April Raintree

We just got back from our yearly family vacation in Whiteshell Park. We had a great time!! This year was a bit different, we added a new cabin to the mix and couldn't really plan in advance for the ways it changed the dynamic of our time there. As always, we were all sad when Sunday morning arrived and packing up started.

On the long drive to Manitoba, I read April Raintree aloud to the family (well, mostly Brendan, the kids think my reading is dumb now that they are so old! - but Owen did listen to the last third or so of the story...)

Have you read this Canadian classic? If not, or if its been a while, you should pick it up again this summer. Beatrice Mosionier is the author. It is a fictional (but entirely plausible) account of two biological sisters and their journey as women of Aboriginal ancestry, as they reconcile personal and cultural realities. It is an easy but profound read.

Here is an excerpt from book, written by one of the sisters:

White Man, to you my voice is like the unheard call in the wilderness. It is there, although you do not hear.
But, this once, take the time to listen to what I have to say.
Your history is highlighted by wars. Why is it alright for nations to conquer one another in an attempt at dominion?
When you sailed to our lands, you came with your advanced weapons. You claimed you were a progressive, civilized people....
White Man, when you came, most of our tribes began with peace and trust in dealing with you. We showed you how to survive in our homelands. We were willing to share with you our vast wealth. Instead of repaying us with gratitude, White Man, you turned on us....
When we, the Indian People, realized your intentions, we rose to do battle, to defend our nations, our homes, our food, our lives. And for our efforts, we are labelled savages. Our battles are called massacres.
When our primitive weapons could not match those that you had perfected through centuries of war, we realized that peace could not be won, unless our mass destruction took place. And so we turned to treaties.. and ran into your cunning trickery. We lost our lands, our freedom, and were confined to reservations. And WE are held in contempt.
White Man, there is much deep, simple wisdom from our forefathers. We were here for centuries. We kept the land, the waters, the air, clean and pure, for our children and for our children's children.
Now that you are here, White Man, the rivers bleed with contamination. The winds moan with the heavy weight of pollution. The land vomits up the poisons that have been fed into it. Our Mother Earth is no longer clean and healthy; she is dying.
White Man, in your greedy rush for money and power, you are destroying. Why must you have power over everything? Why can't you live in peace and harmony? Why can't you share the beauty and the wealth given to us by Mother Earth?...
White Man, you say that we are a people without dignity. But when we are sick, weak, hungry, poor, when there is nothing for us but death, what are we to do? We cannot accept the life that has been imposed upon us.
You say that we are drunkards, that we live for drinking. But drinking is a way of dying. Dying without enjoying life. You have given us many diseases... the worst disease, for which there is not immunity, is alcoholism. And you condemn us for being its easy victims. And if you don't condemn us, you weep for us and pity us.
We, the Indian People, are dying. The land we lost, it is dying too.
Weep not for us; weep for yourselves.
Weep for your children.
Because you are taking everything today.
And tomorrow, nothing will be left for them.


I found so many parallels to scripture in this little essay. Can you hear Mark's admonition to have eyes that see? Can you envision one of the prophets delivering a stern, profound message like this? Can you see Jesus reaching toward, offering dignity that had been unjustly robbed?

Might is NOT right. I pray that someday, we, the powerful will get that.

Sitting there being fascinating....

In December, I was looking for something good to read and I took a book off the shelf in my room called 'Hope's Edge'. (authored by Anna and Frances Lappe) I remember buying this book ages ago for about $1 from some second hand shop somewhere... but I didn't pick it up immediately. I'm not completely done yet, but its been inspiring me lots, so I'm sharing a bit today... I can't believe this book was just sitting there on my shelf being fascinating all this time and I waited so long to read it!

Somehow this book seems to be helping me to answer the question of 'why bother?' - as in... "How can my choices have any impact on the world I live in - not just my local community, but the whole globe.. there is so much madness, and I'm just one person.. WHY BOTHER? I can't make a difference anyway "...

But.. my personal choices DO have an impact. I can respond to an economic system that makes wealth a priority at the increasing expense of those who already have the least. (and doesn't seem to have any problem at all with the ongoing pursuit of wealth - doesn't anyone else feel compelled to say ENOUGH!!!????) I can speak out in small ways when I have an opportunity. I can have a social conscience without being obnoxious. (At least, no one has told me I'm obnoxious lately... ) And I can continue to try to make sense of it all, realizing that any awareness I gain can only help and that I don't have to feel entirely helpless. I don't have to embrace the direction or principles of the majority.

