I heard on the news last night that the PC's were on a mission to Washington to tell the powers that be down der that our province is environmentally responsible in the oil sands. Some ducks had a mission and a message of their own for the world.
My friend Mike Hudema has been in the news lately (last night on behalf of said ducks) and I find myself defending him. Which is so freaking frustrating. I am not sure why it is that people older than me need to say things like, "one day he'll learn" or "When will he stop fighting against things he has no control over? Doesn't he see what a waste it all is?"
What Greenpeace did at the Conservative convention pissed a lot of people off, I know, but why? I commend those activists for standing up for what they believe in. They are trying make Albertans aware of what nobody seems to want to talk about. Is being aware really that bad? Clearly, a lot of people don't care for awareness.
All I said to those older folks, with their angry, closed-minded bobble heads tsk, tsk, tsking, was, "Mike will fight for as long as he draws breath, that I am sure. What I want to know is why you're not outraged too" Sadly, I lost the taste for hard core activism some time ago and pussied out because fighting against the system is hard work. Harder work than most people do in their life time.
I will be very sad the day Mike Hudema no longer gets up in the grill of politicians and I want to say his willingness to fight has always impressed me. He questions humanity in a way few people do anymore, we just want life to be simple and easy. I know I don't really want to know the real impact of the Oil sands project because it scares the beejebus out of me. What are we doing to our province? I hope he never gives up like I did. He's a very strong advocate and he deserves to be recognized for that. Even if you don't agree with his politics, he's the kind of person who engages people in debate, and in this province we don't have enough of that.
"Don't move
Don't talk out of time
Don't think
Don't worry
Everything's just fine...just fine..."
'Numb' by U2
Don't worry
Everything's just fine...just fine..."
'Numb' by U2
Song Du Jour: Never There by Cake
1 comment:
While agree with you that it's good to have people like Mike Hudema creating awareness of the environment and various other causes my only question is what part of the Alberta population is he trying to spread he message to? Let's face it, Alberta is a hick province where people only start to care about something when it affects them personnally (not in my backyard). Martha and Henry Albertan could care less about the environment or any other cause unless something happens (tornado, power line, toxic slug) to them personnally. So, instead of trying to be in people's faces and trying to create awareness shouldn't Mike and Greeenpeace's strategy instead be a little more subtle. It's kind like a commercial or tv show. If the commercial or tv show comes off being loud and abbrasive (which Martha and Henry Albertan feel about Mike and Greenpeace) they will tune out and make some ignorant comment like he's crazy, dumb ass, what a goof etc. However, if the commercial or tv show is more subtle then people will be more inclined to tune in to the message.
Post a Comment