My political and philosophical beliefs EXPLAINED
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 2. 08. 2024
- What I really believe
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This comment section is so refreshing, itâs amazing how cordial politics can be when people donât make it their entire identity
Agreed. Politics as identity is a recipe for disaster.
Especially when So many people simply view politics as a set of dogmas one must believe to remain in a group.
@@NekoMouser yup, I used to be in that camp and now that Iâd like to think Iâve slowly grown out of that, I feel like I can take in political points much more openly and examine them without a need to be ârightâ or âwrongâ.
I think it's because of a good example in the channel itself. He is actually quite talented at being unbiased and inflammatory, and it's really nice. I wish more people on the right and left would adopt this
Right?!
Saying "I don't know" to many political issues is the most liberating feeling. Totally with you on the move away from partisan politics to personal politics. It's so freeing.
Yeah, I think humility is what we are missing in today's dialogue. Everyone is so loud and self assured, instead of calm and considerate of issues.
Also saying "It's complicated".
One opinion I have strongly is that politicians need to be in charge of less stuff because they can't possibly know the best answer for all of it. If someone asked me how to regulate an industry, I'd say I don't know and I doubt they do either.
@@MidwestArtMan That's a weird take. So then we would have no laws because the people who make them might make a mistake?
It also builds on the assumption that politicians are the only ones without complete knowledge and that everybody else is smart and good enough to always do the right things.
@@Simon-A.-Tan
1. Not a weird take
2. That does not logically follow
3. It makes no such assumption
I've watched your content for years, so much of this is stuff that I already know. But I don't watch you particularly because of your political stance. There are times I agree with you and times I don't. I watch because you have a distinctive style and you're engaging, if not also funny. Your biggest strength is that you never take yourself too seriously, even when talking about serious things.
Another thing is that even when JJ disagrees with me, it never feels like he is pushing it on me, and I can always understand where he comes from and why.
I think having varied political beliefs is a good thing on the internet
Couldn't have said it any better
Although i am a more recent subscriber i always love the content you produce
Agreed
and that's a good thing. nobody really agrees with 100% of EVERYTHING that someone says. it's important to be individualistic too.
I think itâs really interesting that despite this channel being described a sort of âun-left spaceâ, a large majority of your audience is on the left (myself included). I honestly think itâs because many people on the left are so tired of the âculture-warâ focused brand of conservatism, that a channel like yours feels like a breath of fresh air. This channel offers a way for people to see your perspectives and not feel judged in any way for their own perspective, in a sense. Youâve created a space thatâs way more open to nuance and discussion that is kinda hard to find in any sort of space that has any discussion of politics. I just think itâs neat, to say the least.
well said
Indeed. I'm about as far left as you can be without embracing the teachings of Marx, and I have never felt alienated or unwelcome in this space.
A lot of us are from the US, and in the US his brand of conservatism doesn't sound like our conservatism at all, even if it arguably is if you descend to some kind of Burkean axiomatic level. I'd even say that it's squarely within our major "left" party's spread of positions.
indeed i agree with you. I always considered myself center left. I am Italian and here there is a similar "culture-war" situation that barely allows meaningful communication. I like this channel for your same reasons, tbh i started watching videos here because i love flags haha
@@MattMcIrvin it's a very interesting thing i am noting aswell, I am italian and i followed the recent finnish election was won by a centre right party. With a football type reaction by the right and far right in italy, and reading the actual political program the finnish centre right is more similar to the italian center left. As for example your american far left is more moderate than the italian far left, considering that for example Kennedy here would be seen as a centrist politician. It' very interesting to me how the left and right "meter" change a lot by countries
I am firmly convinced that JJ is sitting on a yoga ball when he films his videos
Yes so am I
Yep he said so in a q and a
Yup heâs confirmed this before.
Although Iâm quite solidly on the left, I actually really appreciate hearing about your perspective as a conservative, particularly in the non-combative way you always put things. I try to avoid stating my political opinions in my videos (almost to the point of secrecy) because what I hate most about modern political discourse is how liberals and conservatives *have* to view each-other as an evil enemy force to be stopped, as opposed to fellow citizens with slightly different values. I just donât believe people should be shamed for their political beliefs.
agreed. i'm quite solidly left as well, but i grew up somewhat conservative, though more so the classical conservativism that jj describes rather than the crazy right wing evangelicals. it's nice to have a refreshing perspective since i think that most people have more in common with their political beliefs than they wish to believe, since most people may lean one way or another and not be extreme to that direction, if that makes any sense.
When one side is filled with Nazis, racists, sexists, homophobes, and greedy capitalists, not being on the left means that you hate human rights. How can there be peaceful discourse with one side based on human rights vs one side based on temerity in expressing wickedness?
@@willsalen8370 bruh
@@willsalen8370 Yikes.
@@spacecase4984 yikes? How would you feel if someone hated you just for who you are? Thatâs what the right does every day
Iâve seen other lefties leave similar comments but as someone who also identifies as purely left-wing I appreciate that as someone who identifies as conservative, you are still welcoming to people such as myself who can come off as radical. The loudest conservatives tend to be the ones who donât represent the majority well while people such as yourself are the ones who actually represent the people and their feelings. Thanks!
The extremists on both sides aren't open minded, only to what fits their narrative. Which is sad to say since both extremist sides go with bias over facts. I'm more right wing I'd say, however I wouldn't say I'm a radical insane pro Trumper.
I have a lot of friends in the city who are more liberal per se. And me and them can have civil discussions and we can both learn something from it! Two moderate perspectives are the best.
@@fatkid420 Just cause someoneâs extreme doesnât mean they arenât open minded
@@fatkid420 i agree, extremists on both the left and right are EXTREMELY problematic. i am a moderate who leans left on some social issues like gay rights and abortion. but in other ways i am more conservative. i am constantly attacked verbally by more radical leftists if i speak my opinion on other issues (for example i donât support sex work/prostitution and i donât see it as a real, skilled job, and many people are not ok with me feeling that way.)
being open minded, cordial, civilised, etc. is very important for a society. i get along best with moderates who lean both directions because we can discuss cordially what we personally believe in
@ich liebe taiwan đčđŒ I'm the same. Some cases I'm more extreme on the right, however social issues such as abortion, gay rights etc they should be addressed and also supported. However. I'm also highly against the increase in immigration when we're already facing a housing crisis where Canadians can't afford to buy a home let alone live, I'm against the wokeism that we're facing that takes said social issues to an extreme proportion. These issues can still be problematic with some especially the etremeist religious and homophobic people. However, we're not all like that.
I resent the current government we have, I think we were better under the Harper government as much as people hate to admit it because of their biases. Personally if the Trudeau government was better than the Harper government I'd embrace it. But it's not. It's worse.
Also the left will attack you on anything you don't believe in radically. They'll accuse you of racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. Prostitution is not a job. It's a criminal offense. Not only is it dangerous for disease spreading but it's also dangerous for the women who get trafficked into it, and also their safety regarding murderers and such. The left will disagree however it's criminal for a reason.
Some sex work I'm fine with. OnlyFans being one. It's a safer alternative and it's "content creation" in a sense. I believe that porno and only fans are fine only if it's consensual of course.
@@fatkid420 yeah like Iâm a bit of an extremist, but I find it weird other leftists get so angry over minor social issues
Ignoring politics has cured my depression, anxiety, gout, and the common cold!
I was dying of cancer but turning off CNN cured me
You'r privilege if you can just ignore politics and go along with your life.
đ
no thats not how that works, a homeless man isn't more privileged than a senator just because he doesn't need to worry about politics@@lawtraf8008
â@@bigchungus8287 Cancer News Network
I know your audience is generally left of center but as a part of the percentage that is probably even further than right than you are, I want to echo everyone else's respect for your positions. Your dignity and humility in approaching everything is what makes you such a one of a kind voice in this space. It is something you've inspired me to practice myself.
Iâm in the same boat as you and completely agree!
and in the other direction, as a marxist (a position even you many times ridicularized in your videos) i still enjoy watching your videos, your explorations of certain aspects of the world and seeing your opinions on many different topics. Because of that, i can easily put aside and respect your opinions as even when you label my views as antiquated i still can follow the vibe and example set by the rest of the video.
To finalize, using your example of "conditions lead to people being lead to certain ideological views" that my position as a Brazilian of a mid-low income, the governments i have seen, the financial situations my family has been through, as well as my philosophical views, that you could argue that was why i ended up with the political opinions that i have.
