Bonjour from an extremely hot France! It is too hot to think, much less write. My brain is melted.
There is something I have been curious about since beginning my Substack — and that is you, my readers. How do you find me? Why do you subscribe? Are you more conservative, liberal, or left? — not that those terms mean much anymore. A few of you know me personally (hi, friends!) but most of you do not. Even a year and a half in, I’m surprised and intrigued by each email subscriber that comes in. So I want to know — what are your stories?
When I think of what I would like to achieve with this project, it is to create a haven of sanity and decency for the politically homeless in an increasingly messed up and divided world. And to do that, I need you guys to be part of that haven, that community. So let’s talk to each other.
If you would indulge me, and have a few moments to spare, jump in the comments and let me know!
Where are you from?
What do you do?
What — if anything — was the moment or event that made you think that culture needs saving?
And tell me anything else you would like to share. Drop it into the comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ or email me at jennyeholland@gmail.com.
And stay cool, where ever you are! Cheers to you and happy birthday to the Republique!
Yes, Happy Bastille Day. I think that I first became aware of you by reading a mention of you in something by Jodi Shaw. I subscribe to your Substack because I think that your writing is often wise and always erudite. You are an interesting lady. I am from the Midwest and retired. In recent years, I have become ever more concerned about the totalitarian impulses of those who consider themselves superior to the rest of us (from thoroughly indoctrinated college kids to adults in highly responsible jobs who should be old enough to know better). Truly the world is going downhill fast, but, if we are following Jesus Christ, we have nothing ultimately to fear as the world moves ever closer to his return.
If I could speak to my younger, far-left self and tell her/myself that in some years I would vote for Sarkozy, and then eventually for Marine Le Pen (twice); my younger, far-left self's eyes would pop and she/I would fall off a chair.
Hi Jenny. I have just written a (sorry, very long) email to you. But, for the other readers, and in a nutshell, I very much identify with what Cary said, only regarding the UK rather than the U.S. I had always been left/liberal (I'd still consider myself that now, but not in the current sense!) However, it seems the left has lost its way and is more about identity politics than real life concerns of the average Joe. I hate how things like Brexit, immigration and the trans movement have become so loaded. If you question issues such as mass immigration, you are labelled a racist, if you question whether trans women are real women, you are labelled transphobic, and on and on it goes. It's just sad to see that this is what political discourse has come to. Your writing is a beacon of hope and light and truly keeps me sane and enlightened. I came across you by chance, possibly through the Spiked website, but it was like coming home when I found you. Without a doubt, you are my favourite writer/thinker around. Thank you!
Hi, Jenny. Glad to hear you're having a nice time in France. Have you crossed paths with Le Tour? I'm a retired archaeologist and historian, grew up all over southern and central California, and have been married forty-two years. My wife and I used to consider ourselves liberals--we voted for Bill Clinton, which makes me cringe a little now--but as we gained more experience in life, learned more, and became property owners with all the responsibilities that entails, we found we were more centrist. The violent shift of the Democrat party and the left in general toward complete lunacy in the past several years was the final straw that turned us off. Trying to continue living in California, amid the havoc that has been wrought by fanatical leftists here, is particularly challenging. We still feel much the same about most things as we did when we were liberals, but we're Independents now, trying to assess each issue separately and rationally. I don't remember exactly how I discovered you on the internet, I think an article I was reading some time last year had a link to one of your essays. I found that you were able to articulate much of what I've felt in recent years about society and culture. Not only that, but you brought up ideas that hadn't occurred to me yet. You're a damned good writer, and I blush a bit to admit that I really like your personality (I've also seen some of your videos). After reading your stuff for free for quite a while, I started feeling guilty, so I subscribed. Toward the end of every week I find myself looking forward to whatever it is you'll be writing about, and watching my email for it to arrive. Anyway, have a lovely life, and please keep writing!
This Left-Right switch is fascinating, and one wonders not only why it has occurred, but when. It's not just a generational phenomenon, because it seems most of the Geezer Leftists (Geraldo, Dan Rather, Kerry, Max Boot, etc., have "mutated" along with the curve.
One general feature about this whole issue which I haven't seen anyone notice (let alone factor in seriously) is that we are not just talking about two camps and their respective actors -- one over here, one over there -- operating and arguing and fighting within a relatively neutral overarching field one could call "society". The overarching field itSELF IS one of the two camps, or has been taken over by one of the two camps. The Mainstream itself is Leftist. Leftists own the Mainstream; non-Leftists just rent space therein. This ought to game-change one's analysis of these issues; but time and again I see various pundits on various podcasts analyze away (e.g., on and on and on for 3 hours with James Lindsay and WokalDistance lol) every which way but loose about a luxurious complexity of trees, but all the while ignore the forest.
