It’s a rare thing that you can see raw, honest emotions both in interviewee and the interviewed. Yet, in one of more recent Jordan Peterson’s podcasts you can see tears, sadness, and by no doubt, you will know that they come from the deep heart. (Unlike some other unfortunately much more viral interviews, like the one with one royal couple…).
I stumbled recently on Yeonmi Park’s story and I can’t get it out of my head.
It’s not just about North Korea. It’s not just about the other villain, the silent supporter of the regime – Peoples Republic of China. This story is not just about those “far away lands” which we think do not concern us. This story is also about West,
It is about the state of humanity. It is about the struggle between good and evil, freedom versus totalitarianism, courage versus cowardice, sacrifice versus indifference.
It’s also a story of hope. And something I personally can relate to – the life changing power of books.
If you haven’t seen it yet – go grab some coffee, put your headphones on and invest those 2 hours of your life in hearing Yeonmi’s story.
It might change you, or change your perception at least a bit. And hopefely you will be able to read the dire warning.
Do not take you freedom for granted – wherever you are.
In their recent efforts of promoting so called “inclusion” one of the major cartoon TV published a graphic on their social networks, targeted at children, which was encouraging the use of “gender non-conforming pronouns” (hope, I got it right…).
So… Rejoice Fellow Citizen, your TV channel is now teaching Newspeak to your kids! Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984 are not knocking at your door anymore, they have already stormed your house with their muddy boots and making themselves comfortable on your couch.
Apparently language matters. And the proponents of the great cultural revolution perfectly know that, after all they are all good Marxist scholars.
Once you hijack the language you can pave the way to people’s minds and souls.
If I can bend society around me and all my social interactions, so that they subdue to my subjective view of reality then indeed the possibilities are limitless. I can be anything. Anything, in that amorphous, pudding-like mass of conforming jelly (non-conforming to gender, resisting supremacies yet so obedient in whatever the corporations are telling them) that our society becomes.
And so… I can’t help but wonder.
Who is really driven by hate here?
People, who refuse acknowledging something that just plays whack-a-mole with their inherent sense of Truth? Or people, who despise the Truth so much that they are expecting everyone around them to participate in their lie?
Who is really trying to impose their worldview and not being ‘inclusive’ enough?
People who denounce the right of others to ‘self-identify’? Or rather those who deny the others the right to objectively observe & name reality for what it is?
The loudest proponents of “inclusion” and “diversity”, are pushing the society away from liberty and towards more & more obvious totalitarianism. Big players in media, politics, tech and commerce have hijacked the public discourse (including universities) and are weeding out everything which deviates from mainstream narration with methods that have nothing to do with civilised debate. Some ideas, even if scientifically proven or statistically backed are labeled as unacceptable, fascist in other words “heretical”. It is not only that you are not allowed to voice your opinion anymore, – often you are not even allowed to ask questions.
Moreover, it is not only opinions & ideas that are labeled, but more often than not, individuals who dare to express them. People are slandered, ostracised and attacked for merely standing out in their worldview.
In times where memes and emotions, replaced arguments and facts, it is easy to spin the debate out of control. As Jordan Peterson (featured in the documentary) observes” The consequence that you are not talking is that you fight”.
These thoughts and warnings have been brilliantly captured through series of interviews and discussions in a new movie by Marijn Poels; Paradogma.
As Norbert Bolz, one of the professors featured in the movie ironically observes:
“Free thoughts supported people in informing themselves, so that they can form their own opinions and think independently. Right now it is assumed that people are no longer adults. Thank God we have responsible journalists and politicians that lead us in the right direction”
Liberty needs heretics so that out of the stir, out of the clash of the ideas the Truth can emerge. Because the Truth does not need to be protected from the lies by force, It stands for Itself . But surely, lies need brute force to be protected from the Truth.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell
If you are watching the news, rubbing your head wondering if it is just you or rather the whole world went nuts, then welcome in the club. You are not alone. Fortunately, there are a few others, some brilliant minds, that not only have the ability to see dangerous paradigm shifts plaguing our society, but also have the courage to speak against them. Their voices are a breeze of freedom and encouragement to all those, who like me might feel overwhelmed by the madness oozing from the mainstream media narration. Hear them out while you still can.
1. John Cleese
Who would think we will be living in times where Monty Python would become a stronghold of reason and common sense. Yet here we are.
So yeah, you read that right; this list is starting not with a philosopher, but with a creator of probably most famous comedy troupe in modern history; John Cleese.
“If people cant control their own emotions, then they are going to start controlling other peoples’ behaviour.”
These few short words on PC & the destruction of comedy, and the bare fact from whom they are coming from, depict in what scary world we arrived at.
2. Sam Harris
Really now? I am a Catholic and I recommend… Sam Harris to you? Yeah, Sam Harris is an outspoken atheist and probably we would disagree on a few matters. That doesn’t mean I that I don’t wholeheartedly agree with him, whenever he brings reason & common sense, to a conversation which had drifted far off from rationality. He shared some great thoughts on neuroscience and rise of AI. But also on recent events, which shows his courage. In times, where media are oozing at us with emotional blackmail he dares to speak the following;
“ This feeling of not-liking, of outrage, of disgust (..) this feeling isn’t an argument. This feeling shouldn’t be the basis for your belief for anything to be true or false about this world. Your capacity to be offended is not something that I or anyone else needs to respect. It isn’t something that you should respect. It is rather something you should be on your guard for. “
3. Douglas Murray
Speaking of times of madness, this list would not be complete without the Author of “Madness of Crowds” one of the two books which broke the veil of silence, and provided one of the very few neutral & fact based accounts on a raging trends that are reshaping our society.
Douglas Murray is a bestselling author & journalist, who unlike his peers from mass media has done his homework and is not afraid to pick up on subjects which are getting dangerously close to becoming taboo in the mainstream narration. Here is one of the interviews with him, where he delves into the consequences of identity politics.
4. Taylor Marshall
Being a Catholic, I wouldn’t be also myself if I wouldn’t smuggle into the list a strong voice of the Church. But hey, he is not a priest! One might say.
Well Church is also laity, and their voices like the one of Taylor Marshall need to be heard. In his podcast, Taylor Marshall is not afraid to touch topics which are difficult; both for secular and a Catholic world. He dares to speak the uncomfortable truth, while many representatives of the clergy remain comfortably silent.
He gives another perspective, the one that comes of deep understanding of the Christian roots of Western civilisation (same civilisation that gave us science, morals, and the bare concept of objective truth, nothing big, right?). Perspective that sometimes might feel shocking only because we have drifted so far away from those roots.
5. Jordan B. Peterson
“The game of dividing human beings by their group identity ends in disaster, no matter who plays that game.”
I would like to close the list with someone whom I personally consider as one of the most influential thinkers of modern times and a one-man stronghold against the forces of darkness (yeah, not kidding here). The occurring theme of his bestselling book “12 rules for life”, articles, lectures is the one of the constant struggle of forces of chaos and order.
And what we are seeing right now, is raging chaos, that starts to take hold of our culture, society, universities (and what comes with it; science) even our language.
Jordan Peterson has a gift of precisely articulating thoughts, forming them into words that are like sword cutting through that garbage of miasmatic newspeak that hijacked public discourse.
If you haven’t heard of him yet – just do yourself a favour and google one of his interviews or lectures. Here is a rare one , which is more on a funny, laid back note.
Flame in the Schell 