Bigot! Nazi! White supremacist!
… Really?
They are becoming baseless (and now, unfortunately, trivialized) terms thrown around in the wake of Donald Trump’s election (even about Canadian PM Justin Trudeau by Black Lives Matter Canada’s founder). No conversation, no kindness. And, seemingly more and more often, violent protests come with them! Is there any room for real conversation with how things are going? Is there a way to move forward?
Opportunities in the Wake
Perhaps contrary to the opinions of some, I think there is opportunity in these times. The controversial election win is surprising, and many think that it is going to hurt diversity and freedom in America. I think the worries aren’t unreasonable – but don’t think it has to end up that way. I think there is opportunity for conversation with the Republican win – a conversation that has not been happening much in our Western culture. Left-wing extremism and intolerance (as well and humbly confessed to by liberal Nicholas Kristof in the NY Times) has gone too far, in my opinion, and a Trump victory might mean that such extremism is not allowed to gain too strong a foothold. At the least, we will all be forced to have the conversations we have been avoiding. Let me explain.
First, what is this liberal extremism and intolerance? Kristof gives us examples when he explains several Facebook comments that illustrate a liberal arrogance that discriminates against conservative perspectives, writing them off without discussion. He states that while many people who follow him on Facebook care about social issues from human trafficking to abused chickens they don’t seem to care that academia is discriminating against conservatives in general and Christians in particular. To such liberals, there is nothing conservatives can add to the conversation.
Extremism might still sound like a strong word, but let me continue. Often with these liberal perspectives’ strong (and often admirable) push for social justice, they preach the idea of “tolerance”. Tolerance sounds nice, but the kind of tolerance we see from many of these folks is not tolerance at all. Instead of agreeing to disagree and pursuing dialogue and truth, this new tolerance says that if you don’t agree with my ideas or convictions, you must be a bigot and a hater. Even if your views are based in what you believe to be fact, and even if they are based on evidence. Lately, there have even been violent riots to protest speeches of conservative speakers.
The Jordan Peterson Example
Take for example the recent news coverage and debates with Dr. Jordan Peterson from the University of Toronto. Dr. Peterson, though appealing to things like biology, political sciences and history, and even recent social patterns in other countries, is dismissed as a bigot and someone who should be ridiculed and punished because of his views on Bill-16 and the gender pronoun legislation. There is no attempt to truly understand him, no desire to hear out his heart (which, by the way, is to keep us from actually becoming a Marxist nation, something many of us would believe to be evil), and, well… no attempt at tolerance. This is a threat to free speech, and it comes in the guise of the new tolerance. A perspective that is based on science and thoughtful examination of the facts is now hate speech, and many a far-leftist is crying for so-called justice.
Now I don’t necessarily agree with Peterson and all of his views or how he is expressing them. It’s not wrong to disagree with the guy, or even call into question his tact in discussing such issues. But no attempt to dialogue or reason with the man? To throw accusations around blindly? Are we mere children? If this weren’t enough, some have even insisted on legal action! For having an opinion. Do we not see the ridiculousness?
We only need to browse YouTube and even mainstream news to see yet more of the same liberal extremism. They throw around baseless terms, protest anything pro-conservative (even violently) and forget the tolerance that they all preach.
Honest conversation, honest criticism
Let’s be straight here. If your worldview or perspective on any given issue is not logically arguable (or you yourself are incapable of making a good case) and you lower yourself to ad hominem (personal) attacks, then you are acting like a child and should instead be rethinking your perspective. You need to be open to the idea that you might be wrong, as any honest person (especially an academic!) should be. We as a society need to grow up, try to be nuanced in our thinking and argumentation, and always be open to correction if we hope to truly make progress.
And this brings me full circle. Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential election in the United States of America. He’s doing a lot of the things many didn’t agree with but that he promised to do. Instead of throwing words like “racism”, “misogyny” or “xenophobia” around and condemning those who disagree with us, let’s consider that there are some real issues that need to be talked about, people that need to be understood, and ways that you are wrong and need to be corrected (whatever your views are).
And while we’re at it, let’s try to practice some optimism.
Keep thinking, even with all this stuff appealing to your emotions going around!
