Why the Bernie Sanders Joe Rogan Endorsement Drama Troubles Me A Lot | TaraElla News



Today, I will be looking at the recent drama surrounding Joe Rogan's announcement of his support for Bernie Sanders, the Bernie campaign's decision to publicly acknowledge this, and the unexpected backlash it generated. Basically, while most Bernie supporters are overjoyed that a popular media personality is endorsing their candidate at this crucial time, some people, not necessarily Bernie supporters, have attacked the Sanders campaign's decision to acknowledge it, because they see Joe Rogan as someone with views beyond the pale. Many people have interpreted this drama in the context of the Bernie vs Biden vs Warren race, but I think it's not so simple. Remember, I don't have a horse in this race: my favorites are Yang and Gabbard. But some of the stuff being said worries me.

Firstly, this drama essentially confirms my worst fears: the 2010s Left's practice of essentially categorizing people into 'wokes' and 'deplorables' and pushing everyone in the latter category away, is still alive and well. Despite the appearance of a calmer discourse in the past 2 years, the problem is still present. Now, I don't agree with some of the controversial things Rogan has said, but I don't think it should be a reason to push people away. I'm a realist in politics, which is why I acknowledge that not everyone is going to agree with me on every issue. But that doesn't mean they are the enemy. While I do sometimes have strong disagreements with Rogan, I also admire his independent thinking, his skepticism of mainstream media narratives, and his outspokenness. Plus the fact that, overall, I think he is acting in good faith. I really don't think we should push someone like that away, especially when we need to bring people from all walks of life together to enact some important structural economic change, in the face of the coming forth industrial revolution. I think there's a good reason why Yang, Tulsi and Bernie don't push people away over cultural disagreements, and I think it's something we should learn from.

Secondly, while some Bernie supporters have also essentially made the same argument that I just made, I still feel quite uncomfortable about perhaps most leftist discourse over this matter, because their overall tone strikes me as strategic and opportunistic. What I mean is that I feel like they defended not canceling Rogan this time only because he's good for Bernie's campaign at the moment, rather than that they think it's the right thing to do. My overall impression is that many of these people would have been comfortable labeling Rogan as a bigot and call for his cancellation, had he supported Biden or Warren instead, for example. They probably don't truly support free speech or even oppose cancel culture at all, but have simply made a strategic argument to help Bernie. I think this kind of insincerity is a big reason why many people, especially from the working class, have become skeptical of the left, broadly speaking. They suspect, and it's unfortunately correct to a great extent, that some so-called progressives sometimes only maintain a big tent for long enough to achieve specific political goals, after which they would start going full Hillary and label everyday working people as 'deplorables'. Naturally, nobody wants to join a movement that would keep you on board only for opportunistic purposes, so this kind of opportunistic thinking never works, especially in the face of working class common sense. Instead, the only way to build a big tent to achieve the necessary economic structural changes, is to commit to building a permanent big tent for real, with tolerance for viewpoint diversity and respect for free speech being absolute and guaranteed forever.

Community Minded: The Thing I Like About Pete Buttigieg | TaraElla News



Welcome to TaraElla News, where we use independent thinking to examine the latest political and cultural news, and attempt to stay positive despite the divisive negativity from mainstream media. Subscribe if you are interested.

Today, I want to continue my series on the three things I like about every major 2020 candidate. My aim is to spread the positivity around, to counter the negativity spiral that seems to accelerate with every election. It's something I'll be doing much more of this year. This episode, I'll be talking about Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a candidate that I have already discussed several times in the past. The three things I like most about Mayor Pete are his care to avoid unnecessary conflict, his keenness on bringing people together, and his honesty about his values and his faith, even when not everyone would like him for it. In turn, I think these aspects of him all link back to one theme, that is, being communitarian minded. It's an idea that I've been increasingly warming to in the past few years.

I guess one of the things I like most about Mayor Pete is his care to avoid unnecessary conflict. For example, he has refused to support the boycott of Chick-Fil-A over their position against gay marriage. He has refused to hate on people who say homophobic things about him. He has also refused to hate on people who say weird things about him, like how he is a 'boomer in Millennial skin', something that I had thoroughly debunked in a previous video. Pete is the kind of person who has social justice ideals, but won't use them to virtue signal or to try to create unnecessary conflict, and I like that. Anyway, Pete won't hate you if you disagree with him. He won't even hate the people who hate him. He won't start an unnecessary fight, and he won't participate in one. I like that because, frankly, we have too many petty fights going on at the moment, and this needs to change.

I think the reason why Mayor Pete doesn't want conflict is because he truly wants to bring people together, to heal the social fabric, to end the culture wars that have been plaguing the West for decades, and to create a new era of communitarian cooperation. I think this is actually very Millennial of him; you also see that attitude in other Millennial politicians like fellow 2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard, and also Abby Finkenauer, the second youngest member of the US Congress, for example. In a previous video I did say that Pete wasn't as successful as my top two candidates in building a big tent, but that was only meant as constructive criticism. To be fair, Pete is still much more committed to being inclusive than most other politicians out there. Besides, I believe he could be even better in time, if he learned to listen to the voices and concerns of a broader sample of people out there. I have hope that he will do just that, as his career develops further.

