Actions not Words: How to Realize the Ideals of One World

This past week has seen two demonstrations of the growing desire for peace, justice and unity between human beings on a universal scale, and I am left with no doubt as to the sincerity of the people who made them happen.

The first, was the One World show, which was a very impressive gathering and, in many cases, a fusion of cultural traditions with the expressed intent of building a sense of togetherness and unity between people of diverse cultures. I remember being particularly moved by the show’s motto (“one love, one people, one world”), which hung above the stage the entire time as people from all manner of backgrounds showed their diverse talents in one place. The second was Earth Hour, which was truly a worldwide phenomenon, with the University of Guelph being part of this global effort to raise awareness about climate change and its global implications for all of humankind. The coordination of this event around the world shows that people do care and that people are increasingly seeing the world in a broader and more inclusive sense – this is a beautiful thing.

However, while I support these efforts, let me also say without hesitation that they are not enough. They are not nearly enough and I think people generally know that, but given the commonality of the sad tendency of resorting to band-aid “solutions”, feel-good events, and awareness campaigns in modern progressive circles, I feel the need to offer some serious criticism and some suggestions which I hope people will consider in the future – because if we rely exclusively on the present methods being used (that I have just mentioned), the “one love, one people, one world” vision can never be realized. If we want something so profound – just as people who have wanted something profound throughout history have had to do – we have to be willing to fight for it.

Consumerism as a discouragement of Direct Democracy

Consumers do not make good citizens. Anyone who would not inconvenience themselves for the sake of society cannot be called a good citizen and since the life of the consumer is ruled by convenience and the desire for convenience than they can hardly be called good citizens who will actively participate in society beyond their immediate circle of friends and relations.

Canada as a Human Homeland

Canadian identity has been a nagging problem ever since Confederation. When Canadians ask what distinguishes us most from the Americans, many would immediately say “multiculturalism” and explain that unlike them we do not try to assimilate our immigrants but generally leave them alone to follow whatever tradition they wish to follow. While the rhetoric is pretty clear, the substance of the matter is somewhat different. While the Americans do have a much clearer idea of what it means to be an American and they do attempt to indoctrinate their immigrants a lot more than we do, they still have an incredibly multi-cultural society. One look at the influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico will tell you what a laughingstock the idea of a single “national” culture in the United States is. When (predominantly) white Americans talk about holding onto American culture and American “values” they are really missing the point – their citizens follow just as many creeds, cultures, languages, value systems, belief systems etc. as Canadians do. They may talk tough and say that they are united under a single way of thinking and “the American Way” of life but they are not and they never really were to begin with. So basically Canada and the United States are both multi-cultural societies and only the political rhetoric and political cultures are different.

Cynicism and Inspiration: A Call to Action

There has been a lot of talk about the level of cynicism in this country, perhaps too much talk, and almost always centered on the youth and their stubborn unwillingness to participate in the political process. Parents who grew up in the euphoria of the Trudeau years and who vote as a matter of course seem to be wondering where they went wrong and why their kids are so apathetic or hopeless about politics. Voter turnout is lower than it has ever been, we all know that, and yet (for all the efforts of those people who encourage young people to vote for the sake of voting [remember the “I care, I vote” pins?]) nothing seems to work, government does not change, and the system remains the same, so what do we do now?

Politics of the Future

The politics of the future will be the politics of finding the optimal balance between individual and collective and to provide the best possible reconciliation between the individualistic and social aspects of humankind. We cannot expect perfection, only a perpetual process of improvement and adjustment.

Ireland as Universal State

Stereotypical views of Ireland run deep and misunderstandings abound: an emerald isle awash in myths, legends and faerie stories, and steeped in a highly marketable (and misleadingly uniform) “Gaelic” culture hardly does justice to the complexity of this land and its people. Few people would consider Ireland to be a universal state (basically a multi-ethnic state with an inclusive ideology) but its history makes it a surprisingly good candidate for this status. While there are those in Ireland who wish to keep that land exclusively for Celts (“the real Irish” as they mistakenly say), they are blind to their own ancestry and the intermixing of blood and culture that gave rise to the Irish people and made them what they are today.

Unhealthy Skepticism

The liberal status quo thrives off of the demise of communism because they know that as soon as any great progressive idea is put to the test of public opinion, the people can be counted on to skeptically reply: “I’ll believe it when I see it,” or cynically condemn it as a “pipe dream”. Therefore they will leave the progressive thinker with the nigh impossible task of building a new model society without any popular support. It is no wonder that the liberals and conservatives who make up the backbone of modern politics think that they will remain in power indefinitely – for they are the only choice and in the absence of socialism or any other progressive ideology no one really questions their domineering authority over a political system which, likewise, no one seriously challenges. Indeed, the only things that are challenged and seriously questioned are the alternatives put forward by others.
When liberalism and conservatism rose to power, and particularly in the case of liberalism, people were willing to believe in new ideals and were willing to sacrifice for new ideals (we have to remember that modernity did not emerge overnight but through a long and bloody period of trial and error spanning over two centuries). The skepticism that is so prevalent now essentially keeps the outmoded ideals of the 18th and 19th centuries in power because few people are willing to believe in and almost no one is willing to sacrifice for new ideas – essentially they are unwilling to endure the period of trial and error required to build a new and better world order and therefore they stunt the growth of humankind. This situation permits world leaders such as George W. Bush to advance their reactionary agendas with impunity regardless of how much the general public despises them. It is impermissible that such a situation should continue. Humanity must advance.