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Civil society off course

This was a tumultuous year. And while truly exhausting in many ways, particularly due to we in the chattering classes constantly appropriating REM's chorus, "It's the end of the world as we know it." Oddly enough, "I feel fine.
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This was a tumultuous year. And while truly exhausting in many ways, particularly due to we in the chattering classes constantly appropriating REM's chorus, "It's the end of the world as we know it." Oddly enough, "I feel fine."

To be clear, this is not due to some reassurance by the secret cabal of Alt-Right fanatics my critics say I answer to but rather thanks to the glimmer of sober and judicious thought that could clearly be seen in many quarters throughout 2018.

As my first witness, I call forth editor-in-chief Neil Godbout and the square glasses people all over Canada who, while having almost no affinity for right wing whackjobs like yours truly, have started the long journey back to classical liberal ideals by doubting and criticizing the radical left. This is most often manifested by skeptical looks in the general direction of Our Dear Leader and his Merry Band of Cabineteers, whose policies resemble the fever dreams of sophomore students.

So as not to spoil their delicate gestalt, I will simply encourage left-leaning people of few hard political principles that yes, you have every right to wonder why the deficit is more than he promised, or why we have a migrant crisis in a seabound nation with one neighbour or what political points are gained by playing Mr. Dressup, excoriating faith groups, or tweeting money to Hollywood friends? Indeed, you may wonder these things and still call yourselves "liberal."

In fact, the great lesson from 2018 is that one may very well dissent from the currents of identitarian outrage left or right, and simply object that the whole damn ship of civil society has veered wildly off course. And throughout the year, well written books backed up that very point.

Beginning in January, Jordan Peterson's bestselling 12 Rules for Life called on people to improve the world by turning back to virtue in the classical sense: self-improvement through habits and striving for goals that incur responsibility. It's still a top seller, giving the subtitle, An Antidote to Chaos, new bite. Clearly, much to the chagrin of his opponents, vulgar and elite, Peterson's candid style and exhortations have touched a nerve across the globe.

While 12 Rules covered the personal, another work covered the socio-political: Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff's The Coddling of the American Mind. Admittedly this book is directly related to the rising insanity of campus culture, from safe spaces to acts of serious violence. But the chaos on campus is a microcosm of the widespread frustration found throughout America and Europe between political parties, the media, celebrities, and protestors, both left and right.

For those with shorter attention spans, there are no excuses: YouTube is clogged with engaging academics and journalists pushing back against polarization of all kinds. Even if one cannot be bothered to digest millions of hours worth of lectures, there is much to be gained by simply following these people on social media to see what articles they endorse - none are fake news. As a shortcut, I highly recommend you follow Quillette for all sorts of intelligent criticism.

It would be disingenuous for me to praise "civility" without confessing where I've gone wrong in these pages. Specifically, it is possible that my employment of the epithet "godless commies" was less than helpful. I promise to find a suitable replacement for all future columns.

However, I will repeat my concurrence with radicals left and right: we live at the end of the post-war era and what we demand in quality of life versus what we're willing to sacrifice to attain it are scandalously irreconcilable. Political extremism is wrong but civic temperance is no substitution for the true courage necessary to name our problems and discuss solutions frankly.

If nothing else, 2018 gives us a sign that a new consensus is forming, beyond political lines, to address these concerns.

For that reason, and many more, we still have cause to hope.