Musing

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

15C/60F (high 21C), early fog lifted, warm sun at my back – the ridge path in the park our exclusive terrain today, Gusta sniffed where critters had been - none in sight, the neighbourhood quiet as school buses are off somewhere on vacation now, early departures for weekend and holiday travel have calmed the place

happy birthday GR, friend, kind man, wine-guy extraordinaire; if you are strolling around Lake Breeze Winery in Naramata this weekend, just holler out ‘happy birthday Gary’

we have such a thing about time, we white folks; we’ve been here such a short while, no wonder time is such an unimportant concept to those who have been here for many thousands of years; this Canada Day we should all reflect a bit, on what this country is, why this country is, how we got here, why we are Canadian and whether we or those who govern us really appreciate what citizenship, stewardship and caring for this large tract of land really means – or ought to

everywhere I go, I meet people who exceed their expectations flourishing alongside people in abject despair because they never achieved their dreams or anything remotely close; it seems incongruous sometime to see people who are well schooled, well bread, well meaning people with the verve and sparkle of a bowl of cold porridge, very cold porridge; what gives such vibrancy to one person, such a drab outlook for their equally qualified counterpart?

I’ve been exposed to two concepts under various labels . . that keep colliding in my mind and, to an increasing degree, in my actions; they might be relevant to this subject

first is ‘manifest destiny’, a concept historically described in many ways to define territorial expansionist tendencies of countries, in a sense to justify their pushing themselves forward while pushing others aside; in recent years this term (and others conveying similar meaning) are brain candy fed to masses by so many who write or coach or preach or politic – being the idea of unlocking our creative juices, hidden aspirations and the spirit(s) by which we are ruled to fulfill our destiny – often rationalized as inevitable in terms of how it is justified . . we all know people like this, we all know countries like this – including our own

the second is the notion (thank you Mike Lipsey) is that our ability to succeed (in sales anyway) is in direct proportion to our willingness to make a fool of ourselves; I’ve always thought Mike chose the wrong word ‘fool’; I think of it more as to be bold, to be a little daring and certainly to be creative while ignoring those who might be too conservative for anything so FOOLhardy as this idea that burns strongly to advance my cause, anyone’s cause for that matter, toward a loftly bold goal

we approach days on the calendar where Canada and US citizens celebrate their countries, celebrate independence, nationhood and bright futures with great bravado and chest pounding – we all share in this manifest destiny – the most glaring of all wrongs remains to be righted; this weekend descendants of the first Canadians, First Nations we call them now, Indians (so named because Columbus was hopelessly lost and thought he was in India) – these proud people who have had to claw, beg, fight and protest to finally win some of their due; the United Nations, the courts and most fair minded people must surely realize that being born to one family or another should not be an accident of birth that relegates one’s life to a certain destiny, but rather one that brings equal rights and opportunities to everyone, their life only limited by their own personal willingness to _ _ _ _ _ _ (insert your dream, your destiny, your goal)

imagine you were being born today, but born to a different family than the one you come from; imagine being born of parents who live, fenced in so to speak, on a reserve of land – born to a life rooted in treaty rights of long ago, a life rooted in cycles of painful abuse of every right or privilege of citizenship we hold dear

I was not born, nor were you, as a particularly enlightened person – we have become aware, educated, experienced or wise because we were schooled by others and because we wanted to learn about life on our own account, a perfectly normal ‘manifest destiny’ kind of experience

we so easily embrace new-age thinking; it is really quite remarkable that after several hundred years as invaders of this continent we, Canadians and Americans alike, continue to treat these people as inferior with stone-age tactics for dealing with adversaries; strength, wealth and power will never ultimately overcome the limitless ability of people to stay the course

maybe blocking a road or a train is wrong, destructive or illegal – but how could it be wrong on any kind of scale that measures the wrong they are trying to right?

if you’ve never touched an Indian, hugged an Indian, known an Indian – then why not start with a single next step, try reaching out a hand of friendship . . you will likely get a warm handshake in return, but if you don’t you should not be surprised because it took you this many years to take that first step, don’t expect everything to immediately change

and, if you don't take a step, why would you expect anything at all to change in any way your find pleasant, acceptable or desirable?

Mark Kolke
223,872
199.8


Musings need not be a monologue, but to make it a dialogue is dependent upon your responses, which are welcomed - please write me feedback/comments.

To subscribe to Mark's Musings daily email distribution, write to musing@maxcomm.ca

©2007 MaxComm Communications, all rights reserved.