Why I Traveled To London to Join The "ARC"

I recently traveled across the pond from Boston to London to join the Alliance For Responsible Citizenship, otherwise known as ARC, for their second annual convention. One of my reasons for going was to meet Jordan Peterson, the founder of ARC, who I believe is a fellow believer in what I’ve come to know as the Natural Laws. Those unwritten laws that have always been, and will always be, and that represent real truth, without any religion or politics attached. At the 2024 ARC Conference, Jordan said the following on the subject of our natural born capacity for goodness:

“Existence itself, being itself and becoming itself are intrinsically good!... it is incumbent upon us to act in accordance with that dictum…”

And he said this about there being a natural predestined path for human conduct,

“We’re built … to move out into the world like the adventurers that we are, and to face the complexities of the catastrophic future with a certain degree of nobility and courage and to hoist the world on our shoulders and to struggle uphill. And it’s in that struggle that the meaning of life emerges.”

On the subject of their existing a proven framework for human happiness rooted in the idea that duties and obligations to self and others are pathways and not burdens, he said,

“We’ve forgotten the responsibility that we need to bear in our life to make our lives bearable… the earned self-regard that goes along with that sacrificial attitude. . . The meaning in your life doesn’t emerge as a consequence of your pursuit of your self-serving goals and drives…”

“Where would you find the meaning that justifies the suffering in life? … You find it in the burden of responsibility ‘cause the burden of responsibility isn’t a burden. It’s the greatest opportunity you could possibly have.”

The structure for massive societal improvement is right in front of us. The framework for our success, of course, is built in virtue. We’ve all been learning about virtues for years; in fact, we all grow up drinking from a fire hose of virtue, with our being told how to act, but that doesn’t mean we act virtuously or according to our higher gifts. We often detach from virtue, and it’s often of little fault of our own; it’s brought on by circumstances in most cases outside of our control.

The thing about speaking in terms of “Natural Laws” and teaching our young people to think in these terms, is that Nature’s Laws are a place where all of the virtues we learn about in life can come home to roost under one umbrella.

The Natural Laws can provide us with an easily teachable and relatable path to understand our human nature and to act on our goodness. We are capable of ending hate and violence in our society by rallying around a moral code that is grounded in our natural born goodness. It’s in our very nature to think, to reason, to make sacrifices, and to do the difficult work of citizenship. Let’s see each other as human. Let’s not dehumanize each other - and watch how our society improves. Thank you.