Why Dr. Andrew Fox says truth matters more than applause

We thought we would discuss critical thinking and how it applies to today’s propaganda-laden world. And we did. But the conversation quickly turned into a luminous, expansive exchange of knowledge, opinions, and faith, especially between Dr. Fox and Dr. Breggin. Dr. Fox has an open and warm demeanor that radiated care and affection when he greeted us.

Dr. Andrew Fox is an Anglican priest who now lives with his wife in the heart of Texas, where he has settled after immigrating from the United Kingdom. He became an American citizen and shared with us about how happy he is to be here in the United States and how proud he is to be an American.

We exchanged stories about the unexpected and delightful joy with which recent World Cup tourists coming to America for the first time shared their experiences on social media. Europeans discovered how beautiful, engaging, friendly, welcoming, fun, and (the food!) delicious America is. Then they shared all of that on social media, red-pilling their friends and families and helping Americans feel proud again after these terrible post-COVID years. After the show, I enjoyed reading Dr. Fox’s blog on this topic, “The World Cup: America’s Greatest Untapped Form of Diplomacy.”

Dr. Fox introduced his forthcoming book: Truth in the Age of Applause: How Stupidity Is Ruining the American Dream. We discussed critical thinking and how it and civil dialogue are essential for challenging harmful ideologies while maintaining respect for authority—particularly said Dr. Fox– in scriptural contexts.

The conversation explored the differences between Old and New Testament perspectives on Jews as the Chosen people, with Dr. Fox commenting that while the Old Testament focused on a specific tribe’s witness to one God, the New Testament emphasizes an egalitarian approach where all people are children of God. We discussed how modern concepts of relativism [the philosophical belief that nothing is objectively true or universally applicable] have been misused to undermine truth, particularly in debates about biological reality and gender identity, with Dr. Fox noting that reality doesn’t change regardless of opinions.

I discovered after the interview that Dr. Fox has spoken the truth very actively and personally rather than “seeking applause.” Dr. Fox had served eight years as Austin City Fire Chaplain when, in 2021, he wrote a blog arguing that men should not compete in women’s sports due to biological differences between the two sexes. According to the Christian Post:

Months later, Fox was dismissed when officials decided that his efforts to apologize to unnamed offended parties were not sufficient, as he refused to recant his views on LGBT issues.

In August 2022, Fox filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleging that AFD officials “retaliated against him for exercising his First Amendment rights, violated his First Amendment right to free speech and free exercise of religion, and violated the Texas Constitution.”

On March 3, 2026, the city of Austin reached a $78,000 settlement with former Austin City Fire Chaplain Andrew Fox, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Dr. Fox does not seek applause. He seeks truth. We are sure his book will be as engaging as our hour visit with Dr. Andrew Fox!

The Breggin Hour airs on Saturday and Sunday on AmericaOutLoud.news at 4 pm ET. All episodes of The Breggin Hour are available on podcast networks worldwide every Monday.

Transcript Summary of this podcast episode ⤵

We are told to think critically, but critical thinking is not a slogan, a trend, or a performance for applause. It is the stubborn habit of asking what is true, what is evidence, and what is being hidden in plain sight. That habit matters now because propaganda no longer arrives as blunt force. It comes wrapped in language, emotion, and moral certainty.

One of the clearest signs of our confusion is the collapse of reality into preference. A woman is no longer a woman, a man is no longer a man, and truth is treated as a social agreement that can be revised by cheering crowds. That is not liberation. It is surrender. When applause replaces judgment, people stop reasoning and start obeying.

The greater danger is not simply cultural decay. It is the steady erosion of the American idea itself. This nation was built by people willing to disagree, debate, and still search for common ground. They did not demand unanimity. They demanded courage. They knew that freedom depends on moral responsibility, not on emotional conformity.

That is why the attack on language is so serious. Change the words, then change the rules, then punish dissent, and soon you have a society where people fear speaking what they know to be true. That road leads to intellectual exhaustion, civic cowardice, and a public square ruled by intimidation.

The answer is not cynicism. It is better citizenship. It is evidence over noise, dialogue over spectacle, humility over pride. It is the simple refusal to call falsehood truth just because a crowd is clapping.

If America is to remain free, we must relearn how to think, speak, and live as people accountable to reality. That begins when we stop applauding and start discerning.