Here's my simple start: Consume less. Not because its trendy to simplify, but because we recognize that the principles learned in Economics 101 (If we demand, supply will follow) are very much at work in our world. We North Americans demand stuff at low prices. (Hurray for Walmart, right?). If we stopped demanding so much, supply would respond. And if we were willing to pay fair prices for goods, producers wouldn't be forced to find ways to make everything cheaper at all costs. Shop less.. you could save the world! (How's that for a slogan?)

Does anyone else think its outrageous when our politicians and leaders tell us to consume more to keep the economy strong? Everything is changing.. so.. GO SHOPPING!!! That is our salvation - spending money?? Then we're really sick!!! I know there are global economic reasons to ensure a strong North American Economy... but do we ever stop and say .. hey.. wait a sec... what if we let the structure collapse into a heap of rubble.. then we rebuilt in ways that learned from our former mistakes and were sustainable for the whole world.. ?? I know.. I'm idealistic and uninformed. Forgive me for my idealism and belief that we're more than consumers. Forgive me for thinking that our existence is more about how we care for all of our neighbors than how we can exploit one another. And forgive me for hating the idea of having nothing more to offer than going to the mall or buying a bigger house to store all that stuff I don't need.

Ooopps... back to the book - rant completed... The title 'hope's edge' refers to the many ways that our world is on the edge of hope.. pushing our ability to recover to the very edge of hope. (Global warming as an example). Yet there are stories and people who just defy the norm and do amazing and inspiring things right there 'at the edge of hope'.

"We must warn you though; this kind of hope isn't clean or tidy. Honest hope has an edge. It's messy. It requires that we let go of pat answers, preconceieved formulas, confidence that our sailing will be smooth. Its not a resting point.. honest hope is movement." (from the book's intro)

The first chapter is called 'Maps of the Mind' - and talks about how we get enslaved into thinking the majority perspective. How we become hopeless.... It refers to finding our voices and providing REAL leadership that is creative and innovative and HELPFUL instead. (as opposed to being primarily concerned with preserving the status quo)

How can people be empowered to believe that they can actually DO something? How can a sense of powerlessness be overcome?

.. we need to see the examples regularly. We need to stop the flow of overwhelmingly negative images and messages that we receive from the media. We need to believe that those sporadic feel good stories are more than an occasional occurence, but that THEY are the norm. (My life does demonstrate that, by the way.. I see some very innovative, creative, hopeful people on a regular basis - and they're doing wonderful things. I believe we are far more selfless than any of us give ourselves credit for being)

"we don't see ourselves as creaters and choosers in this world. Our planet in decline is 'just happening'. ... we dont perceive the assumptions which, once in play, silently fuel this destruction of life. As long as we're blind to our own assumptions, other paths are invisible... what we have is all there is." (p20)

"We view ourselves as thinkers.. I've come to see that we're not only thinkers, we're absorbers. We mold our perceptions of reality and of ourselves to conform to the ideas we hold. We absorb ideas in fact WITHOUT thinking." (p21)

Our acceptance of outrageous 'groupthink' behaviour is cited:

-No one among us would choose to let any child die of hunger or preventable diseases. But it happens, thousands of times over, each and every day and we think we're powerless.

-No one among us thinks its okay to make choices that result in permanently destroying plant and animal species crucial to ecosystems all over the world. But it happens, each day and we think we're powerless.

-No one would choose to poke a giant hole in the ozone, and steadily increase the rate of cancer and death. But it has happened, and we think we're powerless.

-No one wants to return to a world where class and status determine everything.. but we don't despair when we read about millionaires who keep accumulating while the working poor can't own property without astronomical debt from moneylenders whose activities are more criminal than commercial. it's all happening... we think it 'is the way it is'.... and we're powerless.

There will likely be more from this book on this blog at some point... the surface has barely been scratched. I've especially enjoyed reading about landless Brazilians who have been equipped to force the government to abide by their own land-return policies by community action, belief in something better... and the local church.

Read more from the authors of Hope's Edge here, or a review of the complete book here.

A closing quote that has been on my mind for so many reasons - especially as I consider my faith: "... private interest is the only immutable point in the human heart."

What do you think?

Local Events

We're planning to check out a couple of events locally this weekend:

World Vision is presenting One Life; a presentation that will promote understanding and awareness about AIDS as a global concern.

http://http//www.worldvision.ca/ContentArchives/content-stories/Pages/OneLifeExperienceKicksOffCross-CanadaTour.aspx

There is something that I heard about called the We Are Many festival. Its a multi generational fair, with childrens performers, workshops, an arts emphasis, and lots of other informative stuff that helps us understand and bring home sustainability concerns.

http://www.wearemanyfestival.com/