Sensitivity is hard to come by. Sensibility is harder still. Sense is hardest of all.
Since I visited that mission I have for days on end have been unable to shake this feeling of bereftness, of not fully being here, of not being satisfied.
A friend of mine says that you have to find your passion, not your calling, not your path, not your wants or needs but an accumulation of all of that, find your passion.
What makes you want to do something. Anything. To make a difference in this world.
I stood there and thought to myself, this isn't something to be afraid of this is something to not want to end up in. But that being human, and being part of society we all have the ability to find ourselves in similar circumstances, is being literally engaged.
What is poverty really? What is it in this time and place? We are surrounded by multi-millionaires who are born out of a record, out of a book, a TV show...we are surrounded by people who seek education for the re numeration behind their degrees, with everyone striving to buy bigger houses, bigger cars, bigger lives.
Poverty is not welfare, it is not getting a monthly cheque, it is not receiving benefits, these are routes put in place so that you do not find yourself poverty stricken. We live in a country where there are ways to put food on the table, to place a roof over your head, to fund your education, but when all else fails sometimes you may find yourself in a line up waiting for a meal...
That is a place that any of us can find ourselves in, when people are losing millions what makes us immune to this cirucmstance? To be afraid of this is to deny ourselves the sense to live in this time and age.
This feeling of engagement made the whole season a time of reflection for me, as I toasted to well wishes for this year and next with those closest to me I realized that to truly live you must imagine your life in context, there are as many ways to lose as to win. To lose someone or to gain someone is of no consequence if you do not walk away from the experience with a firm respect for those who are still here.
I find and loose my passion for things very easily, but I have come to realize these past few days that maybe this is because I haven't found something that I truly feel blessed to be doing.
What I know now is that maybe walking into that mission brought me something that I never knew I wanted to be apart of ...
28.12.09
Literal engagement...
Stark Reality...
They say that Christmas is a time of birth, a time of giving not receiving, a time of cheer and merriment, a time for thankfulness. But how many of us centre this time around those things? How many of us truly cherish what we have?
I know that for alot of people this time is about putting social graces first, about doing things for the sake of doing rather than giving, for nothing more than the possessions that we seek to exchange on Boxing Day.
A few weeks ago I was faced with the part of Christmas that I most hated, the lines in the stores, the bah humbug attitude of shoppers and to my surprise a few discriminatory words in a parking lot. It made me seethe, so much that I called everyone in my life to tell them of my woe but what I didn't understand at that point was how blessed I was to have that encounter.
You see because I stand here in this nation at this time in history to feel the remark thrown at me, and I am now grateful because I have the ability to walk away, to ensure that I do not think like that. That I do not force that stark reality on anyone else.
Then last week I went out to do something that I haven't done in years and that was volunteer at Christmas, to serve food at a soup kitchen. As I walked in those doors my eyes swam with the realization that to many this was homecoming, this was shelter, this was a place of safety. Somewhere that for many of us coming to volunteer that day was a place that we wouldn't visit while we stopped Downtown, somewhere that we professed to "know" about but somewhere we refused to live.
I felt all these emotions rush through me but none of it was as sincere as the look that I faced when I looked up and saw the sincerity of a young man who was taking a bowl of soup and turkey with eyes filled with something that I couldn't place. Was it shame? sadness? Was this the face of poverty? No, it was sincerity, grate fullness and a genuine smile that transcended the place we were in.
One look as a thousand looks made me see that I was part of this crazy world but while I was moaning and groaning about life, about bills, about being underpaid, about all the things I did not have. I was looking across at a smile that came from his eyes, his lips and his soul. He was a person truly grateful for where God had placed him and he was not letting it crush him, while I was finding ways to put one foot in front of another.
The stark reality of it all is that you cannot stop being grateful of who, what, where and why you are here. There are so many things that you can change, but many circumstances that you cannot. You and your life deserve the ability to not be afraid, to carry yourself through your life.
No one else can take your place.
5.9.09
Courage comes in many forms but the greatest test of it is to live your life despite what people say, do or what's most felt, what they do not do.
You can live your life,
I will live mine,
neither has to mean less.
I will ensure,
that my own,
will never feel slighted,
never feel this way.
I cannot predict any future,
but neither can you.
I have loved despite your downfalls,
despite your choices,
despite your ability to leave others in their place,
while they commit sins against your own.
I am not an issuer of judgement,
but it does not sit well with me,
now or before,
how one sin is washed away,
while the other is not.
The calmness of your denial,
hurts,
but no more than the terror,
you still allow to consume us.
When will it be over? You ask.
I ask myself that too.
When will it be over?
When you realize,
that the greater issue,
is not mine,
its yours.
As long as you cater to our destruction,
I will continue to ask.
Years pass,
aging continues,
but nothing changes.
The want for change is ending here,
I will not be a continuance of your destruction.
Cosmopolitan...
says that you may think I don't see my mistakes, but I do, you may think I do not see the less than perfect consequences, but I do...see what you don't see is that my love is just as good as yours and maybe just maybe I am stronger than you think. Your consequences were yours, mine are mine, but at least I am not living under the assumption that others do not see my reality...as you do.
Sometimes when you make the wrong decisions and things don't turn out the way you assume, there is alot more than just the mistake out there to deal with. You deal with the backlash of all the people in your life that are there to witness it and usually those who reference it for your life time. I have found that alot of life is filled with wrong decisions, possible mistakes and usually untimely events but that the essence of life is making your way through them.
I have for a long time felt ashamed or lesser as a person because of certain mistakes that I have made and certain issues that are still at a forefront of my life. I have always felt bad about things that now in retrospect I should have never felt bad about, but that in itself is a learning experience.
Hours ago, I stood in front of a person who showed me that one thing will never change in my life, and that is the fact that you don't know me. You don't know the highs in my life because you only concentrate on the lows. You don't know my happiness from my sadness because you refuse to be part of my life. You only want your segment and your ideals of what is good for me, never have you put aside your concept of reality for mine. That should have been clear to me from the outset but sadly it wasn't, its certainly clear now.
People say that family is a foundation of life but what is the point of building with bricks but nor mortar? Its as useless as a glass house.
See its easy to measure people with the yardstick of life, but harder still to measure someone by the hurdles they have overcome, because some people never encounter them either due to what they may consider "good choices" or simply the inability to live life. The assumption that some are better than others because as of a certain time they have accomplished certain things does not make them a better person, nor a good person.
There can never be cohesion when you cannot even see parts of the issue, when you cannot face the reality of those who are part of your life. I am not fighting for your acceptance anymore, nor your understanding, I am going to carry on as others do and keep my thoughts aside.
See I have realized my greatest mistake and that has been the hope that you would for my sake, accept. But now I realize that I will have to create for me, outside of this, and stop denying me.
But one day you will realize that to deny me is to deny you.
29.7.09
I am not...
I am not an Athenian or a Greek but a citizen of the world. ~ Socrates.
I am not one thing or another, I am not only one person but of a people, I am not here nor there but if needed I can be anywhere.
In life it is easy to subject others to your views, to your wants, to your ideas but it is undeniably hard to subject yourself to theirs.
In a world so large and unyielding its hard to see that your own kin would be harder to understand than strangers but that is mostly true.
I started this blog on the assumption that those who read it would understand a bit more about me, or at least would come to know a bit of what and how I think.
See what is most important to me has never been to fit in but to understand why I do not fit in.
In times of war and anguish the object of the game seems to fit neatly into a category so that everyone can make assumptions about your cause but that cannot be true in a time where most people are not homogeneous, are not one thing or another but a mixture of the world. Being static is no longer an option. Movement is key both in mind and body.
I am opposed to alot of things and stances but I am most opposed to one of closed mindedness. I have always wanted a few things clarified about myself that I will note today,
I am parts of many communities but have never been obliged to join any because DNA should be the only prerequisite, not your stance on any issue or ritual because ultimately the basis of ethnicity and nationality are determined at conception and not birth. I do not choose who I belong to, it was chosen for me, and ultimately the only person I want to own me is eternally unavailable for clarification until Judgement Day.
These past weeks have shown me that for alot of people contribution to community and family is something that they note through money, time and exclusivity rather than feeling, birth and love. That is to me quite unsettling because regardless of any of those things, belonging is not something that I would choose on a tally system. Denial of someones birthright does not come at a convenience to anyone, it does not come because of a difference of opinion and it certainly does not come from the removal of association for a few years.
My race, my religion, my multiple ethnicity's may not be normal to you but it is my reality and before you comment on anyone's sense of community educate yourself on their background, you may find more than your looking for.
Remembrance of a person can come from a fleeting moment, to a second, from a minute and certainly from a lifetime of moments.
A few untruths can never break a bond that was cemented at birth, but it can certainly cloud your judgement of a person.
Remember to find out why a person is unlike you before you cast them aside.
I am not one thing or another, I am not only one person but of a people, I am not here nor there but if needed I can be anywhere.
In life it is easy to subject others to your views, to your wants, to your ideas but it is undeniably hard to subject yourself to theirs.
In a world so large and unyielding its hard to see that your own kin would be harder to understand than strangers but that is mostly true.
I started this blog on the assumption that those who read it would understand a bit more about me, or at least would come to know a bit of what and how I think.
See what is most important to me has never been to fit in but to understand why I do not fit in.
In times of war and anguish the object of the game seems to fit neatly into a category so that everyone can make assumptions about your cause but that cannot be true in a time where most people are not homogeneous, are not one thing or another but a mixture of the world. Being static is no longer an option. Movement is key both in mind and body.
I am opposed to alot of things and stances but I am most opposed to one of closed mindedness. I have always wanted a few things clarified about myself that I will note today,
I am parts of many communities but have never been obliged to join any because DNA should be the only prerequisite, not your stance on any issue or ritual because ultimately the basis of ethnicity and nationality are determined at conception and not birth. I do not choose who I belong to, it was chosen for me, and ultimately the only person I want to own me is eternally unavailable for clarification until Judgement Day.
