What is Government?

image created by DOSGuy

The most basic definition of government is the organization or administration of the state.

But much has been written about government from many voices with varying points of view, it might be said that our own personalities are defined by how we define it.

Abraham Lincoln said "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. When they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it."

The often quoted Thomas Jefferson said "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty."

"For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery" according to Jonathan Swift.

A part of the American consciousness is the suspicion of government as revealed by Henry David Thoreau "That government is best which governs least."

The notion that government is a handicap, brought to the new world from England by Thomas Paine is suggested in this quote. "The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security."

Even worse, that government is our teacher. It ... "teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy" (Louis D. Brandeis)

Or it "reflects the soul of its people. If people want change at the top, they will have to live in different ways. Our major social problems are not the cause of our decadence. They are a reflection of it." says Cal Thomas 


"Freedom isn't free" says Bill Maher. "It shouldn't be a bragging point that 'Oh, I don't get involved in politics,' as if that makes someone cleaner. No, that makes you derelict of duty in a republic. Liars and panderers in government would have a much harder time of it if so many people didn't insist on their right to remain ignorant and blindly agreeable."

Easier said than done.  Noam Chomsky is more sympathetic. "If you are working 50 hours a week in a factory, you don't have time to read 10 newspapers a day and go back to declassified government archives. But such people may have far-reaching insights into the way the world works."

Government has been studied for many centuries, so we should be getting close to electing good governments, shouldn't we?  Especially as there is no shortage in wisdom expressed on the subject. George Monbiot does it frequently:

"Just as taxation tends to redistribute wealth; regulation tends to redistribute power. A democratic state controls and contains powerful interests on behalf of the powerless. This is why billionaires and corporations hate regulation, and – through their newspapers, thinktanks and astroturf campaigns – mobilise people against it."

Although there is a shortage of quotes by women, this doesn't mean women don't comment on government. Perhaps we think of how the structure of government and power affects our society, and so the last word goes to Frances Moore Lappe in an article that appeared in Straight Goods News.

"Maybe we begin here: recognizing that our crisis is not that we humans are too individualistic or too selfish. It’s that we’ve lost touch with how deeply social we really are. Easing the fear at the root of so much pain and violence that generates more fear — from suicide to child abuse to school massacres — comes as we embrace the obvious: We are creatures who, in order to thrive individually, depend on inclusive communities in which all can thrive."

This sensitivity to what is around us, is government of the mind and the soul. 

Developing Empathy

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat quote Roman Krznaric on their blog Spirituality and Practice  pointing out that empathy is not kindness or the Golden Rule but "the ability to step into the shoes of another person, aiming to understand their feelings and perspectives, and to use that understanding to guide our actions."  They give us a list of six habits of empathetic people: 

1. Talk with strangers ... "Don't be an examiner, be the interested inquirer." 2. Challenge prejudices and discover commonalities by keeping an open mind and heart. 3. Try another person's life by expanding your experience of others. 4. Listen hard and open up; listening and openness are two practices in the Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy, and they are necessary to be an empathetic conversationalist. 5. Inspire mass action and social change as a concrete outcome of our empathy for others. 6. Develop an ambitious imagination, which means expanding our circle of empathy in creative ways.

We  live in a time when competition is emphasized as a way to success and the message is impacting children before they get to kindergarten.  We live in a time where there are many more victims of that ideology (say losers to use a common term) and where the winners are becoming fewer.  Consequently we become the oppressed and oppressors. 

Without empathy we cannot redirect the trends in our society that harm us and our children.

When Our Future Chooses Suicide

Gustave Wappers Episode of the September Days

Tonight I watched the news on CBC – the station I look to for commentary on the world as it is, even as I know it’s constrained with expectations from sponsors and other interests.

But I am disturbed by yet another story of a young woman,17, who commits suicide because of bullying. At least that’s how the story unfolds.  She gets drunk at a party. She is raped by a boy or boys and another boy films and posts it. (Yes it is rape if she is too drunk to know what she is doing.) Then she is called a slut. I assume these are her peers, in her school, in her society.  The cyber-bullying persists even after she moves to another school.

I wonder why the boy who raped her is not the one who is shamed, or the boy who took the picture is not named?  Are those who do the slut shaming virgins and do they understand how the word shames all women? 

In short why is the victim blamed and why after all these years of work from counselors, activists and concerned people, are we, the Canadian public not demanding the just society we grew up believing we aspired to? What has happened to our collective psyche that we accept this, that we are not outraged?

I have observed places that have been invaded by bullies (or opportunists).  Offices where people get along reasonably well, deal with conflicts intelligently, and focus on working together to get the job done.  Then an ego enters who is critical and manipulative. The good workplace erodes into a den of personal attacks, rumours,  bitterness, and resentment.  The work is no longer the main agenda.  But instead of the group acknowledging the cause, they blame whoever has the least power.

It is a pattern that ripples out.  The poor are blamed for the shrinking economy, the infirm blamed for high health costs, minorities are blamed for social breakdown, until the implosion of crises lead to despair and a rise in fascism.  The cruelest and darkest ages are not a phenomena of the past – they are the result of our inability to create the society we want.

