I watched the movie "Man of the Year" over the weekend. I was excited to see this movie because Robin Williams is an amazing actor and Barry Levinson had done fantastic things with Good Morning Vietnam and Wag the Dog. What I got out of it was a pretty good movie about politics and society and Williams once again showed his comic gifts. It was not the political message or the warnings against apathy that struck me the most about this movie, instead a line which to most probably would have been lost against the overall themes of the movie. Not to give away too much but Williams, as a independent presidential candidate while speaking on Saturday Night Live tells the audience, "Don't look for change just for the sake of change."
From my own individual perspective as a Canadian male, whose life and family has been blessed with many gifts this quote weighed heavily upon my mind. Of course change is tough, humans are creatures of habit who often seek to make life easier on themselves. "Don't fix what ain't broke" and thats an important idea to keep in mind, especially within the Canadian perspective.
Canadians have it pretty well, thats not to say we do not have a long way to go with obesity, consumption, poverty and wealth distribution but we do have a society which does a lot of things well and for that we must be eternally grateful.
That does not mean we should not embrace and seek change, instead it requires a critical approach and a open mind which is willing to weigh options and seek to strive for the best possible outcomes for a greater good. Change is important and ultimately effective with an end goal, a vision or creed in which to temper and guide decisions.
Change is good, it allows us all to progress and to evolve. It allows us to reach our potential as humans and to connect with the world around us. In the end though if it is at all possible, let us change for the better because sometimes the status quo is not all that bad when compared to a step backwards for the sake of change.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
A Response to Virginia Tech
Today is a day marked by tragedy and death. 31 individuals so far have perished and many more lay in hospital as a gun wielding person opened fire at Virginia Tech University. As I sit here at Mount Allison University preparing for an exam and writing a paper, academics seem so far away.
Death on such a scale is incomprehensible to those who have no experienced it in close proximity and there is no doubt this event will emotionally damage all who experienced it. Tragedy at the hands of humans is a difficult subject to address, as humans intuitively seek guilty parties in these situation. More specifically they seek to place blame on an individual in order to exact some sort of punishment or receive some sort of compensation or retribution.
I cannot sit here and condone actions such as this or the Oklahoma City Bombing, September 11 or the Columbine School Shooting but I do wish to present a idea which is not often covered in these situations. Individually, yes Timothy McVeigh, Dylan Klebold, Eric Harris, Osama Bin Laden et al. must take responsibility for their actions but collectively I believe as a society a degree of collective blame can be shared. Security measures can discourage these type of acts and measure such as stepping up security at airports is a important step but in the end are reactive solutions to the situations in which causes lay deeper than the surface. More police officers and more metal detectors do not address the root of these problems. Disillusioned and depressed youth and the feeling of oppression and adoption of extremist religious paradigms by Muslim groups are solved purely by troops, metal detectors and more police officers but instead can be addressed solution based problem solving.
Tragedies are tragedies and need to be addressed at their root cause. By focusing on the cause of these events, not basing our reactions upon the effect. In the end dehumanizing these individuals is problematic and does not allow for the true effect of this upon society. It allows for the true root cause to be ignored and allows for a moral pass on the situation. The problem is not resolved and shootings, bombings and terrorist attacks continue. Collective responsibility through individual acceptance of the frailty of humanity is key to responding to these tragedies and moving on in the pursuit of the removal of violence and destruction as ways in which to respond to real or perceived persecution. In tragic times, where violence or suffering occurs humanity, empathy and understanding are far more effective than responding with the emotions which caused that tragedy in the first place. My prayers are with the friends and family of those victims of this destructive act.
Death on such a scale is incomprehensible to those who have no experienced it in close proximity and there is no doubt this event will emotionally damage all who experienced it. Tragedy at the hands of humans is a difficult subject to address, as humans intuitively seek guilty parties in these situation. More specifically they seek to place blame on an individual in order to exact some sort of punishment or receive some sort of compensation or retribution.
I cannot sit here and condone actions such as this or the Oklahoma City Bombing, September 11 or the Columbine School Shooting but I do wish to present a idea which is not often covered in these situations. Individually, yes Timothy McVeigh, Dylan Klebold, Eric Harris, Osama Bin Laden et al. must take responsibility for their actions but collectively I believe as a society a degree of collective blame can be shared. Security measures can discourage these type of acts and measure such as stepping up security at airports is a important step but in the end are reactive solutions to the situations in which causes lay deeper than the surface. More police officers and more metal detectors do not address the root of these problems. Disillusioned and depressed youth and the feeling of oppression and adoption of extremist religious paradigms by Muslim groups are solved purely by troops, metal detectors and more police officers but instead can be addressed solution based problem solving.
