Do you believe in free speech? Do you believe that people should be judged by their character, not their skin color? Do you believe in freedom of religion?

If you believe these things, you're probably not a progressive. You might think you're a progressive. I used to think I was. My show, The Rubin Report, was originally part of the progressive Young Turks network. Progressives struck me as liberals, but louder. Progressives were the nice guys; they looked out for the little guy; they cared about women and minorities; they embraced change.

In short, who wouldn't want to be a progressive?

But over the last couple years, the meaning of the word progressive has changed.

Progressives used to say, I may disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it. Not anymore.

Banning speakers whose opinions you don't agree with from college campuses, that's not progressive. Prohibiting any words not approved of as politically correct, that's not progressive. Putting Trigger Warnings on books, movies, music, anything that might offend people, that's not progressive either.

All of this has led me to be believe that much of the left is no longer progressive, but regressive. This is one of the reasons I've spent so much time on my show talking about The Regressive Left.

This regressive ideology doesn't judge people as individuals, but as a collective.

If you're black, or female, or Muslim, or Hispanic, or a member of any other minority group, you're judged differently than the most evil of all things: a white, Christian male. The Regressive Left ranks minority groups in a pecking order to compete in a kind of Oppression Olympics. Gold medal goes to the most offended.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream that his children would be judged by their character and not their skin color was a liberal idea, but these days, it's not a progressive ideal.

And what about religious freedom, the idea that no one else can tell you what you have to believe? Surely progressives still support that basic right. Well, not so much.

I'm a married gay man, so you might think that I appreciate the government forcing a Christian baker or photographer or florist to act against their religion in order to cater, photograph or decorate my wedding. But you'd be wrong. A government that can force Christians to violate their conscience can force me to violate mine. If a baker won't bake you a cake, find another baker; don't demand that the state tell him what to do with his private business.

I'm pro-choice. But a government that can force a group of Catholic nuns, literally called the Little Sisters of the Poor, to violate their faith and pay for abortion-inducing birth control can force anyone to do anything.

That's not progressive; that's regressive!

Today's progressivism has become a faux-moral movement hurling charges of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia and a slew of other meaningless buzzwords at anyone they disagree with.

The battle of ideas has been replaced by a battle of feelings, and outrage has replaced honesty. Diversity reigns supreme, as long as it's not that pesky diversity of thought.

This isn't the recipe for a free society, it's a recipe for authoritarianism.

For these reasons, I can no longer call myself a progressive. I don't really call myself a Democrat either. I'm a classical liberal, a free thinker, and as much as I don't like to admit it, defending my liberal values has suddenly become a conservative position.

So, if you think people should be able to say what they think without being punished for it; that people should be judged by their behavior, not their skin color; and that people should be able to live the way that they want to live, without government interference, then there's not much left on the left for you.

I'll keep trying to explain that to progressives until I'm totally left out.

Why are you Right? Yes, you, conservative person. Can you answer that question?

I think it's so important that I wrote a book about it. How to be Right? The Art of Being Persuasively Correct. Because if you can't be persuasive about why you are right, then we, the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands, are lost. So, here is the simple answer to why you are Right: It is a more practical, generous, and compassionate way to live. Let me explain:

There have been a bunch of academic studies on how those on the Left and Right approach problems. They pretty much all come to the same conclusion. The Right tends to be risk averse, more concerned about external threats like tyranny and terror. Conservatives, get this, tend to be conservative. They are less likely to play with fire, in just about every sense: financially, artistically, sexually. They are cautious about changing traditions, sometimes to a fault, which is why they cling to that crazy Constitution they like so much and to their guns and their religion.

We conservatives also focus on what we can fix, and accept what we cannot which is one of the many reasons we're not obsessed over global warming. With Radical Islam we know what the threat is, and that it's a lot worse than a few missing polar bears. I know that makes me sound mean, sorry polar bears.

Liberals, the research tells us, are generally more outgoing, more likely to try new stuff. They are open to new ideas though not school choice, or flat taxes, or a market based health care reform, and are less likely to feel threatened by unfamiliar things. This is why, in general, they seem to have more fun. They are more likely to try drugs, for example which is fine, as long as they don't end up throwing up in my toaster. In short, liberals are pretty liberal. They feel free to take risks that the risk-averse usually end up paying for, over and over. Which explains the necessity for conservatism. We are the clean-up crew.

Liberals may seem to have more fun and many do, but according to polls they aren't as happy as conservatives. And with all the fun they're having, I've never quite figured out why the angriest people I've encountered in my life have been liberals. Maybe it's because short-term fun doesn't translate into long-term happiness. Marriage, families and religion do that and those are the things conservatives most value. Liberals tend to live for now. Conservatives for later.

