Exposing Liberal Hypocrisy and Conservative Close-Mindedness | Van Jones | Big Think
Exposing Liberal Hypocrisy and Conservative Close-Mindedness
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The amount of political disagreement in the nation is matched only by righteous indignation. But in order to disagree without disrespecting each other, we need to look hard at our own positions, and Van Jones does just that. Exposing liberal hypocrisy on issues like economic self-interest and inclusion, Jones bravely crosses political lines that have come to define our comfort zones. Conservatives, too, need to look closely at where their party has departed from its traditional focus on family, faith, and work ethic. Disagreement is essential in a democracy, but disrespect is tearing at our social fabric. Van’s latest book is Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together.
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VAN JONES:
Van Jones is a social entrepreneur, CNN political contributor and host of The Messy Truth with Van Jones. Famous for his heart-felt election night coverage, Jones showed up as “the voice of reason” for people in red states and blue throughout the volatile 2016 political season. In response to much civil unrest and energy post-election, Jones launched the #Love Army — a values-based movement that is working for an America where everyone counts.
Jones has founded and led numerous social enterprises engaged in social and environmental justice, including The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and The Dream Corps.
Jones is a Yale-educated attorney. He is the author of two New York Times best-selling books, The Green Collar Economy (2008) and Rebuild the Dream (2012). The second book chronicles his journey as an environmental and human rights activist to becoming a White House policy advisor.
He was the main advocate for the Green Jobs Act. Signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007, the Green Jobs Act was the first piece of federal legislation to codify the term “green jobs.” During the Obama Administration, the legislation has resulted in $500 million in national funding for green jobs training.
In 2009, Jones worked as the green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama. In this role, Jones helped to lead the inter-agency process that oversaw the multi-billion dollar investment in skills training and jobs development within the environmental and green energy sectors.
Jones has been honored with numerous awards and spotlighted on several lists of high achievers, including: the World Economic Forum’s “Young Global Leader” designation; Rolling Stone’s 2012 “12 Leaders Who Get Things Done”; TIME’s 2009 “100 Most Influential People in The World”; and the Root’s 2014 “The Root 100.” In 2017, Van Jones signed a management deal with Roc Nation, becoming the first political commentator & activist in their family. Jones lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife & two children.
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TRANSCRIPT:
VAN JONES: I think liberals have a very hard time understanding their role in creating the market for Trump. I think we have a view of ourselves that has a bunch of blind spots in it in terms of how we’re showing up.
I’ve gone all across the country, I got a chance to go to West Virginia, the red parts of Indiana and Michigan, even the red counties in California, I’ve gone to the border, and it gives you the chance to really kind of see the world from the other side as a liberal, as a progressive.
One of the things that I think that we don’t understand and that we have a hard time getting our heads wrapped around is we often commit the same mistakes with people in the red states that we accuse conservatives of committing.
For instance, if you only listen to NPR, only watch CNN and only read the New York Times and say “I know what’s happening,” then you’re committing the same kind of mistake as somebody who only reads the Wall Street Journal, watches FOXNews and listens to Rush Limbaugh on the radio—which is not to say that CNN is as far left as FOX is to the right, it’s to say that there’s a particular set of assumptions that you’re being reinforced in, a particular set of ideas. And so you might assume then that any rational person would be outraged by what you’re outraged by and even have the same information that you have, but that’s just not true.
We can sometimes come across in ways that are offensive to people who are in the red states and who are conservative…
Read the full transcript at https://bigthink.com/videos/van-jones-disagree-politically-without-disrespecting-each-other
@bigthink
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
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@attheranch873
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
😀👌🏻
@timothyc272
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Liberals investigated for four years and couldn't find collision. That's the thing. It comes off as TDS when doctors said children need to go to school, change their mind when Trump said the same thing. Saying no vaccine mandate when Trump was in office, to…trust the science
@timothyc272
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
It's the silencing of conservatives that sucks. Schools will target conservatives, most media outlets are liberal, most lawyers and wealthy are liberals
@alexanderpage2552
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Thank you for being extremely informative and helpful in expanding my understanding and perspective
@zionleach3001
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't resort to bullying, ignore what doesn't suit thier narrative, accuse each other of the exact same thing they do, and didn't do things to "own" X group of people. Then get mad at YOU for not picking a side. They act the same brainwashed way, in spite of thier differences. But won't acknowledge lobbyist hokd the leash of BOTH parties.
