I’m nearly finished Jordan Peterson’s book ’12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos’ and I have to admit, for a guy like me who’s older, a bit wiser and set in his ways, this book still had a lot to teach me. I think it has a lot to teach other people too…on both sides of the political divide.
The 12 Rules are actually a small snippet of the more than 40 answers to a question he answered on Quora. The question was: ‘What are the most valuable things everyone should know?’
I’ve been listening to the audiobook version (narrated by Peterson) on my commutes back and forth to work, and a lot of what he wrote really struck a chord with me. One thing in particular he made me question was the hard-core stance many atheist activists have against religion.
My problem is – and has always been – with the evangelical preachers and those who use the word of God to foster hate, discrimination, and overall bigotry. Then again I’m against anyone who preaches any form of that, be it a priest, BLM, or any of the extreme left or right. If you demand that lines be drawn between people for any reason, then I’m no friend of ‘ally’ of yours.
So why has religion prospered so much? Why does Christianity keep going even after 2000 years?
If you look at the stories in the Bible, you find a lot of similarities between them and stories in other religions. Peterson draws these parallels to illustrate the deeper meanings of archetypes of good, evil, order, chaos, light, and dark. Instead of looking at the characters as actual people, he paints them more like analogous concepts. God is not someone you pray to, not even someone you worship. God is an ideal…the archetype of order that humans should be striving for. Order builds community. Order provides the stability necessary for humanity to take the next step. If your foundation is not built on order, then how can you hope to evolve? You’re so busy putting out your own fires in your life that you’ll end up dead never having progressed anywhere in your life.
That’s not to say chaos is the ultimate evil, no. In fact, chaos comes from order when humanity takes that next step forward. It’s a new frontier…and undiscovered country where nothing is safe and predictable anymore. It’s harsh, terrifying, and in many cases unforgiving. You may venture out into the wilderness but fail on your first attempt. Where do you go when you fail? You go back to your fortress of order and re-evaluate your experience. Ideally, you try again and maybe this time you get that foothold. You sink one foot deep into the chaos in front of you and, with a word, you create order from it.
It’s a cycle: From chaos springs order, then into chaos once more then back to order. It’s a succession of steps until you reach your goal, or you die.
Nihilism is a possible side effect of atheism. People so deeply indoctrinated in the church often find themselves at a loss for purpose in life when heaven is no longer a certified reward. The fear of Hell, or the sudden realization that God was never the answer is mind-shattering. What kind of terror people must feel when their foundation of sand suddenly slips away and they are cast adrift in the sea of chaos. It’s ironic that they’ve been reading the scripture all this time, and they have no clue of the power it holds:
In the book of Genesis, God creates the heavens and the Earth with only words. From the chaos of darkness, he creates order just by speaking. According to Peterson, we have the same power. We are the gods of our own lives…of our own destinies. Those cast adrift after losing their religion need only answer one question. Just one question and that foothold will appear:
“What do you want?”
Vocalize it. Answer the question and you will stop drifting. You will have purpose, which is paramount not just in today’s society but for humanity in general. We are purpose-driven creatures. Without purpose we fade away into nothingness, either from depression or nihilism, which can turn anyone into a Columbine shooter. Did you know one of them had a manifesto? Did you know that he was determined to wipe out humanity as a whole because we were the despoilers of the Earth? Doesn’t that sound like a lot of these anti-human shitheels out there these days? Doesn’t the DNC have some people like that in office right now? I would sooner have Trump in office than someone like that, who would have the nuclear codes.
Maybe I make it sound easy but I know it’s not. Finding your purpose or your passion is not always simple. Your goals don’t have to be heroic or ultra-virtuous in nature either. Let’s say your first goal is to move out of where you are. First you find a place that is a cross between what you like and what you can afford. OK, now, to live in that place, what does your income have to be like? Once you know that, what’s your current pay? Are you even working? If you are, is there a way to make more money there, or do you have to change jobs? Does the new job require training? Can you get the training? What will it take in terms of sacrifice from your current sense of order so you can leap into that chaos and create a new sense of order? That’s the big question.
I’ve rambled a bit here, but eh, it’s not like anyone’s going to read this anyway. The book got mixed reviews, though I would want to analyze each of those reviews and who wrote them. After all, politics and ego can definitely tint things like that. One reviewer – John Grohol – noted that Peterson tended to rely less on scientific data and more on religious dogma in his book. I think I know why Peterson took this route:
Religious icons were created in ancient times to help proliferate the Christian religion to people who were largely illiterate, or ignorant of the Holy Roman Empire’s languages. Granted, many people ended up worshiping the icons instead of the god it represented, but the idea is the same: You’ve got to dumb it down.
As atheists and as activists, I think we forget this. We consider ourselves enlightened…advanced…’woke,’ even. For us to drop our anti-religious nuke in the midst of a populace so indoctrinated in their faith makes me wonder how anyone would even consider leaving their faith. Would they turn away from their community just so they can yell and scream at people and claim themselves to be more righteous than before? It’s sad that I know people who would ask that question and answer ‘yes’ with a straight face and eyes blazing with their own conviction. I’m not a fan of those kinds anymore.
Peterson’s book is a guide…it’s a sharp, biting look at life and offers a collection of rules that, if you follow them, will help you navigate your way through the chaos of your life. It wasn’t aimed at guys like me, but I still gleaned a lot from it. The religious anecdotes he used wasn’t to preach the word of God…it was a way to reach out to people in a largely familiar way. Everyone has heard of God, even atheists. He represents the archetype of good and order, of stability and foundation. In that context, to walk with God isn’t to march in lock-step with some spirit. It’s to constantly strive to be the best you that you can be. It is to walk the path to self-betterment so you can serve both your community and your fellow human beings.
Peterson used religion because it strikes a chord with everyone from the believer to the skeptic. The latter would see the poetry and instantly recognize it for the analogy it is. Believers might be a little shaken up by the way God’s portrayed, but at least they’ll understand what he’s trying to get across.
On HCTV we often talk about how people just need to think for themselves. Even Bionic Dance signs off with ‘Don’t run on automatic. Instead please…think.’ The majority of us don’t do that anymore. We’re content to live in our complacent, orderly lives while others do the thinking for us. It’s easier, less painful, and definitely less stressful. It’s Eden; these people are unconscious and have yet to eat from that tree.
This book is a gateway that will show you the basics of life after you bite the apple. Twelve simple rules that will help you face the world and all its chaos. It’s not the be-all/end-all, but it’s a start.
Oh, and here are the rules in case you made it this far:
- Stand up straight with your shoulders back (the lobster chapter)
- Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
- Make friends with people who want the best for you
- Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today (I love this one)
- Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
- Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world (CLEAN YOUR ROOM!)
- Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
- Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie
- Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t (No REEEEEEE-ing allowed)
- Be precise in your speech (AOC…you listening?)
- Do not bother children when they are skateboarding (Tim Pool would love this one)
- Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street
I may re-read this book and do a deeper dive into it. If I do, you might see more journal entries like this.