These past weeks have shown me that for alot of people contribution to community and family is something that they note through money, time and exclusivity rather than feeling, birth and love. That is to me quite unsettling because regardless of any of those things, belonging is not something that I would choose on a tally system. Denial of someones birthright does not come at a convenience to anyone, it does not come because of a difference of opinion and it certainly does not come from the removal of association for a few years.
My race, my religion, my multiple ethnicity's may not be normal to you but it is my reality and before you comment on anyone's sense of community educate yourself on their background, you may find more than your looking for.
Remembrance of a person can come from a fleeting moment, to a second, from a minute and certainly from a lifetime of moments.
A few untruths can never break a bond that was cemented at birth, but it can certainly cloud your judgement of a person.
Remember to find out why a person is unlike you before you cast them aside.
18.7.09
Plea.
To denounce violence is to keep those close to you safe. To denounce violence is to keep those close to you alive. To denounce violence is to allow everyone the ability to choose their own fate.
By taking up a weapon you give no one a fighting chance, you take away their life not only at the cost of theirs but many others. See when you seek to end some one's chances of fighting back, you end the ability for all of us to fight back. When you take some one's life because of a weapon you are ruining much more than one life, you are ruining the chance for peace for everyone.
When you took his life, you took mine, you took all of ours.
So help me, help him, by helping you. See I know that whoever you are,you understand what you did and that nothing will rest with you until you come forward and take responsibility for the violence you committed. You know that by taking his life you have severed yours as well, because how can you live with this on your conscience?
We seek not to harm you, because he himself denounced violence by holding true to Gandhi's words. We are not looking to blind ourselves, we are looking to see clearly and hear clearly, so that we may live on to carry his memory forward.
The strength it took to take his life is nothing compared to what its going to take to come forward and accept your due, but it can be done, and if you would at least make amends then we can move forward.
The chance exists for you to change your life's course...as you have changed his.
Denounce violence by taking your life in your own hands, try and save yourself in the greater picture.
God shall see your actions on earth and determine your fate in the hereafter so do not take your actions lightly.
As they say it takes a village to raise a child, and as we have raised him, we have raised you, so allow us to help you, we must show you right from wrong before this seeps further into your life and you destroy another life.
By taking up a weapon you give no one a fighting chance, you take away their life not only at the cost of theirs but many others. See when you seek to end some one's chances of fighting back, you end the ability for all of us to fight back. When you take some one's life because of a weapon you are ruining much more than one life, you are ruining the chance for peace for everyone.
When you took his life, you took mine, you took all of ours.
So help me, help him, by helping you. See I know that whoever you are,you understand what you did and that nothing will rest with you until you come forward and take responsibility for the violence you committed. You know that by taking his life you have severed yours as well, because how can you live with this on your conscience?
We seek not to harm you, because he himself denounced violence by holding true to Gandhi's words. We are not looking to blind ourselves, we are looking to see clearly and hear clearly, so that we may live on to carry his memory forward.
The strength it took to take his life is nothing compared to what its going to take to come forward and accept your due, but it can be done, and if you would at least make amends then we can move forward.
The chance exists for you to change your life's course...as you have changed his.
Denounce violence by taking your life in your own hands, try and save yourself in the greater picture.
God shall see your actions on earth and determine your fate in the hereafter so do not take your actions lightly.
As they say it takes a village to raise a child, and as we have raised him, we have raised you, so allow us to help you, we must show you right from wrong before this seeps further into your life and you destroy another life.
2.7.09
Detonation.
Detonation,
screaming,
fire,
Noise.
Light in the distance,
crowds gathered in the city,
waiting in anticapation,
for something anything to happen.
A girl who ran away from the crowd,
screaming for her mother,
frantic parents,
searching for their child.
Sirens,
Police barracades,
Roads closed,
People watching t.v. late at night.
Pandemonium breaks out,
in the crowd,
around the t.v.,
in the streets.
Noone knows what going on...
It's a protest,
it's a child lost,
It's an assasination,
No, its just Canada Day Fireworks across the City, across the country.
See the great thing about being Canadian is that we don't have to imagine the worst, we can have all that anticipation for something less than gunshots, less than bombs and still have the freedom to fight for what we believe.
Being Canadian is great, don't forget it.
screaming,
fire,
Noise.
Light in the distance,
crowds gathered in the city,
waiting in anticapation,
for something anything to happen.
A girl who ran away from the crowd,
screaming for her mother,
frantic parents,
searching for their child.
Sirens,
Police barracades,
Roads closed,
People watching t.v. late at night.
Pandemonium breaks out,
in the crowd,
around the t.v.,
in the streets.
Noone knows what going on...
It's a protest,
it's a child lost,
It's an assasination,
No, its just Canada Day Fireworks across the City, across the country.
See the great thing about being Canadian is that we don't have to imagine the worst, we can have all that anticipation for something less than gunshots, less than bombs and still have the freedom to fight for what we believe.
Being Canadian is great, don't forget it.
Sorcerer
No more fairy tales.
No more tales period.
See our history together was a fairytale,
and once I thought I was cast as Princess,
with a sideline to be Queen.
Irregardless of circumstance,
I have been your wife,
your partner,
your magician.
There is no drama left,
no text messages to be seen,
no late nights to be wondering where you are,
no one I care to know about.
The spell has unworked itself,
the story has lost its meaning,
the end is elusive,
but its there surrounded by lost dreams and memories.
See I tried to make your dreams come true,
but you cannot even partake in my daydreams.
The silence of our story resonates now.
Those we cannot tell,
those who cannot see,
those who wish it weren't there at all.
Our fairytale is just that,
a tale that unfortunately is devoid of a fairy.
She isn't coming,
but she's waiting for you out there,
only you know what she looks like.
So take the book,
the next pages are empty,
my magic is done,
my spells aren't working...
I guess I've lost hold of the magic.
~ N.L.
No more tales period.
See our history together was a fairytale,
and once I thought I was cast as Princess,
with a sideline to be Queen.
Irregardless of circumstance,
I have been your wife,
your partner,
your magician.
There is no drama left,
no text messages to be seen,
no late nights to be wondering where you are,
no one I care to know about.
The spell has unworked itself,
the story has lost its meaning,
the end is elusive,
but its there surrounded by lost dreams and memories.
See I tried to make your dreams come true,
but you cannot even partake in my daydreams.
The silence of our story resonates now.
Those we cannot tell,
those who cannot see,
those who wish it weren't there at all.
Our fairytale is just that,
a tale that unfortunately is devoid of a fairy.
She isn't coming,
but she's waiting for you out there,
only you know what she looks like.
So take the book,
the next pages are empty,
my magic is done,
my spells aren't working...
I guess I've lost hold of the magic.
~ N.L.
29.6.09
Turmoil, Angst, and Sadness
The world today is showing signs of a great depression, but it is not just about money. It is about our loss of alot more than currency, we are standing at a fork in the road of our great history as a people.
The turmoil of the current state of affairs across the world has become so dire, that every time I log into the news websites, another part of the world is going through some crisis. Nations are killing their own people, nuclear war is being thrown around as a future event rather than just an idea and above all we are at a loss as to how to deal with any of it.
We as a people have lost complete control of the situation, noone even has the ability to stop the mechanics of what is happening across the world right now, all we have the capability of doing is logging on, and that is scary.
Loss of choice, loss of control on world issues because we are at the crossroads of our generation but we cannot do anything, we are simply observing what is happening.
Case in point is the death of Michael Jackson, he died at age 50 with a large impact on the world but what are we watching on CNN, how much his life was impacted by drugs, finanical and legal concerns...gone are the days of mourning, we now cyber stalk people until finally we can only youtube their progress to the next world. So many people heard the impact of his passing, but how many of us sat down and realized that as of now we have one less musician, entertainer and soul left on this planet. People at this time are more concerned with his lifes unevents than his impact on music. Music is the reason we know the name Michael Jackson, if he was not an entertainer would we care about his bottom line, his children's custody, his medical history? The answer is NO, but we are no longer compassionate people, we are digital mourners.
That saddens me, it shows how little we have left in the world that is real, so please take a moment, listen to his music, read an article and think to yourself, how do I fit into this? who am I? and in the larger scheme of things...how can I have less turmoil, less angst, less sadness in my own life?
Peace and blessings.
21.5.09
No Heroes...They were but men.
No heroes
There were no heroes here
Amongst the men who tramped through
Rutted, quaking moor,
Or crawled, cat-silent, Over skittering scree
To prove the way.
No heroes fought the blazing fires
Which sucked the very blood from Ship and man alike.
Or braved knife cold
Without a thought To save a life.
No heroes they, but ones who loved
Sweet life and children's laugh,
And dreamt of home When war allowed.
They were but men.
~David Morgan
They were but men. Living in this time period it is far fetched to believe in simply your own culture, your own identity, your own nation as being enough to fight for. With the large amount of people living outside of their "home" it isn't enough to want that anymore, peace needs to be sustainable wherever you live. This way of thinking does not diminish your identity but it does allow you to understand your place in the world. The term fighting for freedom is not something to be taken lightly, it is not something to paraphrase nor protest about unless you truly understand the statistics of the very freedom you are talking about.
The participants in the war in Sri Lanka are both fully responsible for the atrocities that have marked the period of bloodshed and violence in the country since 1976, however while one is the country's government the other is an organization that despite their starting ideals has become an international terrorist organization.
I do not say this lightly, it is considered as such by 30 countries, and Canada and the United States are included in that. The label is not affixed lightly and nor is the list of those killed by either side anything to proclaim to the world. The country has been killing itself from the inside for decades, either in retaliation for violence or a precursor for it. Neither side has put civilians first but both sides have had the challenge of dealing with the bodies.
So as the bodies of Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay, Moor, all line the memories of the world, what are people proclaiming? That this will never end...
Specifically that the search for separation will continue by any means necessary, that the fight for freedom will continue in a different form.
If this was a fight for freedom, a fight for rights or for a place to house your people how could it not end in the sight of the thousands murdered for your cause? How can a government asking for peace and inclusion not suit your requests for equality?
