“As you can see the opponents of free speech are capable of making a lot of inarticulate noise,” Dr. Jordan B. Peterson quipped. The University of Toronto Professor of Psychology was at a rally — the “U of T Rally for Free Speech” — after Leftists criticized some videos he had created opposing Bill C-16 in Canada. The bill would classify refusal to use an individual’s preferred pronouns as hate speech. Peterson argued this took a dangerous step down the road toward authoritarianism.
At the rally, Peterson was constantly disrupted by campus Leftists. But while the circumstances surrounding the event were gender politics, Peterson explained that this wasn’t his “primary concern.” Between blasts of deafening white noise from the disrupters behind him, Peterson defended the fundamental right to freedom of speech. When Leftist activists unplugged his microphone, Peterson raised his voice.
“There’s a reason I’m defending freedom of speech,” he shouted. “And the reason for that is quite straight forward. The reason I’m defending freedom of speech is because that is how people with different opinions settle their opinions in a civil society.”
Bill C-16 became law, but Peterson’s memorable opposition had left its mark. Unfortunately, Peterson recently suffered a cycle of medical conditions that kept him out of the public eye for the better part of a year. During his hiatus, Peterson wrote a companion volume to his bestselling book “12 Rules for Life,” called “Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life.” In the wake of the book’s recent release, Peterson has appeared on several podcasts and YouTube shows. As soon as his health permits, Hillsdale College should invite Peterson to speak on campus.
Before he was clashing with Leftists, Peterson was transmitting his message of personal responsibility via YouTube. Although a prominent academic intellectual in his own right — he is the author of more than 100 scientific papers along with the book “Maps of Meaning” — his popular appeal is found in his succinct and relevant videos on the importance of assuming responsibility for your own life. Peterson encourages his listeners to “stand up straight with your shoulders back” and “accept the terrible responsibility of life, with eyes wide open.”
A good deal of young men find his work particularly helpful, but for some this fact is evidence of his supposed “chauvinistic fear-mongering.” In reality, Peterson has lifted many disillusioned young men — and women — from the sloughs of depression. In his videos, he emotionally recounts the letters he has received from those who have been rescued from the resentful pitfalls of the radical Left or Right through his videos. I personally know many of these individuals who have been changed by his work.
The controversial public intellectual would be right at home at Hillsdale College. Our school has been maligned as all manner of things — a haven for QAnon conspiracy theorists, a repository of misogynist white males, perhaps even a front for President Larry Arnn’s attempts to make “what is the good’’ a question on the United States citizenship test. But the fact is, Hillsdale College has a history of standing out in the midst of controversy — from refusing to accept federal funding and the accompanying educational chokeholds, to opening for in-person classes last semester. And Peterson, for his defense of free speech, encouragement of personal responsibility, and tackling of Leftist identity politics, has, like Hillsdale, stood firm in the midst of controversy.
Peterson excoriates the “made-up pronouns” of the transgender movement as, “the neologisms of a radical PC authoritarianism.” In a viral interview that Claremont Review of Books called a “cultural milestone,” British journalist Cathy Newman asked Peterson, “why does your right to freedom of speech trump a trans person’s right not to be offended?” Peterson replies, “Because in order to think, you have to risk being offensive.” This left Newman speechless. More than a “gotcha” moment, the exchange served as a clear example of both the feminist Left’s opposition to, and Peterson’s succinct defense of, free speech. In many ways, Peterson’s opposition to identity politics sounds much like Hillsdale’s own mission to “[value] the merit of each unique individual, rather than succumbing to the dehumanizing, discriminatory trend of so-called ‘social justice’ and ‘multicultural diversity.’”
Some students may not want Peterson to come to campus, citing his views on feminism or critical race theory, his unconventional exegesis of the life of lobsters, or some argument claiming he has “sold out” by becoming too famous. But as the professor himself put it, “The way that you make people resilient is by voluntarily exposing them to things that they are afraid of and that make them uncomfortable.”
Peterson’s appeal to the younger generations is rooted in many of the principles of Hillsdale College — values like free speech and responsibility to yourself and others. I have no doubt many Hillsdale students have already benefited from Peterson’s work. If Peterson were to speak at our campus, we could extend his message to the wider student body.
Sarah Weaver is pursuing a master’s degree in the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship.
