Truth and Reconciliation

Today is Orange Shirt Day 

in sympathy with the First Nations 

who suffered residential schools. 

My heart goes out to you. 

Tommy Douglas Lives Here

 

            Tommy Douglas Lives Here

            we, people, animals, flies

            are here together

            all sharing this planet

            in relationship to one another

            this depends on live and let live 

            world over and under, sky and rock

            together we have voice 

            and we have eyes

            the days of sun or snow

            only a lifetime to see — to 

            test the day with our best plans

            of how to raise children, care for

            our kin, our past and future

            character invested in present and past

            that each day comes from our conscience 

            matters for the present and future 

            is not a license but a duty

            how you or I achieved the good work

            we belong to one another and we 

            look — not turning our faces away

            after witnessing the body face down on

            the city sidewalk not breathing

            least of all they mattered, and we were

            fortunate for having them in our lives

            among the other kin who made

            us — who we are 

            not our possessions or trophies no matter

            how glossy they appear in magazines

            we can thank whoever 

            look to the centre of all things

            after losing someone precious

            ourselves.

Thomas Clement Douglas PC CC SOM (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist minister, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1935 as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). He left federal politics to become Leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and then the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan. His government introduced the continent's first single-payer, universal health care program.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas

Martin Niemoeller: No One Left to Speak Up

 "In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."

Why did they come for the Communists? Why the Jews? Why trade unionists? Why Catholics?

So who was left?

https://www.rabbisacks.org

The Brain Dead

"In the US, for example, during the 1960s and early 1970s, the greatest beneficiaries of economic growth were the poorest 20%. But from 1980 onwards, the proceeds of growth were transferred from the poorest people to the ultra-rich. Median income in the US rose at just one-third of the rate of GDP growth, while the income of the richest 1% rose at three times the rate. By comparison to the pre-neoliberal trend, the bottom 90% lost $47tn between 1975 and 2018. Between 1990 and 2020, the wealth of US billionaires, adjusted for inflation, increased roughly twelvefold. There’s a similar story in the UK. Of the poorest 10% of households, almost half now have more debts than assets." George Monbiot. https://www.monbiot.com/2022/09/21/the-undead/

What is not mentioned in this paragraph is mental health. When the world you live in is a lie and no-one responds to your truth, you realize that your life is redundant, and if your life is redundant then so is everyone else's. 

What is left? Go to war. Be a soldier trained to kill. If your application is rejected, buy a gun and kill others at random. You may get to be famous with a generalized name "shooter".

Society is just a facade that provides entertainment. Political arguments, elections, celebrity.

When life on this planet dies and there is no voice or memory, until the next tardigrade awakens and moves, nothing will matter until it  begins the whole scenario again.

Monbiot dares to write with wisdom. "We need real, inspiring alternatives, positive visions of a better world, rather than competing modifications of the disastrous ideology that got us into this mess. We need hope."

Right Wing Conservatism Can Soon Become Extremism

 

In colonial countries, people can, without thinking, believe what they know will always be the same. 

It’s too easy to understand how conservative views can become extremism. If you are comfortable, white, have a home that’s clean and warm, enough money to eat, and assume you will always have a job because your father and grandfather did. Your mother could stay home and take care of you and the house, the laundry and the cooking. 

Your parents taught you to have good manners, to speak only when spoken to, and never to cry or demand anything from others. If you are bullied or treated badly it’s because you do not have the courage to stand up for yourself. What you believe to be true will always be true. Your father, teacher, preacher is always right. People in positions of responsibility are decent, and know how to handle power for the greater good.

People in positions of power have higher intelligence which includes moral principles. They read the newspaper and go to church on Sundays. This smug superiority is ignorance but we must never say that. George Orwell and Margaret Atwood notwithstanding, any idea that makes us uncomfortable is rude and should not be tolerated.

This has taken centuries of war and propaganda to arrive at what seems a comfortable truth. Media can tell us truth in small doses as long as those at the top do not feel threatened and those in the middle can watch TV documentaries, visit museums, shop at huge malls, visit their doctor and hospital, send their kids to school— and feel safe.

We’ve never had it so good, but many still suffer because they do not have the means to tell the world. It’s easy for us to believe we are a success if we are not in pain—which is an indicator of failure and shame. 

We cannot be ignorant because there is so much information “out there”.  Too much in fact.

Take politics for example—it’s disturbing to hear grown men argue over something we have not heard of before. Media is everywhere including social media, the internet, television, radio.

Yet there is history. The Holocaust, Communism, Billionaires, the Arms Race, domestic violence, prisons, law suits, different religions. This is privilege isn’t it?

Doesn’t it annoy you to hear people expressing different views? What is, is! Just get on with it. Unless of course it curtails my point of view and I am forced to see I might have been wrong. Or worse yet, the world is in a mess and our future is threatened.