@@jacksauce im in the same boat as you and I nullify your opinion. please kindly shut up
@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 Cringe
I agree, I am slightly to the right of JJ but I appreciate his pragmatism
âLife is much easier when you can get comfortable with saying things like âI donât knowâ or âmaybe theyâre wrongâ without feeling like your whole life will come crashing down because of itâ is one of the greatest quotes Iâve ever heard. Found this channel a couple months ago and have no idea how he only has 600k. Most entertaining videos on the website, canât wait for him to hit a million
I guess it's still not worth considering why you were reliant on 'knowing' from the start.
Luckily found him when he first started up and itâs been awesome watching him and changing views with him as time goes on
Ya- me too. I mean, me as well! (Its so hard not to say 'me too'when in agreement w/ someone b/c it now has such an insinuation towards sexual assault đĄ)
I came across JJ's channel last year and I was really surprised he didnt have well over 1 million subscribers.
@@hopecowschickens đmommy-daddy why? why? why do i react to ever-nascent desert pummus thrown with the conviction of warfare.
@@hopecowschickens you can still say me too in a sentence, it doesn't mean anything more than it used to
i'm so glad i found your channel, as a left-leaning queer person it's really hard to find other perspectives that don't seek to alienate people like me so i frequently get stuck in echo chambers, so it's really good to find an 'un-left' creator that doesn't base their political identity on who they don't like :)
on chesmond
this!! i was really happy to see how respectful he is
Good luck finding an⊠âun-leftâ creator that actually does do that
@@LordHoward on this channel
The vast majority of libertarians don't really care about that stuff on any level that matters. While one may personally believe it is weird or wrong, they also believe in personal liberty and aren't going to really do anything about it unless someone is trying to indoctrinate or groom children or something.
My wife and I, huge leftists, lovingly refer to you as "our favourite conservative." You're the ideal conservative in our mind, the kind that keeps our insane ideas in check, explains counterarguements well, and isn't irrationally full of hate and anti-science. Thank-you for the interesting conversations you have sparked in this household.
đgod I thought Iâd never here a leftist admit there ideaâs are insane
@@Hellllllo852 Right-wing ideas can also be insane. The point is having a ongoing and open discussion. Nothing improves without feedback.
It'd be a better place for everyone if we picked the best parts from both sides and we were all centrists. I relate to JJ being a gay conservative but I still have liberal views on how things should be. We shouldn't be steering people left or right, we need to keep going forward.
@@andrewhanson1180 I get what your saying but don't totally agree if everyone was centrist nothing would ever change we need people on the extremes to push the status quo and get everyone thinking if something is truly right
@Vita their
Iâve never heard anyone express exactly how I feel in a more coherent and organized way. Even I canât do it. This is a spectacular video; my beliefs match up almost perfectly.
Same
It's a very pragmatic way to be.
Same
me too
Unsubscribed. Just kidding. Actually, I am a little disappointed the more I get to know you that we agree on so many things. lol But I'm pretty sure we do.
On another note, ok fine...I'll take some political beliefs quizzes in a future livestream.
Hello mr beat!
Judging by your subscriptions I know where you lean :P
Mr beast đšđł no wayđ€Ż
@@alrasin579 Lmfao
@@__chinmay__ And which subscriptions are those?
@@iammrbeat Tom Nicholas and second thought? I'm subbed to them too! :D
Also three arrows!
The community youâve garnered around this channel is truly amazing, itâs so rare to see genuine dialogue and understanding between rivalling opinions. Growing up in a middle class family in a nice suburban neighbourhood in maple ridge I feel very similarly to issues as you and youâve helped me find the right words to express my opinions to both family and friends and for that I canât thank you enough. I strive to be as unbiased as I can and look at things from every side (my family is very liberal so that also helps me stay grounded in my more conservative beliefs); and to find a channel like yours that effectively reports on issues and events in ways that appeal to most people on both spectrums has had a very positive effect on how Iâm able to discus politics considering Iâm still young and learning (just graduated last year). Just wanted to say thank you for the sincerity and knowledge youâve shared.
Amazing. I loved how he explained why heâs conservative by putting his background into perspective. Different people have different political beliefs and alot of it has to be with how you grew up.
I'll be really honest, knowing what political beliefs you have, have no affects on how I watch this channel, as I enjoy this channel and I always click on a new video.
It absolutely affects how I watch it. This video dispelled a lot of reservations and issues I may have had regarding his content and biases. Having an up-front explanation and rejection of the extreme instills great confidence in the quality of one's intellectual honesty.
Wow. So refreshing. The moralistic conviction that you owe this to your audience is new to me and cool. Thank you for being so transparent. I think you are right about it supporting enjoying content.
As a Conservative, I wish all Conservatives were like you. Maybe then our perspectives and philosophies (yes, plural, we are a diverse group) would be taken more seriously by the international community and lead to more understanding and respectful discourse.
As a staunch leftist I wholeheartedly agree!
Drop the evangelicals. Honestly I would be more inclined to trust conservatives if they started with that.
@@youdontknowme8129 itâs not so easy to do, though I agree they do need to be dropped. They are kind of deep rooted in the Conservative party that seems to be being removed with time
@@youdontknowme8129 adding on to what the other guy said, you canât just âdropâ people. They have to go somewhere.
@@youdontknowme8129 you donât drop a group of people. Evangelicals are an important part of modern US conservative ideology
As someone who's firmly positioned on the left, it's good to hear there are people who don't necessarily agree with all my values but in a way that doesn't demonize the very existence of certain groups or the inflammatory moral grandstanding often heard from conservative rhetoric. It's also refreshing to hear someone with this particular perspective of conserving the status quo that is aware that their position is at least in part influenced by how they benefit from the status quo. I think the main thing that separates you from most conservatives is that you actually think critically about your beliefs rather than simply leaning on appeals to emotion. Great vid
I'm a pretty unapologetic "lefty" (though think more European social democrat than socialist) and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and channel as a whole. I am so sad that moderation has been largely lost.
thats not really leftist as social democrats here still want corporations and unequal livin standards, just not as america
@@tonymatic1704 I think they just meant they're on the left wing of the spectrum, not calling themselves a leftist
@@tonymatic1704 Social democrat is the standard left denomination in most of Europe. Distinct from radical socialist left.
@@tonymatic1704 Even social liberals are often considered centre-left.
Yes, to clarify, I'm not a "leftist". I'm a moderate that is on the left side of the spectrum. I'm part of a dying breed.
As somebody who is quite far left, especially in an American context, your videos are awesome. I disagree with a lot of your politics, but your perspective is so different to what I usually see, and you have such a knack for explaining things in a simple, unbiased, and interesting way that I don't care. I've been watching your channel for 2-ish years and will continue to do so for a long, long time. Congrats on 600k, and onward to 1 milllion!
I completely agree. Iâm a politician for the Socialist party in Norway, but i love Watching your videoes and i think itâs good to Get other viewpoints:)
i will never understand how anyone supports institutions over entrepreneurs to be fair
As a leftist liberal, I appreciate you being an aware conservative more than I would if you were a blind liberal. Whether conservative, liberal, or otherwise, one of the worst things you can do is blindly follow and agree with every single thing your party does. I think itâs great that you realize your partyâs history, unlike a lot of LGBTQ+ conservatives. Not only do you acknowledge the wrongdoings of your party, you hold them to their faults. I try to do the same and I think itâs the best thing to do if you hope to ever truly achieve a better future for your nation and the world.
He's actually pretty liberal. No wonder you like him.
What is a "leftist liberal"? Or, what is it to you? Because as far as I was aware, that's a contradiction in terms. Leftist and liberal are two entirely separate political identities that occupy different places on the spectrum, and don't overlap. To my understanding, at least. A leftist being an anticapitalist on the left of the spectrum, and liberals being basically centre, and support capitalism (though perhaps with friendlier face than your average neoliberal or conservative)
Leftist and Liberal are mutually exclusive.
@@ArthurCSchaperMR cope
Liberals arenât leftist, F off.
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your perspective. You are one of the best channels on CZcams, always showing me knew things about the world and the wonder that hides in every day life and culture. Youâve shown me so much beauty and fascinating dynamics and history in the stuff I normally just accept as part of everyday life. Your ability to explore to turn the mundane into the fascinating, common knowledge into exciting wisdom, to turn everyday occurrences into lessons about the world, history, and humanity is an incredible gift you have.
Additionally, your self-awareness shows how much thought you put into what you create and how carefully crafted your messages and videos are. You treat your audience not as an instrument to play the right notes to, but as people.
I hope that one day you will reach a million subscribers, but million or not, you should take pride in being one of the best CZcamsrs, and one of the best creators.
JJ, i just want to say, I love to hear more moderate voices, people who don't say "both sides are right" but who take a look at individual issues and decide based on their own philosophy what us right. I really hope you keep up the good work, and just know that you are a special person in the world of (semi) political commentary on CZcams
Canada fâąck yeah
I don't actually think JJ is especially moderate. Maybe you get that impression from his CZcams channel because, as he said, he tries not to make his videos too political.
My impression is that he is very firmly in the right-wing of Canadian conservatives. For example, whenever the Conservative Party has to select a leader, JJ is always highly critical of the candidates in the "moderate lane" and more sympathetic to the further-right ones. He has also expressed some opinions that seem pretty fringe, such as wanting to abolish the CBC.
This is good political content. I was raised as a âcentristâ moderate conservative, and have drifted center-left on average over time as I took the time to re-examine my positions with more information and more nuanced moral arguments, but I deeply respect anyone who can coherently articulate and civilly argue their beliefs in good faith...which is sadly becoming rarer as the parties here in the US play the populist game of erecting strawmen to tear down.
The two party system and money involved has created Tribalism.
@@sergelondon916 It's not the only factor (the US has been two-party since basically day one, but only tribalist ABOUT those parties in SOME periods of its history, so that on its own can't be sufficient on its own to produce tribalism in the public at large, even if it is a major contributing cause), and I would argue that the two-party system is itself a natural consequence of the way our voting system is structured, so the easiest way to solve the two-party system is to change the voting system (preferably to STV or MMP, but AV would require fewer amendments, and even it would help *tremendously*), but yes, the fewer tribes there are and the closer they are to even in power, the more likely one is to demonize the other, and once they do political discourse rapidly starts racing to the bottom.
@@night6724 Who said anything about a third party system? Your worried about that when you need at least $10 million dollars to run for political office.
$1 billion at least to be president. And the electoral college derails the Democratic process.
@@night6724 the theory goes that it's harder to demonize ur enemies with simple strawmen if they exist in. a variety of different parties that need to be more nuanced and targeted to get more attention. You may be "right-wing" but if you're uber socially conservative then you might be part of a "Christian Democracy" party while if ur socially liberal and just want less taxes/spending then you'll be part of a more libertarian-ish "free market" party, and vice versa on the left, a "labor party" for the normal social democrat, a socialist/ecological party for those who want socialism or are just a tree hugger and et cetera and et cetera
@@night6724 It's about removing the mechanisms that allow for parties to consolidate power, and therefore have an oligopoly/monopoly of power in government. And i say monopoly because in most of the US, for example, only one party has any chance of winning. A government monopoly brings with it all the negatives that a corporate monopoly brings in addition to making it easier for those with money and power to buy influence and gridlock the government (thus preventing meaningful changes to the status quo that allows those with money and power to have said money and power).
A mechanism that allows for the two party system to o exist and a proposed solution: replace first-past-the-post voting for ranked-choice voting for all federal, state, and local elections. The "easiest" way I see to achieve this is with a constitutional amendment (easy being relative; remember the two parties that we depend on to make the amendment are controlled by people who stand to lose from such an amendment)
Iâve always appreciated your perspectives because you bring a much needed, sober minded view of the issues. As an American, Iâm fearful for the immediate future of our political system but I hope that your method of cool-headed analysis and intellectual humility will catch on and see us through.
I think it is important to have un-left spaces. Iâm a social liberal myself so Iâm sorta a leftist in some sense, but I recognize that one of the flaws of leftism is the way in which it overlooks nuance in favour of âgood guy vs bad guyâ thinking. Iâm sure the right does this as well, I just find from personal experience it can be frustrating to agree with something some says but then see it applied generally in ways that can be harmful. For example, I think that globalization, particularly of capitalism, has been in many ways very destructive. You get companies going abroad and dumping their waste in places with less environmental restrictions, or abusing places with low/no minimum wage for cheap labour. Being leftish that angers me, and Iâm sure it angers some conservatives too. But what many leftists will do is then say that all globalization is evil. That overlooks so much medical and economic progress that has happened because of it. Infant mortality rates, overall life expectancy, people raised out of poverty, access to birth control etc have all increased. Itâs not purely evil or purely good, itâs both and we need to reform it with that in mind. There is also a very concerning aspect of leftism that Iâve seen online which may be small but still can be dangerous which Iâd describe as something like anti-intellectualism. I donât know if thatâs the correct word, but if youâve ever seen someone say âwhy canât we just print more money?â or âthe economy isnât realâ you probably know what Iâm talking about. Itâs great to question reality, but like 9 times out of 10 the people questioning donât want to know the answer, they just want to make a point about deconstructing social concepts. In doing that though, they neglect factual realities, such as resource scarcity or inflation. Not everything related to economic theory is just made up to abuse the proletariat. So while I align more with the left than the right, I think itâs very important to provide non-left perspectives and give people some nuance. I myself often overlook that nuance and benefit from the grounding of thinking outside of a limited worldview for a second. It doesnât make leftism wrong. A lot of the issues regarding oppression and workers rights are very accurate observations. But we canât let them distance us from reality either.
Not sure who you are talking to, but they sound like either liberals or new/undisciplined leftists. Marxism is all about nuance, we look at the material conditions in every situation rather than treating things as simply right/ wrong, good/evil. Yes, sometimes its hard even for us to refrain from calling people who have caused incredible harm "evil" (Hitler, Churchill, Raegan etc), or systems like capitalism or white supremacy. But that is not a flaw of leftism. Leftist thought teaches us to think of events in history as struggles between different groups with contradictory interests. In this way, it is the material conditions that matter, not simply if something is inherently good or bad.
Globalism isn't the issue, capitalism is. I haven't heard many leftists complain about globalism, usually we are focused on capitalism and its many subcategories (colonialism, fascism, white supremacy etc.). If a leftist is criticizing globalism, it is probably under the assumption that they are talking about the effects of globalism under capitalism, such as neo colonialism.
Of course the economy is real in the sense that it affects all of us. But it isn't the law of nature that capitalists believe. It's all made up. I'm not sure what you mean by the realities of resource scarcity and inflation. Resource scarcity under capitalism rarely exists. Usually what they call scarcity is actually resources being withheld. Most "inflation" is simply capitalists raising prices to make money. This is what happened recently with oil in the US. There was no scarcity, they refused to drill more oil. And it wasn't prices magically going up due to "inflation". Oil prices went up because corporations took advantage of a world crisis. That's all.
When it comes to looking at multiple worldviews, I agree. But keep in mind everyone's biases, and intentions. Keeping an open mind, within reason, is a good thing. But this doesn't mean you have to "meet in the middle" between left and right. The left is not a monolith, there is as much of a variety in leftist thought as there is on the right (liberals + conservatives). So even though I am no longer open to listening to capitalists, I still constantly challenge my own beliefs from a leftist prospective.
I really agree, Iâd just like to add that anti-intellectualism isnât just a left wing or right wing thing. The way you described it is definitely more left, but people being against âscienceâ and âelites from the big citiesâ for no reason except for I was told to arenât just left or right.
@@heroicskeleton1566 grow up, son
@@heroicskeleton1566 that last sentence makes literally no sense man đ«€
@@heroicskeleton1566lmao thatâs just ridiculous and so wrong you clearly failed history Capitalism has literally lifted people out a property more than anything else in history. Youâre never going to create something thatâs better than that and you are clearly leaving out the terrible shit that left wing leaders have done like Stalin,mao Che etc you are Clearly biased with your own political views and opinions of the world in certain things which is a problem
Youâre at 600,000 subscribers now!?!? Thatâs absolutely insane! Iâve watched for about 1.5-2 years and you had like 60k subs. Definitely hitting a million in 2022, JJ. Keep up your grind and it will pay off!
Itâs mainly because of the shorts heâs been posting. A lot of his most popular videos now are shorts
I did a double take when you said 600k. This channel's quality made me think I was watching someone who had over a 1mil subscribers over the last year.