Could it be that you are merely incapable of delivering your people out of the emotional spin of war? That terrorism is a likely answer to deal with the aftermath of all that have already been killed for your cause. How can that be? How can tht make any sense to those who stand for hours outside around the world?
Because really after all of these years, all of the dead people, the vanished prisoners, the amass of money, the call for all people to answer for this fight, what are you left with? A large diaspora of your people who are still waiting for your proclamation of an end to the struggle. But without thought as to the future of your culture you continue to seek vengeance for something that everyone says you can have, the equality you seek is not elusive.
The true nature of a culture is in its people, it is its ability to further itself despite diaspora, despite war, despite terrorism. There are thousands if not millions of Sri Lankans living outside of Sri Lanka today and we are capable of exercising our freedom to not proclaim war, to not donate to a cause that is dead, to not allow others to tarnish our reputation as a people. While many non Sri Lankan people may not understand what is going on, I know that many of those same people standing outside protesting do not know the whole history either.
Organizations prey on people and their emotions, their sense of identity and their need to feel included in their own culture, but it is up to you as an individual to differentiate the true nature of an organization, whether there roots are nationalistic or terrorist.
For those who may not know, Sri Lanka is a beautiful island with as many different landscapes as there are people and most people live amongst each other harmoniously, they seek to have a life that does not consist of bombings and war. They simply like every nation wish to have a place where they can see their children grow up, whether they be Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay etc...
That need is not something uncharacteristic of any country in the world...so when next you hear of the continuation of this war for freedom, please take a second look because the war was ended by one side, it only continues at the hands of those who refuse to let peace be the outcome.
Those of us who seek moderation regardless of our nationality are always left holding the most casualties...
There were no heroes here
Amongst the men who tramped through
Rutted, quaking moor,
Or crawled, cat-silent, Over skittering scree
To prove the way.
No heroes fought the blazing fires
Which sucked the very blood from Ship and man alike.
Or braved knife cold
Without a thought To save a life.
No heroes they, but ones who loved
Sweet life and children's laugh,
And dreamt of home When war allowed.
They were but men.
~David Morgan
They were but men. Living in this time period it is far fetched to believe in simply your own culture, your own identity, your own nation as being enough to fight for. With the large amount of people living outside of their "home" it isn't enough to want that anymore, peace needs to be sustainable wherever you live. This way of thinking does not diminish your identity but it does allow you to understand your place in the world. The term fighting for freedom is not something to be taken lightly, it is not something to paraphrase nor protest about unless you truly understand the statistics of the very freedom you are talking about.
The participants in the war in Sri Lanka are both fully responsible for the atrocities that have marked the period of bloodshed and violence in the country since 1976, however while one is the country's government the other is an organization that despite their starting ideals has become an international terrorist organization.
I do not say this lightly, it is considered as such by 30 countries, and Canada and the United States are included in that. The label is not affixed lightly and nor is the list of those killed by either side anything to proclaim to the world. The country has been killing itself from the inside for decades, either in retaliation for violence or a precursor for it. Neither side has put civilians first but both sides have had the challenge of dealing with the bodies.
So as the bodies of Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay, Moor, all line the memories of the world, what are people proclaiming? That this will never end...
Specifically that the search for separation will continue by any means necessary, that the fight for freedom will continue in a different form.
If this was a fight for freedom, a fight for rights or for a place to house your people how could it not end in the sight of the thousands murdered for your cause? How can a government asking for peace and inclusion not suit your requests for equality?
Could it be that you are merely incapable of delivering your people out of the emotional spin of war? That terrorism is a likely answer to deal with the aftermath of all that have already been killed for your cause. How can that be? How can tht make any sense to those who stand for hours outside around the world?
Because really after all of these years, all of the dead people, the vanished prisoners, the amass of money, the call for all people to answer for this fight, what are you left with? A large diaspora of your people who are still waiting for your proclamation of an end to the struggle. But without thought as to the future of your culture you continue to seek vengeance for something that everyone says you can have, the equality you seek is not elusive.
The true nature of a culture is in its people, it is its ability to further itself despite diaspora, despite war, despite terrorism. There are thousands if not millions of Sri Lankans living outside of Sri Lanka today and we are capable of exercising our freedom to not proclaim war, to not donate to a cause that is dead, to not allow others to tarnish our reputation as a people. While many non Sri Lankan people may not understand what is going on, I know that many of those same people standing outside protesting do not know the whole history either.
Organizations prey on people and their emotions, their sense of identity and their need to feel included in their own culture, but it is up to you as an individual to differentiate the true nature of an organization, whether there roots are nationalistic or terrorist.
For those who may not know, Sri Lanka is a beautiful island with as many different landscapes as there are people and most people live amongst each other harmoniously, they seek to have a life that does not consist of bombings and war. They simply like every nation wish to have a place where they can see their children grow up, whether they be Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay etc...
That need is not something uncharacteristic of any country in the world...so when next you hear of the continuation of this war for freedom, please take a second look because the war was ended by one side, it only continues at the hands of those who refuse to let peace be the outcome.
Those of us who seek moderation regardless of our nationality are always left holding the most casualties...
8.5.09
A common word...
http://acommonword.com
A common word is a declaration of the common ground between Muslims and Christians that was written by 138 Muslim clerics, scholars and intellectuals based on the two commandments (love of one god, and being good to ones' neighbour) which is espoused by both religions. It came in the aftermath of the Pope's Regensburg Address in 2006 which inflamed many by its different inferences of violence and Islam.
It is an interesting document however it does shortchange the necessity to have open communication towards all religions most importantly maybe with Judaism, which as an Abrahamic religion is comprised of the same notions. Not to mention the ties in the middle east between these three religions. There are commentaries from Jewish scholars and leaders in response to this which is quite positive in the side notes. Jewish scholars had in the past also had a document similar to this as well which can be downloaded on the site. Overall it shows at least that all scholars/clerics/intellectuals are not as one sided as they seem, having seen this many get together to write this document and then to have so many others comment on it is a very positive notion.
Most interesting to me is the link to a statement by Madeline Albright to the Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C. which talks of America's questioning of how it should engage with the Muslim communities of the world. The new flavour of government in the United States is certainly taking a step back from the politics of its past, at least in terms of what its putting out there for the general public to see.
Check out her speech here:http://acommonword.com/en/images/albrighttestimony090226p.pdf
She uses words like: diplomacy, dialogue, to enhance mutual understanding etc...which is dramatically different from the past words of terrorism, hostility and Jihadist threat. It focuses on the necessity of seeing the religion of Islam separately from the fundamentalism that is the precursor to the terrorism that we are seeing being linked with Muslims. It pinpoints one thing that I always wondered if the United States recognized, and that is that most fundamentalism has roots in a local mindset as opposed to an international one. It is only through our (by this I mean Western or American) threat via bombs/sanctions that we make it an international cause, because as much as we'd like to see ourselves as being the greater society, it is not until we harm someone on the other side of the world that they seek to harm us.
What if suddenly those of us in Canada due to economic depression or local unrest decided that our unemployment was directly related to having all our manufactured goods coming from China and then suddenly we were bombed by China? What would we do? Would there be enough unrest in rural areas to make something happen? Are our values and thoughts different enough to separate the action from the community/religion/state? Take yourself outside of our metropolitan mindset and think for a second if we are any different from the terrorists we abhor.
Keep in mind that as per Maclean's fewer than one in three Canadians can find it in their hearts to see Islam or Sikhism in a favourable light. The statistics are a bit horrifying but I can see how it is true, how many people outside of metropolitan areas (or even in them) can say that they have a good understanding of major religions but they really don't have enough understanding to separate the propaganda they see in the media from what the religion actually entails. Very few do, and its not just me, Maclean's and Angus Reid agree with me. The study points again to the fact that as much as we consider ourselves a "multicultural" country we are still not far past other countries. We have just as much disregard for other peoples' religions, values, and cultures as the average American, French or German citizen. We simply hide it better than others, at least until there is a poll involved.
Read it here...http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/04/28/what-canadians-think-of-sikhs-jews-christians-muslims/
So as certain things change, such as political engagement towards the Muslim community, its important to note that the propaganda of past governments are not so easily erased. You cannot change the temperature of the public opinion so easily. The power of persuasion doesn't always work both ways because the slate is only clean once.
A common word is a declaration of the common ground between Muslims and Christians that was written by 138 Muslim clerics, scholars and intellectuals based on the two commandments (love of one god, and being good to ones' neighbour) which is espoused by both religions. It came in the aftermath of the Pope's Regensburg Address in 2006 which inflamed many by its different inferences of violence and Islam.
It is an interesting document however it does shortchange the necessity to have open communication towards all religions most importantly maybe with Judaism, which as an Abrahamic religion is comprised of the same notions. Not to mention the ties in the middle east between these three religions. There are commentaries from Jewish scholars and leaders in response to this which is quite positive in the side notes. Jewish scholars had in the past also had a document similar to this as well which can be downloaded on the site. Overall it shows at least that all scholars/clerics/intellectuals are not as one sided as they seem, having seen this many get together to write this document and then to have so many others comment on it is a very positive notion.
Most interesting to me is the link to a statement by Madeline Albright to the Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C. which talks of America's questioning of how it should engage with the Muslim communities of the world. The new flavour of government in the United States is certainly taking a step back from the politics of its past, at least in terms of what its putting out there for the general public to see.
Check out her speech here:http://acommonword.com/en/images/albrighttestimony090226p.pdf
She uses words like: diplomacy, dialogue, to enhance mutual understanding etc...which is dramatically different from the past words of terrorism, hostility and Jihadist threat. It focuses on the necessity of seeing the religion of Islam separately from the fundamentalism that is the precursor to the terrorism that we are seeing being linked with Muslims. It pinpoints one thing that I always wondered if the United States recognized, and that is that most fundamentalism has roots in a local mindset as opposed to an international one. It is only through our (by this I mean Western or American) threat via bombs/sanctions that we make it an international cause, because as much as we'd like to see ourselves as being the greater society, it is not until we harm someone on the other side of the world that they seek to harm us.
