The uncomfortable open-mindedness of Penn Jillette

This is another remarkable video by Penn Jillette, who is I think one of the most remarkable figures of our time, musing over an occasion on which he was raked over the coals by Tommy Smothers.

(Update: At some point between October 2009 and October 2015, Penn took that video private.  The video below is of the occasion of Smothers’ verbal assault.)

The Anchoress, writing about Penn’s video, had some things to say that bear consideration. I particularly appreciated this:

Unchecked capitalism does have its drawbacks; it often so enthralls the capitalist with the material that he forgets the world around him, and lives an increasingly insular—and insulated—life.

But it is not only the greedy capitalist who can become insulated; the ideologue who will only speak with like-minded people is in the same walled-off compound, where it becomes easy to see label someone whose ideas are different than yours as “evil” and “lesser;” to ignore human commonalities in the quest to not simply disagree, but to destroy the other.

In a way, it’s a little like an extreme Islamist cutting out the tongue of the heretic, in order to silence his dissent. They fear allowing another point of view, because it threatens to unsettle; it might persuade others away from the fold. It is a threat to power, control and illusory “peace.” It does not submit. . . .

We see that behavior, of course, on both sides. My email has as many people telling me that this politician or that is “evil” from the right as people telling me I am evil, from the left. . . .

But what is interesting about these Jillette videos is that he seems determined not to be insulated in his life. He will meet with anyone, talk to anyone—engage in a respectful exchange of ideas. When I was being raised by blue-collar, union-loving Democrats, this is what I was taught was “liberal” behavior: a willingness to hear all sides, be respectful and open-minded.

And that would seem to be precisely the opposite of what Tommy Smothers was advocating to Jillette. For that matter, I cannot help but find an irony, there. Smothers was furious that Jillette would talk to “the enemy,” Glenn Beck, but he (and the left) were furious when President Bush would not talk to Iran. All Jillette is doing, really, is what Obama is now doing with Iran: talking to “the enemy” without preconditions. You’d think Smothers would admire that, after all. Yes, irony.

What we call “liberalism” today is something strikingly illiberal. As I twittered before turning in last night, when did “tolerance” become a demand for ideological purity above all else?

Read the whole post—there’s a lot more there, including a moving meditation on Penn’s naked honesty and introspection; you don’t see many people wrestle with things as openly, or indeed anywhere near as openly, as he does. I don’t agree with his politics, and I don’t agree with his atheism; but however wrong I may think his conclusions about what is true may be, he seems quite clearly to be a seeker after truth, rather than after winning the argument or pleasing a particular group of people or any of the other substitutes we human beings tend to find. Indeed, he seems committed to taking the hard questions head-on rather than ducking them or dismissing them, and to treating those who ask those questions with respect rather than defending himself by attacking them. This is a rare and honorable thing, and worthy of great respect.

Posted in Atheism, Politics, Religion and theology, Video.

10 Comments

  1. No kidding. I've had encounters with people in that sort of spirit before, and they were rough enough without those being people that I respected and admired and looked up to. I think I may see if I can send Penn an e-mail to encourage him, because I think Tommy Smothers was feeding him a lie that he wouldn't swallow if it weren't coming from one of his heroes.

  2. I don't think it's the fear of ideas. We aren't afraid of our own ideas. I think it's a combination of other fears–fear of the other, fear of being wrong, fear of being rejected, fear of being a fool, and the like. I will agree, though, that removing the spirit of fear would greatly improve things.

  3. "fear of the other, fear of being wrong, fear of being rejected, fear of being a fool, and the like."

    I think these are all understandable fears, honestly. Maybe these culminate in a fear of ideas, I don't know. Maybe a good start would be to stop pretending we don't have these fears. Of course, someone has to do it first.

  4. I agree they're understandable–and that admitting to them is the first step to dealing with them. I think a lot of us need to stop burying them so we can recognize that we have them before we can admit them to others.

  5. I was floored by his raw honestly. I think I should like to have him over for dinner, because even though we disagree, I would never have to doubt his sincerity or a lack of introspection. I might send him a note as well.

  6. I agree completely. I think as well that he's an honorable man, which is rarer than it ought to be.

    If you ever did have him over to dinner, I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. 🙂

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