A risk-averse conservative is more likely to save money. He is more likely to protect his investments. He is more likely to protect property, and advocate for rule of law and preservation of individual protections. And he offers no excuses for looting. Instead, he empathizes with the Asian, Arab and black small businessman whose convenience store, laundry or restaurant goes up into flames during the riot that liberals reflexively endorse as an understandable response to injustice.

Of course, conservatives aren't risk-averse in everything. But they take risks with their own lives, not with the society. Conservatives risk all to build businesses. That risk, however, is rooted in a fact-based belief not faith in the free market. If people want the product or service you're supplying at the price you're asking, you will succeed and the risk will pay off.

Over time, it's conservative risk-taking that creates a civilization, by building families, businesses, and nations. All of which creates more wealth, wealth that can then be used to help those in need. You need money to make money, but you also need money to give money. Conservatism makes what liberalism takes.

So, for example, for liberals to get their minimum-wage hike, first we need conservatives to build businesses, to think like businessmen, to sacrifice their own salaries in order to pay others; to sleep on floors if necessary in order to break even. Then when they make a profit, and things are going great when the calm sets in, liberalism can appear and say, How dare you not pay these people a living wage? Once the tables are full of diners, and bills are being paid, and you're thinking about opening a second joint, liberalism arrives to demand its cut. Think of it as a protection racket. Sort of like the Gambino family, but without loyalty, job prospects, and track suits.

In short, conservatism doesn't compete with liberalism, it sustains it. And so when a liberal asks you, why are you a conservative? Simply say, so that you can be a liberal.

So when I do my job, people hate me. In fact, the better I do my job, the more people hate me. And no, I'm not a meter maid, and I'm not an undertaker. I am a progressive, lesbian talking head on Fox News.

So y'all heard that, right? Just to make sure, right? I am a gay talking head on Fox News. I am going to tell you how I do it, and the most important thing I've learned.

So I go on television. I debate people who literally want to obliterate everything I believe in, in some cases, who don't want me and people like me to even exist. It's sort of like Thanksgiving with your conservative uncle on steroids, with a live television audience of millions. It's totally almost just like that.

And that's just on air. The hate mail I get is unbelievable. Last week alone, I got 238 pieces of nasty email and more hate tweets than I can even count. I was called an idiot, a traitor, a scourge, a cunt and an ugly man, and that was just in one email.

So what have I realized, being on the receiving end of all this ugliness? Well, my biggest takeaway is that for decades, we've been focused on political correctness, but what matters more is emotional correctness. Let me give you a small example. I don't care if you call me a dyke. I really don't. I care about two things. One, I care that you spell it right.

Just quick refresher, it's DYKE. You'd totally be surprised. And second, I don't care about the word, I care about how you use it. Are you being friendly? Are you just being naive? Or do you really want to hurt me personally?

If emotional correctness is the tone, the feeling, how we say what we say, the respect and compassion we show one another. And what I've realized is that political persuasion doesn't begin with ideas or facts or data. Political persuasion begins with being emotionally correct.

So when I first went to go work at Fox News, true confession, I expected there to be marks in the carpet from all the knuckle-dragging. That, by the way, in case you're paying attention, is not emotionally correct. But liberals on my side, we can be self-righteous, we can be condescending, we can be dismissive of anyone who doesn't agree with us. In other words, we can be politically right but emotionally wrong. And incidentally, that means that people don't like us. Right?

Now here's the kicker. Conservatives are really nice. I mean, not all of them, and not the ones who send me hate mail, but you would be surprised. Sean Hannity is one of the sweetest guys I've ever met. He spends his free time trying to fix up his staff on blind dates, and I know that if I ever had a problem, he would do anything he could to help. Now, I think Sean Hannity is 99 percent politically wrong, but his emotional correctness is strikingly impressive. And that's why people listen to him. Because you can't get anyone to agree with you if they don't even listen to you first. We spend so much time talking past each other and not enough time talking through our disagreements. And if we can start to find compassion for one another, then we have a shot at building common ground. It actually sounds really hokey to say it standing up here, but when you try to put it in practice, it's really powerful.

So someone who says they hate immigrants, I try to imagine how scared they must be that their community is changing from what they've always known. Or someone who says they don't like teachers' unions, I bet they're really devastated to see their kid's school going into the gutter, and they're just looking for someone to blame. Our challenge is to find the compassion for others that we want them to have for us. That is emotional correctness.

