Content, what people say, matters greatly, but I increasingly rely on tone and attitude to guide me about whether someone is worth listening to or trying to reach, communicate with, would be someone I’d like to live in community with, and this conversation is a perfect example of why I long ago chose to describe myself as a libertarian (small ‘L’) and gravitated strongly and immediately towards the post-9/11 Truth movement and the voluntarist fork of libertarianism. However someone starts out, however far right or left, should they come to esteem freedom and truth above other societal and moral values, I have found that those people are also civil, courteous, good humored, and open-minded. I now consider that one of the easiest tells about a person’s character, civility or its lack. Here are a couple of civil former lefties (James Corbett, a liberal Canadian by upbringing, dominant culture, and Mark Crispin Miller, now besieged professor at NYU, and former member in good standing of Left academia and independent journalism) having a very civil and intelligent chat:
