Dave Rubin Discusses the Response to his Sam Harris Interview

by Dave Rubin, Host of The Rubin Report

Ive been really inspired by the reaction to the interview with Sam. I knew that I felt really passionately about the issues we talked about and needed to address the campaign to discredit him, and I know a lot of other people felt the same way, but I think I underestimated just how badly people wanted this conversation to happen. From YouTube comments to the tweets, to people who wrote me pages of thoughts on Facebook and email, there was a real sense that it was cathartic for people who were feeling the same thing I was. That's exactly what I want this show to be, so I'm really proud we got off to the right start.

If we're gonna build some kind of community here, based on the principles I laid out last week and put to action in the interview with Sam, I think I have to ask something of you now. Many of you were giving me kudos for having an honest dialogue, but if we really want to change things it's going have to be way bigger than just me.

I'm sure some of you know that I'm gay. Actually got gay married two weeks ago. That's pretty gay. That's basically as gay as it gets. I don't really bring it up anymore unless it's related to something in the news and I don't want any extra credit for it or anything like that. We got equality, there's still work to do, but we've done great things and are moving forward. That's how progress is supposed to work.

A couple years ago I hosted a podcast and SiriusXM show called The Six Pack. It was a pop culture and news show with celebrity guests aimed at the LGBT community.The show was really different than most 'gay' culture out there in that it was hosted by two guys who happened to be gay but didn't make everything about being gay. Our fan base was incredibly loyal and it all felt very personal. I mention this because we used to get a ton of emails from people saying how much we were helping them come to terms with themselves, come out of the closet, talks to friends and family and all that stuff. Even more than that though, we got a ton of email from people saying they were still closeted and our show was their one gay outlet.

One day the strange paradox this was hit me. The people we were helping the most by doing the show, the people who were closeted and had no other outlet, were the same people who helped us as a show the least. Personally and spiritually the emails were nice, but while were were helping these people find themselves, they actually helped us the least in that they couldn't tweet about us, or share Facebook posts, or even tell their friends about us. I really struggled with this in my relationship to the audience, because I knew that closeted life all too well and I know that if the situation had been reversed I would've been one of those people.

Like I said before, I think we're onto something really special here. We're going to be part of something that takes back liberalism for the true liberals. But to do that, we have to be louder. We have to be braver and bolder to say what we think and share it with the people we know. I noticed a lot of people with the word 'atheism' in their usernames have anonymous profiles on Twitter and some even on Facebook. We all have our reasons and I'm not passing judgement on anyone here, but think about it for a moment. In 2015, atheists are one of the last groups that feel like they have to be anonymous to say what they really feel. Again, this isn't everybody, or even the majority but it seems to be a bigger portion than it should be. And believe me, I get it, I was closeted for a long time -- you might have a family that won't accept you as an atheist or maybe your community won't or maybe you aren't fully sure what you are.I don't want to make this just about the atheists. I think all of us secular people have to be seen and heard more. Let's not just talk about it with each other, let's get other people in on the conversation too. We won't need to go out and find converts, they'll find us, because that's what humanism and secularism does by default.We have to be louder.

It's not going to be easy -- all three of the people who Sam and I talked about who continuously misrepresent him have done so again publicly since our interview. Feel free to check out my Twitter feed to see the latest nonsense. These people are not gonna stop. If we want to be heard, we have to clearly fight back, with logic on our side.

So if you hear me, if you dig what we've started here, and you want it to get bigger and better then like, share comment, post and do whatever the hell else there is. The forces of anti-intellectualism and radicalism are always on the march.Let's get our voices heard so that we can win not by violence, but by ideas.

Remember, as Obi-wan said to Luke, The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. But if you don't post about it on Facebook nobody will know.