I've been meaning to answer this for a while and didn't want to forget because I really value your writing and therefore loved reading about the other readers because I know we must all be the most awesome people in the world, yes, in. the. world!
In a nutshell, I was born in Far Rockaway, New York. Italian grandparents, all four, immigrated from Italy through Ellis Island, settled in Brooklyn. I grew up living around (and sometimes with) my grandparents and always surrounded by my extended Italian family on both sides-Aunt, Uncles, cousins-one more outrageous than the next and all the most incredible, fun, hard working, no bull, life is beautiful kind of people. My parents were the best anyone could ever be blessed with-father a NYC cop-mother worked in a bank. My brother (oldest of my family) was the first to go college on either side of the family-Ivy League. I am 51 years old and my brother, sister and I would be considered all pretty darn successful by absolutely any conventional metric.
My parents walked around with no money in their pockets to send us to Catholic/Private schools. In mine and my siblings high schools (we were all sent to different schools, different towns for various reasons) there were a lot of rich kids. We did not have scholarships or aid and we all always worked as soon as we could. We were obviously not rich (to say the least) but I never felt jealous of my wealthy friends. I just felt that was what I wanted to achieve-it totally excited me. I loved seeing their beautiful homes etc and being exposed to so many different influences. I thought it was all so cool, my eyes were opened as my parents had wanted.
I moved to Manhattan in 1993, worked my way up in Advertising (my college performance was less than stellar) and ended up owning my own company with my husband as we still do today.
We just moved out of Manhattan, sold the house in the Hamptons, that I loved so much too- living between Maine, Florida with a lot of Europe hopefully, in between. Never, EVER thought I'd leave NY, oh and my siblings sold everything and are living with their families in Florida now too.
Here's the thing- they locked us down, what a term, huh, for covid but now with digital only work, we are freer than ever. Think about it. I have this deep, real feeling like God, with the brush of his pinky and a "pffft" used this bad for good. We endured two years of hell in NY with no basic freedom (mask up!) but now we are already living a life so incredible. A way of life I had only once dreamed about.
My husband and I are independent politically but much more Conservatively aligned.
Sorry for the extravagant use of parentheses and bad grammar, incomplete sentences etc but I wanted to write fast and freely or else I realized I would never get this out. So much more to say but I wanted you to know that I treasure you all on this forum so very much. God Bless you guys and Jenny, you are the the BEST! Salut.
There seems to be a growing subculture of, for want of a better term, Sorta-Kinda-Anti-Left-Leftists-Who-Didn't-Leave-the-Left,-the-Left-Left Them. Bhogosian, Shaw, Boyce, Lindsay, Holland, Tim Poole, Rogan, Rubin... the list goes on and on. What I'd like to see is some kind of symposium featuring all of them (or as many as possible) exploring the question: Why the hell are you still a Leftist?
Yes, Happy Bastille Day. I think that I first became aware of you by reading a mention of you in something by Jodi Shaw. I subscribe to your Substack because I think that your writing is often wise and always erudite. You are an interesting lady. I am from the Midwest and retired. In recent years, I have become ever more concerned about the totalitarian impulses of those who consider themselves superior to the rest of us (from thoroughly indoctrinated college kids to adults in highly responsible jobs who should be old enough to know better). Truly the world is going downhill fast, but, if we are following Jesus Christ, we have nothing ultimately to fear as the world moves ever closer to his return.
Here you go:
If I could speak to my younger, far-left self and tell her/myself that in some years I would vote for Sarkozy, and then eventually for Marine Le Pen (twice); my younger, far-left self's eyes would pop and she/I would fall off a chair.
(Awkward phrasing, but you get it!)
Hi Jenny. I have just written a (sorry, very long) email to you. But, for the other readers, and in a nutshell, I very much identify with what Cary said, only regarding the UK rather than the U.S. I had always been left/liberal (I'd still consider myself that now, but not in the current sense!) However, it seems the left has lost its way and is more about identity politics than real life concerns of the average Joe. I hate how things like Brexit, immigration and the trans movement have become so loaded. If you question issues such as mass immigration, you are labelled a racist, if you question whether trans women are real women, you are labelled transphobic, and on and on it goes. It's just sad to see that this is what political discourse has come to. Your writing is a beacon of hope and light and truly keeps me sane and enlightened. I came across you by chance, possibly through the Spiked website, but it was like coming home when I found you. Without a doubt, you are my favourite writer/thinker around. Thank you!
