Whither the Middle

 

I long for the middle. But it has gone, at least for now.  If someone starts a political party that dedicates itself to the middle ground, I’ll be the first to support it.  You see, no political party currently espouses the middle ground. They talk of the middle class but not of the middle ground. They now occupy one extreme or the other.  The Liberal Party now has moved more left than the NDP used to propouned.  The Conservatives, oh the Conservatives, now want to emulate Donald Trump, Ron Desantos, and other luminaries of the US Republicans.  The only thing they have not done is declare that they were the real winners of the last election, that it was stolen from them.

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
 - George Orwell

I think I can speak for the many Canadians, probably a majority of us, who yearn for a more centrist place in politics and life.  We support diversity, but do not want it stuffed down our throats. We are a little bit conservative (note the small ‘c’) with our family finances but want our governments to spend our taxes wisely.  When it comes to social issues, we generally want harmony and acceptance. We think that our primary requests for governments are good health care and education, just laws, and a competent and fair judiciary. We don’t want to lose our rights to a notwithstanding clause.  We want legislatures where discourse and debate are respectful and enlightened. We want a society where you can discuss divergent view in a meaningful way and come away satisfied with the results.  We want compromise not ‘take it or leave it’. We want acceptance and support for immigrants and minorities. Probably what we most want is honest communication. There are two parts to verbal communication: speaking and listening.  We don’t think the listening part is going very well.

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”

- Eleanor Roosevelt

 “I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up.”

  - Tom Lehrer

But we’re not getting any of things, are we? Take a reasonable position and you are yelled down and even threatened.  Speak out and you’re labeled. Make a request and you’re ignored. This is not how a harmonious and civil society works.  And for many people, it is not working.  We are met with constant cynicism about just about everything.

“A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.”
   - Sidney J. Harris

So can we please move politics and life back closer to the middle.

“Man is a credulous animal and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.”
  - Bertrand Russell

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
  - Aristotle

I will now expect to hear things like, “It’s not like that anymore. Or “Who do you think you’re talking about, not me.”

I think I’m talking about real people. I think that it can be like that if we demand it and live it ourselves.

“To Dream the impossible dream”

 

I should not be allowed to watch movies. I get too upset to bad movies, but if I see one that has a meaningful message, it makes me think.  When I think, it often leads to a blog.  So, here we have a blog that derived from a movie I recently watched.  All because I was allowed to watch movies.

You may recognize the title from the song in the musical show and movie, ‘The Man from La Mancha’.  It was a pretty good show and had some fine music. 

But it was this particular song from the show that really got me thinking. To dream the impossible dream.  No, not the one where you shack with the handsome actor or beautiful starlet. And no again where you suddenly become very rich and powerful. I’m talking about meaningful dreams that can reshape the world we live in.  Dreams for better government beyond anything rival political parties are planning.  Dreams for a better future for ourselves and our children.  Dreams about so many things that could improve the lot of our country, our culture, or the world. Dreams about the end of conflict.

“The only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it.”

General George C. Marshall

Of course, dreaming in itself does not lead to anything being done. For that we need to look at other lines in the song, “To fight the unbeatable foe.”, and “To right the unrightable wrong.”

It takes action to achieve a dream. It needs us to step out of our comfort zone.  It takes the courage to defend your position. It takes the willingness for us to initiate the action and lead it if that is needed. It needs us to step up. It needs us to honestly identify the foe and the wrong and to be able to say why they are the foe and the wrong. It needs us, therefore, to think.  To think what is a better way and how to get there. It means looking beyond cheap rhetoric and easy slogans, and really see the future, both the immediate actions and their consequences. It’s not easy, but it is necessary if we are to see dreams fulfilled.

There are, of course, many reasons to avoid taking action.  Why me? I’m too old/young. What can little old me do? What will me friends and neighbours think? Will others support me.

“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.”

Katherine Mansfield

We can succeed.  We must assume that others will think like you.  That others will have similar dreams. That others are also committed to taking the risks and the actions. We must support those who can articulate the actions to be done and those that can take leadership roles. Even better, we must be prepared to undertake those leadership roles ourselves.

“The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who stand neutral in times of great moral conflict.”

Dr. Martin Luther King

In my opinion, there a few areas where we can focus our dreams and resulting actions:

And end to bias against others.

The fight against climate change. It is real and it is probably the biggest threat to the future of mankind.

In Canada, an end to the odious Not Withstanding clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  It has and can deny us any and all of our chartered rights.

An end to armed conflict in any form.

Are you ready to dream your impossible dream? Are you ready to follow that dream and do something about it?

But remember one important caveat, do no harm to others. Otherwise, the dream only emboldens more harm.

Three Men

 

Three men in history stand out to me.  These three men had several things in common. All three men espoused the same message. All three men made significant changes to history. All three men met violent deaths. All three men are remembered today. All three men have testimonials about their exploits. The first man is remembered through the written word. The second man is best remembered through a dramatic movie about his life.  The third man is best remembered via a documentary movie about his exploits. One man had probably been a carpenter before becoming an itinerant preacher.  The second man was a lawyer.  The third man was a church minister.

Each man made a difference through the message of non-violence.

The first man was a Jew. He said things such as, “Turn the other cheek” and “Do unto others as would have them do unto you”. His story is told in the New Testament of the Bible. His message formed the foundation for a new religion which spread and is now the most populous religion on the planet.

