Welcome back to our VIP video series "The Amiable Skeptics," featuring my friend Adam Baldwin! Adam is well-known for his long and storied Hollywood career, starting with My Bodyguard, and especially for his roles in Full Metal Jacket, Firefly, its film sequel Serenity, Chuck, and The Last Ship. And today, we're offering this episode for all of our readers – so that they can get a sample of our VIP content.

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Are conservatives too defensive? Adam discusses a topic raised by Mollie Hemingway, that of the "ritual benediction/malediction." When we offer criticism of government and politicians, why do we preface it with contradiction? "The Secret Service agents are exceptional," we'll start before feeling free to go on to substantive criticism of their performance. Or alternately, we'll assure audiences that Donald Trump is crass before going on to emphasize his merit in some other way. What do we think we're buying with that level of defensiveness? Watch us as we catch each other doing it impulsively, and think about the message it sends.

Watch it all, and join our VIP membership to extend the conversation in the comments!