Heck off, commie! Youtuber inspires the younger generation

Navigating the realm of politics can be difficult for the average college student to master, but it can prove to be a skill more useful than many learned in the classroom. College students can engage in politics through many different venues whether it be classes, organizations or social media platforms. One platform is YouTube, where one of my favorite conservative commentators, John Doyle, hosts his show Heck Off, Commie! (HOC).

On YouTube, John Doyle has over 343K subscribers. HOC is a popular show both on the web and on Liberty University’s campus. Other students and I enjoy his content because of his pragmatic takes on social issues and alternately, his out-of-pocket jokes. John Picciano, a junior and double major in business administration and pre-law, also subscribes to Doyle’s channel.

“I really like how all of his political stances reference back to the Bible or Christian tradition,” Picciano said. 

Now, most of Doyle’s content are “long-formed” and “thorough” video essays that cover anything from the controversy of pride month to the hidden messaging in “Beauty and the Beast.” 

“(John Doyle) argues things even the most conservative media company won’t touch with a 10-foot pole,” Picciano said. “John’s content has exposed me to a lot of things that were presented to me as fact in public school that are actually not true or at the very least debatable.”

HOC got its start four years ago when Doyle was working at Subway. It turns out he wasn’t just a sandwich artist — he was a content creator. Doyle didn’t have some great epiphany, but he just knew he wanted to get into politics, so he made it happen. He bought some equipment and started making man-on-the-street videos, interviewing people about their opinions. 

Many of Doyle’s videos are controversial even among those of similar political leanings, and I agree with this sentiment. 

Doyle chose the political commentary route over working for the government system because it is a great “inflection point” of his skills. He had always enjoyed writing and making content, and the political commentary pathway seemed much more fitting for him. Meanwhile, he doesn’t place his faith in America’s current bureaucratic system.

“The greatest potential people have to change (the system) is to try to amass some sort of influence independent of (it),” Doyle said. “Going through the system is also a very good strategy, but this just happened to work out better for me.”

That being said, Doyle also noted that anyone who wants to enter into politics needs to start local, not national. He stressed the importance of young people in politics, describing the younger generation as the key to making long-standing change and stopping the demoralization of America. Doyle encouraged college students and other young people to participate in politics in their own way.

“There are ways to get involved in politics without having to get involved in politics,” Doyle said. “We need right-wing lawyers. We need right-wing historians. Pursue your passion … and you will be a contribution to the movement.” 

When voting, Doyle advised young voters to judge a candidate based on how engrained they are in the system. To anyone looking to work in politics, he said it’s important to “quickly assess” others’ intentions and why they got in the business.

“If it is for things of this earth, being money or fame, or anything like that, don’t trust them,” Doyle said. “The best people you’ll meet in this industry are the people doing really good work, and they’re not getting paid very much for it. … There’s so much underappreciation, but they still do it … because it’s the right thing to do.”

As a practicing Catholic, Doyle’s faith in Christ shapes his worldview and platform. In a world that likes to say God doesn’t exist, Doyle encourages others to keep attending church and stay faithful to God.

“The only thing that matters is going to Heaven and being united with God,” Doyle said. 

On that note, I encourage anyone reading this to get involved in politics in their own way. Keep honoring God through your actions, and He will use you for good. 

For more information or to watch HOC, visit his youtube channel or his website.

Bear is the feature editor for the Liberty Champion