An Unsettled Discussion

Little did I realize when I wrote something recently that some of the readers would ingest it with a colour that it was never intended to have. The subject was the too frequent contemporary use of the term “settlers” to describe those who are not described as indigenous.

One reader said in surprise and disapproval that my piece indicated that I was saying that “Might is right”. It spoke no such thing. Perhaps she brought that perspective into the reading room with her.

Here is what I wrote:

I resent the term "settlers". Even those who claim to be indigenous are "settlers", migrants if you wish. The world is continuously in motion. Whether it be climate change, wars, poverty hunger, discrimination, persecution or conquest, the world and its people and animals are constantly in movement. The so called indigenous peoples have no greater claim to this land than any others. We are all inhabitants of this planet. And the planet itself is in motion. We are all stewards of this planet, because it is the only home we have. Don't tell me colonialism is wrong when we are looking eagerly to Mars and other planets in the universe for our survival. We all live here, black, brown, white, red, yellow. We are prisms on the rainbow of life. Forget ownership. Think stewardship.

I must say how distressed I was at this reader’s interpretation. I reread what I had written very carefully. What had I said to lead someone to this interpretation. I asked others with whom I had shared it. None of us could see such a position expressed in what I had written.

It was the overuse of the word "Settlers" in an the article I had just read that got to me. I am so tired of sitting and listening repeatedly to sanctimonious speeches of how we are on the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. The word "Settlers" is used as if to shame those of us who are not "indigenous" and to make us feel like we must apologize for our very presence here.

It is not that in any way I think that our collective European ancestors treated the indigenous populations well, at least for the most part. They did not. And it has been well into the present that we have needed to acknowledge that. But one cannot undo the past. I think one has to start looking forward from now, rather than continuously to the past, at least after one acknowledges the wrongs of the past. One has to move away from the concept of being victims and take charge of where one is at. 

But the mistreatment of the indigenous population of this or other continents was not the subject of my article. That is really a separate, although related issue. My article was about this notion of ownership or entitlement to the land we are living on.

We have a lot to learn from the traditional respect for nature that the indigenous peoples of this and other continents had. Even the Druids had a respect for the natural order in what is now Britain and Ireland. But their life was not pristine.

These are old understandings of the order of things that precede modern times. But time does not stand still. Nor does reality. We have to adapt as the natural order routinely does. 

This concept of some peoples being more entitled to a piece of land than those who come after is, in my view unsustainable. No one is entitled to an unreserved use and occupation of land. But those who do occupy land should be caretakers and respecters of the land and the natural environment.

Indigenous history is oral in nature. And one's oral history tends to reinforce and sometimes invent the good aspects of past events by one’s ancestors. We talk about the indigenous people of North America being here since "time immemorial". All that means is "a very long time, long before we know anything about it".

Yes, 25,000 to 30,000 years of occupation is a long time. And 400 to 1000 years is, in comparison, relatively short. But in the five to seven million years of hominid existence, and the two or two point five million years of the first presumed migrations out of Africa, these time periods are both flecks of sand in the time piece of human history.

My article is merely saying that we as one humanity have been on the move for a very long time. And we are continuing to be on the move for the reasons set out in my article. This movement or migration is only going to increase in the next fifty years and on. So, if we want to survive as a people, then we have to learn to look forward and discover ways to live together.

If the planet continues to move in the direction it is currently heading, then exploration of space may be an option for survival of human beings. I would, however, like to think that, collectively, we have the skills to ensure that life on this planet can be sustained. But the colonizers of the past, some for greed, some for adventure and, yes, many for survival, thought that new frontiers were the only way forward.

I have witnessed those who profess to accept the shame of European colonization voice excitement at the prospect of space exploration and settlement. This seems so inconsistent.

I wish the resources spent on space exploration were being spent on a sustainable future for us and other life forms on this planet. If colonization of space is to take place, one can only hope that we have learned from the errors of the past.

Sadly, I do not think we do learn. Sadly, history does tend to repeat itself. In that event, maybe the end of humanity would not be a bad a thing.

Thoughts About Reconciliation

When I was in high school more than 50 years ago, one day I was playing squash with a friend. I whacked a return ball and unfortunately it hit my friend hard in the face. I said I was sorry. He was angry and replied, “Don’t say ‘sorry’. Just don’t do it again!”

There is no doubt in my mind that when Europeans first came here to settle four hundred years ago, they came to what they assumed and believed to be a largely vacant wilderness inhabited by a few “uncivilized” and primitive human beings. They did not perceive themselves as guests in a foreign land.

