I've been involved in an inner debate for a while now and I think that it's time I made a decision or quit debating. There comes a point you know! So let me fill you in as I think if you've paused here long enough to read the first few words, you might be just a little curious. Maybe curious enough to want to check out the second line and so on and so on.
I'm old now or at least old enough to have begun to fully appreciate this planet, this world of immense grace and balance, and the life that moves across its surface. And with the daily chaos of child raising long passed, and the chore of "the daily grind", otherwise known as work, pretty much in the past also, I find that a great deal of 'thought power' is now available for contemplation of the mysteries and realities that have governed and will govern our days til this game is over. That statement in and of itself, is a subject for another day, so mental note to self!
The thing is, for a long time now, I've been aware of corruption and manipulation as regards today's marketplace especially as it concerns the stock market and the financial industry worldwide, as I'm sure most are at this point. And I read all the same articles, and exposes and opinions and editorials about our various governments in all of the countries. We have that luxury that many of our parents and definitely our grandparents, never had and whether we should call it a luxury or a curse is hard to say, but we have information. And if we have a question, we can ask and find answers.
As a result of living in a 'democratic' nation and next door to a 'democratic' nation, we also have the expectation of the luxury of the right to choose who shall govern us. And to that end, we have grown up with the expectation that we will be informed by our media, those people who used to report the news……. instead of steering the news and subsequently the opinions of the populace.
My expectations have changed. In the last seven days, and that because of the media and their all too obvious efforts to make sure that you and I don't get the whole story. As a lead-in to the reasons that those expectations have changed, I should mention that I've been kind of involved in the last three or four years in several forums that revolve around the things that are important to me and in that time, I've learned incredible things, staggering things, horrifying things, and simply sad things, about human nature by listening to the mostly heartfelt comments by the people with whom I've discussed the many news articles about those issues that speak to my heart.
On forums, the anonymity lends an air of 'safety' and things people would be uncomfortable or afraid to say to someone else in a face to face situation, are shared easily. And this I know because I am one of those people. I hasten to add that lack of ease in no way negates the validity of those thoughts and feelings, regardless of whom they come from. It only speaks to a certain discomfort in social settings. Even the quiet ones have ideas on how things should be or could be. I have learned too in that time, that it is critical to ones argument, (and I use that word with reluctance because that is an activity that I am engaging in less and less these days), it is critical to do your absolute best to know your subject, be willing to change your perspective if you are shown new information, and speak with integrity and respect. I learned this, because it is absolutely easy to expose a fool because you see, we have the internet, and we have Google and we have Wikipedia and we have…….I'm sure you get the point. And I never cease to be amazed at how little people make use of all these tools for understanding, choosing instead to fall back on uninformed opinion, myths, and rumours shared on the street, etc.
And one more thing to ponder: I don't feel like integrity or respect is something that the governing 'parties' or the media are showing all of the voting Canadian public. There are going to be five parties names listed on the ballots that we will be marking on May 2, 2011. And one of those parties would like to address that same voting public, but they aren't being given the same standing as the other four parties, including one which has, as their nightly 'wet dream'; the possibility of this country breaking up. And what seems to me to be the icing on the cake, the government, whose job it is to 'protect that democratic ideal' of all Canadians, acquiesces (or is complicit?) with that same media, in controlling and limiting information. And don't get me wrong, I'm sure that most of those news people, are nice folks, and if they have given it any thought, they really think they are doing a good and practical thing for Canada, or at the most benign, haven't cared enough to give it a thought that they are stifling true democracy. But I'm not inclined to have 'benign' feelings these days when it comes to the mountain of abuses that we humans heap upon the heads of absolutely anything that gets in our way, be it on the political level or environmental or any other for that matter.
The interesting thing is that same effort to manipulate society by not providing ALL the information, has been the catalyst that has caused me to actually look up information about a particular Canadian political party, i.e. the one they choose to ignore. For the past however many years that I've voted, I have been content to pick up the odd bit here or there about government 'stuff' and I've done my share of whining and complaining, but I can't say I ever cared enough to do more than that minimum, and oh yes, mark a ballot. But beyond that…..no. But to get back to 'that party', at the same time, I've looked at 'media' articles about this particular party followed up by the comments, and I am not surprised to have to say, that I'm seeing the same kind of comments on the subject of this party and it's hopes, dreams and intentions, as is evidenced on those other forums that I used to hang out on. Well, that's not exactly true - it would be more accurate to say the majority of the comments go no further than, that they should quit their whining and just go away. That's the majority of them. Little if any comment on the specifics of their platform, little effort to refute them, (respectfully of course with 'evidence' to back up their side) and from that, one can only assume that those making the statements have pretty much gone with rumor and personal opinion based on no information other than others opinions and …..
At this point, I can honestly say that I'm not sure who I will vote for, but we know what we've got, we know what we had and now I know what my other choices are and I can't help but feel that the world is in a time of the beginnings of a momentous change on all sorts of levels, and perhaps we have evolved to where we must begin making decisions based on how we would like our world to be, as opposed to voting out of fear. We've come a long way in this world and particularly since the computer age began. It has brought us to the brink, and how we choose today has ramifications for not only our particular neighborhoods and our towns and cities, but this entire world and the future of our existence.
That our media and our 'democratically elected governments' intentionally rob us of all the information necessary to make our choices is a travesty, but in my opinion, as a human being, it is a greater travesty that we sit back and let them make that choice for us. The Green Party are people who's at heart, basic desire is to leave a planet for our great-great grandchildren that is habitable and not only allows us to survive, but will find us in a position to thrive physically and mentally. They neglect none of the 'issues' that are near and dear to the common man's heart, but they put a long range 'spin' on their plans, unlike what we've endured til now which is, party after parties, cycle of back-scratching and posturing and positioning for the next election.
I am tired of that, I am tired of being manipulated in every aspect from the food that I eat to who I vote for. I am tired of hearing about an ever growing list of extinctions and human caused environmental catastrophes, and one financial scandal after another that invariably leaves the little guy reeling and bleeding in the streets while the 'big' guys strut and pat themselves on the back for being so damn clever. That is what our 'fear' has gotten us. Now is the time to begin thinking for ourselves and demanding that the change begins.
So what is the debate, the original issue that I was dealing with? To open up to the changes that are happening within my soul. But I think that is a topic for another day. I've said some things today that have been bothering me and the pressure is off so I think that I will leave you to mull over what I've shared here, and maybe you will agree with me, and maybe you won't, but that's ok because in the end, it's all just opinion isn't it?
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