Within the last two to three weeks there has been a minor but important
shift in the Canadian political landscape. This has occurred not because the
politicians have passed a new law or rescinded an old one (in fact it would
appear that most politicians have been enjoying their Christmas vacation which
means that they have been as effective as ever) but because some ordinary
Canadians have gotten angry enough to do something.
When I first responded to a student's question as to what they could do to
protest Bill C-45 - my answer was not particularly helpful or perhaps even
hopeful. I suggested that the process to create sustainable change in the way
our government made decisions would be at best slow. For this change to occur, I argued that there
would need to be a fundamental shift in the voting patterns of students and
their families. I further argued that it was our responsibility to be better
informed as to what the government was doing before they did it.
I was wrong.
I still think that it will take time to create a population that believes
that it has both the right and responsibility to ensure that it is educated and
informed. I think that we, as a collective of citizens, are still some distance
away from being active participants in our government but the "Idle No
More" movement has, in the last few weeks, has created a level of public
awareness that just did not exist a month or so ago.
It strikes me that we are at a bit of an interesting crossroad. For centuries it has been said
(erroneously) that the Indigenous People
of Canada needed direction as they were not capable of leading themselves. Now
they are leading us. They are the ones who have the commitment and the energy
to stand up to the government. They are the ones who are educating their
communities as to what the issues are. It is a model that the rest of us should
pay attention to. There is no way at this point to know if this new movement
"has legs". That is if they has the capacity to maintain their
energies and to keep their issues in the forefront. But anytime a bunch of Canadians
are committed enough to demonstrate in Winnipeg, in Northern Ontario or Toronto
in the middle of winter they have my respect. Maybe it is time that the rest of
us joined them. Maybe it is time that we too get up off of our collective
behinds and in a clear and peaceful way tell the government that some things
are just not OK. At the very least perhaps it is time that we started to talk
to each other about what is important to us.
While I am appalled and embarrassed at some of the racist comments one can
read on the various internet news pages, it seems to me that most of the
comments are at least somewhat supportive. Maybe, just maybe that dialogue about
what is important has finally started.
Join in the conversation. Don't let anyone tell you that it is not important
to all Canadians.
We are on a voyage together. Weaving, spinning, teaching, traveling – it is all part of the same journey. Life is about unraveling, and joining, building, or taking apart. It is a process of constant rebirth and with any luck it is about the joy of that moment when it all works. In the summer I will be writing about my hitchhiking trip across parts of Canada - the rest of the year about my adventures in this other world I occasionally inhabit.
Friday, January 4, 2013
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