Hi, Jenny. Glad to hear you're having a nice time in France. Have you crossed paths with Le Tour? I'm a retired archaeologist and historian, grew up all over southern and central California, and have been married forty-two years. My wife and I used to consider ourselves liberals--we voted for Bill Clinton, which makes me cringe a little now--but as we gained more experience in life, learned more, and became property owners with all the responsibilities that entails, we found we were more centrist. The violent shift of the Democrat party and the left in general toward complete lunacy in the past several years was the final straw that turned us off. Trying to continue living in California, amid the havoc that has been wrought by fanatical leftists here, is particularly challenging. We still feel much the same about most things as we did when we were liberals, but we're Independents now, trying to assess each issue separately and rationally. I don't remember exactly how I discovered you on the internet, I think an article I was reading some time last year had a link to one of your essays. I found that you were able to articulate much of what I've felt in recent years about society and culture. Not only that, but you brought up ideas that hadn't occurred to me yet. You're a damned good writer, and I blush a bit to admit that I really like your personality (I've also seen some of your videos). After reading your stuff for free for quite a while, I started feeling guilty, so I subscribed. Toward the end of every week I find myself looking forward to whatever it is you'll be writing about, and watching my email for it to arrive. Anyway, have a lovely life, and please keep writing!
This Left-Right switch is fascinating, and one wonders not only why it has occurred, but when. It's not just a generational phenomenon, because it seems most of the Geezer Leftists (Geraldo, Dan Rather, Kerry, Max Boot, etc., have "mutated" along with the curve.
One general feature about this whole issue which I haven't seen anyone notice (let alone factor in seriously) is that we are not just talking about two camps and their respective actors -- one over here, one over there -- operating and arguing and fighting within a relatively neutral overarching field one could call "society". The overarching field itSELF IS one of the two camps, or has been taken over by one of the two camps. The Mainstream itself is Leftist. Leftists own the Mainstream; non-Leftists just rent space therein. This ought to game-change one's analysis of these issues; but time and again I see various pundits on various podcasts analyze away (e.g., on and on and on for 3 hours with James Lindsay and WokalDistance lol) every which way but loose about a luxurious complexity of trees, but all the while ignore the forest.
I've been meaning to answer this for a while and didn't want to forget because I really value your writing and therefore loved reading about the other readers because I know we must all be the most awesome people in the world, yes, in. the. world!
In a nutshell, I was born in Far Rockaway, New York. Italian grandparents, all four, immigrated from Italy through Ellis Island, settled in Brooklyn. I grew up living around (and sometimes with) my grandparents and always surrounded by my extended Italian family on both sides-Aunt, Uncles, cousins-one more outrageous than the next and all the most incredible, fun, hard working, no bull, life is beautiful kind of people. My parents were the best anyone could ever be blessed with-father a NYC cop-mother worked in a bank. My brother (oldest of my family) was the first to go college on either side of the family-Ivy League. I am 51 years old and my brother, sister and I would be considered all pretty darn successful by absolutely any conventional metric.
My parents walked around with no money in their pockets to send us to Catholic/Private schools. In mine and my siblings high schools (we were all sent to different schools, different towns for various reasons) there were a lot of rich kids. We did not have scholarships or aid and we all always worked as soon as we could. We were obviously not rich (to say the least) but I never felt jealous of my wealthy friends. I just felt that was what I wanted to achieve-it totally excited me. I loved seeing their beautiful homes etc and being exposed to so many different influences. I thought it was all so cool, my eyes were opened as my parents had wanted.
I moved to Manhattan in 1993, worked my way up in Advertising (my college performance was less than stellar) and ended up owning my own company with my husband as we still do today.
We just moved out of Manhattan, sold the house in the Hamptons, that I loved so much too- living between Maine, Florida with a lot of Europe hopefully, in between. Never, EVER thought I'd leave NY, oh and my siblings sold everything and are living with their families in Florida now too.
Here's the thing- they locked us down, what a term, huh, for covid but now with digital only work, we are freer than ever. Think about it. I have this deep, real feeling like God, with the brush of his pinky and a "pffft" used this bad for good. We endured two years of hell in NY with no basic freedom (mask up!) but now we are already living a life so incredible. A way of life I had only once dreamed about.
My husband and I are independent politically but much more Conservatively aligned.
Sorry for the extravagant use of parentheses and bad grammar, incomplete sentences etc but I wanted to write fast and freely or else I realized I would never get this out. So much more to say but I wanted you to know that I treasure you all on this forum so very much. God Bless you guys and Jenny, you are the the BEST! Salut.
There seems to be a growing subculture of, for want of a better term, Sorta-Kinda-Anti-Left-Leftists-Who-Didn't-Leave-the-Left,-the-Left-Left Them. Bhogosian, Shaw, Boyce, Lindsay, Holland, Tim Poole, Rogan, Rubin... the list goes on and on. What I'd like to see is some kind of symposium featuring all of them (or as many as possible) exploring the question: Why the hell are you still a Leftist?