Reg,

I do think the woke folk have far more power than their numbers indicate. I've heard plenty of stories about people, in all settings, feeling unable to express their opinions, for fear of losing a job, or their reputation, or being ostracized, or being labelled a racist, or a homophobe, a misogynist, or transphobic. As I've noted, my wife and I were deemed heretics for things that shouldn't raise an eyebrow. And yes, the greatest threat is surely from the right, I'm with you. I've said it before here but our democracy is truly under threat by the GOP. Who'd of thought that that could happen here, in the 21st century? Who would have thought that there were so few honorable Republicans? 

Our problems are numerous, and solutions can only be arrived at through conversation. And yes, sometimes that requires incredibly uncomfortable, and yes, occasionally obnoxious speech. It doesn't mean we can't protest it, and provide better speech, with reasoned counterarguments,  but I'm pretty much against shutting it down in all cases, unless there is a true incitement to violence. 

Don McNeil was fired from the NYT not because he is a racist, but because he used the N word not in a disparaging way, but because he was responding to a question. Jonathan Friesland at Netflix got canned for using the word, "retard" not in a disparaging way. Andrew Sullivan was deemed too conservative for New York Magazine, Bret Weinstein, a true liberal hero, had to flee Evergreen State because the uber-left deemed him a racist. Criticize Charles Murray of the Bell Curve fame all you want, but damn, he was assaulted, along with a professor, at Middlebury College.  There are so many of these excommunications going on, and again, it chills free speech.

The folks at https://www.thefire.org have been reporting on the erosion of free speech in academia. If the university isn't the setting for airing all views, for the free inquiry of ideas, where is it? 

I care mostly about our side, the left of center, traditionally liberal side of things. I care about our norms, and our political victories.  I worry that we're easily being painted as loony leftists, as unrepresentative of middle America. And I fear that we'll lose future elections because right wing media is so adept at using small samples of far-left intolerant and downright foolish behavior as being representative of who we are as a party. It used to be "it's the economy, stupid." Now I think it is, "it's the culture wars, stupid."  Are you hearing my fear? Perhaps I'm overstating the threat, Reg. I honestly don't know. I just know in the 2020 election Trump gained ground with Hispanic, Black, Asian, and gay voters, because they too fear crime, and have to live in its close proximity far more than the woke folk that I used to socialize with. It's easy to opine from a distance, to be idealistic, but you're quickly brought down to earth the nearer you get to the problem. I'm not referring to you here, Reg, because you are THE Man!

Now for the truly serious stuff, sir. I simply don't get your choice for Ginger! I just can't see her at your side for all of the performers that you dig. 

Peter T.