They were fortunate enough to learn a little about survival in a harsh terrain and climate from the local inhabitants. These initial “settlers” knew nothing about political correctness. Many had come to avoid persecution, repression or dire situations in their homeland. They were migrants. 

This was not the world of universal education, of instant knowledge or political correctness. It was also not a secular society that these people had been fashioned in. Indeed, it was a rigid religious society locked in dogma, doctrine and intolerance. It was a very different world order that they were raised in with very different sensibilities and understanding. There was only one right way to be and that was their way, the Christian way. Of course, it was also a survival of the fittest society.

And for Christians of the day, it was their duty to save souls and see that nonbelievers were saved from hell and eternal damnation, even if it was against the will of the “heathen”, or sinners – even if it hurt. They were doing God’s will as far as they were concerned. Dreadful things have happened and still are happening in the name of religion.

But could the indigenous peoples have continued indefinitely in their ways on a vast continent where there were many “nations”, some warring, and with different cultures, languages, norms and ways of life. Had the French or British not come, others would have. What is painted as an idyllic life for these inhabitants, even if accurate, could not have lasted.

Today we understand what colonization has done to indigenous peoples around the world has caused great harm. We have learned that the way society treated the poor, the mentally challenged, homosexuals, women and many others was not from today’s perspective good. Our perceptions change over time. The Europeans were not inherently bad people.

As a descendant of “settlers”, who arrived on this continent in the late 1600s through to the late 1800s, am I to feel regret for what happened. Yes, I regret it. But I do not feel responsible for it. I am not personally sorry and saying so will change nothing. How does one undo hundreds of years of history. One can’t. And rewriting it will change nothing. One has to adapt and move forward. My Celtic ancestors had to adapt to a variously conquered homeland, invaded by the Norse, and conquered later by the Romans and then the Norman French.

Today migration is happening from all over the world. People of all cultures and colours are coming here to escape the same types of circumstances that brought the early settlers to this continent hundreds of years ago. The indigenous peoples, themselves migrated here at one time thousands of years ago. Indeed, they may not have been the first people to do so, although there seems to be some evidence those earlier people died out.

I am opposed to apartheid in any form. And it seems to me we have two forms of apartheid in Canada, one involves “Indians” and the other “Quebecois”. There is no way forward in separate societies. The preservation of reserves or distinct societies is not the way to preserve a culture. A culture does not do well in a museum.

Just as the people of Newfoundland had to leave the isolated outports if they wished to survive, people will have to leave these isolated and underserviced reserves to survive in places where better health care, better education and better employment opportunities exist.

There is no amount of money that will salve or cure the wounds of old. If money is to be spent, it has to be spent in a way that offers a sustainable future to the people it is intended for. And we have to stop this love affair with victimization, and blame. Life is complex. And it is not stationary.

Moreover, in my opinion, none of us human beings own this land or have a superior right to it. We are caretakers of it. And we have not done a good job. If this planet “belongs” to anyone it belongs to all of creation. And we are not the masters of it, but its servants.

The No Vote Contingent

There are some who tout the fact that "those who did not vote outnumbered those who did in the most recent election" supports the notion that the anti-vaxers are in the majority. It does nothing of the kind. Voter turnout has seldom been exceptional.

Those who did not vote are not a homogenous group in any way shape or form, nor are they unusual. People do not vote for many reasons: they  

·         are complacent,

·         don't find any of our political parties share their values,

·         are anarchists,

·         are unable for health, disability, geographical or financial reasons to get out and vote,

·         are lazy,

·         are busy,

·         are preoccupied with other things more important to them at the moment,

·         are simply forgetful, or  

·         are disaffected for any number of possible reasons.

The no voters could not form a political party because there is no single issue, belief or value that unites them. What this fact might support is the notion that universal democracy is not all it is held up to be.

CBC Article on Paying Someone to Keep Quiet about Racial Discrimination Allegation

Robyn Miller's article about someone being paid to keep quiet about alleged racial discrimination deserves comment. It infuriates me that CBC does not allow this with respect to so many important articles. 

As a retired lawyer there are sound reasons why settlements of legal proceedings usually demand silence by the person alleging a cause of action. Remember that the person is only alleging something that has not been proven to be the case. Legal proceedings are costly in time, money and other resources. People, including governments, settle legal proceedings brought against them for many reasons: often because the cost of defending the claim is not worth it. 

