(Letter to Island Tides a few weeks after Jan 2013 ) link
Heroine: Elizabeth May
In spite of a caffinated, over Tylenoled fever, and having to be urged off the couch by my lady, I attended our MP, Elizabeth May's, recent (Jan 16 2013, MayneIslandComunityCenter) presentation (as reported on by Annette Wittman in a recent Island Tides). Elizabeth brought evidence and warnings of corrupted power to our doorstep.
She reminded us about the risks to us of bitumen pipeline/tanker industry, and their propaganda machinery. Many of us seemed stunned - not happy with the provocative messages in our quiet greenish island. My interest is not so much the ongoing stream of information - that can be easy to follow, but in how to encourage many more of us to engage and act effectively on this deeply Canadian stuff.
Elizabeth is friends with numerous independent-minded Conservatives. To me, she is one of few on our political scene who notes the loss to Canada of the moral conservative voice, and its destruction in a morass of control freakishness. Reinforcing her understanding, Andrew Coyne, CBC At Issues panelist, former Macleans editor, now at National Post, says of Harper, not only has he trashed early Reform ideals of accountable open government, but, in spite of polished PMO and PR spin, what we now see is "a very small man".
Though many commentators try, it is not possible to dismiss Elizabeth. We do so at risk of ourselves being inane dupes of crafted messaginng. Her work (MP's Hardest Working Award) and clear arguments are well reported. Go online at: ElizabethMayMP.Ca , or Macleans.ca, HuffingPost.Ca , NationalPost.Ca (Search "Elizabeth May" ), Read her recent book : Losing Confidence: Power, Politics and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy.
Besides asking us to vote her in again, Elizabeth invites us into struggles that may be uncomfortable, even frightening. She asks us to help take on hired PR firm trolls in the online comment areas of major newspapers, the CBC news sites, etc, to write to the NEB hearings, to ask why her suggestions of bitmen-to-gasoline refineries & jobs in Alberta get no traction. To follow the money. Maybe to even question Rex Murphy when he trips over his long vocabulary. Analyse, understand, question local politicians, public and corporate figures. Check news media interpretations, and watch for wierd tricks by team Harper. Write to the Globe. Reach more undecided, uninvolved folks - widen our thinking and dialogue, cut into the slogan-think influence of negative ads. Speak truth and give pause to cynical power. Her challange: Can we help? Yes you can.
Hero: Pete Seeger
Easy segue, work with me here. I remember Pete Seeger as a lanky young guy with a banjo, with a neat hope-thrilling way of singing that pulled us right all in. He was a friend to my mom, and appeared at my summertime camp for social justice boosting folk "hootenanies" over several years. Then he was being hounded in the US by the House Un-American Committee (Sen. Joe McCarthy), blacklisted in the music industry for sympathies to labour struggles and other persecutable causes. (Pete: "One of the things I'm most proud of about my country is the fact that we did lick McCarthyism back in the fifties.")
Where Woody Gutherie's guitar bore the slogan "This machine kills fasists", Pete's Banjo sported: "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender". Pete was mentor/model to many musicians (Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, maybe even Raffi ). He's the inventor of the long neck banjio. Poet Carl Sandberg called him ``America's tuning fork``.
You can find him singing his, Guthrie`s, or other`s, songs on YouTube: "Irene, Goodnight ..", "This land is your land, this land is my land..." "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..", "We shall overcome..", (Hudson cleanup ..) "Sailin up, Sailing down.." , "To everything turn, turn, turn .. a time to love, a time to hate .. I swear its not too late.", in those more exploitive times singing Woody's "Oh you can't scare me, I'm stickin' to the union..", "Guantamera..", the best "The Lion sleeps tonight..". and elder Pete, singing Dylan`s ``Forever Young``.
Also, check Pete's struggles and awards on: WikiPedia, PeteSeeger.Net, CBC.Ca/Ideas (Search: Seeger Tribute, Listen). Look at the post by Ralph Nader on HuffingtonPost.ca. Pete was a cheer spreading warrior in the world where Mitt Romney types see 90% of us as undeserving takers, and our home world as being for their taking. He was of the people for the people, a man of of joyful engaged courage.
On the morning of his passing (27 jan 2013) friend Arlo Gutherie journalled his morning prayer conversation with Pete on Facebook: "I let him know I was having trouble writing his obituary (as I'd been asked) ... "Arlo" he said, sounding just like the man I've known all of my life, "I guess I'll see ya later." I've always loved the rising and falling inflections in his voice. "Pete," I said. "I guess we will." .. about 3 AM when the texts and phone calls started coming in from friends telling me Pete had passed away. "Well, of course he passed away!" I'm telling everyone this morning. "But that doesn't mean he's gone."
Heroes: Us
See the connection between Pete & Elizabeth: it's through us, our own hope, courage, aware community action in our own time. In all key leadership areas - vision, courage, ethics, realism, action, sustained initiative for others - these two have it. A point about vision, hope and postitive energy (well articulated in Guy Dauncy's peice last time) is that those other pillers of wisdom are needed too, and we perhaps need strengths there.
Many of us are on front lines in different ways - advocacy groups, postering, letter writing, pipe line & fracking protests by First Nations (risking physical harm, jail, financial pain, ridicule, misrepresentation, and apathy in the media). Both say get involved, stand your ground, participate, fight a good fight. Sure, it can get scary. Have courage and be kind.
Elizabeth's talk left me jazzed and elevated; I wanted to stay and talk more with her and others gathering round her. But my determined, protective lady - already at the door - gave me the choice: stay for more risky BP-elevating discussions - by yourself, or ride home to peace with me - now. So anyway...
Pete. Thanks for singing out. Thank you Eliza