What if suddenly those of us in Canada due to economic depression or local unrest decided that our unemployment was directly related to having all our manufactured goods coming from China and then suddenly we were bombed by China? What would we do? Would there be enough unrest in rural areas to make something happen? Are our values and thoughts different enough to separate the action from the community/religion/state? Take yourself outside of our metropolitan mindset and think for a second if we are any different from the terrorists we abhor.
Keep in mind that as per Maclean's fewer than one in three Canadians can find it in their hearts to see Islam or Sikhism in a favourable light. The statistics are a bit horrifying but I can see how it is true, how many people outside of metropolitan areas (or even in them) can say that they have a good understanding of major religions but they really don't have enough understanding to separate the propaganda they see in the media from what the religion actually entails. Very few do, and its not just me, Maclean's and Angus Reid agree with me. The study points again to the fact that as much as we consider ourselves a "multicultural" country we are still not far past other countries. We have just as much disregard for other peoples' religions, values, and cultures as the average American, French or German citizen. We simply hide it better than others, at least until there is a poll involved.
Read it here...http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/04/28/what-canadians-think-of-sikhs-jews-christians-muslims/
So as certain things change, such as political engagement towards the Muslim community, its important to note that the propaganda of past governments are not so easily erased. You cannot change the temperature of the public opinion so easily. The power of persuasion doesn't always work both ways because the slate is only clean once.
5.5.09
The definition of work...
work
play_w2("W0220700")
(wûrk)
n.
1. Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.
2.
a. A job; employment: looking for work.
b. A trade, profession, or other means of livelihood.
3.
a. Something that one is doing, making, or performing, especially as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task: begin the day's work.
b. An amount of such activity either done or required: a week's work.
4.
a. The part of a day devoted to an occupation or undertaking: met her after work.
b. One's place of employment: Should I call you at home or at work?
5.
a. Something that has been produced or accomplished through the effort, activity, or agency of a person or thing: This story is the work of an active imagination. Erosion is the work of wind, water, and time.
b. Full action or effect of an agency: The sleeping pills did their work.
c. An act; a deed: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity" Ecclesiastes 1:14.
6.
a. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, or literary or musical composition; a work of art.
b. works The output of a writer, artist, or musician considered or collected as a whole: the works of Shakespeare.
7.
a. works Engineering structures, such as bridges or dams.
b. A fortified structure, such as a trench or fortress.
8.
a. Needlework, weaving, lacemaking, or a similar textile art.
b. A piece of such textile art.
9. A material or piece of material being processed in a machine during manufacture: work to be turned in the lathe.
10. works (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A factory, plant, or similar building or complex of buildings where a specific type of business or industry is carried on. Often used in combination: a steelworks.
11. works Internal mechanism: the works of a watch.
12. The manner, style, or quality of working or treatment; workmanship.
13. Abbr. w Physics The transfer of energy from one physical system to another, especially the transfer of energy to a body by the application of a force that moves the body in the direction of the force. It is calculated as the product of the force and the distance through which the body moves and is expressed in joules, ergs, and foot-pounds.
14. works Moral or righteous acts or deeds: salvation by faith rather than works.
15. works
a. Informal The full range of possibilities; everything. Used with the: ordered a pizza with the works.
b. Slang A thorough beating or other severe treatment. Used with the: took him outside and gave him the works.
Work is defined so infinitely that the mere idea of not going to work is never true. It amazes me that people would choose not to work. Or maybe to be more precise to be unemployed. I have been unemployed for the total of 20 hours, and I cannot foresee not doing anything for much longer. I hate the idea of being unoccupied by something that gives me a wage, and on top of it, I hate the idea of benefits, such as employment insurance...because they aren't even paying that well. There are so many hoops involved that I am dizzy after simply applying for regular benefits, not to mention that I have to now wait on the mechanics of some department to figure out if I'm eligible. Funny enough maybe by paying those premiums all these years, I might not be, because you know being needy these days is quite a profession.
So for searching sake I found a few sites that are worth mentioning while your looking for work:
-The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, www.philosophersguild.com
-Rabble.ca, http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2009/05/liberals-undermine-unemployed
-The Star, http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/621507
It's amazing that with so many people out of work, the government would rather see people not only loose their jobs, but their homes, their savings etc. before providing them with a means to earn a living. The average weekly "pay cheque" when your unemployed through EI is, 447.00 but that's the maximum and you may or may not qualify due to hours. So regardless of whether you worked making $25.00 an hour or $11.00 you get the same benefit. Although in reality you are paying more towards the benefit if you are working full time, or at a higher pay scale because within the year you reach your EI deductions limit more quickly.
The system also makes it seem as if we should be doing everything in our power to find work in our "field" however they start the whole process by listing things that I have never heard of as job postings...it makes me wonder if a real person even looks at the applications.
Of course everyone would rather be working than filling out paperwork, and maybe that's why its so annoying, half of us would rather go out and work any job than work for the government via receiving EI. Because it becomes a job, there are the applications, the employment help groups, an advisor, weekly payroll submissions, tracking job prospects, its like being an employed unemployed person.
There is a lot of work involved.
play_w2("W0220700")
(wûrk)
n.
1. Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.
2.
a. A job; employment: looking for work.
b. A trade, profession, or other means of livelihood.
3.
a. Something that one is doing, making, or performing, especially as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task: begin the day's work.
b. An amount of such activity either done or required: a week's work.
4.
a. The part of a day devoted to an occupation or undertaking: met her after work.
b. One's place of employment: Should I call you at home or at work?
5.
a. Something that has been produced or accomplished through the effort, activity, or agency of a person or thing: This story is the work of an active imagination. Erosion is the work of wind, water, and time.
b. Full action or effect of an agency: The sleeping pills did their work.
c. An act; a deed: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity" Ecclesiastes 1:14.
6.
a. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, or literary or musical composition; a work of art.
b. works The output of a writer, artist, or musician considered or collected as a whole: the works of Shakespeare.
7.
a. works Engineering structures, such as bridges or dams.
b. A fortified structure, such as a trench or fortress.
8.
a. Needlework, weaving, lacemaking, or a similar textile art.
b. A piece of such textile art.
9. A material or piece of material being processed in a machine during manufacture: work to be turned in the lathe.
10. works (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A factory, plant, or similar building or complex of buildings where a specific type of business or industry is carried on. Often used in combination: a steelworks.
11. works Internal mechanism: the works of a watch.
12. The manner, style, or quality of working or treatment; workmanship.
13. Abbr. w Physics The transfer of energy from one physical system to another, especially the transfer of energy to a body by the application of a force that moves the body in the direction of the force. It is calculated as the product of the force and the distance through which the body moves and is expressed in joules, ergs, and foot-pounds.
14. works Moral or righteous acts or deeds: salvation by faith rather than works.
15. works
a. Informal The full range of possibilities; everything. Used with the: ordered a pizza with the works.
b. Slang A thorough beating or other severe treatment. Used with the: took him outside and gave him the works.
Work is defined so infinitely that the mere idea of not going to work is never true. It amazes me that people would choose not to work. Or maybe to be more precise to be unemployed. I have been unemployed for the total of 20 hours, and I cannot foresee not doing anything for much longer. I hate the idea of being unoccupied by something that gives me a wage, and on top of it, I hate the idea of benefits, such as employment insurance...because they aren't even paying that well. There are so many hoops involved that I am dizzy after simply applying for regular benefits, not to mention that I have to now wait on the mechanics of some department to figure out if I'm eligible. Funny enough maybe by paying those premiums all these years, I might not be, because you know being needy these days is quite a profession.
So for searching sake I found a few sites that are worth mentioning while your looking for work:
-The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, www.philosophersguild.com
-Rabble.ca, http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2009/05/liberals-undermine-unemployed
-The Star, http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/621507
It's amazing that with so many people out of work, the government would rather see people not only loose their jobs, but their homes, their savings etc. before providing them with a means to earn a living. The average weekly "pay cheque" when your unemployed through EI is, 447.00 but that's the maximum and you may or may not qualify due to hours. So regardless of whether you worked making $25.00 an hour or $11.00 you get the same benefit. Although in reality you are paying more towards the benefit if you are working full time, or at a higher pay scale because within the year you reach your EI deductions limit more quickly.
The system also makes it seem as if we should be doing everything in our power to find work in our "field" however they start the whole process by listing things that I have never heard of as job postings...it makes me wonder if a real person even looks at the applications.
Of course everyone would rather be working than filling out paperwork, and maybe that's why its so annoying, half of us would rather go out and work any job than work for the government via receiving EI. Because it becomes a job, there are the applications, the employment help groups, an advisor, weekly payroll submissions, tracking job prospects, its like being an employed unemployed person.
There is a lot of work involved.
30.4.09
Allegory of the real world...
Plato imagines a group of people who have lived chained in a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of the cave entrance, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to seeing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not constitutive of reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.Today I learnt something fundamental, never ever live in your own reality. Many of us go through life attaining, sustaining, and obtaining things because we believe that we deserve things, people, events in general. However so much of what we are given is due to other peoples perception of us, of our creditworthiness, our references, our job history, it is never as simple as we think.
I am as many people know a person who refuses to budge on this rule in my life, I simply don't like feeling that someone or something can be held over me. This might be because very little has been given to me, I have always been told that I have to maintain a grade point average or excel at something to earn something so I don't take gaining anything easily. I am notorious for being that one person who won't talk up to people, won't embrace cocktail talk or gossip with just anybody.
But today I realized that it is necessary in this life, in this society to maintain at least some level of reverence to other people perception of you to get anywhere in life. By anywhere I mean where society wants you to be, in a spot where you will be comfortable enough even if you don't really want to be there.
I say this because today I got extremely worked up over something that is not my reality and has never been my aspiration of MY reality. I wanted an opportunity that was not fully mine, I was sitting in the cave and suddenly I forgot that I was there and became rather dazed by the very shadows I knew where shadows. I forgot that I am not chained to anything, that I was there for an opportunity not a lifetime of staring at the shadows.
