“Scandals” and the need for Citizen Engagement

I have not written for awhile… could be writer’s block, or just cynicism and bitterness.  Probably a combination.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend my first ever Lilac Festival.  I lived in Calgary last summer, but did not make it down.  It was fun, and I was glad to be there as a participant; I volunteered for Fair Vote Canada and shared the booth space with the Green Party of Canada and the Green Party of Alberta, or rather, they shared with me!

I’m still calling myself “non-partisan”, for reasons that I will outline later in this post, but it was interesting to volunteer for a non-partisan organization… many people run away from anything that is “political” at all.  It’s no wonder… I read political news everyday and it seems to be just a bunch of people yelling at each other and beating dead horses.

The main “scandals” I am referring to are the Rob Ford fiasco and the Duffy affair.  I am no Torontonian (but love and miss many of them!), but this lack of transparency makes me ANGRY.  I tend to have a love/hate relationship with Calgary; I have to say it has a very transparent municipal government, but my experience at the Lilac Festival leads me to believe that attitudes are slightly apathetic.  That’s probably what I miss most about Ontario: more diversity in political opinion and perhaps less complacency.

I am fairly new to Fair Vote Canada, but I loved talking to people at the Lilac Festival, and mostly made a point to speak to people under thirty… I still am not well-versed in all types of voting methods, but it’s refreshing to hear that there are young people who are unsatisfied with the current way of doing things.  Our system is sooooo dated.

This is a link to Elections Canada report on voter turnout by age and gender.  These statistics are always disturbing to me – why don’t we vote???  It’s hard for me to keep complaining about things when I feel no sense of unity with my peers.  Canada to me has morphed into some type of democratic dictatorship and unless our democracy becomes healthier, I feel completely powerless to change anything.  Hence bitterness and cynicism.

The charade of democracy that occurs in the House of Commons is disgusting.  We have the NDP dominating Question Period over this Senate scandal… I wish MPs would actually represent their constituents instead of just looking for mud to sling to advance their own agendas.  Of course the Conservatives are ready with a counter attack (how many tax payer dollars pay for staffers to conduct “scandal research”?) against NDP MPs re: tax evasion.  Oh, but it’s not over yet… the Conservatives have their fair share of tax evaders as well!  Seriously… it’s boring.  Allow the RCMP to investigate the Senate.  Really investigate it.  We need Senate reform, but if we were to change to an elected Senate, how many people would bother to vote?

I saw an Australian I worked with at the Lilac Festival and had a discussion with him about voting.  As mentioned in this post, Australia has adopted an alternative voting system.  The Australian I spoke to didn’t know much about the actual system, but he has voted, as voting in Australia is mandatory.  Is this what needs to happen here?

All I know is that I get super frustrated when I bring up politics with people (I have no fear or shame, and this day in age, any opinion is a good one, so I don’t tend to argue too much) and they respond with “oh, I don’t vote, and I never will.”  I want to grab their shoulders and shake violently.  But instead I say something along the lines of “well, our system really isn’t that fair” and then proceed to tell them why, in hopes I might instill some desire in them to exercise a right that many people all over the world die and kill for.

Why is our society so complacent and why hasn’t the government aided in giving citizens a voice (i.e. mandatory voting)?

Even if you’ve never done it, please consider voting in 2015.  I’m even at the point (a former NDP supporter) of saying “they’re all the same”, especially with this BS mudslinging to make each other look bad.  The biggest issue to me right now is our dependence on an oil based economy.  I actually met a woman at the Lilac Festival who had recently been in Italy where there was a public protest against Alberta oil.  It’s interesting to think about how we’re represented on the world stage and whether or not this is really reflective of us a society.  Make your voice heard… let’s show these big bosses that we mean business.

Mary Jane.

Stigma.

This is a follow-up to me airing out my personal struggles.  This video was created by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

I’m sharing this because for me, stigma has always been an issue.  I mentioned in my previous post that I enjoy talking to mental health nurses and social workers.  I have not rid myself of anxiety.  It’s still something that I struggle with.

