so, i'm stuck in a midwest suburb for a stretch (long story). i'm born and raised new york, i'm the sixth generation of my family born in new york city. but i swear to god, in trump country, surrounded by people who disagree with me about everything, i feel free to speak my mind.

back home i'm constantly censoring myself, when i'm around others. it's not so much that there are a million things i don't feel at liberty to say, it's more like when i'm home i have to constantly think about whether or not something i think is going to get me in trouble.

and yeah, here everyone thinks i'm a crazy communist, literally out to destroy freedom, and still people i meet are vastly more tolerant of my views than the people back home. i can be open about every belief i have, and some dude's just like, "welp, i don't agree." it's great.

the intellectual climate in new york, in liberal/left circles, is extraordinarily stifling. if you make a culture where everyone's afraid of getting in trouble for having the wrong thoughts, eventually you'll have a culture where everyone stops thinking for themselves.

i am not a trump supporter, republican views are anathema to everything i believe. but man, it's nice to unwind a bit. it's nice to feel free to speak my mind, instead of living in fear. and it occurs to me that perhaps i am not the only person to notice this stark contrast.

and before anyone says it, there's lots of black people here and there actually seems to be a lot more black and white people interacting as equals than i see in new york.
the intellectual/political culture in the big cities is a serious problem. it's a closed system of thought.

anyway, you can act like this isn't a big deal, but it is. you can act like you and everyone you know is right about everything, but it's not possible if you aren't open minded, if you aren't free to speak your truth, as you see it.