I'm not saying it's easy. An average of, like, 5.6 times per day I have to stop myself from responding to all of my hate mail with a flurry of vile profanities. This whole, you know, finding compassion and common ground with your enemies thing is kind of like a political-spiritual practice for me, and I ain't the Dalai Lama. I'm not perfect, but what I am is optimistic. Because I don't just get hate mail. I get a lot of really nice letters, lots of them. And one of my all-time favorites begins I am not a big fan of your political leanings or your sometimes tortured logic, but I'm a big fan of you as a person. Now this guy doesn't agree with me yet.

But he's listening not because of what I said, but because of how I said it. And somehow, even though we've never met, we've managed to form a connection. That's emotional correctness, and that's how we start the conversations that really lead to change.

Are you interested in the behaviour of people and animals? If you are, then you might enjoy the study of psychology. Psychology is the study of behaviour, but this is a very large area of study. There are several different branches of psychology, each of which studies a different aspect of behaviour. Social psychologists study interactions among people. For example, a social psychologist might try to learn about the situations that cause people to behave aggressively. Another question studied by social psychologists is why certain people become attracted to each other. One of the interesting problems in social psychology is conformity? what causes people to behave in the same way, and to follow what others do and say? Cognitive psychologists study thinking, memory, and language. One problem studied by cognitive psychologists is how people remember numbers. For example, what is the best way to memorize some numbers Is it better to repeat the numbers to oneself, or to try to attach some meaning to these numbers? A cognitive psychologist might also study language. For example, why can young children learn a second language so quickly and easily? Cognitive psychologists are also interested in the ways that people learn to solve problems, such as finding a new place. Clinical psychologists study mental illnesses. For example, a clinical psychologist might try to find out the causes of depression and to figure out ways of helping people who are depressed. Other clinical psychologists might study the behaviour of people who suffer from addiction to drugs, so that this problem can be prevented and treated. Another topic of interest to clinical psychologists is violent behaviour. It is very important to find ways of preventing violence and to change the behaviour of persons who act violently. Some psychologists are interested in the measurement of psychological characteristics. For example, psychologists might develop tests to assess a person's intelligence, personality traits, or interests. These tests can be used to help people make decisions about education, occupation, and clinical treatment. Psychologists who study the behaviour of animals are called ethologists. Ethologists often go into wilderness areas to watch the activity of birds, fish, or other animals. These psychologists try to figure out why it is that some animals have instincts for various behaviours such as parenting, mating, or fighting. Some ethologists have learned very much about the unusual behaviours observed in many animals. These are only a few of the many areas of psychology. Truly, psychology is one of the most interesting areas of knowledge!

Louis Pasteur was one of the greatest scientists of all time. Pasteur made very important discoveries in biology and chemistry, and the techniques he developed helped greatly to develop medical science and the agricultural and food industries.

Pasteur was born in a small town in France during the year eighteen twenty two. When he was a young man, Pasteur studied science at a university in the city of Paris. He soon did some excellent work in chemistry, and later began his famous study of germs.

Pasteur was one of the first scientists to understand that many diseases could be caused by extremely small, invisible organisms. Only a few other scientists had believed this before Pasteur. He advised doctors to wash their hands thoroughly before treating patients.

Pasteur also demonstrated that life forms did not arise spontaneously. His research confirmed the idea, developed by previous scientists, that a living organism would not appear unless other individuals of its kind were present.

One of Pasteur's most important contributions was a technique that has been named after him pasteurization. Pasteurization kills the germs that are found in drinks such as milk or beer. Because of Pasteur's technique, people are no longer infected with diseases by drinking these liquids.

Just as important as pasteurization was a technique called immunization Pasteur found that a person or animal could be made safe, or immune, from a disease, by injecting the person with some weakened germs that cause the disease. The body can resist the disease after being immunized in this way. Today, many diseases are prevented by the use of this technique.

Pasteur's discoveries also helped to save people who had already been infected with diseases. One such disease is rabies. Rabies is a disease that sometimes occurs in animals. This disease usually kills the animal, but before dying, the animal becomes very aggressive, and may spread the disease by biting a person or another animal.

One day, the parents of a young boy came to Pasteur. Their son had been bitten by a dog that had the rabies disease. The parents knew that their son would die from the disease, unless something could be done to save him. Pasteur agreed to help the boy, and the immunization technique saved the boy's life. Pasteur died in eighteen ninety five He was greatly admired around the world for his achievements, which have helped all of mankind. Today, Pasteur is considered to be the greatest figure in the history of medicine.

