Freedom of Speech is not to be taken for granted

Preaching Freedom of Speech

Jordan Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist and university professor and the new guru of university students across the globe. The answer to the positive thinking of the 1990’s, he has hit the public with a book called 12 Rules Life.

He is a firm believer in freedom of speech and freedom of thought. He’s angry that his Canadian Government has imposed a demand that if a transgender person wants you to address him/her using a particular pronoun, you must; it’s the law. Dr Peterson doesn’t have a problem with addressing individuals how they choose; he does have a big problem with it being made illegal to do otherwise. It’s a slippery slope: creating a law imposing how we address someone, to losing our freedom of speech entirely. 

Here’s one of many, many videos he’s posted, this on freedom vs equality:

To surf YouTube will bring to you any number of short or long interviews or lectures given my Jordan Peterson.

Thought control

One strong societal current seems to be flowing way beyond Political Correctness to thought control. As regards anything to do with women’s rights or the rights of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender people, this seems to apply; the attempt to indoctrinate young people is rife. It has happened on university campuses. It is being pushed in elementary schools. If the spokespeople are the new “Establishment” then Peterson is definitely anti-establishment. 

The Establishment used to be comprised of conservative-leaning folk. Ironically, those who have established themselves as main-stream are the leftists with the attitude that human rights re-defines biology, and women’s rights to choose supports the termination of newborns (in some US states) who are born alive when a term abortion has failed and birth results in a living child. Such an attitude quite contrasts the conservative establishment of the past. 

But how an attitude toward abortion and LGBT rights infecting our freedom of speech? Because whenever someone disagrees with the radical ideas, the dissenting voice is accused, berated, attacked for his views, and labelled racist, bigoted, or some other unworthy denigrating title.

Yup, Peterson is quite a cool figure in the eyes of many young people, particularly young men who have become lost in the Feminist extremism and other current trends.

But why is Jordan Peterson relevant to Watchman on Alert?

Jordan Peterson speaks his mind without apology. That is refreshing. It is bold. It is life-giving in a society which is becoming increasingly stifling.

Jesus said in John 12:50,

“And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Jordan Peterson speaks his mind in a refreshingly direct, even blunt way, kind of in the vein that Jesus spoke to Pharisees. 

The Western world is clamping down on freedom of speech, in the name of protection against terrorism and extremist speech. Jesus spoke as he saw fit, and so does Jordan Peterson. In Western society, we all used to celebrate our collective freedom to speak our minds, until political correctness crept in. Now, like a bulldozer, there are groups telling us what we can and cannot say. On university campuses, speakers are being denied access because a voice of dissent rises to say, “Oh, this will offend me.” It is no longer a matter that the person who “may be offended” does not attend the seminar, but rather that the speaker should not even be allowed on campus.

What about freedom of religion

Those of us who speak of Jesus, while we have sensed for a long time an awkwardness about speaking of our Faith openly, now find it illegal to do so on the job, in the UK and other places. 

We must not bulldoze our faith upon people, but likewise, we must not be silent, when the Father leads us to profess His love and righteousness. And most of all, we must not take for granted our right to speak. Freedom of speech is an important part of our ability to witness, and at its bedrock, it is our freedom of thought sincerely articulated.

Today we witness children being told what to think by those who believe Faith — especially the Christian Faith — is untrue and detrimental to society. We who practise our faith are told we must not indoctrinate our children (witness parents losing their children to state institutions in Scandinavia for example).The socialist and atheist-driven movements hate any hint of indoctrination of Judea-Christian values and yet instead, they attempt to indoctrinate children at the primary school level with transgenderism that defies biology and common sense, in the name of protecting minorities. 

Many youth have already been indoctrinated into thinking right is wrong and wrong is right. Brainwashing has brought democracy and free thinking into question and even rebuke.

But Isaiah 5:20 says,

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

“Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

The Father is sovereign and this we must remember. Yes, these times are rife with strife, and yet we do not fear, for, “who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?” (1Peter 3:13)

What now

We must pray that our freedom to think our minds, and speak our thoughts in love and truth, will not be totally forsaken by those who preach human rights, yet hypocritically threaten to silence those of us who disagree with their (new) definitions and parameters. 

We must spread our love (not just the love but also the righteousness of Yehovah GOD) and the truth of the Gospel, without fear. 

We must be aware of our dwindling freedoms, so that we can value them all the more, not taking them for granted, but using them to the fullest while we still can.

And we must love even those who seek to stifle us, as we are commanded to love our enemies. 

Finally, we must hope Jesus — our Yeshua, our Passover Lamb — will return soon.