That’s quite the title for my very first blog post right? Well you have to start somewhere and where better than looking in the mirror?
I can’t say I arrived easily at this decision, largely because no man really wants to admit he needs sorting out let alone tell the world how he’s going to go about it.
It all began with this man and his videos.
I watched in awe as Jordan Peterson gave up on the sabotaged microphone and went a-capella to deliver an impromptu address to students on campus at the University of Toronto. He warned against the very real threats to free speech encapsulated stealthily in the ‘inclusive’ notion of forced gender pronouns and the looming shadow of Bill C-16.
For those that don’t know, the gender pronoun debate was instrumental in putting Dr Peterson on the map. He became public enemy number one at the University of Toronto campus for his refusal to use made-up pronouns (words that replace he/she/it with others that represent the infinite genders available to choose from). Dr Peterson went all the way to a Canadian Senate hearing to protest Bill C-16 – an amendment to the Canadian Human Rights Act which adds “gender expression or idenity ” to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination.
Now while this all sounds too far-fetched or worse yet, too insignificant to matter to me on the other side of the world, Dr Peterson sparked a courage in me that I did not think existed anymore. I felt like I had been called to battle. Like I had been summoned to stand up and fight for something. I just didn’t know what yet.
I watched him stand up to the barking, vitriolic and cowardly leftists to speak his mind. He presented a solid case against forced speech and while doing so, attracted attention to the unending decay of individual freedoms. He was, in this moment (October 2016) one of the first voices for truth and individual responsibility I’d heard in a long time. I was entranced by his ability to remain calm and speak the unpopular truth amid hysterical claims he was sexist, transphobic and homophobic. He had done something no other man seemed willing or able to do. He articulated his position in very clear language. He did not create a sneaky, twisting narrative of overtly diplomatic prose to ensure he didn’t ‘offend’ anyone. Instead, he laid out the facts simply and refused to back down. His behaviour, to me, was the prototype upon which our current leaders should be built.
I continued to watch his videos and was amazed at just how much analysis Peterson had done to uncover what composes our architecture of belief. I was amazed at how deep the concepts of meaning and archetypes really went. He revealed a world of great thinkers in Nietsche, Freud, Jung and Piaget who were further complimented by an array of amazing writers in Dostoyevsky, Solzhenitsyn, and Orwell. I had always considered myself to be at the very least of above average intelligence and one man alone had managed make that seem like quite the claim. His lecture series on the bible will have any self-proclaimed atheist strongly reconsider their language, thought process and position on the matter. His maps of meaning lectures and insights on personality are a shockingly complex, yet strangely familiar journey through the nuances of human interactions and personal growth. Lastly, his comprehensive analysis of many modern-day animation films deserve a mention. Warning: you will not look at animation the same ever again!
All this positivity in discovery was marred with some equally negative reflection though. I felt guilty and ashamed. Cowardly in my approach to letting others shoulder the load to speak the truth. I felt as though I had failed in my responsibility to stand-up for values I knew were morally right. Values that in today’s world are kicked to the kerb in favour of vacuous ‘inclusivity’ and the pursuit of ‘equality of outcome’ for an ever-growing list of self-proclaimed, victimised minorities. The resonating pain of feeling I’d failed my fellow man, coupled with my fresh hurt pride in discovering I simply didn’t know that much led to me to seek other truthspeakers. Others who, like Dr Peterson, managed to keep their integrity in-tact and speak their minds in the face of violent objection from the masses. Pretty soon I’d formed a mental fellowship of these free folk. I discovered guys like Dave Rubin, Gad Saad, Ben Shapiro, Larry Elder and Jonathan Haidt. I heard from women like Camille Paglia, Christina Hoff-Sommers and Candace Owens all speaking a similar yet rather unpopular truth and promoting the ‘radical’ notion of individual responsibility.
These people became the founding members of what I call the Coalition of Courage. Instead of believing there were enough people in that group and letting them fight the good fight for me, I decided to come to the web and make my tiny contribution. For what it’s worth, I’m here to fight the good fight and promote information, videos, tours and anything else I believe to be in favour of justice, truth and individual responsibility. Having worked in technology in Corporate Australia for the last 13 years, I’m not naive to the pervading leftist agenda in the media and in the workplace (and of course Hollywood!). I’ve witnessed hiring quotas for women become the norm. Cultural ‘enrichment’ programs that seek to hire only particular races are also quite commonplace. I see the Australian government attempt to ‘bridge the gap’ between Indigenous Australians and everyone else by simply providing preferential treatment to the former. Every diversity seems to be catered for. Except for one; the diversity of thought. Suffice to say, I’ve had enough and the Coalition of Courage above are just the beginning in arming me with the tools and understanding to present a case in an articulate and well-thought out manner. In so far as Sorting Myself Out goes I am beginning to shake the bonds of politically correct speech and speaking my mind. I hope to bring an Australian flavour to the narrative of truth, personal responsibility and strength of character to the web.
I’d love to hear your story. Was there a moment you had a change of mind? Perhaps a significant experience that opened your mind to the possibility that the majority may not always be right.
Thanks for reading.
Anthony
alithos 