Finally, Mayor Pete is honest about his values, and where he comes from, even if some people may not like that. He is open about the fact that he is gay, the fact that he is in a same-sex marriage, and he is also open about his religious faith, for example. Indeed, he often uses examples from his life to illustrate his values, which makes him more relateable. More importantly, if we want a society with strong social trust, people need to be open about oneself, and be sincere and truthful in dealing with the rest of the world. Right now, there are too many grifters on both the Left and the Right, who pretend to be what they think their audience wants. While the conventional wisdom may be that people who support religious candidates may not like gay candidates, and vice versa, Pete is having none of that. He has instead chosen to present his real self, and that approach has apparently worked. By leading by example, I think this could have the effect of encouraging people to stop being beholden by factional stereotypes, and start being their real selves to the rest of the world.

Vision, Honesty, Bravery: 3 Things I Like About Bernie Sanders | TaraElla News



Welcome to TaraElla News, where we use independent thinking to examine the latest political and cultural news, and attempt to stay positive despite the divisive negativity from mainstream media. Subscribe if you are interested.

Today, I want to continue my series on the three things I like about every major 2020 candidate. My aim is to spread the positivity around, to counter the negativity spiral that seems to accelerate with every election. It's something I'll be doing much more of this year. This episode, I'll be talking about Senator Bernie Sanders, currently the second front-runner in the polls, and a real favorite among younger people.

The first thing I admire about Bernie Sanders is his dedication to his vision. Bernie has believed in the same things for the whole of his political career, and he has never been swayed by the changing fashions of the day. This was especially true in the 1980s and 1990s, when Reaganomics dominated the mainstream, and many Democrats changed their tune to fit in. In a world where we see grifters trying to jump onto the next fashion every day, it is refreshing to see someone so dedicated to his own values no matter what. While I don't always agree with Bernie, I think we should all learn from his dedication to his own beliefs, and his unwillingness to be swayed by peer pressure.

The second thing I admire about Bernie is his honesty. Bernie has always been straightforward about what he believes in. He has never tried to hide aspects of his program that other people may not like. In particular, he has been honest about the costs of his policies, justifying them on the benefits they bring, but never denying the costs. This stands in contrast to several other candidates during this cycle, who promise to do some of the similar things that Bernie is proposing, while being evasive when asked about the costs. The fact is, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Everyone will see through that. Everyone appreciates an honest leader, and if you truly believe that something is worthwhile, you shouldn't be afraid of justifying the costs anyway. I think this is why Bernie has retained his support while several of his rivals have fallen away.

Finally, to do all that Bernie has done in his long career, to stand firm and be honest in the face of changing political winds for half a century, it all requires a lot of bravery. I think that even people who don't necessarily agree with Bernie have to acknowledge his bravery, a level of bravery that is rarely found in modern politics. I also think it's why Bernie receives a lot of respect from across the political spectrum, while politicians like Hillary do not. It's why people often say that Bernie could have won in 2016 where Hillary lost. Bravery is important because without brave leaders nothing ever gets done. This is why I think we should all learn from Bernie's bravery, and never shy away from standing for what we truly believe in.

Positive, Creative, Inclusive: 3 Things I Like About Andrew Yang | TaraElla News



Welcome to TaraElla News, where we use independent thinking to examine the latest political and cultural news, and attempt to stay positive despite the divisive negativity from mainstream media. Subscribe if you are interested.

Today, I want to start a new thing, where I will talk about the positive aspects of each of the main 2020 candidates. This is the first in a series of actions I'm talking this year to increase the positivity in political culture. In recent years across the West, every election cycle seems to increase the negativity to a whole new level, and the negativity just piles up over time. To break this cycle, I think it's especially important to spread the positivity around this year.

Today, I'm going to start by talking about Andrew Yang, one of my two favorite 2020 candidates. In my opinion, the best things about Yang are his positivity, his creativity, and his inclusiveness. Of the two dozen candidates running this time, Yang would have to be the most positive. While he understands the gravity of problems like automation and job loss, various economic driven social problems, and falling birth rates, he has proposed practical solutions to all of them. Yang's way is to fix the problems to bring about a better future, rather than to sit there and catastrophize about the end of the world. Consistent with this positive attitude, Yang also never personally attacks other candidates. Whether it's Democrats lining up to attack Trump, or other candidates on stage lining up to attack big names like Biden or Bernie, Yang never joins in. I guess when one is focused on real solutions for real problems, one simply doesn't have time for these petty games.

Andrew Yang is also the most creative and open-minded candidate, because he is able to think outside the box, and he is also able to articulate his ideas in new ways. For example, he can see that many social problems, like broken families and falling birth rates, have at least partially economic roots, and he proposes a universal basic income to help fix these problems. On the other hand, he also sees the UBI not just as a social safety net, but as a way to guarantee freedom, which is why he calls it the Freedom Dividend. In our modern world, the exercise of freedom often cannot be separated from having basic economic means, and Yang is one of only a few political leaders who have been able to effectively make this argument. Through his candidacy, he has been able to persuade many previously skeptical people of the necessity of a UBI, putting the issue on the mainstream agenda not just in America but in many developed countries across the world.

Finally, one of the things I like most about Andrew Yang is that he has run one of the most inclusive campaigns ever. Yang has run one of the most truly big tent campaigns in recent memory. His fans have come from former supporters of Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Gary Johnson and more, and inspired by the positive and inclusive message of Yang, they all work well together. As a result of having a big tent politically, the Yang Gang also contains people of all ages, from all walks of life, with all levels of educational and economic background, which is something that cannot be said of many other political camps nowadays. I believe this is an advantage because, to develop and implement workable solutions to many social problems, we need to first bring people from diverse backgrounds together. We need to be able to stop the factional fighting, respect each other, and treat each other as allies rather than enemies in life. The experience of the Yang Gang has shown that this is possible, even in the supposedly divided world of the modern West.