The first society a child experiences is the family, the second is media.  By the time a person enters school they know how the patterns of power trickle down, but do we allow them the opportunity to examine and challenge it?   

When girls are raped in public (because the public is now in everyone’s pocket) then blamed, while the perpetrators brag – what does that say about the future of our society?

When our children choose suicide what does that say about the individual’s capacity to survive in cultures that do not support their worth and dignity?

Wake-up call for a giant: The EU must end discrimination against Roma

The European Union (EU) is not doing enough to end discrimination against Roma across its member-states, Amnesty International said on the eve of International Roma Day marked on 8 April.

“The EU must implement immediately the considerable measures at its disposal to sanction governments that are failing to tackle discrimination and violence against Roma,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Program Director.

“Such practices run counter to EU law and the principles of liberty, democracy and respect for human rights it was founded on.”

The estimated six million Roma living in EU countries fall far below the national average on almost all human development indicators -- eight out of ten Roma are at risk of poverty; only one out of seven young Roma adults have completed upper-secondary education.

Forced evictions of Roma continue to be the norm rather than the exception in a range of European countries such as Romania, Italy, and France.

And education is segregated in the Czech Republic, Greece and Slovakia. This is at odds with national and EU laws prohibiting racial discrimination.

More than 120 serious violent attacks against Roma and their property occurred in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria between January 2008 and July 2012, including shootings, stabbings and arson attacks. State authorities, including the police, have in many instances failed to prevent or thoroughly investigate these attacks.

In 2000, the EU adopted the Race Equality Directive that prohibits discrimination based on race or ethnicity in the workplace, education, access to goods and services, housing and health care. The EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, which entered in force in 2009, also prohibits discrimination and enshrines the rights to education, social and housing assistance and work.  

As EU’s executive body, the European Commission is empowered to act against EU member states when they fail to comply with EU law and the Charter.

However, so far this has never happened with regard to policies and practices discriminating against the Roma or any other ethnic minority.

 “The European Commission has the powers to make a lasting impact on the lives of marginalized and discriminated communities in Europe, including the Roma. Regrettably, it has so far been hesitant to act against states which have violated the human rights of Roma,” said Dalhuisen.  

“What we see is the Commission sanctioning countries on technical issues in areas of transport and taxation, for example, but failing to grapple with issues which are of vital importance to millions of people such as forced evictions, segregation and hate-motivated attacks.

“The Nobel Peace Prize winning EU has the power to end discriminatory practices that are rife in many of its member States. It must use these now.”

Amnesty International’s briefing Human rights here. Roma rights now. A wake-up call for the European Union is a call to the EU to take decisive action and play a central role in ending the discrimination against Roma in Europe.

This work is part of Amnesty International's Demand Dignity Campaign, which focuses on human rights violations that drive and deepen poverty. As part of the campaign, Amnesty International is calling on all governments to prohibit forced evictions, uphold the right to adequate housing and ensure that victims of human rights violations, including economic, social and cultural rights have effective national and international remedies.

For further informaion contact John Tackaberry, Media Relations                   (613)744-7667 #236 jtackaberry@amnesty.ca

Briefing : Human rights here. Roma rights now. A wake-up call for the European Union 

Hey Romale!

Tambura Rasa

Lulu Performing Arts and Doris Gallas present

Hey Romale!

A mini-festival of Roma Culture

Saturday, April 13

Phoenix Auditorium, Gabriola

at 5pm 'Never Come Back' ~ 
a 2011 documentary that follows two Roma individuals, one from the Czech Republic, one from Hungary, through their difficulties with Canadian immigration process. To give an overview of the contemporary European racism motivating the immigration of Roma to Canada, and the life threatening risks they now face if deported back to European countries where right-wing extremists are becoming politically powerful, the film-makers traveled to these countries to interview Roma still living there. Their advice: "Never come back."

Followed by a discussion with two former Gabriola residents about their own experiences. 

at 7:30 pm ~ Tambura Rasa
an exhilarating and eclectic world fusion band with influences that span Indian Classical, Turkish, Balkan, Flamenco, and Classical Music. 

Tickets
are $20 in advance at Village Liquor Store, $25 at the door and $5 for youth (18 and under). Tickets include concert, film and a 10% Haven dinner discount; please call 250-247-9211 to reserve.

Film event only: by donation. 

For more information please email info@luluperformingarts.ca 

Jigme Gyatso released from prison after 17 years

One of Tibet's longest-serving political prisoners, Jigme Gyatso, has been released from prison after 17 years. Images received from Tibet show Tibetans waiting to receive him with khatags (white blessing scarves) to indicate respect and welcome him back to his home area in the Tibetan area of Amdo following his release on March 31. He was described as "very weak" upon arrival back to Sangchu (Chinese: Xiahe) county in Gansu province's Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where he had been a monk at Labrang Tashikyil monastery before his imprisonment in 1996.