The person alleging some illegal treatment does not have to accept the settlement if they want their day in "court". If they think they should take the risk of proving their case. or not, because they want to go public, then they can do that.  And, on the other hand,  if money and certainty is more important to them, then they are free to accept a settlement. Don't blame the government for wanting to settle and not have to deal with continuing unproven allegations. 

The government's money is our money. And it has to cover many expenses and causes. It must be used frugally and wisely for the benefit of all.

Of Rules and Common Sense

I think people in Ontario and other provinces that have suffered long lockdowns due to Covid should be given a Nobel Prize for stamina, humour and tolerance.

As cases continue to climb here in Nova Scotia, our two week provincial lockdown is going to be extended. Our Premier has stated that more restrictions will likely be added.

It's nothing like what people elsewhere have had to put up with for a great deal longer, but I am beginning to have a sense of being trapped.

It's laughable really. Unlike many, especially in urban settings, I have a lovely garden to sit in, and a wonderful view. There are no cases where we live. And I just rode my bike across the causeway traversing the Annapolis River to the hardware store. This is a trip of less than 2 kilometers by bike and it would be at most two hundred meters if I had a boat.

However, technically, I have broken the law and could be subject to a $2,000 fine since we are not supposed to leave our "municipality".

The hardware store, which I have in my line of vision from our back room, is in Annapolis Royal. This is its own separate “municipality”. We in Granville Ferry are part of the Municipality of Annapolis County: i.e., these are two separate municipalities even though we in Granville Ferry are side by side and our "Municipality" is surrounding Annapolis Royal.

Initially it was that we were not to leave our "community", which was to be defined by "common sense". Rigid rules unfortunately overshadow common sense. Admittedly, common sense is hard to enforce.

Indeed, unless I want to travel 25 kilometers out of my way within the bounds of our Municipality, I have to pass through Annapolis Royal to get to another part of our "Municipality" just three or four kilometers away. Further, our Municipal office is actually located in Annapolis Royal, as are our dentist, pharmacist, medical clinic and Emergency Department, as well as our closest grocery stores and liquor store.

It may be that the law enforcers would exercise common sense; but sadly, typically law enforcement is not prone to such a talent.

Here endeth the rant. And it's a lovely but chilly day.

The Good Life

It is truly sad that there are so many embittered people in the world. And it is even sadder that so many of them are young.

Yet, I see too many of these people who think that a good life should be handed to them on a silver platter, or fall out of the sky into their laps as they lie idle. They are passive participants in life. They expect that life should happen to them.

Although that can occasionally be the outcome, passive people are usually battered around by life’s waves, at the whim of the wind and the currents. They allow themselves to be victims of life rather than champions of it. They are takers rather than givers, pawns rather than players, dreamers rather than doers, doubters rather than optimists.

Dreaming is good. It may even be necessary. But one has to go after those dreams, seize them and make them reality. A rich life is not embodied by wealth or celebrity. But wealth or celebrity need not impede it. A rich life is one that brings satisfaction to one’s sense of self. And there is no better way than to be kind to strangers, giving of one’s self selflessly and forgiving of those who may have intentionally or unintentionally placed obstacles in your way. Forgiveness is a great healer. 

Everyone can make a positive contribution to our world. And no contribution is too small. Be grateful for what one has rather than regretful for what one perceives as lacking. Gratitude is life’s golden chalice. Bitterness and cynicism are life’s poison. They will stifle one, make one shrivel inside and leave one empty.

It has been said that “youth is wasted on the young”. That quote is attributed to several people, including Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. The latter has also claimed “I am not young enough to know everything.” It is a shame that youth denigrates age or that age underestimates youth’s potential. There should be a symbiotic relationship of respect between the two, and then the world might become a better place.

Medical Meltdown

I had a medical meltdown the other day... not about the corona virus, but about the medical system here in general. This is not an issue in Nova Scotia alone however. We are supposed to have universal health care in Canada. For years we did. Our system is often still excellent when it is responding to a crisis in a person’s health – that is in a reactive way. It is not at all good in a proactive way, at least from my experience.

We do not have a doctor here. It does not seem likely that we ever will have one. We would gladly take a nurse practitioner. It is not to be. We have been on a waiting list for several years now. We have not advanced on that list it appears. If we have, the advancement is not meaningful or significant. Part of the problem is availability of doctors outside the dense urban areas. It was the same in Ontario.

When we left Ontario, we gave up a very good family doctor and connexions with many specialists.  However, for years after our doctor there had retired, we were likewise doctorless and on a waiting list that did not seem to be effective. We found a doctor only through a friend’s referral.

