Four years ago, at the tender age of 13, Jonathan Krohn gave a speech at the CPAC conference and became the darling of conservatives. He went on to write a book “Defining Conservatism” that was talked about by people like Newt Gingrich and Bill Bennett.
But earlier this month, Krohn gave an interview where he revealed he wasn’t a conservative anymore. He’s in favor of gay marriage and ObamaCare, and loves watching “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report”.
However, I think it is incorrect to say he stopped being a conservative. If modern conservatives had any sense at all, they would probably agree with his views. After all, there are plenty of real conservatives who support gay marriage and ObamaCare is about the most free-market solution possible for our health care problems (and was basically invented by conservatives).
But that didn’t stop the wing-nuts from attacking:
Since then, I have been treated by the political right with all the maturity of schoolyard bullies. The Daily Caller, for instance, wrote three articles about my shift, topping it off with an opinion piece in which they stated that I deserved criticism because I wear “thick-rimmed glasses” and I like Ludwig Wittgenstein. Why don’t they just call me “four-eyes”? These are not adults leveling serious criticism; these are scorned right-wingers showing all the maturity of a little boy. No wonder I fit in so well when I was 13.
I think it would be better to say that he just stopped being an ideologue. And in the current hard-right political atmosphere, that is probably the worst crime of all.
Some people move on with life, mature, and realize that they don’t know everything nor will they ever know everything. Then again, some don’t.
