Apathy’s consequences are borne by the “less powerful…”
Excerpt and ending comment by
Carolyn Bennett
From the mind of the young—HEAR! HEAR!
Responding to an international affairs, war and peace segment on last week’s “The
Sunday Edition” with Michael Enright and Peace Studies Professor Paul Rogers,
Heather Mitchell penned a message to Canadians which might equally have been
addressed to their southern neighbors and their educational leaders and learners.
Indented are Heather Mitchell’s words
pegged to questions raised in the earlier program and the issue of endless western
aggression in the Middle East: “How do we change? How do we get
Canadians more politically involved? How do we return to a peacekeeping role,
rather than acting as a U.S. WAR ally?” She writes:
As someone who has
spent her entire life as part of the Canadian educational system, it is not
surprising to me that Canadians are mostly indifferent when it comes to
politics. Apart from being a generally wealthy and safe population, which in
itself often leads to political disinterest, the most obvious problem to me is
how devoid our public education system is of any sort of world issues, politics
or current events discussion.
 |
| World issues are Domestic issues |
From ages 5 to 18, the
young people of Canada are being brought up in an environment largely devoid of
any interaction with the rest of the world.
We are not graduating
with strong political knowledge, awareness, or any value for activism. There is
generally no space or time during the school day to discuss what’s in the news—what
Canada is doing militarily, politically or socially, other world events, or
even any current issues in our local communities.
The result is that young people are being raised with the idea that these are not important or necessary to learn about, an attitude I think has a high chance of carrying into their adult lives.
Along with the U.S.,
due to our power and wealth, we have the luxury of being apathetic citizens
without dealing with the results. Largely, it seems to me, we export the
consequences onto other, less powerful countries.
As a young person now
beginning to enter adult life, and soon eligible to vote in the next federal
election, I feel wholly unprepared to participate in Canadian politics. Judging
by Canada’s abysmal youth voting numbers, I am not alone.
Hearing the
announcement of our plans to bomb Syria was the last straw of my country acting
in ways I do not endorse. I do not feel proud to be a Canadian, when I hear of
our government acting this way.
However I feel lost
and disconnected from any means of having my voice heard. I would be very
interested in hearing how I, as a Canadian citizen, can learn more about my
country. As high school students, I think our contact with reality and the outside
world, is limited to the point of being dangerous.”
I know as much as
anyone how hard it is to convince young people to learn anything they are not
interested in. I want to figure out how we might be able to change the culture
of our public schools from one of disconnected, theoretical, text-book
learning, to one of participation, involvement, and interest in Canada and the
world. [End quote]
W
|
ell said, wise words, critical warning to a sleeping, chronically
distracted, sadly obliviously dangerously ignorant people of North America let
loose upon the world.
Alone among global masses one cannot rise from an economic poverty
imposed and perpetuated by inordinate power, armed power and wealth, such as that
which rises from Western nations; it’s like a giant iron foot being placed on
the necks of the vulnerable. But alone a people can surely rise from the
poverty and destructiveness of deliberate ignorance.
Sources and notes
“Upper v. lower; Jihadi Town; Listener mail; The untold story of
psychiatry; Reciting poetry,” The Sunday Edition April 26, 2015, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/upper-v-lower-jihadi-town-listener-mail-the-untold-story-of-psychiatry-reciting-poetry-1.3045391
Last week The Sunday Edition’s Michael Enright spoke with University
of Bradford (UK) Peace Studies Professor Paul Rogers about “Canada’s decision
to embark on an expanded campaign against ‘ISIS,’” which involves Canada in “the
intractable civil conflict and humanitarian disaster that is Syria.” Among the
e-mail responses to that episode was one from Ottawa high school 12th-grader Heather
Mitchell. On invitation from The Sunday Edition, she recorded her letter at the
CBC studio in Ottawa.
Listener Mail, Sunday April 19, 2015, posted April 26, 2015, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/borgen-armenian-genocide-listener-mail-robert-harris-on-the-great-american-songbook-1.3037372/listener-mail-1.3037516
William Thomas Gaddis, Jr. (December 29, 1922 – December 16,
1998) was an American novelist, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gaddis
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A lifelong American writer and writer/activist (former academic and staffer with the U.S. government in Washington), Dr. Carolyn LaDelle Bennett is credentialed in education and print journalism and public affairs (PhD, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; MA, The American University, Washington, DC). Her work concerns itself with news and current affairs, historical contexts, and ideas particularly related to acts and consequences of U.S. foreign relations, geopolitics, human rights, war and peace, and violence and nonviolence. Dr. Bennett is an internationalist and nonpartisan progressive personally concerned with society and the common good. An educator at heart, her career began with the U.S. Peace Corps, teaching in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Since then, she has authored several books and numerous current-affairs articles; her latest book: UNCONSCIONABLE: How The World Sees Us: World News, Alternative Views, Commentary on U.S. Foreign Relations; most thoughts, articles, edited work are posted at Bennett’s Study: http://todaysinsightnews.blogspot.com/ and on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/08UNCONSCIONABLE/prweb12131656.htm http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000757788/UNCONSCIONABLE.aspx Her books are also available at independent bookstores in New York State: Lift Bridge in Brockport; Sundance in Geneseo; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center in Buffalo; Burlingham Books in Perry; The Bookworm in East Aurora
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