The Tale of a “Closeted” Conservative in Hollywood
Why the baseball cap? Why the sunglasses? Why the anonymity? If you’re proud of your country, why perform “American Heart” using the pseudonym Jon David?
Very legitimate questions with one very simple answer: Hollywood is a place where Art is protected under the 1st amendment while the Artist is not.
It’s no secret that the majority of folks in the entertainment industry lean left. What is less well known is that Artists who don’t are often met with such contempt that their very livelihoods are threatened.
The industry responsible for setting the cultural tone in America, which keeps itself warm under the expansive blanket of free speech, has no issue attempting to silence the conservative voice within its ranks.
In late 2008, Jon David, a “closeted” conservative L.A. based screenwriter, director, singer, and songwriter met Andrew Breitbart at a small lunch akin to an ideological Speakeasy. Breitbart, the most prominent cultural crusader for the Right had already set in motion an extensive network/ sanctuary where the increasing number of conservative artists could express their beliefs as openly as the Left and without persecution. He asked Jon to participate by writing for his new site Big Hollywood.
The result was the recurring column “My Weekly Date with a Liberal:” a comedic and often poignant sociological experiment exploring how dating compatibility might be affected by differences in political affiliation while attempting to a gain a deeper understanding into the mind set of the liberal community. At a Venice Beach BBQ, Jon found himself on the receiving end of a relentless verbal assault when a Liberal woman learned of his conservatism. She followed this with an extensive list of America’s shortcomings. Jon listened calmly, and when the opportunity presented itself, he asked her one simple question: Do you like this country? Her answer was No.
He went home, picked up a guitar, and wrote “American Heart.” The song has already been embraced by many prominent figures on the Right (see Testimonials) and described as a love song for America.
Donning a baseball cap and sunglasses, Jon has played “American Heart” at events for Ride2Recovery and the American Legion. He performed the song at the Quincy Tea Party as well as The National Tea Party Convention in Nashville where he took the stage just prior to keynote speaker Governor Sarah Palin and received a standing ovation from the 1000 plus Americans in attendance. One woman said “We are so used to hearing the entertainment industry bash our country and bash us regular folks. It was amazing to hear someone put into words how so many of us feel about our Nation. It gave me chills.”
Most recently he opened the Presidential Banquet at CPAC and is now in discussions with many campaigns to perform “American Heart” at rallies for the 2010 election cycle.
His next performance will be at the FreedomWorks Tax Day Tea Party in Washington DC on April 15th.
So why the pseudonym? Why the baseball cap? Why the sunglasses? Why the anonymity?
Jon’s answer “If I have the ability to bring attention in any way to the cultural war going on in this country by having folks ask those questions, then I feel I’m doing something to help further the message Andrew Breitbart has so boldly brought to the fore, and then perhaps one day soon, I can take off the hat and glasses without reservation.”
Jon continues to write for Big Hollywood and is also a contributor to BigGovernment.com.
“What Obama Zombies need to understand is that social justice is a euphemism for socialism; respecting property is the real justice, not what some college kid or Washington bureaucrat thinks is unfair. What’s interesting is that liberals are all for “spreading the wealth around” except when it’s their own.” 
Diary of a Mad Conservative 