It seems to me the answer is fairly simply, more nurse practitioners, greater use of foreign trained doctors and a requirement that people who receive medical training in Canada, which is to a degree subsidized here, have to spend some time in rural medicine, even if it means assigning them, as clergy are often assigned to rural areas.

Here in Nova Scotia we have a community medical clinic nearby. Once it was a hospital, and quite a good one I understand. It no longer is. It still has an Emergency department, when it is staffed and open. Covid has not helped the situation.

My tribulations in relation to the clinic have a long history. I don’t think I have ever been there without stress resulting from the visit. The procedure is never the same twice. One used to be able to get an appointment to see an on duty medical professional. That stopped some time ago, even before Covid. Once I waited three hours to get a referral, and then just as I though my turn was approaching, a sign went up that only emergencies would be seen for the next three hours. I walked out.

Recently, my partner and I both had confirmed appointments for bloodwork at the clinic ten minutes apart. He had booked the appointments online.   Apparently he had spoken on the phone with some doctor, perhaps a nurse, in the process. This person told him not to worry about a requisition; they would look after it. This is a new procedure, possibly arising from the pandemic limits on personal contact.

We arrived at the clinic and my partner went in first, as his appointment was scheduled for ten minutes before mine. We were told on the emailed confirmation form not to enter the clinic until five minutes before our scheduled time.

As my appointed time approached I went in. I was greeted at the door by security and an inquisitor. She said to me, “What are you here for? “Bloodwork”, I said as I passed her my appointment confirmation form. She did not seem to want it. “Where's your requisition?” she asked. I again offered her the paper that said my appointment for 9:20 that morning was confirmed. She asked, “What doctor ordered the bloodwork?” I said “None. I did!  I don't have a doctor. I have an appointment in four minutes. It was booked online.” She said, “Go to the next wicket”.

The next wicket is where one takes a number before sitting down in the waiting room. As I grabbed for the ticket, a woman behind the next screen called out, “Don’t take that! You need a requisition - You'll have to go down to the collaborative practice to get one.” She’d obviously had listened in on the previous conversation.

I went down to the collaborative practice and waited for another several minutes until someone paid attention to my presence! She finally looked up: “Can I help you?” I said, “I need a requisition”. She asked, “For what?” I said “For bloodwork”. “Who's your doctor?” she retorted. I replied, “I don't have one”. She asked, “Do you have an appointment”. “For what?” I said. “To see a doctor about a requisition”, she answered. I said, “No, I have an appointment for bloodwork ten minutes ago. When we booked it online, it did not say I required a requisition.” “Just a minute”, she said with some frustration.

Then a doctor came out and intervened.... He told me to go into his office. The interrogation started again. My blood pressure was rising enough to send a rocket to Venus. “What's it for?” “Why do you need it?” “Who ordered it?” - blah blah blah. If I had a doctor, they would know that I’ve had cancer and am supposed to have my bloodwork taken every year as follow-up.

However, I was fed up. My appointment time had passed anyway and so I stood up. I had been there before for a simple referral and waited more than three hours. I did not want to repeat that. The doctor then said, “Would you like me to start the process for the requisition?”  

I sighed, and said: “No, I am tired of this bloody system” and I walked out.

  

The Baby or the Bath Water

As an adult, with some degree of education and life experience, I cannot believe the childish reaction on Twitter, in the press and from some politicians to the Oprah Winfrey interview of Harry and Meaghan. Someone once said, to put it in perhaps more politically correct terms, “Let them that are without sin cast the first stone.”

Now, I was not there when some unspecified “Senior Royal” uttered  to Harry in private an interest in, or as Harry has interpreted it, a concern about in the colour of the then in vitro baby’s skin. Nor, most likely, were you. I do not know of anyone who would not be curious about such matters in the circumstances. Indeed, it was commonly discussed by people of different races whom I know. I would guess, even for those who dared not voice the question, that it was a matter of curiosity.

This does not make a racist of the individual, let alone of the Institution of Monarchy. One only had to view the on-line Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 8, 2021 to glean that the Royal Family is far from racist. Indeed, they have done more than most other individuals or institutions to improve the lot of marginalized people and to bring together people of all races.

If one could re-write history, what might have happened if Britain had not gone out and colonized the world? Britain has been itself the subject of invasions and colonization throughout its own history: the Scots from Ireland, the Norse, the Romans, the Norman French, and had Hitler be victorious, the Germans. Migration, exploration, and colonization have been the state of the world since time immemorial: e.g. Egypt, Rome, Greece.

