Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.
George Bernard Shaw helps explain the thinking of social activists in any time frame: if things aren’t right in society, change them.
In the 1960s, Robert Kennedy set out to end racial segregation in the U.S. knowing it would involve a fight.
Tommy Douglas, an enlightened Canadian politician, rolled up his sleeves to create medicare.
In Maple Ridge, Oosha Ramsoondar, an NDPer in this time frame, wants to change the direction our society takes as financial strains are placed on institutions such as health, welfare, education, and the environment.
Oosha’s also a member of the local Raging Grannies, songsters who insert local concerns such as pedestrian safety into tunes such as She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain When She Comes.
It’s important, Oosha says, to increase citizen influence over decisions that affect our daily life and identity.
“The majority of people are alienated from the political system,” says Oosha. “People say the political, economic, financial, and societal institutions have lost their relevancy and usefulness because they’re not helping to make living better for us. They’ve been rendered toothless. We need to remodel the old system, the institutions, and replace them.”
Initiative for fixing the system, says Oosha, must come from the bottom up.
“Politics is a means of influencing development, but we need to put fires under the system to get it moving. It’s my responsibility to be politically aware and active. We all have to tell the politicians, the elite, that they can’t be comfortable; we have to stand up, walk and march at the same time in the politically part content and we have to describe the scene we want.”
Last year, in an attempt to encourage others to do just that, Oosha and a group of dedicated volunteers established a local chapter of Cinema Politica. It’s a nation-wide outreach of the NDP that uses documentaries to spread awareness of issues like how the tax burden should be shared, Canada’s role in Afghanistan, how the wealth of the nation should be distributed, and private or public control of drinking water. Issues, Oosha says, that should not be decided by politicians alone.
One of the first documentaries CP screened last March was narrated by Maude Barlow’s of the Council of Canadians. Water on the Table was viewed enthusiastically by students at Thomas Haney secondary.
“We show films that you won’t see in regular places but should be discussed at the local level,” Oosha told her audience. “This one is about the accessibility of water. Should it be a human right without payment to corporations or private industry?”
Oosha directed her young audience to think about the question after listening to facts about the Alberta tar sands revealed in the documentary: it takes three barrels of water to get one barrel of oil; if a tailing pond on the site breaks, it will destroy the water table; companies working in the oil industry see water as a commodity similar to gold.
After the viewing, Oosha invited students to become members of Cinema Politica. Presentations of CP since then, particularly one titled How the Media Portrays the Middle Class (unfavorably), have been well attended by young folks.
Recently, the question of who should own the rights to water made our local news. In Abbotsford’s municipal elections, an overwhelming number of voters spoke out against privatization and retired a mayor who favored it.
CP is a working group within the Golden Ears Transition Initiative, an offshoot of the CEED Centre. “It [CEED] plays a pivotal role by getting organizations involved in creating the community we want,” says Oosha. “We’re so lucky to have it.”
CP begins its 2012 season Jan. 19, with The Yes Men Fix The World. The “Yes Men” are Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, gonzo journalists who humorously impersonate corporate leaders to expose the dark motivations of the one percent.
The film received its world premier at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and has won several international awards.
The location is Maple Ridge council chambers. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Sean Devlin, of Truthfool Communications, and discussion will follow the film.
Upcoming: The Golden Ears Writers are hosting a panel of self-published writers in the ACT lobby on Jan. 17 – 7 p.m. The topic is self-publishing. Writers will share their experiences. All welcome.
Public input on the Enbridge pipeline to carry crude oil from Alberta to Prince Rupert and from there to China begins this month. It will be a heated debate.
Question: is there no better way to maintain economic prosperity in Canada than by the promotion of an energy source that will further pollute the world?
The other question is whether government and multinational corporations will decide the outcome here, or will that come from the people of this country?
Jack Emberly is a retired teacher, local author and environmentalist.