Actor and podcaster Russell Brand has taken all kinds of flak from the left even though he has many beliefs in common with those who would call themselves “progressives.” In a recent video, he discussed some of the criticisms he has taken for daring to commit what is considered a cardinal sin for those who do not value civil discourse: He sat down and had conversations with right wingers.
Cue the horror music.
That’s right, folks. Brand has frequently taken heat for sitting down with the likes of Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Greg Gutfeld, along with other high-profile conservative and libertarian types. During the video, he addressed the drama and even played some clips from his appearances on these shows.
“I went on Tucker Carlson and Greg Gutfeld’s Fox News show, leading the neoliberal establishment to attack me for being a right wing conspiracy theorist,” he said. “But is it necessary to have new conversations? And who is it that’s interested in censorship now?”
Brand went on to savage those who protect the establishment on both sides of the political divide by discouraging people of all political stripes from having these important discussions about the issues Americans are facing today. He recounted how his conversations with conservatives showed him that “there is a new willingness to form new alliances in order to be able to attack a centralized establishment authoritarian power,” and that folks on the right “are willing to have a truce with and alliances with people that are really progressive.”
He then highlighted the importance of people having more power in their communities without centralized governments calling the shots. He said:
They are, in fact, willing to accept that the only way forward for us is to have more democratic power and autonomy in our communities, and that the price for having autonomy and authority in your own community, and I mean power that’s achieved democratically, is to allow other people to have their own power and authority in their own communities. However, centralized power wants, of course, a centralized, authoritative, institutionalized power to dictate what is possible and benefits from ongoing cultural conflagration.
“The reason I go on these various shows is in order to have conversations like this, because I believe change is possible,” he concluded.
He reiterated this theme at several points in his video and drove home the point that people should focus on having more of a voice in how they are governed at the local level, which would logically require the centralized federal government to disappear, or be weakened to the point that it cannot dictate how individuals choose to live.
From the conversations I’ve had and watched, I think Russell Brand is right. People of all political stripes just want to be left alone to live how they see fit, as long as they are not harming others. They do not want bureaucrats and politicians from distant parts of the country telling them how to raise their children and live their lives.
The fact of the matter is that everyday Americans are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the government – even the parties they support. We have a system that fails to protect our rights. Indeed, the state has been more passionate about violating our rights than safeguarding them, and this is not a fact that is lost on many who are ready for change.
But, as Brand suggested, change cannot come while the elites on both Team Red and Team Blue have successfully created a political climate in which we are at each other’s throats. They have us believing that everyday Americans on one side of the political divide are set on dominating the other. Surely, there are folks on each side that fit this description – but the majority do not.
I have been saying often that we the people cannot wrest our power back from the authoritarian elites until enough of us realize the truth: It is not about left vs right, it is about liberty vs authoritarianism. The real enemies are not Republicans or Democrats, per se. Our true adversaries are the elites in government and other institutions seeking to rule over us for their own benefit.
The media is another entity that Brand has attacked as being part of the establishment. During an appearance on Bill Maher’s show, he called out a media activist from MSNBC, pointing out that the network, despite its boasting, is no different from conservative outlets like Fox News.
Russell Brand Calls Out MSNBC's Hypocrisy on COVID
"Do you want an example? The ludicrous, outrageous criticisms of Joe Rogan around Ivermectin deliberately referring to it as a horse medicine when they know it's an effective medicine!"@rustyrockets @billmaher @joerogan pic.twitter.com/5J0e0hkpSh
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 4, 2023
If we allow ourselves to remain trapped in the world of partisan politics, these elites will only become bigger, fatter, and more tyrannical. Instead of focusing our righteous anger on Team Red and Team Blue, we would be better served by going after the uniparty and the entrenched establishment apparatchiks who put Rs and Ds next to their name while being almost undistinguishable from one another. Only then will we finally begin moving toward a freer society.