I am not defending conservatism just pointing out how it creates a feeling of security among the priveleged.

But what if we are not in the majority? What if there are more deaths in Pakinstan than white people in America and Europe? What if there are more Muslims than Christians in the world? 

If climate change really exists why didn’t I see it coming? What if there are more diseases than we know? What if prayers don’t affect the weather? 

What if all I’ve learned is not true and there is nothing I can do to save the world?

What makes Right Wing Extremism so cuddly, is, I cannot see what the future will bring? There are no guarantees we shall survive.

Nothing comes with insurance. Not money, conservatism, religion, politics or prayer. And I have not written anything you didn’t already know! 

So along comes a cute young guy—white, clean cut, with round eyes and white skin—just like your father or grandfather who advocates all shall be well as long as we build more gas pipelines, more factories, more money for big business, more prisons, more sports and more weapons—we shall survive. 

Phew!  What a relief eh?

 

Are We Done With Politics?

A candidate won an election without talking about how he would save the nation. Blame was sprinkled about. Opponents ridiculed. Generalizations were thrown out like flowers. Then media commentators announced that he would succeed and may well become prime minister of Canada.

Huge generalizations are published in an established national news paper. The staff I would think must be at the top of the game. Pretty much establishing the success of whoever these people hold up as examples of winners.

There is smoothness in the suits and tongues of these reporters. They seem to wash over details with their proclamations. By contrast it would seem as though survival of the neediest, recommendations on how to help those who need it most, is not relevant. 

To talk about justice since January 6 is about as relevant as corsets. To mention unmarked graves, traumatized nations, is sending us to sleep. Games of thrones are all that matter. If you can't win just shut-up.

We haven't time for the details just give us headlines. Then sprinkle points of view to explain. 

"Pierre Poilievre’s populism – taking his party “from suits to boots,” as he smartly puts it – has struck a chord. He’s riding a wave. He crushed the field in the Conservative leadership campaign. The inflation surge has the population angry, seemingly ready for change. And he’s the self-proclaimed tribune of the underclass ready to bring it." Globe and Mail, public affairs columnist, Lawrence Martin.

Well what else can you say about the success of populists? Are they good for us?

"Right-wing extremism is becoming increasingly mainstream, with the COVID-19 pandemic serving as an accelerant to that process, Canadian and international experts warned Tuesday." Globe and Mail, Marsha McLeod

“One of the greatest battles that we are fighting, in terms of our work, is the mainstreaming of extremism, the proliferation of conspiracy theories, and the tremendous surge in misinformation and disinformation,” Marilyn Mayo, a senior research fellow at the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said in Ottawa on Tuesday at an international conference on right-wing extremism.

No we can't be done with politics. We must take it seriously for the sake of our children and grandchildren. Not that the sophisticated writers would ever think they are there to save the world.

Also the feeling of responsibility and taking-care-of is more in line with the nanny. Bring on the defenders with clubs and guns when it becomes a war.

Get It Done!

Anjali Appadurai at COP17

"Your joy, sadness, spiritual and physical health are part of your politics. I was fortunate to meet the Dalai Lama when I was 16. I asked him if it was possible to feel compassion for ourselves in this work. After he finished laughing, he asked how I could have the capacity to give this to others if I did not give it to myself. I have too often forgotten this wisdom, but I am entering my 30s determined to remember it."

For more info go here https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/07/18/opinion/anjali-appadurai-not-afraid-make-run-climate-action

So write a letter to the editor, to your political party, your relatives, your neighbours, to encourage them to see the wisdom in compassion. Write humbly as a single unit in a vast universe, avoid generalizations if you can and be uplifting in your criticisms.

It's easy to say people are angry, they want justice and truth, but we either know this or we dare not think it.

Call the people you know and ask how they are, what are they feeling today, right now, about life, their life. It's a way to connect more than simply wanting their opinion. It says I care about your world as you see it. As long as they don't feel judged by your query.

Talking, listening, singing, reading, giving space for their feelings - is how we begin to use our power.

In the Art of Power, Thich That Han writes, the only thing power is useful for is to make someone happy. Violence only begets violence first by removing the power of humanity with hardware, weapons.

Laughing or crying is better than nothing.

So what's new? You ask? Nothing! Now there are weapons to kill the entire planet and end all life here. 

Getting the last word is not as great as giving birth to the last being. And that is what causes despots to live in a perpetual state of rage. 

New Leader of Conservative Party

 I came into the world just after the end of WWII. There was a pressure to understand privilege in terms of duty. It was framed as "success". I wasn't able to succeed in being the kid with the highest marks or the most beautiful or best clothes. But I had a mother who, inspite of all the critics around her, did not give up on sensitive observation. People around her kept saying she was too soft on us kids. That we should be disciplined more.  It was a harsh world we came into and frequent punishments would make us tougher. It was a militaristic approach to life. The world is violent and we have to learn how to live in it. We have to fight back. Certain political parties and certain men fume when we concern ourselves with the suffering of the poor, the first nations, people of colour, women.

