Chocolate Choices... (A letter to the editor)

In two weeks it will be Valentine's Day. Roughly 6 weeks after that it will be Easter. What food comes to mind for those two celebrations? If you are anything like me it is chocolate (the more the better).

But chocolate comes with a cost. And I don't mean the extra waistline.

Were you aware that a large percentage of the world's chocolate production relies on slave labour in the growing and harvesting of the cocoa beans? If you had a choice would you buy chocolate that came from sources that paid their labour a fair, living wage?

Such a choice is possible. Rather than tell you what to buy I ask that you Google “fair trade chocolate” and read for yourself about the issue. If we continue to support companies that do not pay attention to how their raw materials are produced then we enable them to continue to profit off the lives of others. It can even be said that we ourselves are accomplices in the modern slave trade.

This year, as we feed our chocaholism (and I am definitely an addict) may we all pause and consider where our chocolate comes from. And maybe we have the power to choose to support fair labour practices and fair prices. Who is in it with me?

Book 2 of 2013 The Inconvenient Indian

The choice of this book was in part a response to issues I mused about in this post a few weeks back.  It is my belief that issues of the relationship between First Nations and non-First Nations Canadians are really going to need to be addressed as Canada tries to find its way into a new economic (and moral) reality.  One article I read today suggested that Canada is at a similar place now in this relationship as New Zealand was with the Maori people several decades ago--and New Zealand is still working out the details of that relationship.

This book is sort of a history.  In that it talks about, review, and interprets historic events.  But it is not an academic history book by any means.  It is sort of an alternative history I would say. Remember that old truth "history is written by the winners".  Most of the history of First Nations in North America is written from a point of view that is (to one extent or another) pro-European.  [Not only history, I was flipping through a copy of Little House on the Prairie the other day and found a discussion between Laura and Pa which has an assumption that as the Whites move in the Indians automatically have to move out, which pretty much captures the general USan attitude of the time, Canada didn't move Indians out, we just penned them on reserves]  This book tells stories from a First Nations point of view.

I think this is the sort of book that needs to be written and read.  We need to have a variety of points of view on these difficult issues.  We need to know the history if we are to find a path forward.  I am still unsure what the "right" path forward is, but I know I need to be ready to absorb more information as we as a society try to find it.

Book 17 of 2012/1 of 2013 Wait: The Art and Science of Delay

I remember first hearing about this book several weeks before I bought it either by hearing an interview on the radio or reading and article online.  And the idea intrigued me, having read Malcolm Gladwell's Blink a few years ago this seemed like a logical follow up.  Particularly since I tend to be a procrastinator/work to the deadline type of person.

The whole premise of the book is about knowing when and how long to delay.  Whether it be an elite athlete delaying in the area of microseconds to choose when to swing at a ball, or a comedian knowing just when to spring the punch line, or a public figure knowing when to apologize in the midst of scandal, it is all about the proper amount of delay.

I really like this book.  I should probably read it again to absorb it better.  In a world where so often we (as individuals and as organizations) are pushed to make a decisions NOW it is good to remind ourselves that sometimes, or even most of the time, taking time to allow the decision to be made well is a better thing.  I heartily endorse this book as a way to improve our decision making ability.

The Best Way Forward????

THe big news in Canada this week has been a meeting that might not even have happened (I have not been following the news closely enough today to know what the final result was) between the Prime Minister, the Governor-General and various First Nations Chiefs.   This is the culmination (thus far) of a movement called Idle No More and following quite directly from a hunger strike that Chief Theresa Spence  of the Attawapiskat First Nation began a month ago.

In essence the Idle No More movement is about the relationship between Canadians whose ancestors arrived from Europe (and Asia and Africa but let us be honest and admit that mainstream Canadian [and USan] Culture is Eurocentrically based) in the last half-millenium and those people whose ancestors were here to greet them.  And of course this is a question that has been bubbling away for most of that half-millenium.  And more to the point there is NO easy (or single) way to describe what that relationship is, what it could be or what it possibly should be.  I would even tend to believe there is, at present, no complicated or difficult way to answer those questions ether.

The most basic way these questions have been raised in recent years has been t ask how we live out the reality that we are treaty people.  Some talk about most Canadians living on "stolen" land -- which is one approach to those treaties.  Some suggest that the descendants of those who signed away their land need to "grow up" and "get with the program" and realize what the realities are [except that reality is a very fluid thing based on your viewpoint].