Just a short time ago I freed myself from this very cave and I promised myself that I would abstain from falling into the trap of middle moneyed employment when I am supposed to be trying to find something purposeful to do with my life...where that is I don't know yet but at least I awoke from the reality that I was slowly beginning to think was my own.
Plato's allegory of the cave has always inspired me to think of what it is possible if we can just think for ourselves and take note of it rather than seek others' opinions of our own thoughts...
I was inspired...
Have you ever walked down the street and read peoples' view of you as you passed by them?
Most people have not and will not see the frank expressions of interest, distaste and then distrust that most orthodox people of any religion will see on a daily basis.
Years ago I wore hijab, I expressed myself in a way that was shocking to everyone around me, I was shocked at my own need to wear the hijab. I was struggling with the way I saw myself and with my identity as a Muslim. At a time where most girls would be shedding the hijab for stylish clothes and make up I was putting it on everyday and going to school. It was never for me a decision of orthodoxy but of moral inclination to do right by the teachings I was brought up with but never told to fully embrace. Although I did one day remove my hijab I have always cherished the time that I wore it because it taught me that I would never be put into a box, and that in most orthodox cases it was a box that was self created. I will never forget the day I took it off and went to work at the hospital I was doing my co-op at, people asked why? For me it was a greater answer than what most people probably thought...that it was the pressure, or maybe teenage will to fit in? They probably didn't know that I had in the time of wearing my hijab, got great grades, got my license, a car, worked a part time job, got a coveted placement at a renowned hospital and had just been accepted at UofT. I came to realize that I as a person had not changed but how I was viewed had, and maybe just maybe I was playing into a stereotype.
I am Muslim and have tremendous faith in GOD, but I don't think he sees me shedding my hijab as a downplay of my faith, I think he knows its an expression of my inability to fit into a box.
So recently I read a book titled The Search for God at Harvard, by Ari Goldman, it was truly phenomenal in its style but most of all in the idease it sets forth. This book about the search for god was such an eye opener in terms of how others view religion and specifically how much you can have in common with someone of another faith. I felt like Ari Goldman while reading this, and I hope that one day my writing will be as good as this journalists'. It showed me that with every religion people face the irrevocable need to fit into society, even those that we might think are inclusive already. It showed me how so many religions are really one, and that to be truly religious you have to be open to GOD in the many forms that he has taken shape through human history.
The view of orthodox religion is so narrow these days that we term it fundamentalism in every notation of it but maybe just maybe if some of us stay a little truer to the fundamentals or our religion we could find a little more peace in our daily lives...
I'm not saying we should all go out and buy hijabs, yarmulkes, etc...but maybe just start with showing some faith and giving true thanks for the things in our lives...Inshallah.
Most people have not and will not see the frank expressions of interest, distaste and then distrust that most orthodox people of any religion will see on a daily basis.
Years ago I wore hijab, I expressed myself in a way that was shocking to everyone around me, I was shocked at my own need to wear the hijab. I was struggling with the way I saw myself and with my identity as a Muslim. At a time where most girls would be shedding the hijab for stylish clothes and make up I was putting it on everyday and going to school. It was never for me a decision of orthodoxy but of moral inclination to do right by the teachings I was brought up with but never told to fully embrace. Although I did one day remove my hijab I have always cherished the time that I wore it because it taught me that I would never be put into a box, and that in most orthodox cases it was a box that was self created. I will never forget the day I took it off and went to work at the hospital I was doing my co-op at, people asked why? For me it was a greater answer than what most people probably thought...that it was the pressure, or maybe teenage will to fit in? They probably didn't know that I had in the time of wearing my hijab, got great grades, got my license, a car, worked a part time job, got a coveted placement at a renowned hospital and had just been accepted at UofT. I came to realize that I as a person had not changed but how I was viewed had, and maybe just maybe I was playing into a stereotype.
I am Muslim and have tremendous faith in GOD, but I don't think he sees me shedding my hijab as a downplay of my faith, I think he knows its an expression of my inability to fit into a box.
So recently I read a book titled The Search for God at Harvard, by Ari Goldman, it was truly phenomenal in its style but most of all in the idease it sets forth. This book about the search for god was such an eye opener in terms of how others view religion and specifically how much you can have in common with someone of another faith. I felt like Ari Goldman while reading this, and I hope that one day my writing will be as good as this journalists'. It showed me that with every religion people face the irrevocable need to fit into society, even those that we might think are inclusive already. It showed me how so many religions are really one, and that to be truly religious you have to be open to GOD in the many forms that he has taken shape through human history.
The view of orthodox religion is so narrow these days that we term it fundamentalism in every notation of it but maybe just maybe if some of us stay a little truer to the fundamentals or our religion we could find a little more peace in our daily lives...
I'm not saying we should all go out and buy hijabs, yarmulkes, etc...but maybe just start with showing some faith and giving true thanks for the things in our lives...Inshallah.
12.4.09
Branches of One Tree
The great religions are like branches
Of one spreading tree:
It is alone in its growth,
Although it has birthed many shoots.
And is it ever possible that branches
Would suddenly, in anger, hit each other?
Religions are the same as branches,
That grew from one big tree.
And these, Shri Mataji’s words, not without reason
All men with thankfulness accept.
It’s time to understand
That we are brothers,
Beyond the races, nationalities, and faiths,
And independent of our skin colors.
Because like branches
Just one root we have!
The Lord is one
Though there are many paths,That lead to Him -
The goal is always one:
The mountain peak that pierces clouds.
The goal of life is union with God.
Let’s not forgetWhose Image and Likeness we carry,
And we will understand to where we aspire.
Vladimir Mikhanovsky
Source: Mikhanovsky, Vladimir. Hope Faith Love: The Road to God. Pune,
India: Nirmal Transformation, 2007
On this Easter Sunday let us not forget that regardless of religion we are all connected somehow someway. We can all trace our roots to one spot, creation. We are all embedded in each others lives and seek not to distance ourselves from others simply because of their actions because to do so is to distance yourself from yourself.
The great religions are like branches
Of one spreading tree:
It is alone in its growth,
Although it has birthed many shoots.
And is it ever possible that branches
Would suddenly, in anger, hit each other?
Religions are the same as branches,
That grew from one big tree.
And these, Shri Mataji’s words, not without reason
All men with thankfulness accept.
It’s time to understand
That we are brothers,
Beyond the races, nationalities, and faiths,
And independent of our skin colors.
Because like branches
Just one root we have!
The Lord is one
Though there are many paths,That lead to Him -
The goal is always one:
The mountain peak that pierces clouds.
The goal of life is union with God.
Let’s not forgetWhose Image and Likeness we carry,
And we will understand to where we aspire.
Vladimir Mikhanovsky
Source: Mikhanovsky, Vladimir. Hope Faith Love: The Road to God. Pune,
India: Nirmal Transformation, 2007
On this Easter Sunday let us not forget that regardless of religion we are all connected somehow someway. We can all trace our roots to one spot, creation. We are all embedded in each others lives and seek not to distance ourselves from others simply because of their actions because to do so is to distance yourself from yourself.
Afrocentric Schools...the debate is over, its now a reality.
They voted 11 for,9 against, 2 non-votes in favour of the Afrocentric school which is set to open in September 2009, if they get the funding and the system works in terms of timing.
The TDSB website doesn't say when or where...but its a huge COMING SOON project.
Last year we had some serious debates about this, a room full of minorities with very different takes on this subject. I still think about this when I watch BET or when I see Obama on t.v. because it reminds me of all the things minorities have strived to gain but are willing to give away as long as it seems that we are having a chance to speak for ourselves.
The idea of having an Afrocentric curriculum that helps marginalized students (40% out of a 100% that are drop outs) is one that certainly looks like its lined in gold. It looks like we are getting a chance to teach black kids from a black perspective and that its going to give them a better chance at graduating. That allowing them to be taught their own history is going to somehow get them to show up to class, to understand math and english differently.
I have to say that I am completely against this because I know that no matter what perspective you teach from you cannot reach a child with merely different materials and possibly a different set of people. Being a minority is not a dysfunction, it is not learning disability, it is simply a truth of birth.
Afrocentric schooling is not going to change the fact that when certain students go home they are faced with a different history, things such as poverty, single parent homes, abuse, lack of role models, having children of their own. Are these historical points going to be addressed as part of an Afrocentric curriculum? Are they going to change these situations for these students so they have a better chance at attending classes without dealing with these realities?
Education is a privilege that we do not take seriously enough in this country, it is something that starts at home, it starts from a child wanting to learn. You cannot change that in anyone, it must come from a place within that child. If you don't help that baby, that toddler, that preschooler, that child and then eventually that student you cannot expect that same student to progress as if they are every other child. We address so many other things in this society, but we do not ask ourselves if we are teaching our children the necessities of education.
I learnt how to read on the kitchen floor, I would read from a primary school book when I was three or four while my mother cooked dinner. I did homework from school but that was nothing compared to the work I had to do when I came home because my mother had her own set of books I had to work on. I have to admit that if it wasn't for my "home-schooling" I probably would have been a horrible student because most of the day, I day dreamed because teachers could not capture my interest.
What if my mother didn't do this for me? Who would I be? I had a set of parents who would take me to the library like it was church, other kids went to Chuckie Cheese, I went to used bookstores. I wasn't allowed to watch R rated movies, but I read all the Danielle Steele I wanted at age nine.
Regardless of the outrage I feel at segregating a student population on the basis of their minority status, I truly hope that this system works for these students, or at least I hope that their parents are going to take a role in their education. Its time for the focus of the black community to be on the children because otherwise the cycle will continue, and its not something that needs to with the amount of resources available to the general population.
As well as a side note I hope that as much as this 40% is important, the other students like me who went to an "inner city" school are recognized, because we went to those schools, and we went to class, a lot of us went on to post secondary school and we did learn something. Dropping out was not an option I saw for myself, but it had nothing to do with the colour of my skin or where I came from, it was a decision I made and that hopefully seeing no difference in the others in the classroom these students will come to make for themselves.
There are so many great people who excelled despite the hurdles in their way, we fought for the right for equality and it was on the basis of our excellence, in the fact that we are not different, we are not.