Surely some other country would have taken up the rod of colonization, had it not been Britain. Would it have been France, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Holland, Denmark or Germany. All were colonizers. Would it have been China, Russia, the United States or Japan? Would it have been some Middle Eastern or North African Kingdom? Whether it was one or, as was the reality, a combination of these states, the world would certainly have been colonized. And it is being colonized now.

Indeed, we are continuing to colonize. Now, we have reached out into outer space. And so, I suspect, many of you are likely celebrating this achievement.

Migrations are occurring at unprecedented rates caused whether by wars, insurrections, state or religious oppression, famine, economic need or desire, or global climate change. China is colonizing Africa and much of the world through investment and financial aid today. There are always strings attached.

And, sadly, as despicable as it is, slavery has been here too since time immemorial. The human creature is capable of great good and, tragically, of great evil. No race or people have been free from skeleton’s in their collective ancestral closet, and this includes slavery in its various forms: Rome, Greece, Egypt, feudal Europe, most Western countries into the 19^th Century. And slavery or servitude if you prefer, still exists in some countries today. The indigenous peoples of Africa, and North, Central and South America all have had forms of slavery in their past. National and tribal wars persist.

Personally, I am not sure why one should apologize for the sins of one’s fathers (and mothers); but one should learn from them and strive not to repeat them.

A member of the so-called “Republic” in Britain recently held out on Twitter that the United States was the greatest democracy in the last one hundred years. Really? Well then let’s look at that country since 1920. It perpetuated institutional racial segregation, not just systemic discrimination but positive discrimination, well into the 1960s. It currently has unacceptably high rates of poverty and illiteracy for a western democracy. Education and healthcare are out the financial sphere of far too many people in that country. Imprisonment is embarrassingly high and the prisons overflowing. The death penalty is still in place in too many states. Homosexuality is still illegal in some states. Too many are unable to vote due to institutional and financial barriers imposed on them. And most of these failings fall on the shoulders of racialized and marginalized citizens or residents.

Guns are everywhere in that democracy. White Supremacist militias thrive. The country has engaged for years in propping up fascist dictatorships in South and Central America and instituted, with devastating impact on the world, illegal wars, and unproductive economic embargos. It has committed war crimes it won’t acknowledge. It has bullied its neighbours and allies economically. And, recently, it had freely elected one of the most despicable leaders in contemporary world history. The greatest democracy in the world?

Democracy is a vague term. It takes many forms. To hold it out as some immutable and irreproachable form of perfect government and the panacea of world ills is pure folly. The criticism that is being directed at the Monarchy today would be better directed at humanity itself. Let those without fault be critical. But more importantly, let those with fault learn and move on. My granny frequently warned: “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water”.

Pathetic People

I did not watch the Meagan-Harry interview with the Dowager of Gossip on March 7, 2021. But unfortunately, it has been all over the internet this morning.

Where do I start with poor Meagan and Harry.

Meagan claims that she didn't know that she was expected to curtsey to the Queen when she met her. Yet, at the time, she was engaged to a Senior Member of the Royal Family who knows the Royal protocols well. So then, who's fault was that. Had Harry explained nothing to her? How naïve. 

She claims that an unspecified senior member of the family had voiced concern, or was it simply an interest, in Archie's possible skin colour. Personally, I don't know anyone who wasn't  curious about that. I very much doubt there was concern – possibly amusement by an elder at the prospect of a Black Royal. As for the suggestion that “the Palace” is racist, one only has to view this year’s inspirational Commonwealth Day celebrations on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cqI8-iBkJ4 to glean that this accusation is rubbish.

They claim they had to escape the media attention in Britain and that they sought privacy by moving to the United States – world capital of trash media and invasion of privacy. Then they seek out Hollywood style attention in Netflix and Spotify and whine on very public television to the Queen of media gossip.  

Harry complains about not getting financial support after he quit “the Firm”. I am not sure how many people get paid after they quit a job. I certainly didn’t, after working many more years than Harry has put in as a working Royal. 

Then they complain about no continuing security service by the British Government after they voluntarily move halfway across the globe into the arms of a different country.  Give your heads a shake!

And Harry whines that Daddy, who is a very busy man, won't  talk to him after Harry has attempted to undermine him at every turn. Oh dear, how nasty.

The Duke and Duchess of Netflix! Poor them.