I realize we increasingly have become a society that embraces a “my way or the highway” attitude. Both sides are guilty of that way of thinking.
Yet, it seems especially egregious from those on the left.
Progressives’ lack of tolerance for other views has presented itself in different iterations, from the cancel culture phenomenon to angry demonstrations on college campuses when a conservative dares to speak.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that liberals love slapping labels on those who have the audacity to believe something different from progressive dogma.
In the latest episode of his HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” comedian John Oliver joined the name-calling party, devoting a full 30 minutes to the nonprofit Christian legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF, in Oliver’s view, has “worked extremely hard to put a misleadingly friendly face on what is an utterly hateful ideology. And it benefits immensely from people not knowing just how poisonous and disingenuous it is.”
Free speech and religious freedom aren’t a laughing matter
That’s quite the accusation. And Oliver’s screed – without any additional background about ADF – could easily make HBO’s viewers falsely conclude that something truly nefarious is going on.
In reality, Oliver’s rant painted a picture that doesn’t exist.
“John Oliver’s recent ‘Last Week Tonight’ episode is an unfortunately predictable exercise in manipulating audiences with sound bites, statements, and distorted narratives with little to no context, designed to draw applause more than present truth,” said Kristen Waggoner, president and CEO of ADF, via email. “Rather than engaging our issues in good faith, Mr. Oliver relied on outdated tropes and vulgar laugh lines that are not journalism – they are propaganda meant to silence principled dissent.”