I was really taken aback when he said 600k. Iâve been watching JJâs stuff for a while now too and everything he does has the quality of a larger channel. Iâm amazed he doesnât have more, but Iâm so glad his audience is growing as fast as it is. Heâll get the million mark in 2022 for sure
As a lefty bordering on socialist, I respect and understand you viewpoint because it's grounded in a broader understanding. If all political discourse had as much thought as yours we've be a long way from the culture war crap to that motivates too many voters. Thank you.
Canada Fâąck yeah !!
Unfortunately there is evidence of unfriendly foreign influence manipulating many issues through bot accounts to help create this culture war.
The tech industry doesnât help either because itâs algorithms end up trying to make one feel angry because thats what gets more clicks and advertising revenue.
@@Snoop_Dugg it's so funny. The culture war may be spearheaded by AI but it learns from our choices! And sadly people choose to consume and participate in drama more than anything else. We thrive off potential validation WITHIN that confrontation! This in turn IS our culture!
Oh yeah, humans love controversy.
But we never had these problems in the 80's, 90's because we didn't have this constant bombardment of information and news.
Anytime I try to have any discussions with socialists now, they just get angry and name call. I used to be a socialist. I wish more of them would be cordial. They would see maybe we don't disagree on as much as we think.
I write all my political beliefs in a notebook and take down the dates I write them. My beliefs change yearly, not a significant amount but itâs a change. Looking back and reading them feels weird. Itâs like reading someone elseâs thoughts. It makes me almost cringe reading about what I used to think but thatâs good as it shows Iâm maturing more. 3 years ago I was very political and all I believed in was facts, logic & stats. Now Iâm much less political in daily life and Iâve incorporated empathy into my facts & logic philosophy.
Iâll probably read this comment a year from now and cringe at what Iâve said.
So what do you think about this comment now
is it Obama was given now? we need an update.
@@Theviewerdude Itâs been a year and Iâm back I guess. My comment ainât making me cringe too much except for the âempathy into facts logics and philosophyâ.
I honestly hate politics now and try to stay away from the media. Itâs the same thing every time and itâs never something good so it just depressing to hear. I knew I was at my limit when I got into my Ted Kaczynski phase. So a lot has changed in one year.
Hereâs to another year :)
@@felobatirmoheb4884I left a little update
Usually I get a "Don't meet your hero's" feeling from these kinds of videos, but not this one.... I haven't met many people with a similar mindset in politics, makes more sense why I can watch your videos easily lol
i usually dont see people as my heros unless i have already met them and know them personally, otherwise, i just hold respect for people in these positions and thats it
I consider myself a conservative and I'm 22 now but I remember when I was 16 getting into the altright movement and culture war crap but thankfully and have grown out of that and now see things from a very human perspective, I think one problem in politics is people see their "political opponents" as nothing more as the enemy or as completely brain dead when they're just simply people with different life perspectives and 90% of the time mean well
I'm on the left and I wish more of the left would be open to respectfully engaging with people on the right. Especially young people on the alt right, since they are in a phase of their lives where they can easily have their opinions changed. It makes me sad that many leftists don't give people (even on our own side) room to grow and make up for past mistakes.
@@crimsonghost4107 yeah I've had similar experiences with talking to my fellow conservatives about workers rights and fairer wages, but yeah I've noticed some leftist folks try to broadly paint all conservatives on the spectrum as intolerant racists and bigots
@@crimsonghost4107 why not just respect the fact that everyone has different opinions and that's okay vs trying to change their opinions to align with your own because you think your opinions are right and everyone else's is wrong?
@@kumi9479 It's important to respect differing opinions but at the same time, not engaging in discussion especially with opposing views is unhealthy and unbalanced. When someone is of a different alignment to you, by all means give your opinion, not for the purposes of changing their views, but for them to CONSIDER a different point of view to the issue. In order to find the truth, one must consider both sides.
Alt-rightism is cancer to politics cancer to the people too as a whole
It's nice to see a discussion on political beliefs online that doesn't involve attacking another belief. Also congrats on 600k
The best thing about politics is talking about them as just another conversation topic instead of a intensly heated discussion, it sure feels good to be able to say what you believe, and I am currently involved in politics but I have always watched all of your videos since they are entretaining and also bring Canadian culture to me.
One thing I enjoy about the "un-leftness" of this channel is learning about culture of other places without feeling like said culture is being highly fetishized/ borderline worshipped, which I feel like is a common left wing trend
This is a good comment, agreed.
I think part of that is that leftists, myself somewhat included, are less apprehensive of identifying themselves and their content as such.
For example, left leaning CZcamsrs will often describe themselves as such, but a right leaning CZcamsr typically won't describe themselves as a right winger. This may have something to do with one group feeling like they represent the normal people, and one feeling separate and distinct. After all, we don't tend to tell other people in our country what country we are from because we view ourselves as a group, but when we are abroad we often will label ourselves (perhaps unnecessarily) to help a local understand why we might be confused.
JJ, I identify as left wing but I enjoy your videos an awful lot - it is great to find a refreshing opposition to my own views that I can find entertaining. I hate living in a bubble politically and completely agree with your point re the monotony of left wing youtubers and the downright craziness of the populist american right make me almost completely ignore the political side of youtube. So, I thank you for allowing me to engage with the other side. Congrats on 600k!
Very thoughtful and honest. I love this channel.
Makes sense, his personality shares many similarities with yourself.
BIng chilling man joined the chat
bruh
Good to know he watches this channel
Why hello theređ
Conservative or progressive "orthodoxy" is pretty much an oxymoron. They're both pragmatic terms to describe how to approach the prospect of change. The small-c conservative view is basically "don't mess with success" while the progressive view is "identify and solve problems with the system". They're not actually at odds, but you can sort yourself into two camps based on which phrase resonates more with you.
Either way, the idea that either philosophy is outside the realm of 'Moderate' politics or has any strict orthodoxy is preposterous.
When you add gender ideology stuff into the mix where pronouns are more important than anything else, people who identify with "leftist" positions lose the "pragmatic' high ground because they're mixing in nonsense that makes part of the Right's fixation on religion look sane by comparison...and they were already straining credibility by not being fiscally conservative anyway.
A proper liberal has no voice. Nowadays leftists are not liberals. The leftists that we have want to social engineer our society into something entirely different than what we have and a lot of people are going to get hurt.
If you watch what your legacy media is telling you and you really pay attention to what is really happening in real life. I mean you have to wait a year for it to pan out and you will see that they've lied to you they do not reflect reality.
I'm Québécois and I identify as "left-winged" (not center-left). Still, I always highly respected J.J.
Although, we may not agree on every political issue, he does care about presenting unbiased facts, he stands up against conspiracy theories and he is not a bigot of any kind. He deserves credit because he works harder than basically anyone else to inform people about Canadian politics.
In a democracy, that kind of stuff is more important than "having the right ideology".
You're so reasonable it's kind of ridiculous. In this age of hyperbole and never ending mass-media induced social fury, I expect my content creators to be bombastic, angry, and tell me to hate people who disagree with us-- your temperate disposition simply won't do in 2022.
If you donât hate the âbad guysâ then maybe youâll actually realize how corrupt religious, political and economic leaders are we canât have that
Please go check you favorite news site to get correct information on who to hate
Have a nice day :)
@@fossforever512 So the "bad guys" are corrupt religious, political and economic leaders?
@@pascalausensi9592 also anyone who is different
@@pascalausensi9592 Pretty much, yeah.
@@pascalausensi9592 lmao I was pointing out how the news/social media tries to get us (normal people) to fight amongst ourselves, meanwhile the people who control those things and have an insanely high level of control over the world are actively profiting from us being distracted by hating each other to the point we donât realize theyâre the actual bad people preventing the world from being as good/peaceful etc as possible
I am what people would call a âleftistâ and your channel and perspective is something I really appreciate. I remember coming across your channel a year or so ago and actually clicking away from the video when I heard you were a conservative. That is something I do regret and Iâm happy I was mature enough in the end to click on your videos when they popped up a few months later.
Exactly same here!
Me too, I have followed his channel for a while and I do enjoy his videos
Perhaps he's a lefty in disguise? đ
Same. I've been watching this channel for years and have only grown more left wing but still really appreciate his views on things and enjoy hearing a perspective different from my own, especially since i'll admit i consume a lot of left wing media
Its never bad to hear different perspectives
I'm very firmly left but watching this video, I am awed by your calm and clear understanding and perspective as a conservative in the way you defined it for yourself and I strongly believe that this is one of the best educational channels that gives this flavour of political perspective on youtube. I wanted to seek out more diverse perspectives on politics outside my own current view and this was a great refreshing find.
