Yesterday The Australian reported that the University of Sydney Union, one of Australia’s most prestigious debating clubs, will field teams in 2018 that are comprised mostly of “non-cis-males, wom*n, and persons marginalised by white supremacy.”
A “non-cis-male” is someone who identifies as a male but was not born male. “Wom*n” includes anyone who identifies as a woman, including trans women. “persons marginalised by white supremacy” includes “persons of colour” or persons “from minority ethno-cultural backgrounds.”
The unpalatable alternative, it seems, is to field teams comprising of the best debaters they can find.
Don’t laugh – in the postmodern neomarxist universe, this makes complete sense. In fact we are the crazy ones for thinking it ridiculous. No – actually we are worse than crazy – we are evil.
I say that because theirs is a philosophy which teaches that the primary manifestation of evil in the world is inequality, and the primary cause of inequality is the hegemony of power that certain classes or tribes (like straight, old, white, men) have accrued to themselves.
The powerful (turns out that’s me) use logic, truth and debate as a ruse to cling onto their power and lord it over others.
The best debaters are merely the best debaters because they are from powerful tribes. By rewarding them, you are disempowering the marginalised and oppressed tribes.
These people are victims of their tribal identity. They are stuck. There’s nothing they can do.
So, the inequality continues. That’s evil.
This sort of thing smacks of insanity to most over the age of 35 or to those raised with a strong Christian worldview. Our moral universe is utterly different.
But we need to stop rolling our eyes and ignoring it.
We need to engage to understand and critique it.
I say this because the sad truth is that our children now believe it, either wholly or partly; either deliberately or quite unconsciously. Whilst so many parents have simply not discerned the problem, my peers and those younger have been raised on an education curriculum that is quietly postmodernist.
Programs like Safe Schools are just the flowers of seeds that were sown years ago.
This move by the University of Sydney Union is just the work of a generation who had those seeds sown into their young hearts and minds.
Most don’t know it – they are unconscious exponents of the philosophy – but others are aware. I know young people in various high schools who have announced to me that they are Marxists. These are the children of Christian parents.
Left unchecked, this does not end well.
The abuse of power at the expense of others is real, but the problem is grounded in human nature, completely regardless of tribal identity. The seed-bed of evil is the individual human heart – theirs, yours and, yes, mine too.
The problem is resolved through character, especially the kind of character that Christ gives us.
Indeed, we are called to follow Christ’s example who, although He was omnipotent (all powerful), He “made Himself nothing” (Phil 2:6-8) for the sake of others. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” says the Apostle Paul (Phil 2:4-5).
All people, regardless of privilege, status, or tribe are capable in Christ of individually growing in character. The uniqueness of Christ-like character is its deeply others-centred, self-sacrificing quality. It places the real interests of God and neighbour at the very core and kernel of our being.
Whatever power we possess is used in the service of others, no matter their tribe.
The postmodern dragon – the straight man (even white ones) – is even called to render up his own life for the sake of His wife, directly modelling the example of Christ (Eph 5:25).
The great tragedy of the postmodern world is that the call to character is rejected. People are exponents of their tribe and the only real way to improve your moral standing falls to the powerful to change their political beliefs and acknowledge the culpability of their tribe. This is infantilising. It denies the truth about human beings. It denies the possibility of real character. It denies the gospel.
Next week, part 2 of this blog will drill down into the roots of postmodern ideology so that we can better understand it. It is complex, but it’s time we understood what we are up against.
See you then.
