It's Time To End the Monarchy

 Opinion:

It’s time to end the monarchy. Of course, it was an archaic system during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, but since the monarch no longer had any actual political power, she wisely used her position to change an empire into a commonwealth of nations, to increase the charitable presence of the monarchy, and to influence those who did have political power. And because she was a deeply respected individual who did her work calmly and quietly, she was listened to by many of those in positions of responsibility. After she passed, for instance, I heard at least four politicians speak of her influence in defeating apartheid in South Africa. For someone who was not supposed to be seen as a political force, she certainly made herself heard, but did so discreetly.

The Queen’s passing has certainly signaled the end of an era and yes, things have changed. Had the monarchy passed to Princess Anne, for instance, who holds patronage over more than 300 charities and actively participates in several of them, including Save the Children, there may have been a smoother transition. But the position is hereditary to the eldest child and while Charles is also a huge charity patron and is expert on contemporary matters, such as climate change, he seems also to be a controversial figure. More controversy accompanies his heir, since difficult family matters are not being handled with grace and calm, but rather with competitive and rather unpleasant turmoil. It seems clear that influence has been abused to sic the twisted pseudo press onto some members of the family, with a small knot of active haters attempting to orchestrate their downfall. What has been happening is seen by some as shaming the memory of a decent, dignified and very private Queen.

So clearly, the monarchy has outlived its usefulness. It is an antiquated institution that, without the guidance of the Queen, is apparently destined to sink into a quagmire of toxic misuse. This is the stuff of ancient sovereigns and why power was gradually taken away over time. Tourism has been one reason to keep the institution alive, but those castles and palaces owned by the state can still be open for tourist traffic without any royals living there. The royals will just have to move into their own properties, such as Balmoral and Kensington Palace. And the red-coated guards with whom tourists like to be photographed can certainly be maintained in sufficient numbers to satisfy that need. Souvenir shops can continue to carry mementos of the Queen as the last and longest living monarch in British history. Tourist bus tours of castles and cathedrals need not stop.

Of course, the separation of state and monarchy still won’t be easy. There are properties and their incomes to be divided up in fairness to the people of Britain. Historically, many treasures were come by dishonestly and should be retained by the people. Similarly, the generous tax breaks accorded the royals need to be stopped so they pay the same taxes as everyone else. There will likely be long drawn-out litigation to divvy up the resources, and many of their PR duties will have to be dispensed with or assigned to non-royals in some juicy employment opportunities. Lawyers will no doubt do very well in all this. The Commonwealth, however, will best be served to start now to make the necessary political adjustments to facilitate the end of the monarchy and set us on a fresh path, with our head of government being elected by the people. It’s time.

A Matter of Perspective

Those of you who are so sure this is a hoax or a conspiracy, listen up, and then think.

Who’s at greatest financial risk from this virus.  Answer: the wealthy.  The stock market is crashing. American Senators dumped their stocks just prior to the fall after receiving confidential information about the seriousness of this virus. That’s illegal. Will they get away with it? Probably.

How many poor people do you know who give a shit about the stock market?  They don’t have stocks and bonds, do they? They are living paycheck to paycheck and still not making it.  Why?  Because they aren’t paid a living wage for their hard work, that’s why.

Those who imagine that the wealthy and powerful are faking this to get more power over us are missing the facts: we’re already enslaved to them. They already have us by the balls. The infrastructure they rely on to move their manufactured goods, for instance, was built by us, not just physically, but using our tax dollars. (The wealthy have ample loopholes to avoid paying taxes. Why do you think Trump won’t show us his tax returns? C’mon! Think!) So they use our roads and bridges to move their goods which were made and financed by poorly paid labour.  And you imagine they want more?  Fact is, they’re suffering financial losses from all this.

Who's getting preferential treatment in this?  Why, the wealthy and famous of course. There are tests a-plenty for them.  But if we go to the hospital with symptoms but haven’t traveled recently (where can we afford to go?) we don’t get a test. And yet who’s at greatest risk of human to human contact?  Why, we are. Because while the wealthy and well-known are safely sequestered in their lovely homes, who is out there in the world, taking care of business?  Stock people, clerks, site attendants, garbage collectors... all those “essential”services.  Not to mention doctors and nurses.