If I were to have kids where would I find the curriculum to fit them? Jamaican/Caribbean/SriLankan/Malay/Tamil/Moor/Muslim/Christian...it would be a tough thing to imagine...but if were going to segregate this would be reality.
I have to look to the words of a great leader.... Cowardice asks the question - is it safe? Vanity asks the question - is it popular? Expediency asks the question - is it political? But conscience asks the question - is it right? There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, popular, or political; but because it is right. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Time will tell I suppose!
The TDSB website doesn't say when or where...but its a huge COMING SOON project.
Last year we had some serious debates about this, a room full of minorities with very different takes on this subject. I still think about this when I watch BET or when I see Obama on t.v. because it reminds me of all the things minorities have strived to gain but are willing to give away as long as it seems that we are having a chance to speak for ourselves.
The idea of having an Afrocentric curriculum that helps marginalized students (40% out of a 100% that are drop outs) is one that certainly looks like its lined in gold. It looks like we are getting a chance to teach black kids from a black perspective and that its going to give them a better chance at graduating. That allowing them to be taught their own history is going to somehow get them to show up to class, to understand math and english differently.
I have to say that I am completely against this because I know that no matter what perspective you teach from you cannot reach a child with merely different materials and possibly a different set of people. Being a minority is not a dysfunction, it is not learning disability, it is simply a truth of birth.
Afrocentric schooling is not going to change the fact that when certain students go home they are faced with a different history, things such as poverty, single parent homes, abuse, lack of role models, having children of their own. Are these historical points going to be addressed as part of an Afrocentric curriculum? Are they going to change these situations for these students so they have a better chance at attending classes without dealing with these realities?
Education is a privilege that we do not take seriously enough in this country, it is something that starts at home, it starts from a child wanting to learn. You cannot change that in anyone, it must come from a place within that child. If you don't help that baby, that toddler, that preschooler, that child and then eventually that student you cannot expect that same student to progress as if they are every other child. We address so many other things in this society, but we do not ask ourselves if we are teaching our children the necessities of education.
I learnt how to read on the kitchen floor, I would read from a primary school book when I was three or four while my mother cooked dinner. I did homework from school but that was nothing compared to the work I had to do when I came home because my mother had her own set of books I had to work on. I have to admit that if it wasn't for my "home-schooling" I probably would have been a horrible student because most of the day, I day dreamed because teachers could not capture my interest.
What if my mother didn't do this for me? Who would I be? I had a set of parents who would take me to the library like it was church, other kids went to Chuckie Cheese, I went to used bookstores. I wasn't allowed to watch R rated movies, but I read all the Danielle Steele I wanted at age nine.
Regardless of the outrage I feel at segregating a student population on the basis of their minority status, I truly hope that this system works for these students, or at least I hope that their parents are going to take a role in their education. Its time for the focus of the black community to be on the children because otherwise the cycle will continue, and its not something that needs to with the amount of resources available to the general population.
As well as a side note I hope that as much as this 40% is important, the other students like me who went to an "inner city" school are recognized, because we went to those schools, and we went to class, a lot of us went on to post secondary school and we did learn something. Dropping out was not an option I saw for myself, but it had nothing to do with the colour of my skin or where I came from, it was a decision I made and that hopefully seeing no difference in the others in the classroom these students will come to make for themselves.
There are so many great people who excelled despite the hurdles in their way, we fought for the right for equality and it was on the basis of our excellence, in the fact that we are not different, we are not.
If I were to have kids where would I find the curriculum to fit them? Jamaican/Caribbean/SriLankan/Malay/Tamil/Moor/Muslim/Christian...it would be a tough thing to imagine...but if were going to segregate this would be reality.
I have to look to the words of a great leader.... Cowardice asks the question - is it safe? Vanity asks the question - is it popular? Expediency asks the question - is it political? But conscience asks the question - is it right? There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, popular, or political; but because it is right. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Time will tell I suppose!
10.4.09
Work out your own salvation, Do not depend on others.
The world seems racked with the necessity to rely on others for our own happiness and in a greater part for what is to become of ourselves once this life is over. Eternal damnation or heaven or other versions of an afterlife are all brought together on religious holidays where we stumble upon our sudden realizations that we are a people of religion and ritual not merely atheists or defunct of religious obligations. As this long weekends comes about many are religiously attending gatherings and taking part in rituals without a thought as to what they are celebrating or why.
Living in a society with such a multitude or religions its not hard to fathom why the Easter bunny and Lindt are easier to associate with the holiday than the crucifixion of Christ. There are many people, I daresay many Christians who are vague on the story of this religious holiday or the many rituals that come with it. Its an amazing story that is a large element of Christianity, however there are many people out their who also deny the existence of this event like any religious story. Being Muslim I never really understood many rituals and just recently picked up on the sequence of events properly, its really something to google if you aren't following the religious designations of this weekend.
I am drawn to this holiday because it is something that has been plaguing me for awhile, the idea of salvation. I was taught and thus understand salvation as being very personal and not in any way connected to the actions of another person, I am of the belief that my actions will determine my eternal place rather than my belief in another being allowing for that determination. While faith is truly important to me, I don't believe that religious action will ultimately be judged in terms of hours or acts, the truth of your faith lies in the sanctity of your character. If salvation were as easy as attestation of faith, wouldn't we all be guaranteed a place?
As we stumble through this life as a Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist isn't it interesting that we are able to exist in this country without knowing the symbols and rituals of each other? I shake my head al ot when people talk of religion because many don't understand nor seek to understand the many ties we all have. For example how Jesus was Jewish at the last supper and that Christianity was not something born in and of itself. That Muslims trace their roots from Abraham albeit under the name Ibrahim, just as Jewish people do. The connections are vast, and we cannot deny that with the intermingling of our cultures and religions we are bound to start a new religious trend, being open minded.
The belief in one true god, is the notion that binds many religions together regardless of our outer rituals and doctrines. I have the hope that we can all truly have faith in the sanctity of everyone else's character and actions, maybe that in the end will be this generations salvation.
Living in a society with such a multitude or religions its not hard to fathom why the Easter bunny and Lindt are easier to associate with the holiday than the crucifixion of Christ. There are many people, I daresay many Christians who are vague on the story of this religious holiday or the many rituals that come with it. Its an amazing story that is a large element of Christianity, however there are many people out their who also deny the existence of this event like any religious story. Being Muslim I never really understood many rituals and just recently picked up on the sequence of events properly, its really something to google if you aren't following the religious designations of this weekend.
I am drawn to this holiday because it is something that has been plaguing me for awhile, the idea of salvation. I was taught and thus understand salvation as being very personal and not in any way connected to the actions of another person, I am of the belief that my actions will determine my eternal place rather than my belief in another being allowing for that determination. While faith is truly important to me, I don't believe that religious action will ultimately be judged in terms of hours or acts, the truth of your faith lies in the sanctity of your character. If salvation were as easy as attestation of faith, wouldn't we all be guaranteed a place?
As we stumble through this life as a Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist isn't it interesting that we are able to exist in this country without knowing the symbols and rituals of each other? I shake my head al ot when people talk of religion because many don't understand nor seek to understand the many ties we all have. For example how Jesus was Jewish at the last supper and that Christianity was not something born in and of itself. That Muslims trace their roots from Abraham albeit under the name Ibrahim, just as Jewish people do. The connections are vast, and we cannot deny that with the intermingling of our cultures and religions we are bound to start a new religious trend, being open minded.
The belief in one true god, is the notion that binds many religions together regardless of our outer rituals and doctrines. I have the hope that we can all truly have faith in the sanctity of everyone else's character and actions, maybe that in the end will be this generations salvation.
1.4.09
Consider being single forever...
Today I came upon a suggestion that if we are to sustain the world we have got to stop procreating, because we are getting closer and closer to using up all of our natural resources. I mean they say that to be green these days is to do more than recycle.
Through personal experience I do wonder what it is that makes us want to create more people when we can barely take care of ourselves? I mean do you really have the resources to take another life in your hands? Not just theoretically buy literally in 9 months?
Its amazing that some have made that decision. It is truly more than a green decision, its a life changing one.
You may wonder why I'm talking about this today, its not because I'm looking to get pregnant, its because it seems like everyone around me is pregnant or having a baby. I'm still trying to manage my cats, this isn't funny, this is true!
Another reason I'm thinking about this is because my family drama continues and with the amount of siblings in my extended family I get tired of trying to keep up with the alliances and who got voted off the island this week. Most of the arguments are petty and therefore logically the people themselves act childish and most often are deriving arguments from things that happened before I was even conceived. They make me realize how necessary sanity is when it comes to family. Either its natural or you need medication to realize that there comes a point in time, usually when you already have children and grandchildren, that you must put aside something that happened in the backyard thirty or fourty years ago...
So saying that I'd like to apologize to my youngest sister for always excluding her from our games and usually beating her up for things I don't even remember her doing anymore (yes i was a child abusing a child, this was called play when I was growing up) and to my other sister for probably making her way too quiet because I was always telling her my opinion on everything and anything. I hope that when we get older we won't be bickering about that shirt I still have somewhere or about something else trivial.
One thing I recently came to mind while reading Wuthering Heights is that as much as genes are important in a family some ties need to be broken, and then some. It can sometimes be fatal to ignore the fact that some relationships are never going to be the way you want. Acceptance is hard, but years and years of anger is harder to cope with.
Through personal experience I do wonder what it is that makes us want to create more people when we can barely take care of ourselves? I mean do you really have the resources to take another life in your hands? Not just theoretically buy literally in 9 months?
Its amazing that some have made that decision. It is truly more than a green decision, its a life changing one.
You may wonder why I'm talking about this today, its not because I'm looking to get pregnant, its because it seems like everyone around me is pregnant or having a baby. I'm still trying to manage my cats, this isn't funny, this is true!
