You are getting at the heart of something I have felt for a long time. Public intellectuals are becoming increasingly more prominent in American society. They are cultivating influence through social media, and are affecting the public discourse like never before. Unfortunately, many public intellectuals are either (1) not in the position to comment on many of the issues they engage in — as you note here with Harris, or (2) do not have the desire to approach an issue with the value neutral, measured skepticism necessary to lead a “public” to the best available answer to a problem.