Authored by Josh Stylman via The Brownstone Institute,

Let me start by saying I loathe politics. I’ve always been drawn to liberal ideas—individual freedom, protecting the vulnerable, questioning authority, and the fundamental belief that consenting adults should be free to live their lives however they choose as long as they’re not harming others. These aren’t political positions to me; they’re basic human principles. But the game of politics itself repulses me. What I’m about to share isn’t about politics; it’s about our shared reality and how we’ve lost touch with it.

The Mindvirus

What’s truly mind-numbing to me is how people don’t see what’s happening right in front of them. The media has devolved into nothing more than a propaganda mouthpiece for the establishment, programming people to react rather than think. I’ve experienced this firsthand: When I drew historical comparisons between vaccine mandates and 1933 Germany’s early authoritarian policies, I was instantly labeled an extremist and cancelled by my NYC community. Yet now, these same people casually call everyone at Trump’s MSG rally Nazis. The irony would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.

My Liberal Foundation

I still believe deeply in core liberal principles:

• Genuine free speech, not the controlled corporate version we see today
• Standing against establishment overreach
• Opposing unchecked corporate power
• Fighting against unnecessary wars
• Complete bodily autonomy – your body, your choice, in ALL contexts
• Defending individual rights consistently, not selectively

These aren’t just political positions—they’re principles about human dignity and freedom.

The Democratic Party’s Transformation

The Democratic Party’s drift from these values didn’t happen overnight. Many of us, exhausted by Bush’s brutal wars, lies about weapons of mass destruction, and the Patriot Act’s assault on civil liberties, invested our hopes in Obama’s promise of change. But instead of the transformation we sought, we got what felt like Bush’s third and fourth terms.

Under Obama, we watched as corporate influence grew stronger, not weaker. The Snowden revelations exposed massive surveillance programs. The housing crisis devastated ordinary Americans while Wall Street got bailouts. Rather than challenging institutional power, the Democratic establishment became increasingly entangled with it.

The betrayal of liberal values became even clearer with Bernie Sanders. Like Trump, Bernie tapped into something real—a deep frustration with a system that had left ordinary Americans behind. Both men, from vastly different perspectives, recognized that working people were suffering while elites prospered. But the Democratic establishment couldn’t allow an actual progressive challenger. They used every trick in the book—from media manipulation to primary shenanigans—to block him from the nomination. Most disappointing was watching Bernie himself bend the knee to the same establishment he had railed against, leaving millions of supporters feeling betrayed and politically homeless.

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In the wake of Donald Trump’s decisive electoral victory and his overwhelming political mandate from voters on Election Day, something profoundly strange is happening in American culture.

For the first time in recent history, Republicans have emerged as the “cool kids” on the American political scene—signaling not only a significant political realignment but also the beginnings of a cultural transformation that could shift the trajectory of American life in favor of conservatives for generations.

Virtually from the moment Trump was declared the winner of the presidential election last month, countless athletes have flooded the airwaves with the signature “Trump dance.” Celebrities and social media influencers, many of whom once went out of their way to avoid signaling affinity with the president-elect, have embraced him.

Throughout the nation, a new wave of Trump-era patriotism has taken hold—an early indicator that the progressive advance of cultural wokeism is at long last coming to a halt.

Among the most notable instances of this trend is the surge of the “Trump dance,” with NFL stars Brock Bowers, Calvin Ridley, Nick Bosa, and Za’Darius Smith all mimicking the signature shimmy that Trump was apt to break out at his rallies. The dance has since even been sanctioned by the NFL itself. Golfers, UFC champions, American soccer player Christian Pulisic, and even members of the English team Barnsley F.C. have all also gotten in on the fun, signaling their support for Trump.

In the aftermath of Election Day, revered actor and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone also hailed Trump as the “second George Washington” and a “mythical character” at a Mar-a-Lago event. In an even more surprising development, actress Rachel Zegler then publicly apologized for criticizing Trump and his supporters—an unprecedented move for the anti-Trump celebrity class.

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