Let’s look at the overview now: who’s safe in their homes after having been tested?  The rich and famous. Who’s at the greater risk of exposure and can’t get a test? The working poor.

Well, that seems cushy, except for that falling stock market, eh?

So why are companies suddenly giving some of their workers raises?  Why are some landlords waiving immediate rent payments? Why are gov’ts giving the working class an allowance to help them get by? (Mnuchin thinks $1200. should last you 10 weeks.) Is it out of some genuine concern for us and some sudden benevolence or generosity on their part?

It’s because they need us.

The world turns on the backs of the underpaid, overworked and over-taxed. This is what you need to notice and understand. The rich and powerful aren’t faking this pandemic. It’s been thrust upon them, it’s lowering the value of their stocks, and it’s killing their workers. They very much want things back to normal where we’re increasing their wealth for them. They had it good already. Same goes for gov’t. We might grumble, but we pay those taxes, those rents, those prices for goods and services and for the most part, we obey those laws, even the stupid ones.  They all have us by the balls, no hoax needed.

Conspiracy theories are only going to distract people from the truth... that things need to change, and that maybe this pandemic will actually cause some change in favour of the working poor. The ones that don’t die that is.

I have one “friend” who is sure it’s a hoax. “Use your own brain,” he says.  Yeah. Use it.  Please. Take every precaution you can to protect yourself from this novel virus that comes to us from selfish human abuse of wild animals, and that’s killing us. Do not even imagine that you are invincible. Protect yourself, your families and your friends. Not just so you can go back to working hard for the man, but so you can live to help change our society.

We'll Be Fine!

"We’ll be fine," he said.

WE'LL be fine... meaning human beings I guess. Never mind all the species dying off. The rapid loss of species happening today is estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. A lot of leeway there, but apparently we're in the middle of a mass extinction according to scientists. As well, all these fires happening around the world have killed a lot of animals and destroyed their habitats too.

The ocean is warming, and the Great Barrier Reef is dying because of it, along with some ocean species. One respected biologist has said the oceans could be dead as soon as 2048. And as the ocean goes, so goes humanity. All manner of marine life is at risk from all the plastic we’ve dumped into the oceans as well. Whales are washing up on shore with bellies full of the stuff. All kinds of animals are at risk from our waste, including our shit from those floating toilets we call cruise ships and balloons released into the air.

 They do land somewhere, often where animals are at risk from what’s left of them. Then there’s melting glaciers and water rising over coastal cities and Pacific islands. And just for added fun, there’s glyphosate all over our food put there by the corporations that are actually running our world. I know, I know... little Mary Sunshine.

But take heart, WE’LL be fine, he said, with the calm assurance of an entitled old white man who doesn’t believe climate change is anything to be concerned about. He’s done the math. He says if the CO2 drops too low, all plant life will die. I have never heard anyone else point out the possibility of that before. I thought the problem was too much CO2, with more coming with the thawing of permafrost.

Anyway, there are quite a few of these creatures here on Earth... the old white men, I mean. Apparently they’re in no danger of extinction, especially to hear them tell it. You know the ones I mean. They don’t agree with the climate scientists. But most do not have the courage or integrity to criticize these scientists to their faces. Instead they go after those who believe the scientist’s predictions, the more vulnerable the better. Like school kids, for instance. They write open letters to a kid who’s been taught this science as fact in school. They don’t write to the scientists. They don’t write to the schools. They don’t go after the teachers and challenge them. Oh no, none of the people involved in teaching this science are approached. Nor do these climate change deniers hold a sign with their objections clearly stated outside the legislature, like the kids did. Nor did they have the gonads to go after the first messengers, Al Gore who produced a film on this, or Bill Nye, the Science Guy who also did a film on ice core research and climate change deniers.  No, they don't go after these people. Instead, school kids, and old ladies on Facebook, are fair game for the climate change deniers. And if you’re lucky enough to avoid the anger, accusations, threats, and the magnificent hyperbole, you get the old patronizing pat on the head from the all-knowing old man instead.

So no worries.  All those scientists are wrong. We’ll be fine.

