I’m trying to feel out where I lie on certain issues. Many issues are complex and require a nuanced position, but I’m going to attempt to simplify some of my thoughts here. 

Methodology: Read various articles, takes notes on them, distill the main points, and reflect on my personal takeaways. When applicable, I’ll link to the notes.

Opinions are never set in stone. I enjoy hearing contrasting viewpoints, and may come along and change these periodically.

Contents

1. Discourse & Censorship
2. Religion
3. Education
4. Personal Health
5. Miscellaneous

Discourse & Censorship

• Long-form conversation is the best method for sharing and refining ideas. | Notes
• Because of the complete acceptance of trans ideology, it has become extremely difficult to have a real discussion about the movement. | Notes
• The mainstream media is terrible at facilitating an honest discussion about touchy subjects such as race and racism. | Notes
• Young people are going to say and do a lot of dumb stuff, and we need to cut them some slack. Especially in today’s digital climate where all their stupid misdeeds are published and remembered forever on the internet.
• I do not expect everyone to think like I do, nor do I necessarily want to change your mind. I want to have a good faith discussion with you. As much as you might annoy me, I will try to see it from your perspective, and I hope you’ll do likewise for me.
• Resist the temptation to be outraged over a single instance of anything (a person’s action or words). Like an ideology, it’s too easy to simplify a person. Their truth is probably more nuanced. Take the time to understand their context.
• People should be allowed to say toxic shit on the internet. Censoring, muting, or de-platforming people because of words they’ve said is wrong. Allow these people to swing their fist. Once it crosses the threshold of physical harm,  they should be restrained. | Current Event: Twitter banning. Sargon of Akkad deplatformed from Patreon.
• Public intellectuals are not responsible for the shit their fan-base (or hate-base) says or does. | Current Event: YouTube trying to make content creators responsible for their comment sections. Jordan Peterson being pictured with a person holding a Pepe the Frog flag.

Religion

• Belief systems are intrinsic to human intelligence and survival. They frame the constant flow of  our experiences.  | Notes
• Politics cannot fill the gap made by declining influence of religion.  | Notes
• A society that doesn’t respect religion or art cannot be called a civilization.  | Notes

Education

• Western universities have been corrupted by postmodernism and it has done enormous damage to basic scholarly standards. | Notes
• A reading list should have a mixture of modern books informing on modern issues, but should also include great classics on which our literary culture was built. | Notes
• Educators should be amenable to the possibility that the classics might need to be supplemented, or even replaced, by new books. | Notes

Personal Health

• It is important to treat your belongings with respect and make a regular habit of clearing out your spaces so that you can process your needs and values. | Notes
• When making adjustments to your diet and lifestyle, small gradual changes are best. | Notes
• Whether losing, maintaining, or gaining weight — it’s as simple as calories in, calories out. Count your calories and be mindful of what you’re eating. | Notes
• You should make a sincere effort to reduce sugar/carb intake and increase fruits and vegetable servings. | Notes
• Spiritual wellness and physical fitness is the best cosmetic.

Miscellaneous

Once opinions number three or more on a subject it will be broken out into its own section.

• Philosophy | We should not shrink from the truth even if the truth might challenge our beliefs. | Notes
• Philosophy | It’s not reasonable to force people to believe an ideology. People can be forced to espouse it, but they can’t be forced to believe it. | Notes
• Ethics | Raising and killing animals for their meat is ethically questionable. | Notes
• Politics | I have no problem referring to people with their preferred pronoun. I have a problem with the state forcing me to do so under the threat of a “hate speech” violation. | Notes
• Politics | Major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube need to take a laissez-faire approach to speech or else they will need to take personal responsibility for the content on their sites. | E.g. Public utilities (e.g. phone companies) don’t take responsibility for opinions broadcasted via their services. Newspapers curate content because they are responsible for it. So… is FB/YT/TW a public utility or a curated website?
• Feminism | Women students or employees should know their rights and speak up to defend them. However, the #MeToo movement has gone seriously off track.  | Notes
• Feminism | Women should have equal opportunity to advance in professional and political realms. I oppose special protections for women because it is paternalistic and regressive.  | Notes
• Environment | Factory farming is not great for the environment. | Notes
• Environment | Small-scale farming is not better for the environment. | Notes
• Nutrition | Humans need meat in order to have a balanced diet.
• Psychology | Transgender kids in transition shouldn’t receive surgical alteration until they are 18. Even better would be to wait until they are at least 22. Offer every other therapy until then. | Notes
• Biology | It is not biologically possible for male to become female (vice-versa). But men can live as a woman if they choose to (vice-versa). | Notes