“Boring. You’re boring. You’re a moderate. How boring.”
Yeah, I’m a moderate. Do you know what that actually means? Because I’ll tell you this: it’s not boring.
Let’s take a simplified look at our current politics. We have a two-party system locked in a tug-of-war between extremes. Each side keeps attacking the other, and in response, both sides retreat further — farther left, farther right — until they’re not just disagreeing anymore, they’re trained to hate each other. That’s not governance. That’s dysfunction.
So what are we left with? Two radical ends.
The Radical Left:
Let’s start here, since it’s the one I get accused of belonging to most weeks. The far left wants to burn the whole house down and build something better on the ash — capitalism, institutions, the slow grind of incremental reform, all of it gets treated as the problem rather than the tools you’d use to fix the problem. Race, gender, climate, economic equality — real issues, every one of them — but somewhere along the way “let’s talk about this” got replaced with “agree with me completely or you’re the enemy.” That’s not activism, that’s a purity test with a hashtag attached — and purity tests don’t build coalitions, they burn the people who were standing right next to you.
The Radical Right:
Now the other end. The far right isn’t burning the house down — they’re trying to lock everyone else out of it and call it heritage. Authoritarian instincts dressed up as patriotism, a nostalgia for a version of the country that mostly worked if you looked and worshipped a certain way, and a willingness to bend democratic norms whenever those norms get in the way of keeping power. They’ll tell you it’s about liberty. Loyalty to the tribe beats loyalty to the law more often than either side wants to admit.
And then there’s us. The moderates. Maybe what’s sometimes called the “silent majority.”
The Moderate Middle: The moderate middle is often dismissed as indecisive or dull, but in reality, it’s where the hard work of democracy happens. It’s the space where values meet reality — where compromise isn’t weakness, but a strategy for progress. Moderates challenge extremism on both sides, not by shouting louder, but by thinking deeper — weighing facts, listening to others, and choosing country over party. It may not grab headlines, but the middle holds the line when others pull us apart.
Now, if you’re reading my articles, rants, and commentary, you might think I lean left. But that’s only because of the current administration — a gang of political gangsters whose zealousness is causing damage that could take generations to repair.
But make no mistake: if it were Marxists or Leninists destroying us, I’d be saying the exact same thing. Sometimes you have to throw the punch across the line to be heard. That doesn’t mean you switched sides — it means you’re paying attention.
If you feel the need to belong somewhere, take a look at something like the Forward Party. They seem grounded. They seem sane. But I’m not here to recruit you. I’m here to challenge you: Be a thinker, not a follower.
I’ve made mistakes. I’ve been swindled, both financially and politically. But it wasn’t because I was ignorant — and that’s the one thing I want for you, too.
Just take one hour. One hour a week. Do some real research. Learn what’s really going on. Then make decisions. Do something.
The Silent Majority — yes, majority — has to find its voice. It’s no longer safe or sane to just go along with the flow. If you’re still a Republican or Democrat just because that’s what your family always was (that used to be me), ask yourself this:
Is the country we live in today the same one your father or grandfather built their values on? If not? I’m not asking you to change — I’m asking you to be sure.
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