Robert Fraser

Being a 62-year old white male Liberal, I purchased this book and read it cover to cover. I did so on the recommendation of my Conservative brother. I read it critically. It is a shame this book couldn't be carefully reduced in content to half it's size - it could have been an iconic self-help book. There are sound bits of advice that would be very useful to young people in Western culture. As a psychologist, Mr. Peterson offers up some common sense concepts about self-responsibility and coming to terms with the world that I frankly wish I'd read 40 years ago. The author has a fairly readble style and I would be loathe to label him the monster that some have. There's a vulnerability in his personal stories and a decent, well-intentioned soul behind this book. All of that said, Mr. Peterson steps onto a very shaky soapbox when he shares his philosophical, political and ideological views. There were some pages where I found the intellectual dishonesty and laziness breathtaking. For example, the author holds it as a sacred truth that we are in no position to judge others or our society until we have perfected ourselves. Surely he knows that we are all imperfect beings and a free, democratic and pluralistic society requires citizens with agency who can debate the issues that affect us and our environment. Perhaps this ideal of his would do wonders for his profession - after all, to make 7+ billion people intelligent and self-aware would require millions of psychotherapists and several millenia. Another position the author asserts as a sacred truth is our culture - especially when informed by religion is the wisdom of the ages and should be respected. The critical reader will delight in Mr. Peterson's interpretation of biblical text. Like the author, I can't speak for other religions - but my upbringing in the Anglican church provides me with some rather contradictory interpretations. Whether one is a "believer" or not, interpreting scripture that has been orally passed along, translated and edited over two millenia to the point of being incomprehesible is a fool's errand. The author should know better. Liberals everywhere will be delighted to know that Mr. Peterson regards "the science of management as a pseudo-discipline". Kudos to you, Sir. Having worked for corporations most of my life I can personally attest to that. The author also believes that the pronounced inequality in our modern world threatens the stability of our society. Sadly, the solution is lost on Mr. Peterson as he reagrds any form of wealth redistribution as a dangerous slide towards communism. Reasonable people will immediately see the ideological conceit in this. On a lighter note, I found his self-proclaimed kinship with blue-collar working men after a brief stint working for the railway as a young man was adorable. This leads me finally to his strange ideas about the role of feminism, masculinity, and the male/female division of worldly responisbilities. I was raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet. I've married two women who have always worked. My current wife of twenty years is more advanced in her career and income than I am. I'm certainly not threatened by it as Mr. Peterson asserts I must be. My life experience tells me that a heterosexual man who spends entirely too much energy asserting his masculinty is either very insecure about it or is ashamed of his true sexuality. In summary, it could have been a great self-help book. But sadly, Mr. Peterson's editors let him rave and rant to please an increasingly polarized and conservative readership.

Of all of the albums Rush recorded, this one stands out for its' breathtaking artistic ambition. Way back in 1975, if there was any doubt about what kind of rock band Rush was going to be when they grew up, this album put that doubt to rest. This is truly an album for real Rush fans. It could be a tedious listen for anyone else - and its' contemporary lacklustre sales reflected that - but it firmly laid down the markers for the iconic progressive rock band they quickly became. The dynamic range of the material is really impressive for that era. "Bastille Day" is an almost prescient song about the execution of French aristocracy. A haunting reminder of the limits of power and money. One percenters take note. "Going Bald" is a little goofy and it's the only song that doesn't fit. I suspect it was the record companys' last desperate hope for a single (no such luck). The lengthier multi-movement pieces speak for themselves. The complex interplay of bass and drums as well as brilliant guitar work are worthy of a great stereo with lots of headroom. One of my personal favourites is "No One At The Bridge" which captures the eerie nautical atmosphere of a mutiny on the high seas. Not an album for everyone, but a must for latter day Rush fans everywhere.