Another reason I'm thinking about this is because my family drama continues and with the amount of siblings in my extended family I get tired of trying to keep up with the alliances and who got voted off the island this week. Most of the arguments are petty and therefore logically the people themselves act childish and most often are deriving arguments from things that happened before I was even conceived. They make me realize how necessary sanity is when it comes to family. Either its natural or you need medication to realize that there comes a point in time, usually when you already have children and grandchildren, that you must put aside something that happened in the backyard thirty or fourty years ago...
So saying that I'd like to apologize to my youngest sister for always excluding her from our games and usually beating her up for things I don't even remember her doing anymore (yes i was a child abusing a child, this was called play when I was growing up) and to my other sister for probably making her way too quiet because I was always telling her my opinion on everything and anything. I hope that when we get older we won't be bickering about that shirt I still have somewhere or about something else trivial.
One thing I recently came to mind while reading Wuthering Heights is that as much as genes are important in a family some ties need to be broken, and then some. It can sometimes be fatal to ignore the fact that some relationships are never going to be the way you want. Acceptance is hard, but years and years of anger is harder to cope with.
29.3.09
BEING A CONTORTIONIST.
Yesterday I had a conversation about how much you have to know someone to call them a good friend, and to feel as if you know enough about them to consider them family. I have to admit that for me as much as knowing everything about someone is a personal game, it can get to a point where you know so much that if you were to learn one more thing about them it would ruin the balance of your relationship.
For example yesterday, I was asked (hypothetically) what if I was in an abusive relationship,and my head snapped back and my eyes widened and then I laughed. The person most likely thought hmmm is that shock because I would think such a thing or is it surprise that I found out?
Rather than keep that to myself, I am not in an abusive relationship, however my reaction is such because I would never, ever, did I say never? be able to imagine myself in that position. Being abused is much more than physical pain, it is more than the memory of it, if you know anyone who was abused it is a character changing event that can never be erased. Abuse is something that can make people change their actions, their words, their aura, it is akin to being a contortionist. You never quite the same shape again, and many times those around you might be facing that situation but you will never be able to tell because ultimately it is the grey area of life.
If you don't have any experience in this area, read Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold its a great book about a girl and pain and vengeance from beyond the grave. The whole time your reading the book you feel pain, its an amazing read.
Ultimately, my point is that sometimes we don't know everything about all of those around us, but maybe just maybe there are some people who you do know well and that can be enough. Personally there are people in my life that I am thankful for because without them I would not be able to imagine my life...
Staccato~she can make me smile with her silence.
Serenity's Lyric~is my greatest supporter.
Sounding Board~I could tell him I wanted to rule the world and he would ask when? My encouragement.
The Painter~you can just tell she wants the best for everyone.
Smiler~great or not,your troubles are never too much for him to hear you out.
MiAmor~She is the sister I never had, always there to fight for me.
Prof~One of the few ppl I've met who can challenge me to think about something, and a holder of one of the best hearts I know, hands down.
This is just a condensed list but I truly am a believer that I am blessed in who I know and wherever I am years down the road,these people will still be apart of my life, so regardless of how much you know about someones life, be glad to just know them. Sometimes that can simply be enough.
For example yesterday, I was asked (hypothetically) what if I was in an abusive relationship,and my head snapped back and my eyes widened and then I laughed. The person most likely thought hmmm is that shock because I would think such a thing or is it surprise that I found out?
Rather than keep that to myself, I am not in an abusive relationship, however my reaction is such because I would never, ever, did I say never? be able to imagine myself in that position. Being abused is much more than physical pain, it is more than the memory of it, if you know anyone who was abused it is a character changing event that can never be erased. Abuse is something that can make people change their actions, their words, their aura, it is akin to being a contortionist. You never quite the same shape again, and many times those around you might be facing that situation but you will never be able to tell because ultimately it is the grey area of life.
If you don't have any experience in this area, read Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold its a great book about a girl and pain and vengeance from beyond the grave. The whole time your reading the book you feel pain, its an amazing read.
Ultimately, my point is that sometimes we don't know everything about all of those around us, but maybe just maybe there are some people who you do know well and that can be enough. Personally there are people in my life that I am thankful for because without them I would not be able to imagine my life...
Staccato~she can make me smile with her silence.
Serenity's Lyric~is my greatest supporter.
Sounding Board~I could tell him I wanted to rule the world and he would ask when? My encouragement.
The Painter~you can just tell she wants the best for everyone.
Smiler~great or not,your troubles are never too much for him to hear you out.
MiAmor~She is the sister I never had, always there to fight for me.
Prof~One of the few ppl I've met who can challenge me to think about something, and a holder of one of the best hearts I know, hands down.
This is just a condensed list but I truly am a believer that I am blessed in who I know and wherever I am years down the road,these people will still be apart of my life, so regardless of how much you know about someones life, be glad to just know them. Sometimes that can simply be enough.
28.3.09
One man...one woman...one country.
It was made certain that one man may never be enough, as women maybe we expect too much from just one man. Maybe as men do, we should also compartmentalize people into different areas and expect only what is realistic...
I am speaking of course of Michelle Obama who has for all intents and purposes done all that is necessary in this age to become a successful person. Unfortunately not everyone sees it that way. Many articles point to the over analyzation of what she wears to her lack of a voice in the white house, it is as if she cant be put into a category like Hilary Clinton or the former first lady, Mrs.Bush, so we must attack her for what in many cases would be accomplishments.
In the day of Internet porn and teenage pregnancy, we are seeing outrage that she is wearing sleeveless dresses...shocking that arms are the point of no return in the white house press releases.
But I think it all goes back to the fact that now as men and women we are looked at to have accomplished everything in sight, education, careers,a social life but still be what is considered innately womanly and manly.
As we watch Michelle Obama be put into a compartment I wonder if we fail to see that she has done more than Barbie (who is 50 this year) in showing the western world that a woman can easily be successful enough to support her husband rather than outshine him. I'm sure she didn't ask him to marry her, nor did he feel forced but I'm sure when it comes to the next bill to be passed, there will be more than one Obama who thinks it over.
The next time you ask a girl out, instead of wondering what she has to offer, I think you should check if shes going to offer you support to be who you are. Sometimes that's what is important not what shes achieved. Because I'm sure Michelle Obama wasn't looking to be the First Lady; rather she in many cases could be the next president. Wouldn't that be shocking? Not really. After all the Secretary General knows a thing or two about running against an Obama, you can't stop change.
I am speaking of course of Michelle Obama who has for all intents and purposes done all that is necessary in this age to become a successful person. Unfortunately not everyone sees it that way. Many articles point to the over analyzation of what she wears to her lack of a voice in the white house, it is as if she cant be put into a category like Hilary Clinton or the former first lady, Mrs.Bush, so we must attack her for what in many cases would be accomplishments.
In the day of Internet porn and teenage pregnancy, we are seeing outrage that she is wearing sleeveless dresses...shocking that arms are the point of no return in the white house press releases.
But I think it all goes back to the fact that now as men and women we are looked at to have accomplished everything in sight, education, careers,a social life but still be what is considered innately womanly and manly.
As we watch Michelle Obama be put into a compartment I wonder if we fail to see that she has done more than Barbie (who is 50 this year) in showing the western world that a woman can easily be successful enough to support her husband rather than outshine him. I'm sure she didn't ask him to marry her, nor did he feel forced but I'm sure when it comes to the next bill to be passed, there will be more than one Obama who thinks it over.
The next time you ask a girl out, instead of wondering what she has to offer, I think you should check if shes going to offer you support to be who you are. Sometimes that's what is important not what shes achieved. Because I'm sure Michelle Obama wasn't looking to be the First Lady; rather she in many cases could be the next president. Wouldn't that be shocking? Not really. After all the Secretary General knows a thing or two about running against an Obama, you can't stop change.
23.3.09
Obama on Nowruz...
"The children of Adam are limbs to each other, having been created of one essence." quoted the new President of the United States...during his speech on Nowruz.
Each time I hear of another action of this presidency I am excited by the fact that there is finally a government who sounds like they are capable of a conversation with the world in this century. By this I mean that Obama's white house is not writing speeches from another century or by means of some exclusionist platform.
It has dawned a new day where Americans can see that their leader actually acknowledges the fact that there exists a world outside of this continent. First the Al-Jazeera telecast, then this, then shutdown of Guantanamo, it all shows that finally we can expect there to be a voice in government that realizes that exclusionist policies are not going to garner us in the West anymore protection from terrorism or nuclear threat. There must be a broader security policy for the U.S. to become a country which is not under direct threat from any party whether it be real or imagined. Bush policy has garnered a lot of disrespect from the international community and it is not till we see a shift in the management of political identity as a whole that any security measures will be taken seriously by others in the world.
While a message on Nowruz might be seen by some as a direct marketing tactic of the change movement of the new white house, I have to admit that I see it as an opening of the eyes in a world where for so many years the U.S. government had squeezed its eyes shut and was proclaiming the Islamic world as a whole its enemy whereas there are many countries under the umbrella of Islam.
18.3.09
The world will soon be painted pink...
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13278440&source=hptextfeature
So today at work we had a discussion on marketing and how vendors dont take the word of mouth seriously...or the weight of peoples opinion into account.
The story starts with a shawarma vendor who treated some of us at the office less than courteous not once, but twice (hey hes the closest to the office with a daily special (LOL)) and we were snubbed twice. Mind you we didnt ask for anything we simply wanted the daily special and a smile. All we got was snide comments about the price of tabouleh and how much its costing them for the shawarma...insert glares and bad hummous breath.
So being the consumers we are we have tried most of the shawarma within a block of our office so now were going to be patrons of a different restaurant. But theres more to add insult to injury, today we ordered 30 shawarmas and the guy at this place over charged us and then told us it was our fault...so now there are 30 people he could have had as customers who now shake their heads and walk another five minutes to eat elsewhere.
So I thought it interesting to read this article in the Economist which says there will be more gender based marketing due to the avid turnout for consumerism by females...which I think is a bit far fetched considering how many people are number crunching rather than wondering what brand they are buying?