Recently, I did have a “situation” where I had to go talk to someone.  Health Link Alberta is a phone service for Albertans that allows you to speak to a nurse and I would guess that it’s primary goal is to get individuals to take more control of their health.  My original problem was not a mental health problem, but being sent to an emergency room made me feel kinda nuts!!!  Anxiety – through the roof!  Then I felt myself getting into my thought patterns that come with anxiety… had to call Health Link back and they referred me to specific facility where I could speak to some nurses to get some help.  Then Health Link helped me find a family doctor.

It’s taken me awhile to figure out that there is no shame in the labels I’ve been given.  I try to facilitate discussion in my daily life.  It’s amazing the kind of healing power that a positive conversation has.

I feel very hopeful about the future, just because people ARE talking more!  Canadians… our country’s cold and dark… can’t be happy all the time.

I just saw something on Facebook that it’s Mental Health Week (there seem to be a few of those throughout the year? cool), and I guess it ends tomorrow.

It shouldn’t end.  Suffering should – let’s reduce stigma!

Mary Jane.

P.S. This will be my last more personal post for a little while.  Working on describing different voting systems in a coherent way… this stuff is complicated.

Hyperbole and a Half is a hilariously honest blog and there’s a great post about living with depression.

Something personal…

Good Friday!

I am sitting here on this now (thank God) Friday afternoon, drinking beer, smokin’ smokes and I am not depressed.  Interesting perspective.

Substance abuse is an odd thing to think about.  Why do we abuse anything?

People in psychiatry, social work, mental health work in general are very quick to make the linkages between substance use and mental health issues… and as much as I enjoy talking to said people (minus psychiatrists), I wonder, how much experience is behind all of this talk?

My mind operates at a very fast pace.  I don’t think there’s anything necessarily “wrong” with me.  I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression while I was finishing my Masters degree… anyone in academia knows that academia is a breeding ground for anxiety issues.

I have to be very honest and say that my only thoughts of suicide occurred when I played doctor myself and stopped taking the Prozac.  This is not recommended.

Going from being a student, receiving objective and sensical medical care and then moving back to the Niagara Region… that was a game changer.

I found myself a GP in Fort Erie, Ontario… I actually had to remind him to prescribe my anti-depressants.  I was running, was way too skinny for my frame.  His main concern was checking for Vitamin D levels (living in AB, the land of sunshine… that’s a game changer too :)) and for hyperactive thyroid.  I do not have a hyperactive thyroid.

It’s weird… I took Prozac for awhile… a lot of things are a blur, I abused alcohol A LOT.

I ended up with a psychiatrist at the Greater Niagara General Hospital (GNGH)… I really don’t like her, but I’m not going to rant too much.

I was in the psychiatric ward of GNGH three times between August 2010 and May 2011.  My second time there, I’m not really sure why I was taken there in the first place; I think it’s because I was “too happy”.

I always trusted (and continue to trust) the social workers and mental health nurses that I dealt with.  I always asked if the medication I was given was addictive and was given the option to refuse things like lorazepam.  My doctor gave me a VERY high dose of Seroquel, because I had magically gone from depression/anxiety to bipolar disorder.  She also gave me free samples.  When I moved to Alberta, and stopped receiving welfare, my medication was almost half of my monthly income.  At one point, I decided “I’m on an upper and a downer, what happens if I stop both at once?” (Again, NOT recommended)

For me, it’s worked out.  I’ve been living my life ever since.  My mother was critically ill and dying during my difficult time.

I think my main issue has been attention deficit problems.  I was raised in such a way, that it wasn’t really acknowledged: “Shut up and listen.”  Not good, not bad.

My actual point in this ramble is…

Substance abuse is an excellent way of self-medicating.  I emphasize with addicts… I’ve met some and I know what it’s like to just want to shut your brain off with anything and everything that’s available and necessary (in the moment of need).  I also love nicotine. That’s a hard one to kick.  I also enjoy smoking weed… for me, I’m not addicted.  I choose when I want to do it… and if it makes you anti-social and lazy, again, I think that’s a personal choice of action.

