Respect

A friend of mine is in the hospital right now because her legs aren't working.  She's in the military and was off, somewhere, and came back, and now her legs won't do what she tells them to do.  And so she's in the hospital.  And this situation made me think.  I have never given a whole lot of thought to the role of our military.  I know generally that Canada has historically had a peace keeping role, which I appreciate.  I know this has been changing recently, which I do not appreciate.  I know that for many people it is the current fad to be negative about the military, and countries engaging in military action, and there appears to be a general lack of respect for the individual people who are engaged in such activities as well.  I have steered clear of these conversations bcause to me there is a lot involved.  I am not an advocate of the use of physical force.  And yet, I do not believe I am strongly enough against it to always condemn it.  There is always more to the situation than meets the eye, and to denounce something just because, from way up high and removed from the situation, this I can not do.  And since I am not ready to make a decision on where I stand, or to advocate strongly for any particular position, I steer clear of the conversations, listening only, gathering information and processing my thoughts.  But back to my friend's situation....

Picturing her in the hospital, unable to move her legs, because of her dedication to protecting what we have here in Canada made me think.  It recalled to me how I have read, or seen, at various times, evidence of the lack of respect and appreciation that our society appears to have for the work and dedication of those in our armed forces.  We, as in those not in the armed forces, may not always agree with the actions of our armed forces.  We may in fact disagree entirely with the approach the armed forces takes.  But.... sometimes I think our intentions align.  I, for instance, have concern with general human rights.  I believe everyone is equal and should be granted equal standing and consideration.  I work for that, in my own way, here and abroad.  Abroad I am concerned with places where they do not have this, sometimes to the extreme.  Here, I am concerned with improving situations, because there are still many where people are not granted equal rights, as well as with protecting what we have, and what we have, believe me, is worth protecting.  My approach to fostering improvement and protecting what we have attained does not involve the use of physical force.  It is a quieter approach focused primarily on peacefully drawing attention to inequalities, pointing out actions that are being taken that might erode what we have, and by behaving in accordance with my understanding of equality.  Some would say that this approach is slow and ineffective.  It is certainly slow.  And it is at times ineffective.  Nonetheless it is the way I have chosen to approach the situation.  But just because it is the way I have chosen to approach the situation does not mean it is the way.  Other people have other ideas as to how to approach the same goals.  Like those people wandering around with guns.  Some of those people have the same goals as I do, even if our methods appear to be in opposition.  And sometimes this appears to be what we focus on, the methods.  To the extent that we completely ignore the intent beneath.  And this is where I become disturbed.  I know that I do not have all the answers.  I know what I would like to see happen, but I do not know for sure what will accomplish this.  I know that situations are generally quite complex, and that one singular approach will likely not accomplish my ultimate goals.  I suspect we all have to work together, the trick is in how.  And so, although I do not necessarily fully understand the workings of the armed forces, or the motivations of all involved in them, I do appreciate that there are those involved with the same goals as mine, to protect the vulnerable, to provide opportunity to all, to safeguard what we have already.  It is simply their methodologies that are different.  And so it disturbs me to see them provided with no respect, or even condemnation.  Because... who are we to condemn them?  Who suddenly made us so much better than everyone else that we are capable of so fully evaluating the human situation as to make us suitable judge and jury?  Instead of condemnation, derision, or denunciation, we need to, well, see.  To look at the intent, the basis behind the actions, talk to each other, and work together.  Acknowledge the differences, and work with them.  Grant them the validity of their position, hope they can do the same for ours, and see if we can't find some way to work together to accomplish our joint goals.  Respect their intent, even if we may not fully agree with the methods.  And so, when we run across others who suffer losses as a result of their dedication to a cause the same as our own, regardless of the methods they engaged in to achieve those goals let us grant them the respect due that dedication and sacrifice, and remember, and act upon, that.  Let us not fight within ourselves. 

North Korea, that's there, not here, don't point any fingers at us...

So.  It is official.  The UN report of Feb. 17 (UN report),  has provided the world with official word of the atrocious human rights violations occurring in North Korea, Human Rights watch has nicely provided a shorter you-tube video for those of us not wishing to read all 372 pages of the UN report (HRW video).  Thank-you UN for removing the excuse of "it's not real" from our explanations, or excuses, for our lack of action, and even support of, what's going on over there. 