This article points out how more and more companies are changing their branding to suit women but really what does that mean? Are they tracking money in terms of women and men shoppers? Because what about the guys buying tampons for their gfs? It just brings me to think that were going be seeing alot more pink and purple in advertising...you know because I find anything targeted to women is pastel and covered in flowers and things that are supposed to be our feelings floating around on the pages of magazines...
So ladies hopefully the next time you buy something remember to not buy according to recession marketing k? God knows you dont need anything being scuffled around...you might bring ur tampons as a work snack intead of pringles...maybe just maybe companies will wake up and realize that there are women out there buying mens shavers because they work better and vice versa men wanting extra conditioning shaving gels...there is hope that one day we won't be driven by the consumption of logos...but as pointed out in the article, a tarnished brand is better than an unknown one so marketing will always prevail.
So today at work we had a discussion on marketing and how vendors dont take the word of mouth seriously...or the weight of peoples opinion into account.
The story starts with a shawarma vendor who treated some of us at the office less than courteous not once, but twice (hey hes the closest to the office with a daily special (LOL)) and we were snubbed twice. Mind you we didnt ask for anything we simply wanted the daily special and a smile. All we got was snide comments about the price of tabouleh and how much its costing them for the shawarma...insert glares and bad hummous breath.
So being the consumers we are we have tried most of the shawarma within a block of our office so now were going to be patrons of a different restaurant. But theres more to add insult to injury, today we ordered 30 shawarmas and the guy at this place over charged us and then told us it was our fault...so now there are 30 people he could have had as customers who now shake their heads and walk another five minutes to eat elsewhere.
So I thought it interesting to read this article in the Economist which says there will be more gender based marketing due to the avid turnout for consumerism by females...which I think is a bit far fetched considering how many people are number crunching rather than wondering what brand they are buying?
This article points out how more and more companies are changing their branding to suit women but really what does that mean? Are they tracking money in terms of women and men shoppers? Because what about the guys buying tampons for their gfs? It just brings me to think that were going be seeing alot more pink and purple in advertising...you know because I find anything targeted to women is pastel and covered in flowers and things that are supposed to be our feelings floating around on the pages of magazines...
So ladies hopefully the next time you buy something remember to not buy according to recession marketing k? God knows you dont need anything being scuffled around...you might bring ur tampons as a work snack intead of pringles...maybe just maybe companies will wake up and realize that there are women out there buying mens shavers because they work better and vice versa men wanting extra conditioning shaving gels...there is hope that one day we won't be driven by the consumption of logos...but as pointed out in the article, a tarnished brand is better than an unknown one so marketing will always prevail.
Taking your job seriously...
Today I got a response from a position that I have been in the running for after months and months of being part of a process. Funny enough this is after a phone call with the administrator of the process last week, where she had no information at all for me about anything really. Then today I got a package resembling the oxford dictionary with a contract, tax forms, etc. Still puzzled I realized that she simply wanted to complete one of her to-do lists and mark me off of her list and send out half a tree and leave the final decision in my hands. If she had actually listened to me when I called she could have saved some poor cleric from sending me a whole pkg by way of purolator. It's still a recession isn't it? Just checking.
This is just me venting, but if some people checked their job descriptions I'm sure time management is in there somewhere...
So for all of you out there job hunting, and especially if you are doing the hiring please just listen when people take time out of their pre-scheduled breaks to call you...it might just make your job easier!
This is just me venting, but if some people checked their job descriptions I'm sure time management is in there somewhere...
So for all of you out there job hunting, and especially if you are doing the hiring please just listen when people take time out of their pre-scheduled breaks to call you...it might just make your job easier!
15.3.09
Nineteen Eighty Four...1984.
George Orwell's novel about the future is profound. Having read it, the world is put into its place and you subsequently see every action in your life in a different way.
So you wonder why Im bringing up a book I read years ago? Because funny enough sitting in my cubicle on Friday, someone said to me, "Hey you work for the government, is it like Big Brother is everywhere?" Ha...I thought the same thing when they asked me information about myself as if they didnt have everything already.
So after all these years I've somehow become Winston Smith...I am for 37.5 hours generating enough information for the public that I never thought I would even comprehend before today. Whether or not I believe some of it, I am commiting "THOUGHCRIME" all the time when I speak to some people hehe, but overall I dont think ill be sentenced to death but who knows what kind of file they are building on us little workers...
So how many of us on a daily basis, understand what it truly means to live in this society where we arent allowed to do alot of things without handing over i.d. or a membership card, we have to identify us everywhere, you cant buy a stick of gum without being asked for a points card! The point of a points card is for us to gain something like a bottle of water after years of coming to the same establishment or maybe a coupon for a free something or other, but in reality its so our shopping habits can be tracked by large marketing companies and they can figure out which telemarketer should call us tonight...
So while we live in the free world, have you though about how many of us are free? Every dollar you make is tracked, nothing is really operated by cash, every dollar is accounted for by some bank somewhere, and you may not be buying rrsps, or participating in the economy other than cashing your paycheque, but we all know you got a shoppers optimum card...
We dont know Winston's outcome in the book but I dont think he was executed, I think he was made to work as a greeter at Walmart, or sell credit card insurance, or maybe hes a falafel vendor with a daily and regular price that is exactly same!
So you wonder why Im bringing up a book I read years ago? Because funny enough sitting in my cubicle on Friday, someone said to me, "Hey you work for the government, is it like Big Brother is everywhere?" Ha...I thought the same thing when they asked me information about myself as if they didnt have everything already.
So after all these years I've somehow become Winston Smith...I am for 37.5 hours generating enough information for the public that I never thought I would even comprehend before today. Whether or not I believe some of it, I am commiting "THOUGHCRIME" all the time when I speak to some people hehe, but overall I dont think ill be sentenced to death but who knows what kind of file they are building on us little workers...
So how many of us on a daily basis, understand what it truly means to live in this society where we arent allowed to do alot of things without handing over i.d. or a membership card, we have to identify us everywhere, you cant buy a stick of gum without being asked for a points card! The point of a points card is for us to gain something like a bottle of water after years of coming to the same establishment or maybe a coupon for a free something or other, but in reality its so our shopping habits can be tracked by large marketing companies and they can figure out which telemarketer should call us tonight...
So while we live in the free world, have you though about how many of us are free? Every dollar you make is tracked, nothing is really operated by cash, every dollar is accounted for by some bank somewhere, and you may not be buying rrsps, or participating in the economy other than cashing your paycheque, but we all know you got a shoppers optimum card...
We dont know Winston's outcome in the book but I dont think he was executed, I think he was made to work as a greeter at Walmart, or sell credit card insurance, or maybe hes a falafel vendor with a daily and regular price that is exactly same!
The Color Purple and Chris Brown???
"Think back to when the film 'The Color Purple' came out," Williams said of the movie that portrayed a black woman abused and oppressed by her father and husband. "A lot of [black] people called it a put down of black men."Now people are like, 'Hey, wait a minute, Chris Brown can't do that.' That 's a big shift, finally."
After reading the Color Purple, I thought about all the effort put in by people in the past and present for literacy, equality and the abolishment of racism. It hasn't changed much unfortunately because so much of world is still run and seen through a lens based on colour. I sit in a cubicle surrounded by a people from many different cultures, where we have all gone through the same interviews and testing but there is a small group of us who sit and shake our heads sometimes because someone make a racist comment, and then I wonder if we are ever going to be equal. How much do we have to prove ourselves before you look at me and properly see me?
The book showed me that regardless of what life throws us we can all choose to find something, anything that will allow us to fully understand other people. So if you can't quite understand that one person, or cause or ethnicity, go to Chapters buy a book, find out...geez google it.
We have so many outlets of information that could allow us to break down so many of the walls that seperate us, but instead we create groups to internalize our pursuits, our events etc.
I was just talking about why it is so important to read things outside you realm of interest because it may allow you to undertand things that you have already read. The Bible, The Quran, even the Coldest Winter Ever:) Who knew Chris Brown and Rihanna would be brought up in the same paragraph as the Color Purple? Its possible because ultimately every event, ever post has a connection to literature that has already been published...
After reading the Color Purple, I thought about all the effort put in by people in the past and present for literacy, equality and the abolishment of racism. It hasn't changed much unfortunately because so much of world is still run and seen through a lens based on colour. I sit in a cubicle surrounded by a people from many different cultures, where we have all gone through the same interviews and testing but there is a small group of us who sit and shake our heads sometimes because someone make a racist comment, and then I wonder if we are ever going to be equal. How much do we have to prove ourselves before you look at me and properly see me?
The book showed me that regardless of what life throws us we can all choose to find something, anything that will allow us to fully understand other people. So if you can't quite understand that one person, or cause or ethnicity, go to Chapters buy a book, find out...geez google it.
We have so many outlets of information that could allow us to break down so many of the walls that seperate us, but instead we create groups to internalize our pursuits, our events etc.
I was just talking about why it is so important to read things outside you realm of interest because it may allow you to undertand things that you have already read. The Bible, The Quran, even the Coldest Winter Ever:) Who knew Chris Brown and Rihanna would be brought up in the same paragraph as the Color Purple? Its possible because ultimately every event, ever post has a connection to literature that has already been published...
The best word to describe me is cosmopolitan...
–adjective 1. free from local, provincial, or national ideas, prejudices, or attachments; at home all over the world.
2. of or characteristic of a cosmopolite.
3. belonging to all the world; not limited to just one part of the world.
4. Botany, Zoology. widely distributed over the globe.
–noun 5. a person who is free from local, provincial, or national bias or attachment; citizen of the world; cosmopolite.
Origin:
1835–45; cosmopolite + -an
Synonyms:
1. sophisticated, urbane, worldly.
Antonyms:
1. provincial, parochial.
2. of or characteristic of a cosmopolite.
3. belonging to all the world; not limited to just one part of the world.
4. Botany, Zoology. widely distributed over the globe.
–noun 5. a person who is free from local, provincial, or national bias or attachment; citizen of the world; cosmopolite.
Origin:
1835–45; cosmopolite + -an
Synonyms:
1. sophisticated, urbane, worldly.
Antonyms:
1. provincial, parochial.
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