If I was walking down the beach one day and I happened to bump my toe on a magic lamp I would pick it up and rub it if it was a real magic lamp, but I don't believe that there really is a magic lamp, a genie would pop out in a cloud of smoke and he would call me master. He would say that he would grant me three wishes. I would have to think very hard about those wishes because I wouldn't want to waste them I don't think I'd want millions of dollars. Money doesn't buy happiness or so they say. I might wish for good health because if your health isn't good You won't be able to enjoy anything. Some people might wish for beauty, but beauty is only skin deep. Some people would wish for a mansion, or a beautiful car or a big boat. I don't want any of those things. Some people would want fame. Some people would want talent. Some people would wish for happiness. That might be a good thing to wish for. Yes, maybe I'd wish for health and happiness, but what would my third wish be? I could wish for something enormous, something global. I could wish for world peace. That would be a wonderful thing if somebody could grant me that. Yes, that would probably be my third wish. It's too bad there aren't any genies inside magic lamps. I won't get my three wishes. I can still work toward getting my wishes. I can eat well and exercise to stay healthy. I can be involved with a lot of things and be with my friends to stay happy. I can volunteer my time to different organizations to help achieve world peace. I can do my fair share in my community to help others. That's how I can get my three wishes, not through a magic lamp. I can only get what I want through self-determination and hard work. That is the key to getting your wishes fulfilled.

I sometimes imagine what it would be like if I could fly like a bird. Just imagine what it would be like to soar into the sky, flying high above the trees. You could stand on high rooftops and never be afraid of falling. You would see so many things as you flew over rooftops and forests. You would feel incredibly free as you traveled from place to place. Not bothered by road signs or traffic jams. If I could fly like a bird. I would start from my back yard and travel through town. I would look down on the houses and factories. When I got tired, I would land in a field and take a nap. I would travel above rivers and follow them as they wound along and emptied into lakes and oceans. I would fly above parks and I would call out to the children as I flew high above them. I would dip and dive as I flew. I would soar up high and dive down low. So that I could almost touch the treetops. Have you ever flown? I know that you can't fly like a bird, but you might have taken an airplane ride When you're in an airplane, you pass through clouds. It is exciting to take an airplane ride. I love taking airplane flights. I like to look down at the earth. When you are up that high, everything below you looks tiny. That's the closest I'll get to flying like a bird. But I can still use my imagination and spread my wings and soar high above the world. Just like a bird.

My father used to smoke. He got very ill. The doctor told him that he had to quit smoking. My father tried for a long time to quit. It was very difficult for him. Smoking is an addiction. After many months, my father finally gave up smoking, but he still craved a cigarette once in a while. He says that quitting smoking is the hardest thing that he has ever done. When my father did smoke, he smoked everywhere. He smoked in restaurants, stores and many public buildings. Now, you are not allowed to smoke in a lot of public places. When my father smoked, the rules were not so strict People could smoke just about anywhere. It really wasn't fair to the people who didn't smoke. Their clothes always smelled like smoke, and they breathed in second-hand smoke. Some people think that second-hand smoke is actually worse for you than if you smoke yourself. People would smoke in their houses, and very young children would inhale the smoke that was in the air. Some people still smoke in their houses, and their children breathe in the smoke. Some restaurants have areas for smokers and nonsmokers. But usually the smoke drifts from one area to the other. There are some businesses that have banned smoking altogether. Personally, I think that smoking in public places should be completely banned. I don't think that I should have to breathe in another person's smoke. If I choose not to smoke myself. It wouldn't be fair for a nonsmoker to get lung cancer. Because they had to be in a place where smokers were allowed to light up. I know that smoking is a powerful addiction And that it is very difficult to quit. But smokers should restrict their smoking to places where there is nobody else around. Lung cancer is an awful disease. Nobody should have to suffer with lung cancer. People should be educated about the dangers of smoking. Smoking should be banned in public places, but eventually I would like to believe that fewer people will smoke. It would be nice to live in a smoke free environment.

It is going to be my father's birthday. What can I give him? I don't have much money. I have looked all through the stores, and I have not found anything that I think he would like, or that I can afford. I have thought very hard about what to buy for him. I thought that he might like some candy, but my father really doesn't eat many sweets. I thought that he might like a new shirt, but he has lots of clothes. I can't afford a new car or computer for him. I was watching him on the weekend. He cut the grass, washed the car, took out the garbage, weeded the garden and watered the plants. I got an idea. I went to my room and took out some paper. I cut out pieces of paper, and I wrote on them. I wrote on one piece of paper that I would wash the car every weekend for the summer. I wrote on another piece that I would take out the garbage every week for the summer. I also wrote that I would cut the grass, weed the garden and water the plants every week for the summer. I made a birthday card for my dad, and I put the pieces of paper inside it. I went downstairs and gave my gift to my dad. My dad thought that the gift was very thoughtful. He said that it was a gift from the heart. I did all those things for my dad all summer. He said that he had a lot of free time because I helped him so much. My dad and I are good friends. I don't mind doing things for him because I know that he is always there to help me out. A good gift doesn't have to be something that costs a lot. My dad says that the best gifts are the ones that show how much you care for the other person. I'm glad my dad liked his gift.