Joie de Vivre

So I was listening to Michael A. Singer a couple of weeks ago. He was telling us how we needed to unburden ourselves from those less than happy memories because they really aren’t doing us any good hanging around.

Yesterday I was at the sink doing the dishes, just allowing my mind to meander as I scrubbed a pot, and suddenly, out of the depths came this memory of an older woman who’d really wanted to buy a set of my quilling art earrings.

This took place at an Inn where I used to sell my goods, and this woman was quite taken with this one pair of earrings. She went down the table and had a look at the other items, but came back to those earrings. Then she went and sat down with a couple of other seniors at a picnic table under the pavilion where we had our little market.

Other potential customers came and went, and then this woman came back again and stood in front of those earrings. I chatted with her about them, telling her how I made them, and that I laminate them to make them tough, and how they’re fitted with silver plate hooks, etc. She said she really liked them, and this was evident from her joyful smile. But she went back and sat down again.

After a while, a younger woman, who it became plain was her daughter, came in. The woman brought her daughter to show her the earrings she so liked. The daughter glanced at them and said, "but when would you ever wear them, Mom?"

The mom shrugged and said, "well, I don’t know, but they really are beautiful."

"But when would you ever wear them?" repeated the daughter.

After about the fourth time she said, "I just don’t know when you’d wear them," as if she was planning to keep Mom locked up in her room, my blood began to boil a little. I mean, why does anyone have to have a plan to wear something beautiful before buying it? You get it, then you work the thing into your life. Even confined to her room she could have put them on and danced around the room! And what difference did it make if she never got to wear them? They gave her pleasure and joy. They cost $15. for pitys sake. What’s the problem? But of course, it wasn’t my place to butt in, so I watched with interest as the younger woman talked her mother out of making this little purchase. And I watched as the mom walked away, glancing wistfully back at those earrings as they left the pavilion.

Well, I really scrubbed that pot, I tell you, and I wondered why, on a February afternoon, while doing dishes, all of this even occurred to me. It seemed an odd memory to dredge up out of the darker corners of my mind apropos of nothing. This, I thought, is the very sort of memory Michael Singer would encourage me to get rid of, since it was of little use.

Later the same afternoon, Bud, who was out shopping, called and asked if it was okay to buy a plush squeaky toy for the dog. It was really cute and Bud wanted to buy it for him, but wasn’t sure about it. The dog is old and has a heart condition, so we’re just loving him and taking care of him. He doesn’t play much anymore. But I instantly thought of the memory of the woman and the earrings and I said, "yes, buy him the toy. Even if he doesn’t play with it he’ll likely take great joy in just getting it."

So I’m not sure Michael Singer is quite right about these old, seemingly useless and negative memories. I mean, he says we’re supposed to ditch the memory and just keep the lesson, but there’s just something that seems a little incomplete about that, to me anyway. I’m thinking now that this experience came to my intuitive mind for a reason. The dog loved his new toy, and he even played with it a bit, even though it’s been a while since he "played." And then he snuggled down on his wee bed with it between his paws. 

It’s called joie de vivre. It matters people. Even if it takes the recollection of a challenging memory to get us there.

Sunshine and a Concept

I don’t know why, perhaps it’s a result of the sun shining this morning, but my mind migrated immediately to solving the problems of the world today. I tried to dismiss these notions with the old, "I’m just one person... can’t do a thing" thing. But of course, that’s a cop-out. Then the old jingle came to mind, which I guess dates me, "see the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet..."

 

along with pictures of people stampeding through store doors, crushing one another in an attempt to be among the lucky ones getting this new thing, or that fandangled what-have-you. 

And so it came to me what my subconscious was trying to tell me... almost time for Spring cleaning. I guess sunshine will do that.

So I allowed my thoughts to follow through on the whole thing. It’s time again to take a look around. I even did a Fall cleaning last year in an attempt to purge the house, but it didn’t get the job done. There’s still too much stuff in here. Time to look around and ask with brutal honestly, do I need this? And I’m not going to just send what I don’t need to landfill either... that’s not on.
Suddenly an image came to mind out of my past, an intellectually disabled person sitting in a corner of the thrift store gleefully cutting the buttons off old garments that no one would want and putting them into jars. These jars of buttons were then sold for sewing or crafting. And he created a lot of button bottles, so there’s a chap who went home at the end of the day feeling very productive indeed.

