30 March, 2023
Dear Reader,
Our call for Colloquium papers in last week’s newsletter includes the following statement:
‘school children are taught to believe that girls can be boys, that boys can be girls, and that grown-ups should be punished for denying it.’
One of our readers subsequently asked me for evidence that any ‘grown-up’ is ever actually penalised for denying such things.
It wasn’t difficult to name several jurisdictions in the English-speaking world that have already passed or are planning legislation to criminalise those whose words or actions seek to dissuade young people from ‘transitioning’, but a very concrete example of repression came my way last Monday when Jane Franklin Hall advised me that it was no longer willing to host our colloquium, apparently because of the words quoted above.
I have some sympathy for the college’s administration because I know them well and admire their work. I understand that they want to protect transitioning students from possible hurt, but I radically disagree with that strategy. I believe that such people do not need and should not expect the silencing of opinions that conflict with their own. Do not cocoon them in cotton wool! In fact, if one believes that too many young people are making life-changing decisions too readily, without weighing up all the evidence, and if one believes that the post-war generation and the one that followed have been remiss in walking away from the responsibilities of leadership, then one is bound in conscience to speak up.
This has been a bitter disappointment to me, for I lived at Jane as its principal for nearly two decades, and since that time have delighted in holding our colloquia and summer schools in that very pleasant environment.
But that door is now closed and our Colloquium scheduled for 8 July must look for a new home. We would welcome suggestions or offers of an alternative site from any of our readers, not only for this year’s colloquium but for all future functions, for we cannot contemplate a situation in which the Centre’s activities must each be subjected to an external imprimatur.
This looks like a reprise of the Ian Plimer case last year. Few people know more about climate than Prof Plimer, but our invitation to have him speak outraged many. Three publicans declined to allow him to speak in their pubs, showing extraordinary zeal for the mental safety of their clientele. Thankfully the Maypole agreed to take us on, though on the condition that rioting would not ensue. It didn’t. Some of our readers also took great exception to our choice of speaker, a difference of opinion that, though unresolved, was usually managed with courtesy by both sides.
So-called Freedom of Speech is actually problematic. The facile view that some people (usually styled liberals) are for it and others (conservatives? right-wingers?) are against it is too silly to be taken seriously. The fact is that nobody, simply nobody, believes in complete freedom of speech. All the world agrees on that – though some may be more reluctant than others to admit it. That said, huge differences arise over deciding precisely what should be allowed and what restricted.
Currently that amorphous group commonly known as The Left holds most of the power in politics and public opinion, and radical reform of society focusing on such areas as race, gender, identity, religion and climate is dear to their hearts. Naturally opponents of their plans are viewed with mistrust; their opinions are often labelled misinformation, and they may risk being silenced.
Are we ‘conservatives’ any better? Sadly, probably not. Frankly if we get the upper hand we are inclined to use it just as ruthlessly as anybody else. Examples of historical misuse of power are legion, on both sides of the progressive/conservative divide. It is both honest and wise to be conscious of this. Perhaps recognising this shared human inclination to block opposing opinions should heighten our respect for at least some of the motives of those who would silence us, and also make us less inclined passively to bewail our own victimhood and more willing to go bravely to the barricades in defence of our beliefs. Many whose livelihoods are dependent on government and corporate employment are often afraid to speak up on matters of principle, but older people must take a lead in speaking out against bullying: if we think that the compulsory posting of pronouns, for example (a requirement for some employees), has gone beyond stupid we should damned well say so, loud and often!
But we might find common ground with our opponents. A recent book Sex Dolls, Robots and Woman Hating: the Case for Resistence exposes an unspeakably ugly seam in the underbelly of society that should be called out. True liberals, whether ‘woke’ or conservative, can agree to draw a line in the sand without compunction, and ban dehumanising practises that demean women, children and men too.
With kind wishes,
David
STEVEN MOSHER TALK
‘The Present State of Christianity in China’.
Watch the video here.
IN THE NEWS
‘YOU CAN’T CANCEL ME, I QUIT’
Distinguished writer Mary Eberstadt declined an invitation to give a public lecture at a US university. She gives her reasons here. Her predecessor had been shouted down: ‘Never in my life have I experienced a crowd so uninterested in learning, and so unwilling to hear … they were simply filled with malice.’ This sort of thing is not rare: Germaine Greer, J K Rowling, Jordan Peterson, Moira Deeming are just a few who have faced the same pitiless and mindless prejudice.
‘LEFTIST AUTOPHAGY’
The author of this article from the New Criterion is not named, but we think it must be Roger Kimball. The title is a bit of a challenge (autophagy literally means ‘eating oneself, or ‘consumption of the body’s own tissue as a metabolic process occurring in starvation and some diseases’!), but it cleverly analyses the vital distinction between ‘racism’ and ‘racialism’.
FEMINISM
It may be that the words and actions of some Feminists give Feminism a bad name, but here’s an excellent website that offers hope. Its goals read in part: ‘we publish popular and scholarly articles dedicated to defending a vision of female and male as embodied expressions of human personhood, with special focus on the current threats to women and girls from sex trafficking and prostitution, pornography, trans ideology, and reproductive technology. Though united in an understanding that biological sex is real, we publish an array of perspectives on how society ought properly to accommodate that reality.’
DEMONISING THE ENEMY
This piece from The Wee Flea finds Nazis lurking under every bed!
‘ENGAGING WITH ISLAM’
This website managed by Samuel Green (who gave an engaging talk for the Dawson Centre a couple of years ago) questions some of the propositions of Islam with courtesy and respect. Green often debates with Muslim thinkers, a practice that does credit to both sides.
FOR AND AGAINST ABORTION ‘RIGHTS’
To say that these are savagely contested is an understatement. We’re told that there has been violence on both sides: it is claimed that Christian pro-life activists have been far from blameless – here is some data from America.
We have looked for video evidence without success to confirm these claims but will certainly post some if readers can give us links: such abuse deserves to be called out. Recent events in Australia have yielded this, this and this. Clearly all reporting reflects bias, whether from the Staatsmedia or pro-lifers. Judge for yourself.
COMING EVENTS
SYDNEY SATURDAY 1 APRIL
Launch of Prof James Franklin’s new book Catholic Thought and Catholic Action. Speaker Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Senator for the Northern Territory. Book here.
HOBART SATURDAY 8 JULY – ALL DAY
THE ANNUAL COLLOQUIUM
‘Wokery’ – a Wake-Up Call for the West!
On Saturday 8 July the Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies will host its eighth annual colloquium – somewhere in Hobart, Tasmania!
The following have offered papers:
Dr Kevin Donnelly
Looking Backward Leads us Forward: the True Nature of Conservatism
Dr Gerard Gaskin
Truth in Education?
Ms Karina Hepner
Pricing Everything, but Valuing Nothing: the cost of leaving ‘The Woke’ asleep
Dr Fiona Mueller and Dr Deidre Clary (title to come)
Mr John Roskam (title to come)
Prof Ramesh Thakur
Wokism risks the descent of the West into Nihilism
Dr Robert Stove
‘They order this matter better in France’: Continental Europe’s resistance to ‘le Wokisme’
HOBART WED 13 SEPTEMBER – 6.00 PM
DR RALPH MARTIN
Dr Ralph Martin is President of Renewal Ministries and Director of Graduate Theology Programs in Evangelization, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Archdiocese of Detroit, USA. He holds a doctorate in theology from the Angelicum University in Rome.
Topic: Living as Catholics in Challenging Times
(Location to be advised)