I was an NPR listener back in the early 80s. I was a liberal and my work commute was long. I actually enjoyed them. Then something happened that turned me away from them.
One day, during my morning commute, they aired an article about some famous artistic person. He had succumbed to AIDS after a hard-fought battle. He was, they told me, a HERO. A few days later, they aired a story about another ‘artist’ who had suffered a similar fate. He, too, was a HERO.
Then another artist, and another and another. After a while it seemed to be “another day, another HERO”. Now, I felt sorry for these men and their loved ones. I really did. But even as a liberal I couldn’t see how getting shtupped in the kiester made a man a hero. It was too much. I stopped listening to NPR.
After that I listened to mucic and audio books. Then something interesting happened.
One day, as I was turning the dial, I heard a voice from a radio station coming in on the skip. It was a radio station in Sacramento . . .
I appreciate you sharing that.
It’s good to know that some liberals do have an awakening to reason.
A gay man once debated with me about homosexuality and surprised me by telling me he was a Republican. He shared his version of the saying I hadn’t heard before:
“If you’re not a liberal at twenty, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative at forty, you have no brain.”
Of course, fiscally conservative, socially liberal Republicans like him are a big part of what destroyed the party.