AS I see it, based on my limited understanding and information, one of the first things that needs to be nailed down is how many nations we are talking about.  Are we talking about ethnic Canadians whose heritage happens to be Aboriginal or are we talking about nation-to-nation negotiations?  Did the signing of those old treaties extinguish the nations that were here and bring them all under the aegis of the Canadian Government under the British Crown (the treaties are formally with the Crown but in practice they are with the governing authority [either the British for early ones or the Colonial Office or the Canadian Government for later treaties] or so those nations continue to exist as separate national entities?  ANd the language used in the discussions does not make it clear.  Neither does the history of the relationship.  But unless that very basic starting point is clarified we can not move forward.  Because the discussions look very different if it is citizens of Canada we are talking about or nation-to-nation discussions.  {to be totally honest I think that in the end we are talking about some sort of a hybrid of those two options based on the history and the political realities}

What is  undeniable (IMO) is that the old treaties were not then and have not worked out as good deals
for the non-European side.  Partly that is because the game was rigged from the beginning in the Europeans favour, particularly when you get to the 19th Century treaties.  Partly that is because the governing powers have not done a spectacular job of living up to the obligations that were understood in those treaties. And partly it is because the unspoken intent of those treaties was (in the opinion of some of us) to extinguish the "savages" and bring them into the realm of the "civilized".  Certainly a main focus of those treaties was to allow Europeans to have access to the land and its resources -- mainly by removing it from the control of those who were already on it (which is why the talk of "stolen" land can be a legitimate point of discussion).

But how do we go forward?  First Nation rights and treaty right were enshrined in the Constitution Act of 1982 (although many federal politicians of various stripes over the years have wanted to continue towards extinguishing any special status for First Nation peoples).  And yet what exactly those rights are remains terribly uncertain.  We live in a reality where First Nations people are heavily over represented in the Canadian underclass, where entire First Nation communities live in Third World conditions.  But how do we change this?

THat is the question that the Canadian body politic has steadfastly avoided for generations.  We may tinker with the system from time to time (the current government is doing lots of tinkering) and some of that tinkering has positive effects while some of it is not so positive. But a wholesale reworking of the system has not happened.  But it seems that the time is coming soon when it can not be avoided.

So what is our relationship?  I would suggest that although First Nations talk about nation-to-nation status that is not going to serve them best. Unless, that is, the old treaties are revisited and heavily renegotiated to meet modern needs and to be more an agreement between equals (I tend to believe that the old treaties failed on this latter point, and that the European negotiators never saw them as such anyway).  ANd I am not sure, based on what is being said, that First Nations folk want to be seen as non-Canadian anyway.  When it comes right down to it, much of what is being asked for is that they have the same rights and freedoms and possibilities as all other Canadian citizens.  And yet are we to see First NAtions folk as merely another form of Ethnic Canadians?  Given the damage (intentional and "accidental") that has been done to them over the past decades that seems setting them up for a failure as well. 

I would suggest that a whole new understanding and describing of the relationship is needed.  The old treaties and the structures/assumptions (such as the Indian Act) that came from them have and are not working.  Unfortunately, I do not see that this is going to happen, at least not in the short term.  So we are stuck with a situation that is going to be getting worse.  The options of either tinkering, divide and conquer, or talk with little action to follow which have so often been used in Canada are starting to fail as more and more people (both First Nation and European-heritage) are willing to name that the "Emperor has no clothes".  Thus far the Idle No More movement has been peaceful and law-abiding.  But how long will that last if no progress is apparent?  How long will non First Nation folk put up with blockades and travel disruptions (recognizing that some people never have put up with them and the comments sections of some stories over the last month have been full of what can only be called overt racism)?

I don't know.  But I think we may be headed to live out the old curse "May you live in interesting times".  ANd our neighbours to the South would do well to take notice.  Because many of the same issues are present there too.....

Then there is the question of how the church should respond, and possibly even take a leadership role, in this discussions.....

From Everybody Here to Everybody "Out There"

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Book 16 of 2012 -- What the Dog Saw

This has been my "read a chapter or two while relaxing in the tub" book for much of this year.

It is the 4th book of Gladwell's that I have read (the others have been [in order] The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers).  And I am still not sure what I think of him.  He does have a way of putting things that have often been taken for granted in a new light.  But he also tends (in this book which is a collection of essays) to appear to contradict himself.  Sometimes he does so in the same essay!  (admittedly that is a sign of good writing in my book, seeing as he appears to do so intentionally).

There is also a thread of small-c conservatism running through Gladwell's work (most obviously seen in The Tipping Point) such as the chapter in this book where I swear he was arguing that Ken Lay should not have been criminally charged for Enron that I find mis-aimed on some topics.

This was a very eclectic book.  It covers issues important and trivial.  For how I was reading it it was a good match.  But it wasn't something I would call a "must read".

Hope or Fear???

That is my sermon title for tomorrow. And here are some thoughts I think I will use to start it (or interspersed throughout)...

There was a support group for mothers of young infants, a chance for adult conversation and to share stories/ideas/hints about that sometimes challenging period of life. One day a new, quite young, mother joins with her young baby. The group goes through their regular routine and then starts to break for coffee when the new mother yells out “Wait! Wait! You haven't talked about it yet”. Seeing how upset she was the group sits back down and says, “OK, tell us what it is you need to talk about”.
"When?  When? When?"  is all she could say
"When what?  What are you wanting?"
“When? Tell me when life gets back to normal?!?!”

Some changes mean life never gets back to normal.  In our heart of hearts we know that.  But still we have that part of ourselves that wants it to get back to normal again.  Even if the change is something wonderful there is a part of us that wants life to get back to normal again.

At its heart Christmas is about birth.  Both as a narrative (the story) and as a metaphor Christmas is about something being born.  And in the end there are relatively few things more life-changing than birth.  And how do we approach a change we know is coming?

Those of you are parents, think back to the day you first learned that a baby was on the way.  How did you feel?  Was it a long-expected and hoped for child or was it a surprise? Did you think you were "ready" to be a parent (at least as much as anyone is ready for such a task)?  And, be honest now, during those next 9 months were there moments when the thought of caring for child left you totally terrified?

There is a commercial on these days with new parents taking their newborn home from the hospital and driving very "carefully" -- in fact so slowly and "carefully" as to be an impediment and danger on the roadway.  That commercial always reminds me of a question my (then pregnant) sister asked the first time I called her after Sarah was born.  "Weren't you afraid to drive with her in the car?"  [For the record no I wasn't.  Driving was not remotely high on the list of parenting fears in my mind]

AS we approach Christmas each year we are encouraged to, in the words of the Dead Dog Cafe, "Stay Calm, Be Brave, Wait for the Signs".  The Scripture passages we just heard have talked about a promise to be kept, have talked about the world going to be changed, and have talked about the signs to look for.  And as we wait and watch will we be calm and brave or will we be anxious and fearful?  Do we look ahead to the  birth that comes with Christmas with hope or with fear?

It strikes me that hope and fear are two sides of the same coin.  I just asked you to think about waiting for a child.  So much hope and dreaming goes into raising a child.  There are so many possibilities about who he or she could be.  The world ahead is full of maybes and unknowns.  And at the same time as there are hopes and dreams the thought, if we ever had time to sit and think about it, maybe between feedings and diaper changes and looking after ourselves and working to earn a living, is terrifying.  There are so many possibilities and unknowns about the future.

There is nothing wrong with hopes mixed with our fears.  That is natural.  That is part of being aware of our surroundings.  Many years ago I was in a musical version of The Hobbit (one I am sure is nothing like the movie about to be released).  At the end of the play Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves, returns to Hobbiton to give Bilbo his reward.  And he says these words:

A fool never cares when he's risking his life,
for excitement or thrills or for fame.
And if he survives other fools call him brave.
to the wise he's a fool all the same.
A wise man knows fear when there's danger to face.
So he's serious thoughtful and grave.
He'll do what he must in the best way he can.
And THIS is the one who is brave.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  Today we begin looking ahead to a birth.  Today we begin the road that ends with angel song and shepherd adoration as God become human yet again.  Today we begin waiting for the world to be changed, indelibly changed.  There are signs (there are always signs that birth is coming) to be seen.  We watch see the signs and we are filled with hope and know that we can trust in the promise.  We see the signs and know that the change means things will never be "normal" again and we are anxious and fearful.

But we can choose which reaction we will feed.  Will we choose to feed our fears and fight against the changes being born?  Or will we choose to feed our hopes and embrace them, not denying our fears but in spite of them, so that we can embark on a new and exciting adventure?

Halloween Pictures

Our Jack O'Lantern

THe Neighbours made use of the plentiful October Snow!!!

The Scooby Doo gang -- Scooby, Scrappy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred (I was Shaggy)

Some Halloween Videos

and of course the classic of all halloween videos...

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Book 15 of 2012--A Nation Worth Ranting About

(Is it just me or has this pretty much become a book blog????)


I decided it was time for a light read.  And so this was an obvious choice.

Canada is a country with a strong history of political comedy.  For many of us the high water mark in this field was set by the Royal Canadian Air Farce (though admittedly their last few seasons were relatively poor).  But I think that many would admit that the current Clown Prince of Canadian political comedy is Rick Mercer.  Each week on his show The Rick Mercer Report he has a rant about some topic or another.  Here is the latest one:

Yes, sometimes Rick takes himself too seriously.  Far too seriously sometimes.  Sometimes he is just too earnest.  ANd certainly those wild camera movements get distracting at times.  But for me the weekly rant is one of the reasons I watch the show.  Which leads us to the book.

This is Rick's second book.  (here is the first)  Like the first it is a collection of his rants, but this one also includes some larger articles/stories and a selection of pictures from the show (pictures don't work so well on a KOBO though).  When I heard it had been released I promptly went looking for it.  And I am glad.  It was good for many laughs, but also (as is the nature of well done political comedy) is a source of thought provoking commentary.  Even non-Canadians would likely appreciate much of the book (though there is a lot of the content which requires a knowledge of the Canadian political and social scene).   And of course a memory of recent history certainly helps (in fact I could almost remember watching some of the rants--especially at the end of the book when the rants were from the last 12 months)