As someone who is a queer far left socialist, this is the type of video I really appreciate because this is the type of video that demonstrates the importance of having an opposition party, when that party is actually sensible. As far left as I am, I recognize that having an opposition party is critical to democracy, and many opposition parties is even better, and this is the type of opposition party I want to see. Opposition parties that have differing views but all still have a foundation of rational and logical thinking. You are the type of conservative I want to see: someone that I disagree with but that I can still respect as someone who is perfectly capable of logical thinking and comfortable acknowledging that they or someone they like may be wrong on something, and who simply has a different belief than me, but can still look at things objectively and sensibly, and simply come to a different conclusion based on the same set of objective facts.
I see where you're coming from. I personally oppose the concept of political parties altogether simply because I think it's extremely divisive and limits discourse to trying to "own" the other side rather than an actual comparison of beliefs
It's nice to see a conservative who actually wants to conserve things other than religion and corporations
Iâm a conservative who wants to conserve the environment especially
Agreed
Umm, if you look now days on who wants to conserve the corporations itâs the left. Basically all Corps, main stream media and the likes are very leftist!
Most conservatives are that way, I hunt because I care about the environment and my area has a major bear and deer problem. I play music with a small British style brass band because they are disappearing so I want to keep them around. That is why most people are conservative.
@@LS-rw9yp Typically the left doesnât support the corporations even if the corporations pretend to be on the left.
I love the idea of the "un-left" space. As someone in college I am a little tired of "rah rah rah class struggle" but I don't find a lot of appeal in the hardline conservative cliques which seem to harbor a lot of creeps and bigots
I agree. Living with progressives, i find myself generally moderate. Iâve been on both sides
Sounds like you're not experiencing the class struggle as much as some others are, if you're implying we talk about it too much
the problem with "class struggle" is that it's very worker oriented nowadays, the analysis of class should rather focus on alienation, which includes a lot of things other than workers. Something also worthy of critique is leftists, i am very attracted to the idea of "leftists ruined leftism", one of the many reasons why i consider myself "post-left" (and this is also why i am skeptical of the idea of "un-left", post-leftism is pretty opposed to this concept too), and the Marx worship that leads people to support Marx on everything even where he was wrong (which also leads to the idea of "capitalism will fail" instead of "capitalism will adapt", the latter being the idea I support more, although I don't consider myself an acid communist).
I rather consider myself a nihilist, realist, and inserructionary egoist, and firmly so.
Kaisermutt go on chapo
@@BeeBwakka or maybe they just don't think class struggle is the most appropriate or best analysis framework for many of the problems facing the world today
Thank you for this. We need for centre right in Canada, I personally am in a more die hard right position right now, but greatly appreciate your views on Canada and politics in general. Thanks for a great, clear video
I think politics is at its best when two opposite sides of the political spectrum can sit down with one another and exchange ideas in a productive and thought provoking way. As a progressive left winger itâs really interesting to hear a person educated in politics from the other side of the spectrum sit down and talk about their reasoning behind their final judgement. Your like the ideal kind of person to debate politics with if you know what I mean.
" Hi person who wants to genocide Jews, " Political dissidents ", homosexuals, Bisexuals, Transgender people, other LGBTQIA+ people, blacks, the disabled ect "
" Hi person who wants to abolish an evil system aswell as give freedom to every people "
" Let's talk " x2
@@YouHaveAnApeHead I mean, JJ clearly wants none of those things. Jut as not every left winger want to be Pol Pot. Small c conservatism has a different meaning and JJ identifies with that ideeology. Of a smaller government, belief in the value of consumer culture, of free trade, etc...
@@Noah-ws8ho Pol Pot wasn't a communist firstly, he was a US backed genocidal dickhead. Communist Vietnam was responsible for the collapse of Pol Pots regime infact. JJ's belief in Capitalism is the problem, the system in nature is oppressive, apart of this oppression is the idea of a traditional family. Capitalism has Men for Labour, and Women to have children and raise them to either be housekeepers or factory workers. Anything that says people can be anything other than that is disliked as the rich will struggle more to make more cheap labour. This is why LGBTQIA+ peoples are always oppressed under Capitalism. Also, any consumerism will lead to the exploitation of the resource rich third world and all of it's people. There is no ethical solution to this, it's either revolt or hope something changes that never will. Any free market ideology will kill us all, it requires infinite growth on a finite planet.
It's a sincere, brave and ethical thing to do, making your political and philosophical beliefs clear. In this age where people can lose a lot from making their views known, we need more people to be frank and clear like yourself. The last part I think makes you a better human being in that you acknowledge that you're human unlike a lot of personalities on YT that will never admit fault and will always double down. Looking forward to your next video.
@Good Guy What a ridiculous comment.
As a leftist, it's refreshing to see a reasonable conservative talking, given that the majority of people on social media calling themselves conservative are much more the prickly culture war types. That, and your intentions seem to be relatively good.
I think it is more appropriate to build your own beliefs and principles stronger rather than tear down those of another when pleading your case in the political field
Yeah, seeing a conservative that's pro-gay and (maybe?) pro trans is really cool to me.
Most conservatives in my experience are quite queerphobic
@UCrrHYkS0Z_JnkWFwGdpIWpA The problem is that those tend to be the quiet ones. They're the truly "live and let live" ones, which is honestly a pretty perfect way of going about life, it just means that the conservatives that are heard happen to be the homophobes.
it would be a far less toxic environment if conservatives shared his non hostile attitude and weren't ultimately just looking for attention
@@usermcskull4713 a lot of them might be transphobic but I've found that most of them are pretty okay with gay people
@@kushal4956 not most in my experience lol
Thank you for this honest sharing session! It does set an exemple on how to discuss difficult issues.
It really show that you made an effort to understand yourself to then be able to exchange with people who don't share your beliefs!
Thank you again J. J
This is why JJ's channel is by far my most favorite channel, he is extremely articulate and well informed, and as for his political beliefs he actually has good reasons for believing in them and most importantly he understands what has led him and has influenced him to have those beliefs. That self-aware nature is extremely rare I believe when it comes to politics, on both sides of the border.
I cannot begin to express how much i appreciate your mindset on a lot of these things. The world needs more people who think like you (not necessarily policy wise or specific idea wise) but people who are able to be pragmatic about things and arnt afraid to have a more nuanced political identity. thank you
This is probably your best video and the most refreshing âpoliticalâ video Iâve seen in years. Very thoughtful and insightful and Iâm a lifetime leftist. I personally find the âun-leftâ aspect to your channel to be appealing to me because it challenges some notions I have. The culture war type videos on both sides are just so draining to me at this point.
This, very much. I'm pretty much far right, but I'd describe myself more of a real politik kind of person. It seems that the entire idea of "right" youtube videos are just the American anti-progressives and the left are the opposite, both just being exported to the rest of the world. Sure, I agree with some of these people, but it does get really tedious. Would you say you're more economically right or politically? I'm curious :P
I second this whole-heartedly!
@@AlienTreeGuy What positions do you hold to be able to consider yourself far right? This is pretty interesting because i don't think i've seen anyone actually identify as far right.
@@extremedrumming3393 to be quite honest they could just be a North American conservative living in France or Denmark. Especially with the separation of social and economic beliefs, I would find it likely that they are either European or a younger person.
@@extremedrumming3393 Generally I consider myself somewhat of an authoritarian of some description. I like the idea of a strong leader directing a country, since all I generally see in politics is weak responses and compromises. I don't mean authoritarian as in dictatorship necessarily, but I do idealize some of older kings such as Frederick II of Prussia or Gustav III of Sweden. A sort of enlightened absolutism. That's just my preferred way, though. I'm perfectly happy with strongman politics in democracies as well. I'm generally left economically, since I come from Sweden, but I fall right in most other regards. Strong police, strong military, strong prisons. Emphasis on tradition and cultural uniqueness within nations. That doesn't necessarily mean I disagree with some things that is not traditional. Being gay myself, I generally support LGB stuff.
Complicated opinions on most things, in any case :P
Good video. Alot of youtube creators hide themselves and their own biases. I 'm glad that you are trying to be honest with us.
As an American, I moved away from the major parties/schools of thought in the last 2 years or so. Itâs liberating. Amazing video, JJ.
