Self-Actualization Mishaps, Snowplow Parents, & Banned Books
Thoughts on Moral Rebellions with a Moral Psychology Lens and a Provoked Community Call Recording
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Let’s talk about a recent principled rebellion by author Ryan Holiday - a theme of my last book The Art of Insubordination (on sale for $4.99 - here).
When the US Naval Academy told Ryan Holiday he couldn’t give his graduation speech because his book Courage Is Calling was on their banned list, they activated a psychological boomerang so reliable it might as well be in the DSM.
Ryan didn’t chain himself to the school doors. He didn’t launch a Change.org petition or take up interpretive dance in the name of intellectual freedom. He did something much more subversive (and effective): he posted the entire banned 48-minute speech online, where it has been devoured by tens of thousands of people who wouldn’t have given a damn otherwise.
This was a clinic in social psychology.
Trying to suppress information—especially ideas you deem "dangerous"—amplifies their appeal. It's called the Streisand Effect, named after Barbra herself, who once tried to erase photos of her Malibu mansion from the internet and, in doing so, made those photos global news (source).
And then there’s Wegner’s white bear problem: tell someone not to think about a polar bear and suddenly it’s the only thing in their head. Every time a school board bans a book, they’re screaming, “This is the one thing we don’t want you to be curious about,” which, predictably, lights up our brains like a dopamine slot machine. Forbidden fruit is sweet + algorithmically irresistible.
But the most fascinating part is what gets lost when we let fear dictate curiosity. Banning books blocks the psychological muscles we build from grappling with difficult, dissonant, even infuriating ideas. In moral psychology, we know people grow wiser when exposed to perspectives they despise. Reading adversarial ideas is the mental equivalent of taking cold plunges: unpleasant, shocking, but insanely good for resilience. So, I won’t tell you why you need to watch Ryan’s speech. I’ll let him do it for you. Just know this: every time we try to protect people from discomfort, we rob them of the chance to grow dangerously in the best possible way. By becoming thinkers.
Spread this widely! Because principled rebellions work when a sizeable group joins the cause…
To shift gears, I won’t lie. Trying to summarize our last Provoked community gathering feels like describing a thunderstorm with a weather app emoji. It was my favorite session yet. We briefly discussed the Ryan Holiday fiasco and so much more…
If you missed it, consider becoming a premium member so you can stop standing outside the house, peeking through the windows. The video recording is below, and the community is very real, very alive, and probably smarter than your group chat.