Dear Prime Minister Harper

a river by Hwy 3 in BC

I forward this letter (italicized below), found on Rev. Frances Deverell's (President of Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice) blog in support of her fast for Climate Change.

I believe current world economic distress and natural disasters are caused by climate change and as a human race we must take action.  We must address the fact that we cannot grow our economies forever.  If our children and grandchildren are to have a chance at a quality of life we need real leadership from you and we need it now.

We need to direct our attention and our resources toward building an economy based on renewable energy.  We must slow the use of oil and coal and preserve reserves in the ground for future generations.  We can do this by:

•                Putting a price on carbon

•                Supporting all initiatives that develop and promote renewable energy

•                Supporting any and all methods of energy conservation

Slowing down the development of oil, coal, and nuclear will slow economic growth, but slower growth is inevitable because oil prices will rise as reserves are depleted.   This will impact our economy and cause labour disruption and unemployment.  We must prepare by designing social systems to cushion the blow and help people make the transition.  Current policies are pushing us towards instability and chaos instead.

We need your best, most creative leadership now to address these issues.  Will you enact policies that actively promote energy conservation and renewable energy?  Will you remove subsidies to big oil and introduce a tax on carbon?  Help us build an economy focused on creating quality of life for all, in a world without growth.

Respectfully,

Janet Vickers

Citizen of Canada

Think Before You Take

Soon (April 2013) the Harper government will be considering whether to raise the salaries of politicians. 

All MP's, according to this Globe and Mail article, currently earn a basic salary of $157, 731. Senators earn a base salary of $132,300.

Meanwhile the Harper government has cut back old-age pensions, laid off public servants, cut funding to social services that help those Canadians most at risk. Unionized workers are expected to take cuts in pay, and the non-unionized are getting less pay and less hours.

The argument that politicians work hard and deserve to be well compensated means we are focused on money as the only reward for skill and hard work.  Does that mean all those who juggle multiple jobs at minimum wage are not working hard, don't have skills and don't deserve  hope for a better standard of living?  

On a planet choking from mankind's ideologies of growth and greed, a true indicator of how much a sentient being is worth is her ability to readjust her appetite to nurture the interdependent web, of which she is a part.

All who work to the best of their conscience and their ability are worth this much. So please, dear MP's don't seek more money while children are going hungry and their parents live in poverty and despair. Your yachts, your mansions, your sports cars are not worth as much as your conscience in a just society.

Rosh Hashanah: What Has Become Clear To You?

I grew up in England under the notion that I lived in a "Christian" country and went to a "Church of England" school.  So I cannot really speak about Rosh Hashanah with any credibility. However, I am happy to see that this holiday is acknowledged in social media.  

The message is probably simplified in the interfaith community, whereas the deeper meaning and discipline more rigorous for the truly observant.  Yehuda Berg says "The Kabbalists teach that Rosh Hashanah is not a religious event, but a cosmic opening where we can plant the seeds that will determine how our reality will unfold in our new year."

I do feel a newness in September. But the idea that we examine our own actions, for our own judgement, as Berg points out, is very helpful when there is so much violence resulting, in all probability, from our judgement towards the other.

Easy to believe that I am powerless to do anything about the big events, I am brought back to earth by Yehuda Berg's words: 

"Every action we perform is a boomerang we fling out into the universe. Each Rosh Hashanah, all of these many boomerangs return to our lives—all the positive ones and all the negative ones. Moreover, this experience of Rosh Hashanah is not exclusive to any one religion. According to the kabbalistic sages, all humankind shares a heightened experience of Cause."

So who has influenced whom? Who can say that throughout the centuries, our civilization, and our survival has not depended upon inspiration and communication between faiths? Who can claim that our values are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, or Unitarian, exclusively?

May the Universe be blessed by this cosmic opening, and may judgment remain within my own capacity to do what the universe most needs.