My European mind was raised on the power of wealth. I came to Canada as a young woman filled with dreams of being a success: a good job, education and ability to reason. But it became apparent, that individual success could not be attained alone. My desire for success was really a need to belong.
From informed and conscientious people I learned economics is not just the stock market, jobs and profit margins. The current notions broadcast by right-wing interests insist its either business at any cost or nothing. Unless we say “how high” when trans-national power order us to jump, we will starve to death.
This neoliberal view offers no value to human dignity and without dignity and respect, we become nothing more than “consumers”. We cut ourselves off from the language of community, the land, the air and the water. We cease to be complex humans and rush to win (at any cost) the next game.
Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and its tankers not only risk our land, our air and our water (says Coast Protectors), it makes human nature redundant. We retreat to the reptilian urgency of either/or.
Right now I suspect we are bullied by bigger corporations. This is not free trade. This is submission without question even though our government may be looking for the best deal, even though jobs are essential and we need money, we must not overlook the threat of corporate fascism and the atomization of community.
The lesson we must learn from those who have paid a terrible price in the past, is that people who are left powerless become mass murderers, and the only public discourse is expressed in hate.
I am inspired by the aboriginal people of this land, who in spite of the trauma they endured, through policies of genocide, still offer hope in their dedication to something larger than their individual wealth: the care of this earth and all that sustains us.
Many may believe this is naive because centuries of abusive power has made us cynical and potentially homeless. Now we are threatened with extinction.
This is our Othello moment. We change our priorities or believe the lies and kill the thing we love most.
I'm very disappointed by our Canadian government's offer to buy the Kinder-Morgan pipeline. The reason is: government has become a multi-national corporation which now really believes it is above the people. It even now believes itself to be above many businesses. There are businesses which do not wish to have the pipeline, but our Prime Minister is not even listening to them,let alone to us. Canadian democracy is floundering. Most of our public doesn't even realize it. Suddenly, our government is behaving like Monsanto and Nestle. Where is is written in our constitution that a Prime Minister can just decide to 'purchase' a corporation, on a whim? Each and every bill passed by parliament has a number, and a unique title. Can Justin Trudeau show us that bill, which has permitted him and his cronies to simply buy the Kinder Morgan project? I'm appalled. He is letting us down, and letting many workers down, because when their short -term contracts end, many will still not be able to be eligible for EP, because their contracts are too short. They have no unions to support them. It will be similar to the manner in which we treated imported Chinese workers to build our railroads. There is only one statue in the Rockies to commemorate thousands of those workers who were paid almost nothing to do back-breaking work, then be laid-off. This 'project' is even worse, because it destroys not only the workers, but it will destroy much of the nature surrounding it, as well as create spoilage from the many oil leaks it will make.
ReplyDeleteThank you Diane for your comment here. You add a detailed response.
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