So for me, three piles: 1) legit garbage, 2) potential yard sale (one person’s trash and all that), 3) thrift shop give-aways. Okay, a small fourth pile... maybe I can sell this on Ebay? 

Maybe I can’t do much about all the conflict in the world except to speak the language of kindness, and I can't stop all the wars mostly waged against the dispossessed and helpless. And I guess all I can really do about all the refugees that result is support my government in their efforts to help as many as possible. But I *can* do something substantial about misguided consumerism in our society by simplifying my life, as many have already done. And by making sure that what I want and need is reasonable and will be used with satisfaction and joy, and what I get rid of doesn’t just burden the environment and finds as much useful new purpose as possible.

Mission impossible? Hehehe... we shall do it anyway.

Global Warming? Or Climate Change? Or...

It’s kind of amazing, to me, the number of people who are still arguing that "global warming" isn’t real. I’m wondering if where the scientists went wrong was to call it "global warming" rather than something easier to understand, like "climate change."
 
Of course, there is a warming trend, as evidenced by melting glaciers and the polar ice caps. But this does not mean it’s going to be steadily warmer where you live.... as in, giving those trousers to the local charity and stocking up on shorts for year-round wear. No, see, the "warming" in the warming trend is happening mostly to the oceans. When those great bodies of water get only a couple of degrees warmer, this is what starts melting ice at the poles. All that frozen water is fresh water too, which means when it melts, it changes the salinity of the oceans, in increasing amounts. All of this contributes to changes in currents and impacts on the worlds’ weather.
 
Warmer? Well yeah, some places, like where some glaciers hang out and where polar bears rely on ice floes to fish for food. But changes in the weather aren’t just about warmth. These changes are about weather extremes. That’s where hurricanes are more extreme and sometimes out of season, where more thunder storms result in tornadoes, where typhoons, like the one we just saw in the Philippines, are far more damaging than usual, where heat is hotter and dryer, as in drought, where cold is colder, and rains and winds far more damaging than they used to be. So no, "global warming" is not about just getting to rest longer into the season on the ol’ chaise lounge with that pina colada in hand.

But climate change is normal and natural, you say. And you’re right, it is. And if allowed to change at it’s own pace, we’d probably scarcely notice the changes happening around us and we’d have lots of time to make little adjustments over the longer term. As it is, mankind has accelerated the rate of climate change with our contribution of greenhouse gases, which means the weather is getting more extreme all around us... and it’s noticeable, especially to those whose homes have been washed or blown away by extreme weather and all those growers who’ve lost crops to unusual weather trends.

Of course, you don’t have much patience for those tree-huggers either ~ the ones who claim we’re damaging Mother Earth. And you’re probably right again. I mean, she has been a raging inferno and she has been a ball of ice, and everything in between. Species that can adapt do, and those that can’t are chewed up and spit out. There have even been mass extinctions as a matter of course on this planet and there no doubt will continue to be.

No, even though we’ve made several messes on her and continue to strip her method of breathing from her, Mother Earth is not really in trouble.


We are.


Hey, let’s face it, we’re kind of a precious namby-pamby bunch, making us NOT the most adaptable creatures on the face of this good Earth. And at the rate we’re going, we’re going to be among the many species that future creatures will only find traces of in fossils. If you think what we’ve built here will last once we’re gone, think again. Possibly the only sign we were ever here will be our untidy piles and ocean islands of discarded plastic, and who knows, perhaps Mother Earth will send magma bubbling up to swallow and reclaim it all, and make it back into fossil fuels for another species down the line.

If this doesn’t bother you, keep denying "global warming" and just keep doing what you’re doing. If you’re one of those hopeful, picky types who would object to having your home and other means of shelter destroyed and your food security threatened by extreme weather, you might give the matter some thought. But don’t be worrying about Mother Earth. You need to be worrying about your own butt instead. Because the floods, droughts, hurricanes, typhoons, and other forms of extreme weather aren’t figments of your imagination. Just sayin’.

Turtle Island and Cultural Diversity

Turtle Island is my home too. I call it that even though my ancestors are not first nations, because I like it. It speaks to me.