On New Year's Day people start a new year. Many people make resolutions. They resolve to be better people. Some people decide that they will lose weight, so that they can be healthier. Some people decide to give up smoking. They also want to be healthier. There are all kinds of resolutions that people make. Some people try not to lose their tempers. Some people say that they will work harder. There are people who try to give up bad habits. Every year, my brother says that he will stop biting his nails. He stops biting his nails in January, but by February he always starts again. That is the thing about New Year's resolutions. People seldom keep them. Everybody starts out with good intentions, but it is very hard to stick with them. I don't make New Year's resolutions. I find that I just break them. I just work day by day to break my bad habits. I know that I eat too many sweets. Every day, I just try to resist them. I think that every day is a new day, regardless of whether it is New Year's Day or not. Bad habits are hard to break. The best thing is never to start any bad habits. I don't know if my brother will ever stop biting his nails, but I know that each January he intends to stop. Maybe one of these New Year's Days he'll get over that habit.

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer
Eighty percent of success is showing up
I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge
The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails
If you don't make mistakes, you're not working on hard enough problems. And that's a big mistake
You can never get enough of what you don't really need
Insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody

Joe is 18 years old. Joe works at McDonald's. Joe saves all his money. Joe has 2500 dollars in the bank. He wants to buy a sports car. Joe starts to look for a new car. Joe looks in the newspaper. Joe looks in magazines. Joe finds a car he likes. Joe goes to see the car with his dad. He really likes it. Joe doesn't have enough money. Joe's dad tells him to keep saving his money. Joe wants this car a lot. Joe asks his dad to help him. Joe and his dad make a deal. Joe's dad will lend him the money. Joe must work hard. He must pay the money back to his dad. Joe is very happy. Joe owns his first car.

Samantha is going to an Easter egg hunt. Tracey is going to an Easter egg hunt. The Easter egg hunt is at Sydney's house. It is going to be fun. Sydney's mom hid chocolate eggs. Sydney's mom hid chocolate bunnies. Everybody is here. Everybody has an Easter basket. The Easter egg hunt can start. Everybody must close their eyes. One two three go. Samantha finds an Easter egg. The Easter egg is behind a table. She puts it in her basket. Tracey finds a chocolate Easter bunny. It's under the couch. Tracey puts it in her basket. Sydney finds a chocolate Easter bunny too. It's in front of the television. She puts it in her basket. Everybody finds lots of chocolate. Everybody shares their chocolate. Samantha Tracey and Sydney love Easter.

Mark's favourite sport is hockey. He is 15 years old. Mark practises three times a week. Practices are two hours long. Mark plays one game a week. Mark is a good hockey player. He plays on Friday nights. Friday night hockey games are popular. Mark's family watches him play. Mark's friends watch him play too. There are always many fans. Tonight is the big game. Coaches are coming to watch Mark play. Mark wants to play in the National Hockey League. Mark wants to make a lot of money. It is very hard to play in the NHL. Mark's parents want him to go to college. They want him to have an education. They want Mark to be successful. They want Mark to be happy.

Jennifer Smith is a firefighter. She is one of the first female firefighters. Jennifer works hard every day. Jennifer exercises every day. She lifts weights. She wants her muscles to be very strong. She saves people's lives every day. She is very strong.

Jennifer is married. Her husband is a school teacher. Jennifer's husband is proud of her. Jennifer is a mother. She has two daughters. Jennifer's daughters are proud of her too. Jennifer is happy being a firefighter. Jennifer is happy being a wife. Jennifer is happy being a mother.

My name is Sarah. I am 14 years old. I have a pet cat. My cat's name is Milo. My cat is black and white. Milo's paws are white. Milo's body is black. She is very cute. Milo's fur is very soft. Milo was a very small kitten. Milo is a very big cat. Milo can not have kittens. She is fixed. Milo likes to eat. Milo likes to play outside. Milo likes to hunt for birds. Milo likes to hunt for mice. She likes her ears scratched. Milo likes to sit in my lap. Milo likes to sleep on my bed. Milo is a good pet.