I get asked to read new works a lot, in the hope that I will give a quotation and I will only give a 'puff' for a book I truly love.
I come from the home-grown punk ethic, where it doesn't matter if you can't play a note, it's how you communicate.
And I think both the left and the right should celebrate people who have different opinions, and disagree with them, and argue with them, and differ with them, but don't just try to shut them up.