“If you live your life fully, it would be enough. Imagine being constrained by our mortal limitations, but exhausting yourself in the pursuit of your life, and emptying yourself in some consequence, and not hiding your light under a bushel, but letting it shine on a hill. Then, at the end, you could look back and say ‘I did this. I lived my life, and that was not only sufficient, but wonderful.’
I've been a fan of Jordan Peterson for a long time now, and last night, finally, I had the fortune to go hear him in person right here in Bucharest. I say fortune because I do think myself tremendously lucky to have existed in the same room as him for a brief time. No, this is no personal cult, and I do think there are faults to Peterson's arguments, but he does strike me as one of the most extraordinary minds of our times, and I think it's important to latch onto people like that. Too often, we focus on the bad, the evil people who dictate and lead us to the slaughterhouse. But there are, also, people who are good. Who, like Jordan Peterson, are focusing their efforts towards the right.
Not a fan of taking photos at events, but I was glad to find his "Maps of Meaning" for sale.
He actually spoke on that a bit, last night. Not on how fortunate we're to have him. Obviously. Rather, on the value of good in one's life, so generally assailed by evil. Over the past few years, naturally, I've surrounded myself by people who tend to be...
... cynical.
...realistic.
...vaguely conspiratorial, if you will.
...far too often right.
...not very optimistic about the future of our world.
And it's not hard to see why. As Mr. Peterson said last night, we're living in the Tower of Babel. In a world where we can't even agree on what a woman is, it's a clear sign of a disjointed, malformed society. It warmed the heart to hear the cascade of applause at that.
Why?
Because far too often, we see the evil around us, instead of the good. We see, for instance, the people who would pervert our children's minds in the name of "social justice", or who would punish what is good in their neighbors simply because they won't dress in the same stripey suit as them. Sick fucking stuff, the lot of it.
Sometimes, like last night, you need to open your eyes to see the people fighting the good fight. Who've dedicated their lives to good. It doesn't change the long list of psychopaths, but it makes them a smidge more palatable.
But is the solution to turn a blind eye to these maniacs, or to turn on our rose-tinted lenses? I think not. I've heard a lot of people take that approach.
oh, what's the point of looking at the news? Or of getting upset over what is happening? I'll just ignore it.
Jordan Peterson said something very interesting on that subject last night, referring to one of his rules that didn't make it in his books. It went something like this,
Every responsibility you shirk off will be taken over by malevolent tyrants.
Sure, you're a small, nowhere guy. How could you fight all the horrible things going on in our world? It was a common mentality I noticed during lockdown. I'm just one person, why would I go stand on a sidewalk in protest? What would that achieve?
Probably nothing. But imagine if ten thousand people think this way, and all stay home. Now imagine they all took their responsibility seriously and came out and protested. One person can't make a difference, but 10k might. But that was a logic I'd played around with a lot over the past few years. Nothing new.
What I particularly liked about Mr. Peterson's argument was this idea that no job goes undone. If you shrug it off, it won't just fall to the ground and gather up dust. It will be found by someone else, often someone terrible, sadistic, self-centered and cruel, who will take your vote. Your right. Your responsibility.
Spoiler Alert: You die anyway.
Question is, are you going to die fighting for what's right, or placidly numbed out in your chair? Obviously, these responsibilities you can take control of start off small. There's the infamous making your bed in the morning, an old Peterson dictum that's based on very simple logic. Making your bed is something you are in control of. And maybe taking control of something small and "meaningless" like that can lead you to take control of something else. Something of value.
During the Q&A after the show, someone asked a question that, for once, made me proud of my country. They said,
This trans/woke agenda is coming our way fast. How can we protect our children?
It brought tears to my eyes, as it does now, because that's truly what it's all about. We are now in a position of power. Or at least, we could be. We need to stand strong, to firm up our cores, and create the wall that protects our vulnerable young from danger, whatever form that may take.
And it's fucking terrifying on the barricades. As ever, you get a choice. You can step up on the wall, and scour the night, and see all the evil that the world has to throw your way. And up here, you can hold fast, and feel the fear, but that's okay, because all the fear that accumulates inside you is one less fear in your children's lives, and that makes it worthwhile. Every single night.
Or you could stay down there. Maybe you're a good person, and sure, someone's gotta stay with the little ones. You can cower in the darkness, and cry, and hope that by some miracle, you avoid a terrible fate you dared not fight against.
We sleepy anywhere
Shall come home some day
To find it all saved
By sheer luck we'll say
It was by hearts that never quavered
Will that never wavered
This song was balm to the soul during lockdown. It told me that I can be a heart that never quavers, and so can you.
That's the essence, really. You can go on sleeping, or you can wake. A little earlier than the generations that will follow us, sure. But that's what you're here for. To stand for those yet to come, as perhaps your ancestors stood for you. Or maybe they didn't. Some of us come from the lines of heroes, but a lot more from a long breeding of cowards. Whether you join their ranks, or stand the barrier in the stream is your choice.
I left the conference last night feeling heartened and a little taller. A little sharper, both on a personal plane and a more general one. For once, I saw the answer before me, and it wasn't long drawn-out or overly complicated. It was easy. It was something I could input right now.
You've just gotta make sure you're choosing. Choosing to be with or without someone. In this place or that place. Employed of free agent. Fighting for your rights. Educating your children. Taking charge. Taking the path that's difficult because the easy path turns to mush a mile out, and you end up swamped, unable to move forward. What you do must be an active choice, not a passive going-along.
Going along with what? With whom? No one can decide your path, and here's the interesting thing.
If you don't choose for yourself, other people will. Bad people. They don't care about you, but they care about the power you hold in yourself. The power of directing your life towards good or evil. Think about that next time you're sitting alone in your room, thinking "what difference can I make?". Well, if they're fighting so damn hard to control you, you gotta be worth something. Maybe more than you know. Maybe enough to fight.
the source of the quote at the beginning of this blog, which has been a guideline to me, over the past six months.
