Politics about nothing
I think Andrew Coyne is right.
Politics in Ottawa has stopped being about anything important, any serious issues, and is now just sound bites and empty arguments. It’s flat out disturbing.
I vote for politicians because I believe in their vision for the country (or city, or riding). I expect those in government to … you know … govern. Make decisions. Spend money wisely. We can’t all know about foreign policy or health care, so we elect others to learn about those issues. To discuss them. To make choices accordingly.
Coyne is harsh, but I tend to agree with his diagnosis of the current political climate:
Compare the debate going on in the U.S. about health care reform. Sure, it’s messy, even crazy at times. But it’s a debate. Somebody is proposing to do something about an important national issue, based on his deepest philosophical beliefs. And somebody else is arguing against it, based on theirs. And while the leadership of the two parties butt heads over the President’s plan, individual congressmen and senators are drafting their own counter-proposals—actual legislation, on which they will vote; their many votes on various bills compiled into a record; on which they will be held to account at election time.
Nothing like that applies to Canadian politics. It doesn’t matter what ordinary MPs stand for, because all policy is set by the parties. And it doesn’t matter what the parties stand for, because at any given time they generally stand for the same thing, and because whatever they stand for today they will stand for its opposite tomorrow.
It is tempting to describe Canadian politics as a fantasyland. But “fantasy” implies something wondrous and magical, or at least interesting. In that sense, Canadian politics is the opposite of fantasy. It’s like a dream where nothing happens. You’re hazily aware that if something happened, it would violate all rules of logic or common sense. But nothing ever does.
The most positive definition I can offer of politics is that it is people behaving badly for good reasons. But our politics involves people behaving appallingly for no reason at all: there are no stakes, no important values are in dispute, nor is there even much power to be pursued for its own sake, all power (or such little as the federal government has) being located in the Prime Minister’s Office.
It would be a compliment to say our politics was corrupt. At least corruption is a purpose. Whereas to call our politics vacuous is an insult to wastes of space.
It’s very true that not all MPs are power-hungry and without integrity, but there’s enough of them that it has become a stereotype. It’s frustrating that members are pressured to vote the party line rather than stand firmly on their own perspective. I want politicians that I can believe in – because they believe in something and are willing to fight for it. I want leaders who will lead, based on conviction and experience. Though it’s true many Canadians need to engage in the political process, it’s possible that part of the reason they aren’t involved is because of that lack of grounded and responsible candidates.
My generation isn’t very encouraging either. A large portion of people my age seem to feel they are entitled to greatness without working for it. They want the cushy jobs and fat pay cheque, and they want health care and pensions delivered to their doorstep without participating in the process to obtain or improve their benefits. We take so much for granted yet somehow find plenty to complain about.
Again, not all are like this, but enough to be a frustrating trend. I’d like to see young people take more responsibility for not only their own accomplishments and progress, but also for the improvement of their community, city and country. I want us to wake up to the world we live in and, to put it frankly, stop being so darn selfish. I want us to have deeply rooted beliefs, opinions about the world, ideas for change and the guts to do something about all of it.
This isn’t to say I have it all together or know all the answers, but I have absolutely no doubt that my life is more fulfilling and satisfying, not to mention seriously exciting, when I live it for something bigger than myself.
Recap: Nov. 15 – 21
I had a thoroughly jam-packed week, though it may not seem very exciting for anyone not … well, me. But here is my recap anyway.
Sunday – A friend of Emilse’s gave me a pedicure after church. While I don’t mind the occasional pampering, it’s more awkward than anything else when I can’t even make basic conversation with the person giving my feet more attention than I usually do.
Monday – Another civic holiday in Colombia – works for me!
Tuesday – I was told that all reports of problem or failing students was due, without being given the deadline in advance. I spent the entire afternoon compiling grades and figuring out what kids are below the passing grade and writing the reasons why. Oh, and Emilse’s shower was leaking so someone came over to rip up the bathroom and we didn’t have water for about five hours. Good times all around.
Wednesday – Emilse left for Portland about 5 a.m., where she’ll spend the next three months visiting her kids and grandson. I don’t think she slept at all, and therefore I didn’t get much shut-eye either (from her pre-dawn shower to a guard knocking on my window to talk to her at around 4 a.m.). However, I managed to hold onto a good mood all day and also secured another month on my visa that afternoon.
Thursday - Rehearsals are seriously ramping up for the school’s major December production, which includes drama and dance. Four of the six students in my Grade 11 class are heavily involved – including teaching younger kids the choreography – and were needed for a practice, so I once again had to adjust my plans to work with just the boys.
Friday – I spent two hours on a skype call with my friend, Sheri, finalizing more of our itinerary for Peru. After flip-flopping for the last week on what we wanted to do, we decided the Amazon jungle’s call is too much to ignore. More on the trip to come soon …
Saturday – The dog woke me up at 6:40 a.m., and one of the downsides to living alone is that I can’t hope someone else will feed her or let her outside. I couldn’t fall back asleep, but since then have been hard at work on the mountain of lesson plans and objective writing I have to do this weekend. Well, except for being distracted for a few minutes by the stack of Macleans magazines my mom sent me this week.