I'm pretty heavily left wing, but you represent a very welcoming and understandable form of conservatism. And as someone from the U.S. I can genuinely say it's incredibly refreshing to see a conservative that doesn't break down into cultist conspiracy. I enjoy engaging with your videos and really appreciate someone who treats politics reasonably. Thank you for being here :]
RUSSIA-GATE đ€Łđ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
Ya it's nice when people aren't to far left or two far right
I mean when you assume every conservative is a cultist thatâs what they become to you
@@Ant-fc7rf I mean, those are the kinds of people that have the American culture by the balls. My dad has always voted Republican down the line, still does, but even he can, for example, see that his brother is an insane cultist with the Qanon, stolen election, trumpian politics, conservatism where they consider Putin preferable to biden.
I think its largely the media they consume responsible for this, but the biggest names in American conservatism right now are the cultists.
@@Ant-fc7rf It's what most people are exposed to, the loudest voices get heard more. Hence why the right think we are all rainbow colour screamfests. While we all think conservatives are batshit consipracy theroists trying to take away rights. Tbf what's happening in America atm with trans rights and women's choice, doesn't help that notion.
As a middle-class German guy whose believes range broadly between conservative centrist and liberal left social democrat, i must applaud you on how you approach politics, especially in regards to politics on the internet. I too have noticed the trends that you mentioned in the video, and i'm happy to see that a CZcamsr who deals with politics (even if it is not the majority of your content) finally take a stance against the polarization that is going on. But regardless of that, congratulations on reaching 600k subscribers! Hopefully it will indeed be at least 1 million by the end of 2022!
It helps when your country has some form of proportional representation. Imagine if your only choice was a CDU coalition with AFD or SPD coalition with Die Linke, Merkel's grand coalition is something that is just not possible in a two party system.
Thank you so much for this video. Some of your earlier videos blew my mind (open)! The content and positioning were so different to what I usually hear in my circles...and yet, your knowledge, nuance and thoughtfulness of presentation were familiar and comforting: I really couldn't tell where you were on the political spectrum...The result was really having to think for myself: "This challenges some of my long-held beliefs, and yet, do I agree?" I appreciate you creating this video for additional context. Having your position "confirmed" actually makes me even more intrigued (despite not self-identifying in the same camp), because, in a world of both extremes and homogeneity, it's incredibly refreshing to find someone who has seemingly unique, fluid opinions. The world needs more of this. Vulnerability, nuance, openness. Thanks!
I found your channel only a couple of days ago. Itâs insane that Iâve found someone I identify so closely with when it comes to cultural and political outlook. Thank you for making me feel represented!
This video made me realize we all been polarized so much that it was shocking to me at first that I can share the same opinions on some topics with someone who does not share the same political point of view with me but it was more shocking to realize this was shocking to me in the first place. Excepting everyone to agree with your own beliefs is not healthy, progression comes from conflict, I guess all the crazy people in both parts made me subconsciously think that they would be never on the same side. However we often forget thereâs no sides, the main goal is to make everyoneâs life better and this can be achieved only by different ideas clashing and shaping the best outcome. Thank you for this video. As a 23 year-old in that phase of burning with ideological fire, itâs so easy to lost the plot sometimes.
Polarization is good
@@jasperfisch8652 as I said progression comes from conflict, so it should be polar sides but not so strong that two polars started to tear apart each other. It defeats the while purpose.
Very true... It's even easier to get riled up when the extreme sides are louder and often get the spotlight, so we feel like it's us against "the bad guys"
I'm on the same stage in life and having this type of content makes me think more rationally about politics
As a leftist I really appreciate what you describe as âa non-leftist space.â
It never makes sense to me. to identify as left or right. I use my whole brain. Logic with empathy. . Empathetic logic.
Conserving, and liberating where I choose.
If only driven by emotions, then I'm liable to be manipulated by them. If someone can sway me, while i don't see clearly with logic and reason. Blinded by rage, or empathetic situations without harboring my empathy to those that "oppose" my current stance. Then I'm blind to what the topic is about, not thinking how it will shape the future. And where it would go from there.
Understand psychology should be taught in elementary school. through high school getting progressively more informative, so people can understand their brains how they are formed, where they can be manipulated and how.
@@santosdr2 i think it depends on how you view labels tbh. like im more of a descriptivist, so although im not real big on labels, i can look at the beliefs i have and acknowledge that they mostly line up with what society views as leftist. so i loosely identify with the term, along with a few others i see people who have identical beliefs to me use. i just identify with whatever word will express my opinions the best in day to day conversation. i look at every issue on an individual basis and form opinions regardless of that label, because its all more of a sliding scale for me anyway. i can have whatever beliefs i want, i just pick a label that best conveys my message depending on who im talking to
it can become a problem when you have a prescriptivist point of view tho, because you start feeling like you have to acquire certain beliefs to properly fit that label. its easier for prescriptivists to get sucked into the weird gatekeeping, in-fighting, and partisan bs that doesnt really matter to anyone outside of their niche group.
@@somedude172 Why don't you say as an individual? Is it because you want to feel socially accepted? Views are one thing. actions are another. Are you actions or the actions of the percieved "left" in line with what they claim to be love for all.
Is rampant degeneration of the family unit, best for future children? Is birthing people. Really teh standards we want for future children?
Do we really want to dehumanize people and gender norms to create lunacy and call it normal?
@@somedude172 when you label yourself as left, you take on the positions of Left or just drop out when it is convenient. This is why two party system is designed to destroy the population.
Ultimately a single party. With individuals being held accountable would benefit the whole.
Then we can take accountability
@@santosdr2 idk wtf youre on about with "rampant degeneration of the family unit" and " Is birthing people. Really teh standards we want for future children?", especially since the latter isnt even a full sentence. i will not be responding after this until you can type in a way that other humans can understand- sorry if english isnt your first language, but i just cannot understand half of what youre trying to say. but in response to what i do understand:
first off, you should google the difference between *pre*scriptivism and *de*scriptivism (or.... you know.. actually read my original comment). prescriptivism is when you see a label and make yourself fit it, like you described- descriptivism is when you form your ideas and then pick a label that happens to line up. this is useful because when im having a conversation, no one wants to sit there and discuss every single individual topic. sometimes its easiest to give a synopsis of your ideals, and "left leaning" does that the best for me.
for example, i might say "im left, and even i think democrats suck". just saying "i think democrats suck" doesnt give the same message. and it makes no sense to sit there and explain my beliefs in detail when there is a label that gives everyone a pretty basic idea of what i believe. thats the entire purpose of language.
also, left =/= democrat. i dont associate with any party, but my views typically align with the left as a whole. not democrats, theyre just republicans who have learned how to pander. no genuine leftist considers democrats left. its starting to sound like youre not actually anti-label, youre just anti-left.
I mostly align with JJ, but in the US that puts me as a clearly Democratic leaning independent.
In terms of tone, I like watching JJ, TLDR news and all those channels related to Nebula (Wendover Productions).
I used to watch right wing CZcamsrs like in 2018/2019, but they've gotten too biased and focusing on culture war/issues that don't matter/trying to dunk in Biden, so I "hate watch" left wing news since I agree mostly on the tone, and even though there's an agenda it's a bit clearer to see where it's coming from unlike Ben Shapiro who's great at obfuscating and talking fast.
The centrist videos I watch are more podcasts
Good stuff, J.J. Thanks for sharing these pieces of yourself with us. I feel that it was very brave of you.
I detest the common misconception that centrists (or someone who looks at both sides and sorts out what makes sense to them) are in reality just afraid to choose a side. In reality, we're sortve rejecting ideology.
don't let Jreg see this...
people dislike the idea that many centrists believe, which is that they're the only people who have looked at "both sides"
in reality there is no both sides, and while many people fall into the trap of treating politics like a team sport (including centrists), a large portion of people construct their beliefs after having considered several avenues. centricism is no different.
A lot of leftists take a critical stance towards ideology, that's kind of the whole point of critical theory and its descendents.
The difference is that those areas of study are interested in how ideology interacts with material conditions, whereas a centrist who "rejects" ideology is implicitly adopting a conservative ideology by virtue of upholding the status quo and being disproportionally skeptical of change
@@InverseAgonist they don't *really* criticize ideology. If you actually ask a leftist what their proposals for the future are, 99% of the time, it's socialism. Critical theory has legitimate purpose, but I find it has really no answers as to what to do aside from trying socialism again.
Which is what I find very disengenious about it. They act like they want to eschew ideology but they're just rebranding an existing ideology and using Marxist analysis to do so.
