I think we have unreconcilably opposed views of the man. This is the same guy who claimed apple juice caused him to say awake for a week uninterrupted. Apple juice doesn’t do that, but several hard drugs can.
I didn’t think I said I had any issues with his talks. I just found them quite basic, very difficult to listen to because of how much he rambled on and underwhelming. I’m sure they helped some people, and that’s good, but so do self help seminars and no one calls them right wing figureheads.
Well here's your problem.
You don't like him because he's not a right wing figurehead.
He's not. He doesn't claim to be. I wasn't claiming he is. And the only people who claim he is, are the lefties who are attacking him.
It seems you don't like him because he doesn't live up to the expectations you had of him from lefty hit pieces.
Which is a little weird if you ask me.
I agree that he's too rambly.
But the core of his message is pretty in line with Christian morality. On top of that, it's mostly solid advice. Do you have criticisms of the advice he gives? The core of his message is things like: you need meaning to feel whole. You find meaning in being responsible, in having goals and aiming for them, in self improvement. If it seems too much, you can start small and build up. Even something as small as picking up a stack of papers. Clean your room, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Extreme ideologies like naziism and communism are bad. Hierarchical structures are natural and unavoidable and are not bad, but can be corrupted by power and become bad. Meritocracy is good. Free speech is good and you should speak out about what you believe, and be prepared to be confronted by the fact that you might be wrong about things. Do work to better the world, but only after you've got yourself in order first.
As for him being an addict: I've been there too. But in his situation, it is more "dependence" than addiction. While addiction and chemical dependency are often interchangeable terms, they mean different things. Addiction involves the mental portion as well. Seeking out the drugs, the social behaviors, etc. Chemical dependency is just your body becoming dependent on a substance. Which benzos do. And benzo withdrawal is very dangerous and can kill you. He almost died getting off the stuff once he realized it was a problem. Having gone through the same thing with SSRIs (not the near death, but 21 days of Absolute HELL) I can relate and I don't fault him.
Besides, as an alcoholic (4 years clean,) I also don't think having an addiction in your past means you can't give good advice. Quite the contrary. A lot of addiction counselors and everyone you meet in support groups are addicts themselves. They often make better counselors because they truly understand, rather than just academically understand. So even if you wanted to dismiss my dependency/addiction argument, I still don't think it's a deal breaker. Taking advice on how to deal with anxiety and depression from someone who has spent their life fighting that battle, seems fine to me. They're intimately familiar with that battle. Wouldn't you want to take training on being an elite soldier from an elite soldier? You want someone with experience to teach you. So him facing depression and anxiety, again, doesn't make him unqualified to give advice in those areas.
You simultaneously sound like a leftist hitpiece who didn't consume any of his work, and also upset that he doesn't live up to the claims in the hitpieces. Now, you said you read one of his books, and I'll take your word for it. But you don't seem to have picked up on the core of the message he's trying to convey. It seems you're disappointed because you wanted a right wing attack dog, and what you got was a milquetoast self help author. The right wing attack dog stuff are just lefty lies and attacks. He's just a self help author who has managed to piss off a large portion of the left, for the simple fact that he reaches disenfranchised young white males.