Bulatci found guilty
Today a jury found Emrah Bulatci guilty of first-degree murder in the death of RCMP constable Chris Worden, who was stationed in Hay River, Northwest Territories for several years. Worden was shot and killed two years ago.
While I never met the officer when I was in Hay River for a few months in 2007, I did know several people that were friends of his. I watched Worden’s funeral procession in downtown Ottawa and sat in the overflow of the church for the service, reporting on the events for the local newspaper in NWT.
It’s a big day for Worden’s family and really, all of Hay River. The town was reeling for months after the shooting, and have launched campaigns against violence and drug use in Worden’s memory.
Bulatci will be sentenced tomorrow.
H1N1 rumours
As H1N1 continues to run rampant, so do conspiracy theories … and some ideas that don’t seem so far-fetched. I find it difficult to navigate online sources of information, and I’ve heard arguments both for and against the vaccination from people I trust (including someone who used to work for the World Health Organization, who is against). I’ve also heard that there’s an American patent for the swine flu vaccine from a couple of years ago – though I wouldn’t be able to understand it all even if I had read the application – and that the WHO offered the first vaccine before the first case of H1N1 was diagnosed. If that’s true, there is definitely something fishy going on.
I haven’t been very affected by the chaos surrounding the virus here in Colombia, but it has hit home. My sister wasn’t officially diagnosed, but my parents were fairly certain she had a mild case of it. She recovered quickly and is doing fine now. I know of several other people that had it as well, but recovered without any major issues.
While I have no intention of getting the vaccine, my pregnant sister-in-law (who is a nurse) opted for the shot, as well as my other nurse sister and her husband – but not for their 10-month-old baby.
And then there’s people like the former health minister for Finland, saying things like this:
As much as two per cent of Canada’s H1N1 vaccinations have been thrown out because they have passed their “best before” date, and right now I’m not entirely sure that’s such a bad thing.
So, what’s your take on the “pandemic” and surrounding panic? Are you getting the flu shot or are you staying far away from the long line-ups and crowded clinics?
Recap: Nov. 8 – 14
I’ve been in Cali for almost three months now … here’s a recap of this week.
Sunday – I finally booked my flights to Peru and spent a couple of hours on skype with my friend planning our trip around the country. More details on our itinerary to come soon.
Monday – I’ve been waiting for the morning when I wake up and don’t feel tired but ready and energized for the day. When my alarm went off at the usual 5:35 a.m. I realized that might never happen.
Tuesday – I very nearly have all the names of the kindergarten students memorized. I know, it’s two months into the school year but in my defense, there are 12 of them, some look alike, I only see them a couple times a week, and they move around a lot. It’s hard to keep track of them, much less remember what names goes with each face.
Wednesday – I was writing something on the board during my Grade 11 class and I could hear a couple students chatting. I turned around to shush them and one boy had the most ridiculous look on his face that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. It pretty much ruined my concentration for the rest of the lesson.
Thursday – My nephew had his fourth birthday. I can hardly believe he’s that old already. I told him happy birthday on a Skype call, and when I asked him to show me the presents he’s received he replied: “When you come back from Colombia.” I was able to watch him open the gift I bought for him before I left – webcams are wonderful things.
Friday - All week there has been talk of a big school presentation to celebrate the anniversary of Cartagena’s independence. Several teachers have been sick so it kept getting postponed and no one knew what was going on. They finally did something today, but it was a 15-minute skit by eighth grade and then it was back to class.
Saturday - I slept in until nearly recess time but didn’t regret it at all. Since then I have done a massive cleaning of my room and helped Emilse finish packing for big trip to Portland.
Remembering
For as long as I can remember, I have been involved in Remembrance Day activities in some way. If I wasn’t in a parade or attending a ceremony, I was watching Parliament Hill events on TV. Every year on 11/11, at 11:11, I was silent for a full minute.
I have two favourite memories from Remembrance Day:
The first was watching my brother play the Last Post on his trumpet in his air cadet uniform at a ceremony in Cornwall. It’s an extremely hard piece to play, and I was so proud of him.
The second was from a couple of years ago when a few friends and I braved the downtown crowd and went to the War Memorial in Ottawa for the Nov. 11 ceremony. There were thousands of people, long parades of uniformed veterans, cannon salutes, poppies everywhere.
It will be odd this year … to not only be at work, but be in class when all of my fellow Canadians back home are silently remembering the sacrifice of all those who fought for our freedom. I think Remembrance Day is an extremely important “holiday”, to honour those who made our country what it is today.
Today I will not be marching in a parade in my air cadet uniform, covering ceremonies for a newspaper article, watching events on TV or even wearing a poppy. But I will remember.