I like where mental health awareness is going in Canada.  I firmly believe that when people are more mentally healthy that substance use can decrease (there are also a lot of foreign drug trade issues that I’m not going to get into now…).

But, as a friend of mine said (I forget who, and forgive me if I’m paraphrasing):

“It’s hard to be happy in a miserable world.”

Mary Jane.

Democratic Reform: continued

Hi,

I have not given up on this topic!!

Too much to read.  Currently I am reading Voting Counts: Electoral Reform for Canada.  This is currently out of print, but I found a copy at a library!

Very interesting, just throwing it out there in case there is an interested citizen.

Mary Jane.

Cultural Identity: The W word.

I had to go here, now that I’ve tapped into “cultural identity”.

Woman.  Eeeeeeee.  I used to hate that word.

My mom used to tell me, “we thought you were a boy, because you kicked a lot.”

Now, it’s not the implication that kicking implies masculinity that pisses me off.  It’s the fact that I was raised to behave like a man.

Maybe it’s not the “W” word, I’m afraid of, but the “G” one.  Girl.

My mom thought it was important to me to learn to value my brain and to learn to use it without caring about what other people thought about it (and not “really” valuing my appearance…).

She also said “The worst thing that ever happened to me was that I was born a girl.”

Wrong time, lady.

The sexual choices I’ve made, sorry, have had nothing to do with that… hahaha!  But no, seriously, sexuality is cultural identity as well… I don’t feel like it’s too necessary to be open about mine, especially since I fear judgement about cultural identity in regards to that too.

Only because I like to “love the one I’m with” and seek contentment.  I am content, I am happy.  I’m glad I found some “fluidity” in my sexuality to broaden my horizons.

Who I like, isn’t anyone’s business, except my own, if only for the simple fact that I am…

A Human…. yep.  That’s all.

Mary Jane.

Cultural Identity.

My skin is very white… my sister, my mom and I were the only “white” people at the last family reunion I attended in Pennsylvania.  They never really cared… and I never know where to start when people ask me “what are you?”

I feel like I fish out of water sometimes, being from Southern Ontario and living in Alberta… especially when it comes to attitudes about First Nations Rights.  I’m more familiar with Six Nations and, really, more personally, the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre.  When I was a kid, it was just a place that my friends went, and it looked like fun.

I don’t really talk to those friends that much anymore, but last time I checked, they were great men & women… and in my eyes, at least, it didn’t really matter what their background was.

Poverty exists everywhere in Canada… I’m not saying that anyone has a choice in that, not everyone makes the decisions, but we do have a choice to act.  Everyday.

My main cultural identity is probably just the fact that I’m from Fort Erie, Ontario.

I just believe in more unity, that’s all…

I just hope for change and hope we can find identity together.

On my dad’s side, I’m technically only a first generation Canadian (my dad found out he had cancer during his medical exams needed to apply for permanent residency, I think; he never became a citizen) and second gen on my mom’s.  The American from both sides in me sometimes likes to rear its ugly head and I “release the beast” of rage and fury.

This all arose from the simple fact that I was referred to as a “white girl” and I take comments like that pretty seriously.

I met a “white” Richardson once… told him my family story, and he said “oh, maybe your family worked for mine.”

If his family ever owned a plantation in Georgia, could be very true.

I guess my point is: watch what you say to people who will define your cultural identity for you without asking.  People can be mean, myself included.

There are many other countries in the world who have faced many struggles.  We are but a young one…

Mary Jane.

Next up re: Cultural Identity: Western Alienation (going to take awhile, currently researching the politics of oil…)

I am bored.

Today is April 20, 2013.  It is a good day.

I love chance meeting of strangers… face-to-face, it’s rare nowadays.

I have decided to try to make this a collective.  I love conversations… especially the ones I get when I really “throw myself out there”, whether they are good or bad.

If you have something to say, write it… if you’d like.  The pen is always mightier than the sword.  I am so disturbed by the fear and terror that is going on right now.