@tafara2605
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
FAFO 2025🤌🏾
@dougthomson7099
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
I wish Van Jones was this balanced when talking on CNN. And likewise for Fox people too. The media needs to come to the middle where most sane people want to live. Probably doesn’t pay the bills though.
@dr.hero18
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
I personally know extreme liberals and they are very closed minded, you either join them in their views or you a bad person. Like all of them are pro Palestine, pro sex change etc and if you disagree you instantly a fascist
@MegaloManiac98
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
This aged beautifully
@MiaRT.
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Watching this in 2025 and i wish more people saw this video
@frankiegoestothecircus
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Both liberals and conservatives are disrespectful towards the people who are being g-sided by the US Government. Free Congo 🇨🇩 Free Palestine 🇵🇸
@poppyseed1000
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Politics these days feels so polarized and reactionary, like a culture war between football teams.
@suec87
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Perfect! “ Conservative” has become “ anti liberal” instead of just being conservative and….. “liberal” has become “ anti conservative “ instead of being liberal. I totally agree and why I am an “independent”. Vote for people and issues not the party.
@suec87
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Soooo refreshing. “Conservative ideas” ❤❤.
@MarkPoullos-v4f
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Conservatives are not closed minded we are very skeptical. BIG DIFFERENCE! Liberals constantly try to change what works. They are always championing a new way to make wheels some way other than round. When round has been working for centuries. It is not about change. It is about functionality.
@jenayaroseboom8266
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Rewatching this after the results of the US election
@timwillis1729
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Good as far as it goes – which is not nearly far enough. The leftist approach of dividing society into victims and oppressors is fundamentally flawed. It’s far too easy to blame unfairness or white straight males for the problems affecting you or your community. Unfortunately if you fix that problem in your own world view, you will be considered a conservative, traitor, or worse by your former friends.
I’m Scottish and was brought up believing that everything was due to the evil English who had all the power. I’m proud that I saw through this nonsense and am embarrassed that I was 14 before I noticed that it was the work shy who believed this most fervently.
@wonderlust1693
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Hey liberals, He can accuse you raci st who disliked this video😅
@theoneafterthelast
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
He's rather confused as to how the average conservative thinks but he has the right spirit for this discussion.
@BboyFever
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Fuck. As someone from a deeply conservative family who dates very liberal women (I have no idea how this happened), hearing this is like one part of myself having a conversation with another.
The increasing rage-bait divergence of social media needs more content like this. Thank you.
@clapdrix72
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
His argument on the rich white liberal hypocrisy is a false equivalency. The rich white liberal voting against their own financial best interest is fully aware of what they're doing whereas the uneducated conservative voting against their own financial best interest thinks they are helping themselves financially when in fact they are not.
@jamesirvin7799
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
The feeling of moral superiority vs basic morality.
@Where_Love_Lives
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
A Muslim man told me that Muslims will always vote Democrat. Democrats are more sympathetic to "diversity" and will champion Islamic ideologies to avoid being labeled islamophobic. Whereas, some Republican values may align with theirs, Republicans will not be run roughshod over.
@ronaldreagan9095
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
This is rich coming from Van Jones
@ryanriffle2217
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
This aged well. The Steele Dossier as an example.
@Iwant-truth
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
I agree with the title alone. I have seen personally how liberals are hypocrites and conservatives are controlling. BOTH are hostile. Both are the work of Satan. Liberals are bullies, but they are also cowards. Conservatives are everything wicked. I don't even need to watch the video.