Recap: Nov 1 – 7
Well, my week was not at all eventful, but here’s the recap anyway.
Sunday – My Nova Scotia friend got married and I so wish I could have been there. Congrats, Janet!
Monday – It was a civic holiday in Colombia, and therefore we had no school. I decided to go for a run, but I’ve had a cold/sinus issues going on and my breathing sounded like … well, that I couldn’t breathe, so I headed down the mountain after only 2K.
Tuesday – We had a meeting with the parents to explain the new system of evaluation the school has implemented this year. I had heard all the information before and there was a powerpoint presentation to follow, but I was still impressed that I understood about 95 per cent of what was said in those two hours.
Wednesday – I sent my first note home with a student. I’ve had the “group directors” write notices before, but this time it was on me. It was in English, so I’m not sure how much the parents will understand, but I did my duty.
Thursday – I managed to find a reason that a video of my nephew eating was relevant to my Grade 11 students so we could watch it in class. I don’t think they were as amused as I, but oh well.
Friday - I had to explain to a student that his habit of not handing in assignments was causing him to receive a failing mark in my class. He seemed surprised.
Saturday – Emilse put up red and green towels in the bathroom. I’m pretty sure the colour choice wasn’t arbitrary … I’m not certain I’m ready for Christmas decorations yet (especially with weather as it is), but I guess I’ll have to adjust.
Another week, come and gone. In just over six weeks I will in Peru!
The best country
I am Canadian to the core (despite the title of my last post).
While I am able to see the flaws in some aspects of the nation, I am a firm believer that my home and native land is the best place in the world to live. I am fiercely patriotic and loyal. I take pride in our accomplishments, pray for solutions to our problems, and do my best to follow what is going on at home and abroad.
In my patriotism, I also recognize that other nationalities will be partial to their own countries. I think that is absolutely right and proper. I don’t expect Colombians to think Canada is the best country in the world.
The problem is, they don’t think Colombia is either.
I’ve informally chatted with several students in and outside of the classroom who answer “Estados Unidos” when asked what country they think is number one on the planet.
Now, living as the USA’s closest neighbour probably makes me slightly biased against it, but no matter where I am from I still believe everyone should have faith and pride in their own nation. The fact that many Colombians don’t have that in their country bothers me. It’s not everyone – in fact, one teacher here is extremely patriotic and has mentioned a few times how glad she is to be Colombian – but it’s the young people, those who are the next generation of leaders and business owners and contributors to society. I hope what I have heard is not a representation of the entire demographic, or Colombia is going to have serious issues in five to 10 years when half their employees and students leaves the country.
Colombia has been enundated with products from the United States over the last decade as the two countries strengthened their partnership to fight the drug war here and expand trade. Movies, computers, books, music – so much of the media and consumerism is hugely influenced by America, and Europe as well (France and Germany were a couple of other answers to the question). I understand that, and I can see how that in turn has impacted the young people’s view of the world. But even though Hollywood is sending films with Spanish subtitles to Colombia, it shouldn’t change how these youth view the globe.
It’s true that there are probably more opportunities in North America or Europe than in a nation still working to change the perspective that the only thing here is drugs and more drugs. But I hope this generation of young people realize that they can be a part of that change; they can help to bring more opportunities to Colombia and to make improvements, rather than leaving the problems to others and heading to the United States for jobs and education.
However, if they must head north, they should keep on going and come to Canada. It is, after all, the best country in the world.
Status update: Becoming Colombian
While I will forever be loyal to my home and native land, I am definitely adjusting to how things work in Cali. Here’s a few signs of my transformation to a Colombian way of life …
- I can make juice from fresh fruit including orange and lulo.
- I can listen to whole conversations in Spanish and only get lost a couple of times.
- When plans change unexpectedly, I’m less inclined to freak out.
- I never show up for my young adult Bible study on time (and I’m still early).
- I can roughly convert from Colombian pesos to Canadian dollars in my head.
- I have cravings for Colombian bread … this from the girl who could count on two hands the number of times she ate bread in a year.
- The guard dogs barely bark at me anymore.
Change of plans
One of the two main reasons I decided to hop over to Peru while I’m in South America instead of another country was to visit a girl I have sponsored for the last several years (the other reason is Machu Picchu). It’s also on my list of things to do in life.
But this morning I received the disappointing news that the organization - which is phenomenal, by the way – I sponsor Belen through is closed for an entire month over Christmas, and no one is available to take me to visit her. I guess it was to be expected that holidays would impact when I could see her, but it’s too bad it’s not even an option at all.
Belen will be 12 in November. I began sponsoring her at least five years ago (probably more) and we have exchanged dozens of letters and several photos over the years. Our correspondence has been especially exciting lately because I can read her original writing rather than relying on the translation to understand her note. She always signs off with something along the lines of “with a big hug and kiss” and I would love to give her a real hug someday.
I guess I’ll just have to return to Peru eventually.
Cheryl