You can email it to unwiseowl13 (at) gmail (dot) com.  I’ll publish anything, I think, even if you’d like it done anonymously.  Creative pieces are also welcome.  I’m also not an editor, but I don’t mind lending a hand if solicited (don’t try to pay to me though, just ask lol).

Have a great day 🙂

Mary Jane.

Democratic Reform

This is a hot button topic for me.

I LOVE social media especially for the fact that I have a wealth of opinions and advice at my fingertips.  I like to get back in touch with people I don’t expect to.  I got a great quote today from an old colleague this morning: “cynicism only breeds cynicism” and I can’t help but agree.

I am cynical, and I am bitter, but perhaps I should be a bit more optimistic.  This post will be more optimistic, because this is one thing that I believe has to change, and I do think it can happen.  Not easily though… especially if our mass media continues to make marketing campaigns and donation targets a top priority for information regarding Canadian politics.

The Liberal Party of Canada believes in electoral reform.  The link posted takes you to the Liberal Party’s page about this topic.  At first, I was disappointed that there wasn’t more information posted than the three paragraphs that are there.  I liked the 2012 Resolution References listed below, however.

First Past the Post… what a dated system.  I made a very simple (in method and design) infographic of a 3 riding-2 party example to illustrate how votes get lost:

Now, just what are the alternatives?

I took a political science elective as an undergrad, entitled “Canadian Democracy”.  I love learning about the stuff, and my favourite part of the course was the part about different electoral systems.  I don’t remember all of them, but there was one I liked in particular, party-list proportional representation.  There is also the alternative vote system, used in Australia that’s addressed in the resolution ON-21.

I’m going to discuss these systems further in future posts.

I’m frustrated with the fact that I was eager to vote at the age of 18, it’s been almost ten years since I started voting, and the parties that I support get the shaft in the House of Commons.

At the risk of sounding cynical, I have to say that as much as I believe that electoral reform is possible, it’s going to be really hard before the next election with the Conservative majority.  I think that a new electoral system is necessary to get people voting.

I have friends who vote, and I have non-friends who vote.  I also have a few friends that don’t vote at all and have to listen to me try to convince them at every election time.  An argument I’ve heard is “my vote doesn’t count anyway.”  With FPTP, how can anyone say this isn’t true?

I’m not going to dish out an earful about voting.  If you feel as passionately about our voting system as I do, there is a group you can get involved with called Fair Vote Canada (I’m currently trying to get in touch with them, if you know anyone in Calgary, please drop me a line somehow).  I think we need some grassroots movements as well as support from politicians to get this issue resolved.

Mary Jane.

Foreign Interests: What shall become of us?

With all the slander going around, I thought I’d dish some out on my own, after the comment made on my last post by an old friend.

I have to admit, when the legislation passed that has allowed this to happen, I didn’t feel as passionately about it as I do now.

I thought about the problem economically.

I believe in free enterprise, and that everyone should be an entrepreneur and all that crap. I thought “oh, well, I guess research should be more privately funded”, without really thinking about who the potential buyers are.

I know that China bought the oil, but who can and will buy science?

If I had the capital, I’d open a research laboratory and it would be a good time.

I’m not even that concerned about the job loss, I’m more concerned about the loss of a rare long term data source.

Shame on the Connies.  Can they really not find a buyer or is this what they’re telling us?  Will we find out soon that our interests have again been sold to foreign ones?

Mary Jane.

I AM SO SICK OF SLANDER

So, Justin Trudeau won the Liberal Party Leadership.  Is anyone really that shocked?  I have to say, living in Calgary, it doesn’t seem like Alberta cares much about him.

But this is dispicable.  Un-freakin’-believable.  I am actually insulted as a voter (not like I’ve ever voted for the party in power…).

I liked the hype surrounding the Liberal Leadership Campaign, it was exciting and now it feels like an election year with the Conservative Party of Canada‘s stupid ads.  It really isn’t much money, the money spent on ads and creepy haircuts and stuff of the like.  It’s what’s behind them that freaks me out more.

I don’t trust this North American system of democracy we have going.

Mary Jane.