Tragedies are tragedies and need to be addressed at their root cause. By focusing on the cause of these events, not basing our reactions upon the effect. In the end dehumanizing these individuals is problematic and does not allow for the true effect of this upon society. It allows for the true root cause to be ignored and allows for a moral pass on the situation. The problem is not resolved and shootings, bombings and terrorist attacks continue. Collective responsibility through individual acceptance of the frailty of humanity is key to responding to these tragedies and moving on in the pursuit of the removal of violence and destruction as ways in which to respond to real or perceived persecution. In tragic times, where violence or suffering occurs humanity, empathy and understanding are far more effective than responding with the emotions which caused that tragedy in the first place. My prayers are with the friends and family of those victims of this destructive act.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
After about a million attempts and the general malaise that dominates my life I have finally entered the bloggosphere or whatever you computer types call this world of posting random stuff.
I figure if half the people out there have something worthwhile to say and half do not then I probably fit somewhere in the middle and therefore should have one of these things. I hope most of my stuff on here will be philosophically, politically or intellectually stimulating but if I do something dumb or one of my friends do then I will not shy away from sharing it.
My first post will be on Alexander Solzhenitsyn and how he not only gave me the name for my blog but also for the topic of my first blog post.
If you have a few minutes check this link out.......It is his 1978 Address to Harvard's incoming first year class.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn author of such works as the Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich addressed a Harvard commencement ceremony in the late 1970's with this speech. Many expected him to praise the freedom and openness of Western society as he had spent much of his life in Soviet prison camps, forced while suffering from cancer to perform menial tasks. Instead Solzhenitsyn produced a biting criticism of the absence of courage and individual responsibility within that same society. That following only a legal structure and not a personal set of goals, morals and restraints cannot in itself form a society where freedom and greatness can exist. A statesman is not able to be truly great as if he/she wishes to attempt such a feat their every action is greatly questioned and scrutinized. Decadence, overzealous pursuit of happiness and contentment, instant gratification have become part of Western development. The demand for instantanious and continuous news and information has created within the media a need for guesswork, acceptance of rumors and information with hardly credible sources. These and many other ideas have created a something in which he believes should not be placed on a pedestal and questions the preponderance of the Western countries to attempt to spread this way of life internationally.
Pretty heavy stuff.........and while some of his beliefs are hard to swallow, such an extreme view can often be pretty effective in making one look long and hard at oneself and question what they believe. If at the end of the day that can be done well the human spirit is alive and well and those evils Solzhenitsyn spoke of perhaps could be kept at bay for a while.
I figure if half the people out there have something worthwhile to say and half do not then I probably fit somewhere in the middle and therefore should have one of these things. I hope most of my stuff on here will be philosophically, politically or intellectually stimulating but if I do something dumb or one of my friends do then I will not shy away from sharing it.
My first post will be on Alexander Solzhenitsyn and how he not only gave me the name for my blog but also for the topic of my first blog post.
If you have a few minutes check this link out.......It is his 1978 Address to Harvard's incoming first year class.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn author of such works as the Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich addressed a Harvard commencement ceremony in the late 1970's with this speech. Many expected him to praise the freedom and openness of Western society as he had spent much of his life in Soviet prison camps, forced while suffering from cancer to perform menial tasks. Instead Solzhenitsyn produced a biting criticism of the absence of courage and individual responsibility within that same society. That following only a legal structure and not a personal set of goals, morals and restraints cannot in itself form a society where freedom and greatness can exist. A statesman is not able to be truly great as if he/she wishes to attempt such a feat their every action is greatly questioned and scrutinized. Decadence, overzealous pursuit of happiness and contentment, instant gratification have become part of Western development. The demand for instantanious and continuous news and information has created within the media a need for guesswork, acceptance of rumors and information with hardly credible sources. These and many other ideas have created a something in which he believes should not be placed on a pedestal and questions the preponderance of the Western countries to attempt to spread this way of life internationally.
Pretty heavy stuff.........and while some of his beliefs are hard to swallow, such an extreme view can often be pretty effective in making one look long and hard at oneself and question what they believe. If at the end of the day that can be done well the human spirit is alive and well and those evils Solzhenitsyn spoke of perhaps could be kept at bay for a while.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
