, so it was pre-Ben Shapiro, but I would’ve probably vibed pretty well with him.
But something changed over the course of the Obama administration. I don’t know exactly what it was. I mean, part of it was that I softened on my positions a bit as a result of meeting smart, trustworthy people who disagreed with those positions; but more broadly, something about Obama’s win seemed to change Republicans. The window began to shift, and I found myself holding all of the same opinions but being suddenly shocked to discover that I was being called a RINO for them. People who were at my wedding were calling me a “liberal cuck” for posting things on Facebook that I had said four years prior to general assent and head nods. I was startled to say the least, and I wondered if I was imagining it, but I had documentation online; I could go back and check my own words. I knew what I had said.
Then 2015 happened, and I saw everyone I had previously agreed with falling all over themselves to apologize for and justify their Trump vote at best (or even actively campaign for and support him). It started to become clear that I, who actively opposed Donald J., was no longer welcome in the GOP because I wouldn’t toe the line. Then “hold your nose and vote for the nominee” became “fact checking The Leader is a heresy” really quick and I got whiplash. I voted blue for the first time in 2016.
And while I was getting abuse from Republicans, the Liberals (who I had been told in high school were evil baby-killing cretins) were welcoming my questions, validating my concerns, and having lively but respectful conversations and debates with me wherein we were finding a whole lot more common ground than I thought there was.
I eventually discovered facts that indicated that a lot of what I had been told in talk radio and such were heavily exaggerated at best or even entirely fabricated, and my views actually did begin to shift. But it all began with the party trying to gaslight me into believing that I was the one whose views were changing.
I was a very hardcore conservative as a teenager, and even into college. Hannity, Ingraham, Beck, the whole deal (I still hear Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” and think of driving down the road and listening to talk radio). This was 2001-2009ish, so it was pre-Ben Shapiro, but I would’ve probably vibed pretty well with him.
But something changed over the course of the Obama administration. I don’t know exactly what it was. I mean, part of it was that I softened on my positions a bit as a result of meeting smart, trustworthy people who disagreed with those positions; but more broadly, something about Obama’s win seemed to change Republicans. The window began to shift, and I found myself holding all of the same opinions but being suddenly shocked to discover that I was being called a RINO for them. People who were at my wedding were calling me a “liberal cuck” for posting things on Facebook that I had said four years prior to general assent and head nods. I was startled to say the least, and I wondered if I was imagining it, but I had documentation online; I could go back and check my own words. I knew what I had said.
Then 2015 happened, and I saw everyone I had previously agreed with falling all over themselves to apologize for and justify their Trump vote at best (or even actively campaign for and support him). It started to become clear that I, who actively opposed Donald J., was no longer welcome in the GOP because I wouldn’t toe the line. Then “hold your nose and vote for the nominee” became “fact checking The Leader is a heresy” really quick and I got whiplash. I voted blue for the first time in 2016.
And while I was getting abuse from Republicans, the Liberals (who I had been told in high school were evil baby-killing cretins) were welcoming my questions, validating my concerns, and having lively but respectful conversations and debates with me wherein we were finding a whole lot more common ground than I thought there was.
I eventually discovered facts that indicated that a lot of what I had been told in talk radio and such were heavily exaggerated at best or even entirely fabricated, and my views actually did begin to shift. But it all began with the party trying to gaslight me into believing that I was the one whose views were changing.