@Beatinit
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
I really want to like this. You had me in the first half as far as Liberals degrading and holding bigotry against rural conservatives. That's absolutely the case. I'm a leftist, not a liberal, and that's the biggest reason I don't align with the democratic party- I see a lot of adherence to capitalism and imperialism prioritized over ensuring basic needs for working class people.
I disagree, though, that Republicanism is a healthy and okay way to be. I don't. I strongly believe we should not be compromising politically with a party whose entire philosophy is one of staunch hierarchy, one of restricting civil rights, and corporations and rich people being king. I strongly believe both parties exist as they are because we're a deeply unhealthy nation. Democrats are more aligned with egalitarianism overall but have slid more and more towards the right in the name of "reaching across the isle". Of course, the reaching only happens towards their fellow rich colleagues and never towards the low income working class constitutes of either party. Van is a Liberal who works for CNN which is a severely capitalistic and imperialistic news station who will always protect money and state over true journalism that serves the people. We need more compassion for each other but we should never sacrifice egalitarian justice.
@WestRec
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
You don't understand the vast majority of conservatives. You're still looking at them through your very left leaning lense. This s start though.
@randykrus9562
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
These people he's talking about happily vote for the most significant figure in white nationalism in the last 100 years. That's a problem.
@blaircarson8300
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Never been a big Van Jones fan, but wow he hit nail on head
@CLAUDIARIVAS-nf2nx
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
THE KEY OF ALL IS GOOD WORKERS TO WORK FOR GOVERMENT …AND FOR THE LAWS ARE ONLY ADJUSTABLE BECOUSE OF INNER WAYS OF LIVING THAT HAPPEN TO CAME OUT , WELL THE BEST THING IS TO ADJUST AND THINK WAY LIKE THE SAME SEX MARRIAGE., I THINK IS ONLY GOOD THE MARRIAGE FOR ASSEST AND TO HAVE THE LAW WITH IN THE RIGHT CLARIFICATION OF WHO IS WHO AND THAT IS WHY …FOR OTHER THINK PEOPLE HAVE CHANGE OVER THE LAS 6 YEARS AND WHITE IS OUR FACE BUT IS ALSO OUR ANCESTOR SO WE MUST ALL JUST CONTINUE LIFE GROWING AND OUR COUNTRY SHAPE THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND LIBERAL IS ON
Y ONE BOTH DEMOCRATE AND REPUBLICAN GETS TOGHETHER EVEN IF WE ARE SOME HOW SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER ….I THINK WE MUST TELL OUR WORLD WHO WE ARE …NOW A DAYS WE LOOK LIKE EACH OTHER REGARDLESS OF THE COLOR .
@ikce05
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
what a man, peace Mr. Jones
@andhegames8669
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
As a conservative, I would say you're spot-on in your criticism of us. I've seen people I respect discard their values one by one, because opposition to the left seems to now be the highest value.
@mancavedecorations8158
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
This is what he created
@LarsVilksIsAwesome
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
But red states are full of dumb people.
@kyleloy1917
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Narrator: Liberals distancing themselves from Republicans is bad
Also narrator: *lists numerous examples of racist/bigoted behavior that outweighs their “conservatism”
@elizabethmaus
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
If there was 1 person like this per a population of 10,000 the world be much more interesting!
@Seamus3051
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Some rational & logical ideas which are long overdue. We have devolved into two diametrically opposite camps, filled with hate and resentment. Logic has been sacrificed to dogma, and we can not survive as a nation under these conditions. Thank you for your thoughts.
@UnchainedMind999
August 22, 2025 at 7:15 pm
I love it when ideas, like Diplomacy, are pushed to their maximum value, like in the following statement:: "In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit." Deciphering what constitutes sustenance versus poison, or distinguishing between good and evil, can indeed be a complex endeavor.
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