This is really the only channel on CZcams where I feel myself represented, in any capacity, politically (and in many ways philosophically). I'm a relatively young Canadian with adjacent-Conservative tendencies and associations, while feeling in many ways utterly alienated by the conservative (and liberal) dogmas we're exposed to today. I feel absolutely no sense of condescension or pandering from you, and no motivation to push me in any particular political direction, but merely presenting certain realities in a multi-faceted way (while transparently communicating your thoughts & biases). You're able to eloquently and sensibly represent multiple sides of any given issue or argument, which is actually so goddamn refreshing compared to literally everyone else cramming their agenda down your throat. It's really refreshing, I wished there were more people and channels like yours.
I identify as a moderate, I'm an American. I grew up in quite a right wing area (voted 65/35 even in 2020, and that's with the fact that it counts none of the active military folks who vote elsewhere who live here as there is a large navy base in my community). I often get called far left where I live, but then people who are far left will call me far right, so there's that. All of those political viewpoint quiz things return to me as that I'm a moderate (who leans one way or another depending on the questions they ask). I feel quite aligned with J.J.'s political beliefs, not completely, I want to conserve what is so great about my country and change what isn't, but I think that's how everyone should be. It isn't outrageous to want prescriptions to be more affordable, healthcare to be more affordable in the US. That said, I think a lot could be fixed in cities that have housing crises by simply loosening some of the ridiculous building codes (like having a parking spot in a garage for every apartment built and having so much green space per square foot of impermeable land). I'm not advocating for laissez faire, I'm stating that I think the govt is too involved in some things and not involved enough in others. I also identify with states' rights, something that was big in the 80s, when my dad came to voting age, as I think the federal govt has take more powers than explicitly given to them in the constitution (as it says that everything else is reserved to the states)
I am glad that you have this video. There is always implicit bias to creating, and the best way to display a truly neutral, educational perspective, is to acknowledge and disclose those biasis.
I agree. Gratitude and humility are the foundational emotions at the bottom of my conservatism as well. You pull me in a good direction when I get too caught up in conservative commentary about culture war issues.
I'm glad that you openly talk about political opinions instead of toxicly denying that videos are apolitical. This a lot more honest than other creators. Being honest with that can make it easier for both viewers understanding which comments might be neutral or which might have a bias (in a way you didn't intend).
I just wanna make clear, I do lean far to the left of the political wing. But, with that being said, Iâve always enjoyed your videos knowing we probably donât see eye to eye on most things politically. I think you do a great job at criticising your own ideology (something I think everyone should do) and in your regular videos you do a good job at explaining the facts of the situation rather than a politically motivated view. Overall, I think youâve done incredibly well at maintaining a fun and knowledge driven audience rather than an ideologically focused audience like a lot of CZcamsrs
JJ, thanks so much for sharing all this. Just discovered your channel. Your views are so nuance, which really is how all views should be. Most of us do not fit into a square peg with respect to liberal vs. conservatives---really appreciate all that you do and share!
You're one of my favorite channels for breaking down political concepts and situations. I'm definitely more on the libertarian left and while I've disagreed with your views on many occasions I've always felt like you've done your homework and always characterised oppositional opinions accurately.
You're the first conservative I've heard admit to upholding the status quo-- or parts of it --as a value (personal or otherwise). You know, to actually conserve things you/we already have.
You're not the first conservative to hold that position, of course, but you are the first to be self-aware of it in my experience. I don't even consider it a negative, just rare and refreshing. And that's why I'm subbed. Plus your flag related videos are quite enjoyable.
I just honestly think the status quo isnât that bad. I think more people should stop and think about all the things they have to be grateful for. That was something I was really taught as a child. My mother will still often text me and say things like âremember to count your blessings JJ!â
@@JJMcCullough I'm not a fan of neoliberalism but I think there are lot if plus sides with the ideology too.
@@JJMcCullough so you have no desire to improve? No desire to progress?
@@JJMcCullough what you're saying is that your political beliefs lie with preserving yourself and not aiding and progressing both your life and the lives of others, which I don't see a point in
@@__chinmay__ Where are the plus sides?
Really respect what you're tryna do JJ, the 'un-left' space is an idea I can get behind. I'm someone who leans to the right on many issues, but I'm by no means a die-hard right-winger, I'm pretty disenfranchised from the modern right. I've found that when you make pragmatic arguments for more right-wing ideas like a market economy or a strong military, people are much more sympathetic. Unfortunately, the culture war just turns everything into a childish insults match and not a genuine discussion of ideas.
â@C.D.N.U I agree, I think the whole "the free market will provide for everyone" concept is utopian, you need basic things like a welfare state and access to healthcare, education etc. There are many flaws to a market economy, but when you compare capitalist countries with non-capitalist countries, it's clear that capitalism is preferable, we're best off working with what we've got than tearing down the whole system.
@C.D.N.U Scarcity isn't something you can overcome because there's a finite amount of matter, let alone the fraction of a fraction of a fraction of it found in our galaxy.
@C.D.N.U Source on that?
@C.D.N.U In my opinion, that can be remedied by having limits on demand. For example, during covid, you've seen those 'you must only buy x toilet paper rolls' signs. Do that, but everywhere, and remove prices. In economics classes, they teach that prices serve to limit demand; to stop people from buying all of the diamonds. But, I think that prices are a bad way to limit demand as it gives the rich higher limits than the poor, meaning that the poor can't get their basic needs met. I'm willing to hear out your opinions on my statement.
@@inaudiblenoise9668 Please see the paper, 'Economic Development, Political-Economic system, and the Physical Quality of Life' BTW, the data is from the World Bank, not from the countries themselves, so 'socialist countries are compulsive liars' isn't an argument. I am more than welcome to hear your thoughts on this.
I just want to say thank you for making this video. I remember asking for this exact type of video several months ago. It provides great context and I appreciate your time.
I myself was caught up in the culture war stuff and have been brought back to the intellectual honesty of my "small c" conservative, or "classical liberal" philosophical lens which is natural for me. Creators like yourself and Mr. Beat have definitely helped this process, so thank you!
I agree 100% with what you say about J.J. :-) However, I teach history and I find Mr. Beat to be very partisan & politicized. I wish Mr. Beat could present history in a more balanced way. I left him a message once asking him politely to be more balanced and neutral but he answered me with a scathing ad hominem attack so I stopped watching his channel.
I love that I can leave my echo chamber and find people who are agreeable and nice while still being different in values to me. It's very pleasant to see a temperate and nice person who disagrees with me, when open discussion is otherwise so hard.
I appreciate your perspective, and your smart divorce of association between âidentity politicsâ as many conservatives call it and the partisan politics themselves. A conservative that acknowledges and appreciates the reality of marginalized people instead of falling into the more tunnel-visioned conservative media mindset. I also appreciate that you bounce around a lot in your videos, as in like your body; it keeps you visually interesting to keep an eye on which makes it easier to listen to your message with full humanity. I feel like that might be an odd comment but I wanted to share it nonetheless. Congrats on your accomplishments and I look forward to learning more about culture from you!
This guy is cringe as f
@@wardsandstrom3293 thanks đ
I appreciate the honesty of a video like this, informing your audience exactly what you believe so they can see for themselves where your content is coming from.
One of the most important personality traits to me is self-awareness. You my good sir, are full of it, and it is really refreshing to see someone actually honestly analyze themselves and why they think the way they do. I come to you for more moderate ideas. When I'm feeling incredibly partisan, there are others for that lol. Keep up the good work!
Honestly I feel like your drift from "conservatism" towards a more centrist position is actually really not uncommon at all for a middle class "anglo" of your age. In Britain at least there is sort of this "centrist dad" stereotype of the professional late 30s/40s middle class man.
I am cool with this
I do appreciate that this channel is an un-left space and I personally think its the the most unique and gravitating 'selling point' of J.J.'s videos. As someone who would probably consider themself on the left side of things, the internet is oversaturated with a left prespective to the point of nausea but at the same time, most things labeled 'conservative' are very reactionary and 'radically' conservative to the point of nausea which is why your non-sensationalized beliefs make a pleasent and refreshing breath-of-fresh-air middle-ground
Thanks so much! Iâm glad people enjoy this âun leftâ idea
@@JJMcCullough Is there any other channel you would label as "un left"?