The second man was a Hindu. His legacy is best told through the movie entitled with his name. His message of non-violence produced the most populous democracy in the world.

The third man was a Protestant Christian. He was one of the best orators of the 20^th century. The best way to see him is in a documentary movie that was rarely shown until recently. His crusade was for equal rights for his race in a country that had a lot of hatred of his people. His legacy is two important pieces of US law, the Civils Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act. Unfortunately, both of these acts are under attack just now.

I’m sure you’ve guest by now that the first man is Jesus of Nazareth. His attempt to reform Judaism led to the formation of the Christian religion.  He was crucified.

The second man is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi.  His story was told in the movie ‘Gandhi’ from 1982.  He was shot and killed in 1947.

The third man is Dr. Martin Luther King jr. The documentary that best describes his achievements is called ‘King: A Filmed Record . . . Montgomery to Memphis’.  This incredible work from 1970 includes his entire “I Have a Dream” speech from the Washington March. It was shown for the first time in television recently on the movie channel, TCM. He was shot and killed in 1968.

These three men showed what could be done by non-violence. Each case effected significant, if not world-shaking, change. So, why have we forgotten these profound messages?

Christmas Movies

 

Every year I try to write a Christmas blog.  This is my contribution for 2023.

Do you watch Christmas Movies? Do you like them?  Are you sick of them yet?

My friend and I have been watching several recently, probably looking for something different in them.  Most of them are your average rom com but taking place at Christmas time.  You know the typical story: a young, and very attractive, man and woman with different backgrounds come together in (name the town or city) and overcoming their difference, fall in love and (supposedly) live happily ever after.  Someone suggested that they could all be generated by AI with only the names and locales being changed.  The other type is the many variations of A Christmas Carol wherein a person embittered about Christmas is transformed during the period of the movie to become a Christmas loving, loving person.  In this genre the original Christmas Carol tale is told, with very little variations, with a different leading many playing Ebenezer Scrooge.  My recent examples include Patrick Stewart and Albert Finney, with the Finney one being made as a musical. The third type is stories about the origins of Santa Claus, like the one we saw last night called ‘The Boy who made Christmas’.  My personal favourite Christmas movie, though, is The Polar Express which is at least unique (so far).  So, there you have it, the plot of every Christmas movie you will see this month.

While we were watching another Christmas movie last night, I realized what was missing.  Nowhere in any of these movies was their any reference to the real Christmas story.  You know, the one about the Jewish baby who was born in Bethlehem who went on to become the most influential man in the western world.  I’m sure all Christians and many others of other faiths are at least familiar with this happening.  Don’t confuse this event with the biblical movies of the 1950s where a Hollywood star of the day, with blue eyes and blond hair, would play Jesus or some other biblical character.  I don’t mean a movie necessarily about the actual journey to Bethlehem and the birth (although a movie about this, told honestly by middles eastern actors could be compelling), but a mention or acknowledgement of why we celebrate Christmas, rather than a pagan celebration of the shortest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere).  Some depiction of the religious significance of Christmas (and I don’t mean praying that you’ll get what you really want as a Christmas present), even if the rest of the movie is about romance, Santa Claus or redemption.

We are losing, if we have not already lost, the real significance of Christmas.  You know something is wrong when seemingly the only measure of the “success” of Christmas was how much merchandise was sold or how may Christmas sales were held.  Wouldn’t it be nice if Christmas success were measured by the number of people who attended a Christmas church service or the number of people who discovered the biblical Christmas story. 

Hallmark has done us no favours by propagating the banal offering that we now take for granted at Christmas.

“The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal.”
  - H. L. Mencken

Who is Responsible?

 

Since the Globe and Mail would not publish my letter on this subject, I guess I’ll have to paraphrase it on this platform.

People are looking for a saviour to combat climate change.  Governments are the usual target for this role.  No doubt governments can do some things such as carbon taxes, and incentives for fossil fuel saving things like heat pumps and electric cars.  Both approaches have been used by Canadian governments, federal and provincial.  Provincial jurisdictions effect only one province at a time, and some provinces are against measures to reduce fossil fuel usage.  But it cannot legislate peoples’ attitudes.  It cannot, for example, prevent you from attending a protest about the need for government action on climate change in your V8 powered SUV or pickup truck. 

Industries, particular the oil industry, are often chosen as the ones who must take action. But they will not as long as the demand is there and there are profits to be made.

The truth is the only entities that can really make a difference are individuals.  Each individual must take responsibility for their own actions and decisions when it comes to using less fossil fuel use and taking climate change action.  Do you really need that gas powered SUV, or can you switch to an electric vehicle?  Even my switch to a hybrid has reduced my gas consumption in half for the same type of vehicle.  In many places, there are grants for heat pumps.  That change has reduced my utility costs considerably.  Do I hold myself as some sort of ideal for climate action? Of course not, I still use fossil fuels.  But if we all tried, think of the difference we could make.  Some would say that there is a lot of electricity produced from fossil fuel; coal, diesel fuel, natural gas. But there are many options for producing sustainable electricity in other ways; hydro, wind and solar are available and growing. Even nuclear power, despite it’s down sides, are an option  We just have to make the demand and suppliers will undoubtedly comply. 

Will it be easy?  Probably not.  Is it necessary? Of course, it is.  Do we want to leave a dying planet for future generations?  Some with me first, short term interests probably don’t care.  But I think the vast majority of us do care.  So, look to yourself as the answer, not to governments or industry.  They will do what individuals demand.