I have learned much of first nations traditions since my teen years, so I don’t appreciate it when I’m lumped in with others of my race or heritage who do not know or understand other cultures. In fact, I think it’s a bad idea to paint all people of any race or cultural heritage with the same wide brush, no matter who you or they are. 

If you wish to divide people, start by dividing them this way: there are those who seek knowledge, understanding and enlightenment amongst all peoples, and celebrate cultural diversity. Then there those who are ignorant and fearful of anything that differs from the narrow confines of the comfortable world with which they are intimately familiar. This division is not racial or cultural, it is spiritual.

There are many ways in which all peoples are the same: we all want peace, prosperity, and love. And there are many ways we differ, because we have grown up in different cultures, with different beliefs, different foods and habits because of differing climates and different life experiences. We do not need to be divided. This is a choice; most often the choice of those who fear differences.

There are good and bad people in every race and culture in the world. Racism is not the purview of one race.  I have heard it uttered from the mouths of haters of several races, including first nations people, like the ones who call those interested in their culture "wannabes." You know, just because someone tries to learn something about other cultures does not mean they are attempting to change who they are. As I said at the outset, I have learned a lot about native culture. It interests me because there are many similarities with the culture of my Celtic ancestors. I am proud of my heritage and I would trade it for no other. But see, the sacred circle isn’t unique to native American culture. Have you ever heard of Stonehenge? That was my people.

I don’t understand why some people guard their culture so jealously. Out of one side of their mouths, they may say they want people to learn more about them. But out of the other, they accuse people of plagiarism if they have learned something they wish to embrace in their own lives. Ok, I get how annoying it is when the important symbols of a culture are cheaply copied and misused, like those dream-catchers that are made in China and sold in dollar stores.  But see, neither the manufacturers of those, nor the people who buy those, have any spirit.  At least, they haven't found theirs.  And that is their problem.  The rest of us who know better need to keep moving ahead.  So really, you can’t have it both ways.  Either you want to be appreciated, or you want to hide yourself away.  Leadership is about sharing and guiding, not about controlling and dividing others.

I come from a culture that was doing very well until another culture invaded from the south. Adopting the ways of these new people was not a matter of learning and choice, it was forced upon my ancestors. And then along came a new religion, also from the south, and my ancestors were told that their beliefs, talismans, observance of the earth’s seasons, was somehow wrong. Bishop Desmond Tutu has been quoted as saying, "When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land."

The same thing happened to my ancestors too.  The first nations people of Turtle Island are not unique in this.  There has been much suffering all over the world because one culture has oppressed and/or enslaved others, sometimes in the name of prophets who were actually all about peace and love.

Choice. It’s something most of us have. We can embrace each other as brothers and sisters and celebrate our samenesses and our differences, or we can be ill-informed, fearful, jealous and hateful. Choice.

Leadership. It’s about caring. I would be living now near a great ugly garbage dump built on farm land over an aquifer of pure water, were it not for the leadership of the local first nations people who took up the fight against this travesty with spirit and determination and carried the protest to a successful conclusion. That’s leadership.

I choose the way of enlightenment. I do not fear other cultures. I learn all I can because there are many things the same that all our ancestors have gone through, and there are exciting, fascinating, and dare I say, delicious differences to celebrate. I do not care what other people believe or who or what they worship, it is their choice. But my choice is to go unlabelled through this life, unburdened by the yoke of a religion whose followers often twist the words and image of their prophets into something they were not, just to further their own selfish agendas. I take joy in observing the seasons of this great gift of Earth and I have a deep, unshakable faith that all things are possible. My spirit soars when I am in the moment of observing the beauty around me. I am saddened that some people are blind to it, or in fact, choose to spread ugliness.

The problem is not cultural diversity. The problem is ignorance. Only when we abandon that will people of all cultures rise to celebrate together.

Post Script: 
The above was written in response to a specific post, but while I'm on the subject of cultural diversity, I wish to express my sadness toward those who insist upon blaming all of Islam for the actions of a relative few Islamic terrorists.  Islamic terrorists are to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity.  Fear and hatred can only stop with YOU.  Credit to The West Wing for the analogy.