So now what?  Well, I'm not going to go into a huge dissertation of possible actions and reactions.  I'll leave that to those whose full time job it is, and who frankly will have superior information and knowledge to share.  What I can share is a layman's perspective.  And that is, we can not support this.  The treatment happening every day in North Korea is inhuman.  It is a reign of terror maintained by the prison camps of which the UN report speaks, and which the Human Rights Watch video summarizes.  Do those reading this realize people are sent to these camps without trial?  Imagine the times when you have been unjustly accused of something, whether because of a perceived slight received by another, a grouchy police officer, a retaliatory ex-spouse, whatever.  Imagine if, should the other party have the appropriate connections, this would result in you and three generations of your family being sent to a torture/labour camp where you, and they, would either be summarily executed or set to work from dawn to dusk, with no food, no medical treatments, forced to watch executions, dig your own grave, be treated like complete animals, all without any knowledge of your crime, since rule #1 is to never ask about your crime.  And actions which we here in Canada would judge to be appropriate, such as crying at the public execution of a family member or dear friend, are ones that would result in this relocation.  Can you imagine?  Killed or tortured by labour for the human behaviour of expressing sorrow at the murder of a loved one?  What does that do to a person?  A community?  A country?  Even if one is not concerned about the well being of people far removed from themselves, at the very least we should be concerned about what this is doing to the character of the country overall, a country which, might I remind everyone, has nuclear capabilities (BBC fact sheet on North Korea's nuclear capabilities).  Do we really want such a country to be peopled by citizens who view it as a crime to cry at the murder of a loved one?  If the murder of a loved one is not a problem to them, I highly doubt the murder of those they don't even know would be.

So.  Why the rant?  It's not like we, in Canada, are taking part in this.  We aren't supporting them, right?  Well, let's think about that.  According to this news post by Human Rights Watch (HRW), China is supporting, quite outrightly, the current regime in North Korea, as it has supported past regimes.  The UN report recommends the situation in North Korea be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).  As one of the five permanent members of the security council China has the power to veto any applications to the ICC, and they have implied that they will do so here, claiming the UN report is unfounded, and that such matters can not be adequately addressed by the ICC anyways (China threatens veto of ICC application,  China denies UN report, discounts ICC influence).  China is North Korea's primary trading partner, and yields considerable influence there.  If desired, they would undoubtedly be capable of pressuring North Korea to at least lessen its human rights violations, but they do not (HRW) .  Instead, they support them through protecting them from ICC investigation.  Okay.  That's China.  Not Canada.  Again, think again.  Who is it that our government has been courting as a primary trading partner?  With whom is it that our government has been pursuing a free trade agreement, an agreement which would permit the Chinese corporations almost free reign within our country, with very little, if any, transparency for investigation into any actions of theirs which might contradict our rules? You've got it, China (FIPA facts).  Canadians have a tendency to be quiet and placid.  We vote our governments in, often the same ones just because that's what we do, and then we let them do their thing, hardly lifting our eyes from our days to see what it is, exactly, that they are doing, especially on the international stage.  But really, it's time to wake up.  We are partner to the crimes in North Korea, even now.  Our business corporations even now have considerable business with those in China, a country fully supportive of the atrocities in North Korea, and we are actively pursuing, through FIPA and other means, to increase those ties. If we continue this, we are guilty by association.  There is no excuse.  North Korea's actions are now officially documented, China's involvement is well known, and their support of North Korea, and reticence into any investigation, suspicious considering their ties to North Korea, have been made public also.  This is no longer a matter solely in the knowledge sphere of those "in the know".  This is now in the realm of the everyday person, you and I, and it is up to us now to make our stand.  We are in a democratic country, we can state our views.  In support of humanity, we need to do this.  Unless, of course, we are willing to sacrifice our humanity in pursuit of first place in the global economic race.  What is the price you are willing to pay for economic supremacy?   

Democracy in Canada?

What is the state of democracy in Canada?  This is a question many people seem to be asking, myself included.  It frequently appears as though our current government is persistently chipping away at those institutions and processes designed to protect and provide for the realization of democracy within this country of ours, I discuss this as pertains to Canadians' ability to access information in my April 29, 2013, posting "The Precarious State of Canadians' Access to Information".  This article - Are Pipeline Politics Undermining Canada's Democracy?  - uses the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline application to bring forth questions on the state of democracy in Canada, and makes for an interesting and thought provoking read.