Heavy

Idle No More, Occupy (insert your city), Arab Spring... what is happening here? Are these just the fashionable proclamations of a bored youth? Blind societies voicing discontent with their own life decisions? People frustrated by a poor economy? No, No, and wellll kinda. I think this last point starts to scratch the surface, but it is much deeper than that. These aren't uneducated movements, and they certainly aren't just gatherings of naive "commies and hippies." While at an Occupy rally last year, I was in a small discussion group with 2 university professors, a medical doctor, and a lawyer. This wasn't a gathering of nihilists, these were people genuinely concerned with the state of our communities. A look at what has been happening around the world hints at a common thread. The arteries of the world have just been given a shot of discourse-tinged adrenaline. A confidence is now running through the veins our world's inhabitants, and I like it. The courage to stand up for what you believe in is spreading quicker than skinny jeans. While we still sit with embarrassing voter apathy in North America (just over 60% voted Stevie Harps in), people are getting frustrated. Frustrated with inequality, environmental degradation, corporate hegemony, government dominance, lingering sexism in the workforce, so on and so forth. This is global angst. I don't have to agree with everything other members of a particular movement believe in, but it is an amazing thing to find common ground and stand together on united issues. The fact that apathy is being eroded is a great sign. I just hope this societal awakening can create enough of a seismic shift that it reaches everyone from safe suburban homes to decaying housing complexes. The question is... will it be enough? Here in Canada, we have Enbridge's push to dissect our surreal Great Bear Rain forest, a Conservative government hell-bent on crippling environmental protection for our lakes and lands, and the usual Corporate supremacy. There are only so many times you can steal cookies out of the cookie jar before it is empty. The oven is broken, no cookie dough is left in the kitchen, and we are going to have to go to our neighbor's house for supplies. But guess what? They are running low too, and they just upped their prices. Let's think of our next generations folks. Kid's kids and things like that. Ok, next blog to be lighter.