I wish this flavor of political ideology was more popular. I feel like in America there isn't really a space for moderate conservatives anymore. Everything just gets caught up in the culture war and the real problems in society are left by the wayside more often than not.
I think he's a calmer and less reactionary version of someone like Bill Maher, though I'd say J.J.'s politics may lean more to the right on many economic issues. Honestly, I don't hate Bill, and I've often found him entertaining, but I can't ignore his shortcomings, he can contradict himself, and his rhetoric is certainly more offensive (as in he's attacking other people and viewpoints, not that his rhetoric itself is grossly objectionable) than introspective. But, in the end, Bill is a TV personality, so it's fair to say being loud and rectionary is kind of part of his job, it's what draws in an audience. He's really no different to most TV political pundits in that regard.
JJ, I feel very-much the same way as you do. I can also say being the same age as you, I have gone through a similar evaluation of my beliefs. When I first found you channel a few years ago it was so refreshing, since how you put it, it is an "un-left space". We often watch your videos as a family.
Thanks for quality content!
Your are truly one of the most brilliant and thoughtful voices in culture and politics that our generation has. I hope you continue to gain in popularity
Honestly, the most surprising part in this video for me was the fact that JJ is 37. Amazing video by the way!
I thought I had my political beliefs all figured out. Conservative, would more than likely vote red. But I joined a labor union and realized things werenât so simple. I hate that big business can sometimes exploit workers but at the same time I donât feel like the government needs to weaponize another plight to be used to enforce their narrative. At the end of the day weâre all just people wanting to live in peace. Thank you for your content JJ.
as a leftist, thank you for joining a labor union! we really need to realize that the workers have a common goal in just being able to support themselves and their families, which the current climate does not really allow for. youâre doing a great thing man
I was a member of the CWA when I worked for AT&T. The union leaders were all friends with the management, and did nothing to resolve thousands of dollars of missing sick pay and vacation that I, and many other employees, were owed. A class action lawsuit on the other handâŠ
I was a libertarian who was apathetic to labor unions before this experience, but now I just see that unions are just another place for people to get power over others, and feel good while doing it. Join a labor union if you want, just donât force me to do it by law. Let me resolve my issues individually.
@@gratefuldead4714 Union are okay. Like they have in Germany and Nordic Countries. Where union works and Businesses negotiation and come to reasonable accommodations. However, militant Unions are a no no. Like the corrupt like the ones they have in France and used to have in the U.S and U.K.
Congrats for realizing the nuance of the situation & leaving that one-dimensional mindset(which politicians could use to manipulate people)!
@@sergelondon916 Sometimes a more radical or "militant" union is what's needed when a company is extremely antagonistic to cooperating with its workers
I always love watching your videos because while I disagree on many things, you are so articulate that it makes me have more patience and genuine conversations with my very conservative family. Keep up the good work!
I respect you, your opinions and arguments are logical and thought out, and you can explain them in a way is easy to understand and get where you're coming from.
Been waiting for this video for a long time
I think the un-leftness of this channel is why I like it so much. If I wanted to 'own the libs' there are a lot of channels that cater to that, but they also have their own biases that they assume that their viewers share. But everywhere else I turn I hear people talking about 'late stage capitalism' and other relatively radical left wing concepts in circumstances that have nothing to do with politics, as if its assumed that everyone watching agrees. Its nice to have a break from those assumptions, regardless of whether the video has anything to do with politics.
I agree with this so much.
How does that not have anything to do with politics? It's 100% politics.
@@IcarusNadir The topic of the video is not inherently political, but the creator will for some reason mention 'late stage capitalism' or whatever other left wing politics may be relevant to the discussion and they just assume that the viewer agrees with them.
Late stage capitalism is a good example because many people will say things like 'thats just what its like living in late stage capitalism' as a response to some kind of injustice, but this idea that the next step is socialism and its coming soon is pretty radical.
@@Jade93972 As a society we only think that socialism is "radical" because of 70 years of conservative US government propaganda though.
Seriously, what's radical about workers making a good living, healthcare being accessable and kids not having a school lunch debt? Seems like the real radical idea is opposing all those things aka the status quo
@@alexrogers777 Those are not socialist ideas.
This was 2 years ago and youâre not even to 900k. Why?? You deserve much more
Congratulations on 600k J.J.!! You deserve it and so many more! You honestly was the person who got me interested in politics, not just in my own country, but in yours and other's around the world. You've also taught me a great deal about how different political systems work. You've taught me a lot about so many things. I appreciate you and your content so incredibly! We definitely don't see eye to eye on some issues; as I'm very much a pretty far leftist, but I do however actually hold a few rather deeply conservative beliefs and that coupled with your intelligent, thoughtful, fun takes on various things, not just politics, is why I vibe with you so hard J.J. Keep on being you my friend, you are very special and you are very valued. đ
I consider myself a moderate conservative too (I value individual freedoms, and I believe in the free market as the superior system of economics), and it's honestly really reaffirming to find another conservative whose political agenda is dictated by reason and careful thought rather than bigoted biases, dogmatism, and anxiety.
you seem more like a libertarian to me
â@@JackDSquat In political science, the ideology is just called "liberal-conservatism", and it is the dominant strand of conservatism in Europe and Canada.
No need to associate these ideas with extremist ideas like right-libertarianism. Right-wing libertarianism was popularized by Murray Rothbard who supported the creation of a "flourishing free market in children" and opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
@@elwinowen5469 ideology evolve. To claim that because mainstream libertarian supported segregation in the 60, libertarian are forever white nationalist is to claim that democrat in the usa are slave holder because in the 19th century, they were the slave owners.
And no. In political science, we do not learn that right libertarianism is an inherently extreme ideology. Where did you take your political science class? I know that in the usa, education is much more partisan than here in canada. Thats why im asking.
Right libertarianism is often defined by common belief such as
-liberty of association
-absolute free speech
-absolute liberty of wearing arm
-alternative to government system, like a collective school as opposed to a public school
-market based economy
-confederation as opposed to federation or unitary state
-decentralized politics.
-government having no affair in personal relationships( thats why it was the conservative and libertarian that fought for gay marriage in the uk).
-advocate for self responsibility instead of collective
All of those are not that far from usual american belief or even conservative belief. They are not radical in any shape or form. I don't agree with them and from what I've read, neither are you, but to claim that they are radical and racist is uninformed at best, disingenuous at worst.
Edit. Also, in political science, and i am in my second year of college with this concentration so im not a novice, we do not learn which individual promoted ideology but the ideology itself. We don't look at hitler when we talk about fachism. We look at the system. Its politic, its power, its economic and how it relate to political culture ect. Its the entire point of our discipline. Yes, the precursor of american libertarianism was racist, but if the ideology itself is not, then it is irrelevant to political science. We may look on how a slippery slope might be formed though.
Also. Lets keep it civil. I don't want to fight. Im really tired of internet rethoric. Just want to have either a civil debate or correct some things.
@@JackDSquat liberal
I love individual freedoms and Capitalism too! I tend to identity more as a Social Capatalist or Social Democrat rather than a conservative though. Granted as a queer trans woman I'm acutely aware of how most American Republicans view me so I'm not exactly endeared to The Right
The weakness of US conservatism is that it believes that pure political philosophies can work. The idea that Liz Cheney isn't a real Republican is absurd.
Itâs a problem the American left and right both have. Purity tests.
I'm upset I hadn't discovered your channel sooner but still happy I did, and this video was so refreshing. I wish there were more people like you who don't always have to enforce a war on culture, but a constructive and civil atmosphere to discuss our beliefs without wanting to raise violence towards each other. Even for me, I have a hard time pointing out where I stand, but I don't consider myself a hard left nor right because I do value some parts from both sides.
I'm fairly hard left, and I absolutely love this channel. It's refreshing to be reminded that there's a subset on the right with insightful and balanced perspectives. Thanks!
the wild part is how can they be so balanced and insightful and still completely miss the point
Iâm a 67 year old US American. The first video of yours I watched was a Canadian citizenship class you were teaching. It was so good that I have kept watching since then. I have found all your content extremely informative and interesting. Keep it up.
This is why I love your content. Youâve never explicitly said one opinion is better than the other and always shown everything in equal lights.
One of Jregs most convincing characters.
for me I was in a house hold that didnt even talk about politics or news so now that im older Im trying to find out my beliefs now I dont know what they are yet. But this channel its so refreshing as it feels like the only one that can have a non hostile decision about politics it get rid of the anxiety that I normally feel about the topic.