Let this new year be
your year of truth. If there is a god, or higher entities in charge,
they are the truth. You must live by the truth, seek
the truth, defend the truth, and worship the truth. Truth is god and
god is truth. If you are an agnostic or atheist, truth is still your
god. Truth will always remain the one fundamental and inherent force
that cannot be changed. There is nothing greater than it. Therefore,
your first step in living by the truth is to stop apologizing for it.
You've probably heard a
lot of people say they have their own truth and that you have yours.
The “my truth” movement is particularly strong among women, but
it has some deep flaws. Anything subjective or open to interpretation
cannot be a truth—it can only be an opinion, or a perception. Real
truth is grounded in objectivity. Real, universal truth cannot be
disputed. If anything can be successfully disputed, it wasn't a truth
to begin with.
Unfortunately, many of
the universe's truths are not known and may never be known. For the
things we don't know, we are left to rely on our perceptions and
personal interpretations. This is why it's important to not confuse
the truths we know with the perceptions we know. The truth
must be clearly defined as something that cannot be questioned, like
the force of gravity and the spherical shape of the Earth.
Without getting too
philosophical and heavy, let's start by acknowledging some very basic
truths that we have proven using our collective experiences and
science. Although many may still deny these truths, we know it is
because they don't have all the information, or because they have
chosen not to accept the relevant data.
In a few more
paragraphs, you'll start to understand where this is going.
Basic Truths
We know that inflation
has eaten away our savings and made life unaffordable for most
people. If we were to take the lazy and mystical approach to this
subject, like many have and will, we would believe that inflation
merely fell out of the sky and happened for no real reason. We would
believe that no one is to blame for any of it. Those who accept facts
and acknowledge reality know this isn't the truth. Inflation has a
cause and it came from somewhere—for a reason.
We know that men have
two separate pairs of chromosomes, while women have two identical
pairs. Since the discovery of basic genetics, we have known this as
the truth. Based on their measurable genetic differences, we know
that men and women produce different hormones and that those hormones
significantly influence the development of their bodies and brains.
We know that being
obese is unhealthy.
We know that words, in
and of themselves, cannot cause physical harm. The physical harms
that words have been alleged to cause are actually the result of
people's impulsive perceptions of those words—and their choice to
behave a certain way based on those impulsive perceptions. According
to the scientific laws of physics, words that you read and hear
cannot harm you.
We know that certain
political and economic systems do not work. History is rife with
evidence. Some systems may work temporarily, but are not sustainable
in the long term. Economies are an intricate and interconnected web
of cause and effect, like much of our reality. Adapting and making
changes is crucial when it comes to maintaining a functional and
successful society. History has proven that ideological stubbornness
is fatal.
I'm not going to list
every other truth we know or should know. I think you get the gist.
Do Not Apologize, Do
Not Capitulate
The most important
thing you can do in the new year is defend the truth. You can do so
by refusing to apologize, refusing to capitulate, and refusing to
indulge those who are clearly wrong. Basically, you need to stop
being nice. You don't need to become confrontational, you just need
to simply stand firm.
If your child's teacher
calls you in because your kid said something blasphemous, like there are only two genders, you can simply contribute to the
discussion by acknowledging your child's wisdom. You can do so
calmly, confidently, and with a smile. You can treat the situation as
the joke that it is. You can act as mystified as you should be when
you realize there are people who believe otherwise.
You can do all of this
while sympathetically acknowledging the existence of people who have
the incorrect perception that they are the opposite sex. Mental
health is a serious issue in our society and should be addressed with
compassion.
If you are honestly
afraid of going to jail or losing your children over any of this, you
need to realize that this insanity will not be solved by those who
sit around and capitulate. Indulging these kinds of fallacies and
deceptions will not make them go away—it will only make them
stronger and more prevalent.
People can have their
own perceptions, but they cannot impose those perceptions on the rest
of us.
Anyone can, and should,
do what they want—so long as they are not affecting the lives of
others. Grown adults can swap genders until the Sun implodes, but
they should never expect the rest of the world to participate in
their fantasies and chosen lifestyles. The same applies to Christians
who choose to worship Jesus, or Muslims who choose to do what they
do. We do not have to pray or use specific pronouns because they tell
us to.
People who believe the
Earth is flat can carry on, but without my participation.
Those who believe they are settlers on this land should be asked why they are still here. They should be told to explain why they haven't given their homes back and abided by the inherently racist ideology that has dictated their beliefs. They must return to the place where their Caucasian ancestors were born many hundreds of years ago. They must live by their own racism. The rest of us can rightfully refuse to participate in land acknowledgments and any other racist rituals.
None of us owe anyone
the obligation to participate, or an apology for not participating.
With that said, am I saying we need to be confrontational, rude, or
outright mean to people we disagree with? Obvioulsy not. Being an
aggressor who imposes his anger on someone who didn't ask for it is
just as bad, if not worse. We should merely become intolerant to
others who attempt to impose themselves on us. We can all have
meaningful relationships with people who perceive the world
differently, but we need to draw the line when they attempt to impose
their perceptions on everyone around them.
Do not act until you
are summoned. Be like Beetlejuice.
You shouldn't pick a
fight with a morbidly obese stranger walking down the street because
you believe being fat is unhealthy. You shouldn't kick a respectful
grown adult out of your house for being transgender, and you probably
shouldn't confront your neighbour for having a political sign you
disgree with. You should, however, speak up and reject their attempts
to demand anything from you based on their beliefs and lifestyles.
We can politely discuss
our religions, dogmas, lifestyles and worldviews with anyone who is
interested—without giving them a list of demands.
Democracy
The argument can be
made that democracy is all of the bad things I just explained. After
all, it is a system in which a majority imposes their perceptions on
a minority. This is why many scholars and philosophers have opposed
democracy. Instead, they have chosen to embrace more republican
systems, like those in the United States and France.
Within the frame of
democracy, we can work to make the system more republican, or develop
more encumbrances to inhibit the influence and power of outright
majorities. All of this is a topic for another day, but I know there
will be those in this audience that will point to democracy as a way
to unscrew what I have said here.
Democracy is a flawed system, we all know that.
However, democracy
elected Donald Trump and it will eventually throw Justin Trudeau out
of office. To some, that's an awful prospect. To many others, it is
democracy working hand-in-hand with the truth. Over time, more people
have seen the blatant corruption and lies and opted to speak up, cast
their votes, and embrace a new way of doing things. When any new
government loses its way, it too will be defeated by democracy.
Despite its various
flaws, democracy is one of the few systems that can be influenced by
the truth.
In fact, democracy is
why it is so important for all of us to defend and speak the truth.
Whether a Republican, Democrat, Liberal, or Conservative holds the
seat of power, the truth should always be the one religion we
all worship together. Democracy has proven that when enough people
stand firm, the truth can win.