We have been told we won the war, meaning we didn't succumb to Hitler, but we lost our integrity and have started other wars - most notably, against people. Anyone who is different is viewed with suspicion, any critical look at society is viewed as a threat to our future.

So when a politician pronounces that he will fix things without saying what and how he will  fix things, it gives us some comfort and he gets votes, when the breakdown and threat of our future haunts us, its like a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. The less said the better because our thoughts only create division.

There is something missing here. A lot actually. We have learned to win by killing, exploiting and abusing. Yes I know it could be worse, but we have got work to do on ourselves.

We must go beyond finding causes and seek ways in which we can improve the life of all people, in spite of their colour, religion or gender. We have to live together.

Queen Elizabeth II died Today

I have spent the day watching documentaries on her life.  From the various news coverage it always seemed to me she was a person of integrity.. Your Majesty,  rest in peace now that your work is done.

What is a drug?

 

Google Search "a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body"

I take drugs when my doctor prescribes. I take Vitamins, drink coffee, wine, eat meals regularly, and I would suffer pain if I didn't.

I sleep when tired and eat even though I am never hungry except first thing in the morning when I wake.

There is a lot of suffering in our world and there are pain-killers you can take if you can afford them.

I was fortunate that my relatives did not attend a residential school where systemic cruelty and torture was part of the curriculum. Yet there were cruelties acted toward me based on social beliefs and trauma acted on those who hurt others.

Hurt people hurt people!

How can anyone believe that those who are addicted to substances deserve to suffer but not our help and kindness?

I hear comments such as "they brought it on themselves"!

So to extend that sentiment I say our world, our suffering, has been brought on by our kin, other humans.

Gabor Mate has been helping us understand trauma and how it affects our behaviour even if we have no memory of the original trigger.

So what is evil then? Or more precisely who is evil?

Anyone who knowingly promotes suffering by withholding needs. Nutritious food, safe spaces, respect, a place to belong, not only helps those in need, but all of us who live in human spaces.

When we divide the world into good and evil we are primarily looking for security - staying away from danger.

Social assistance is not letting some people off the hook. Education is not babysitting. Living wages is not pandering to lazy people. Society by definition includes everyone. All these areas are ways that have enabled us to make the world a better place by looking at the sad, the dangerous, our own ignorance, and our own worth.

Everything that helps ease suffering and injustice, makes my life safer. The joy of music, art, celebration, adds meaning to life and challenges the idea that people must serve those who have more power, turns life into a resource and while resources are necessary, turning all of life into something that must be useful to justify its existence leads to fascism.

Allowing ignorance to rule is not just "reality". It's the engine of organized contempt. We have a duty to heal what we have harmed, and to focus on how we treat others.

Naivety is not believing we can change the world, its being okay with structural violence.

Do What You Can - as long as it doesn't hurt anyone

Working towards peace is not a special hobby or project. It is a serious discussion to ask ourselves what we can do that mostly starts in our head and then expands to groups who have ideas and suggestions for all of us or any one of us.

It may start at the church or synagogue or temple or someone's living room. But one of the things we have to give up is a sense of superiority for the racial or religious group we are in. All the theories you have seen or read about which say Blame or Fault or good or secret society must be left alone.

We are all suffering from beliefs that have hurt us and we can all find comfort in groups that suggest solutions, but any headline that advertises the "only solution" is the first clue to closing the doors on your view.

Working for peace is not about ego or superiority or intelligence. It will bring sleepless nights, sadness, depression, exhaustion and more insight into the problem.

The end of all wars? That's quite claim. However I believe violence and war is never a solution. Faced with a knife wielding killer you might want to save your life in whatever way you can, just don't preach violence as a way out.

Requiem for the Goddess

 

Requiem for the Goddess

She is a vessel that’s all

a seed from the seed that came before

a wave flowing out from the bang

a reverberating circle reaching out.

Once she was cherished

placed in the centre of the hearth

observed and protected from elements 

she loved no matter how rough.

Now she is tied between two poles 

her limbs cannot move 

or lay down to rest. 

How can she nurture the world 

when hoisted 

as a thing that bleeds onto the soil beneath

her legs forced open so that lost souls can rape 

with their hatred.

How can she see the unfolding drama

now her eyes have been gouged

and how can she offer advice

when her lips have been sewn together

or hear the lamentation of birds

when her ears plugged with the screech 

of a dead warrior is set on replay?

Who will witness the despair of her sons

and the exhaustion of her daughters

when there is no more art or music

only a silent screen capture of today’s

stock market?

How will the starving masses endure 

the endless pain when their hormones 

begin to eat their own organs?

How can she birth the next generation

when her grief  hangs

outside her body?

How will the mind remember that life

existed at all when all its seeds have perished?