Rarely do people seek confrontation. In fact, most people look for ways to avoid it.

The opportunity for confrontation surrounds us conservatives every single day. Itmightarise from a controversial statement by a friend who tells you that there is no need for strong borders, or from a conversation at work about the apparent need to change the date of Australia Day.  

We all know the feeling. It is easier to keep the peace and let it go. After all, it is much simpler to find some common ground, pretend you did not hear, or just nod your head when you completely disagree. This is just human nature. However, our failure to correct the ledger simply emboldens the agitator. 

I believe that we quiet Australians are all conservatives at heart. To the left, we are knuckle-dragging racists who live in the past, but in truth, we are the restaurant owner who is trying to make enough money to raise their children, the primary school teacher who looks forward to Australia Day, and thanks to the radical left-wing policies adopted by the Australian Labor Party, we are the coal miner who is tired of hearing that his job makes him complicit in a “climate crime”.  

Even though not all actively identify as conservatives, we quiet Australians are people who believe in our institutions and in our way of life. We are in the majority, but we have become complacent, apathetic and — sadly — we have become weak.  

Conservatives see the world through a historical lens having an innate appreciation of liberalism, democracy, and faith. Conservatives respect their past, their traditions and believe that those institutions will continue to serve them well without the need for any input.  

The radical left sees little value in history. They want to tear institutions down and pay little respect to that which has served us well. To the left, the best idea is the last 30-minute TED talk dribble fest which told you that despite having 3 gay friends (none of whom you had ever consciously labelled as such) you are still a homophobe because you once used the wrong pronoun.  

Confronted with such aggressive, yet intellectually lightweight dross, conservatives will too often apologise, think deeply about what he or she has done wrong and take the criticism on board. To do so is natural, however, it is also to have capitulated. 

Conservativism has become ostensibly weak. I make that observation not because it brings me any joy, but simply because the post-election events in the United States show that the writing is on the wall for conservatives unless we all learn to speak up and fight back.  

There is no doubt that it is easier said than done. Aussies have businesses to run, kids to drop off to school and paid employment to undertake. As the argument goes, the left has more time and is not burdened by some of those responsibilities. 

The truth is, however, that fighting for their cause is in the left’s DNA. That is why they spend their free time writing emails to MPs, marching the streets, and filling the ABC studios on a Monday night to pack out the Q&A audience. They fight.  

Too often, we conservatives take our freedoms for granted; we assume everything will continue to play out like it always has, but in 2021, that is no longer assured. The corporate world is not with us, the Universities are not with us, and sporting bodies like the AFL are not with us. Now to add to that malaise, we have the world of “Big Tech” chiming in on the culture of cancellation.  

Companies like Apple, Twitter, Facebook and Google have effectively taken it upon themselves to totally transform the west. These are no longer start-ups, they are massive corporations.  

In the weeks following the US election, they deleted the President’s Twitter account and effectively killed off the conservative competition by deleting Parler from the App Store. 

In Australia, State Parliaments are already enacting a range of radical euthanasia and late-term abortion Bills. Make no mistake, the radical left is here to play, and they are here to cancel you. 

The Harris/Biden administration is going to drag the United States into a world of radical left-wing policy and when the United States sneezes, Australia catches a cold. Rest assured, the political landscape in this country is about to be squeezed towards the left more promptly than you could ever imagine.  

The time for conservatives to face the threats posed by the radical left through appeasement and intellectualising are over. No longer is it enough to have principled conservatives pay lip service to the bullies of the left by stroking our collective beards and clicking our collective tongues.  

Too few are doing too much. Senator Matt Canavan and MPs Craig Kelly and George Christensen attract much of the vitriol, but they also land most of the blows. The conservatives who are already fighting the scourge of neo-Marxism need help.  

So next time you hear reports that Twitter is censoring the account of one of your favourite commentators, will you write to them to tell them you are also deleting your account? The next time the AFL allows its players to kneel on behalf of a radical Marxist inspired organisation like BLM, will you write to the CEO? Do you know how your local MP votes on late-term abortion? Should you? Why aren’t you telling him or her what you think and why aren’t you more involved in the process? 

I ask you this, what do you believe in? What do you want your country to look like in 10 years and what did you do today to make sure those hopes and dreams don’t get cancelled? 

Alex Antic is Liberal Senator for South Australia.