take Harper for example, Clayton Ruby is trying to get 25,000 signatures on a petition so that there can be a fair debate in the HOuse of Commons about the tar sands...but do you think that many I asked to sign did so??? NO...
So it begs the question, why? Too busy, too afraid, or the worst, "just don't care"?
Big thank you to those who did sign.
People don't want to know about these issues. Knowing means acknowledging that their way of life has fundamental problems and needs to change. Getting along from day to day is enough for many people without trying to think about how they might change the way that they live.
ReplyDeleteThe petition, located at http://org.salsalabs.com/o/281/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14060, currently has 7748 signatures. Hopefully it reaches 25,000.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that people are not always apathetic. Sometimes people get very passionate, to the point that government will actually change policy or reverse its course. A few instances:
1.) Opposition to "Canada Bill C-51 – Regulating Natural Health Products", first proposed by Tony Clement, caused the federal government to drop this initiative.
2.) Ontario Liberals (McGuinty) initially stating the Lord's Prayer would be replaced with something better reflecting diversity, but then retreating after receiving a backlash from some people (they kept the Lord's Prayer as the default and added another list of rotating recitations instead).
3.) Ontario Liberals (McGuinty) backing away from making changes to the Highway Traffic Act that would restrict young driver’s with their G2 licences from driving with other young people 19 years of age or younger.
4.) Ontario Liberals proposing changes to sex education, but then retreating after facing a backlash from some people.
In the first case, it was primarily alternative practitioners and the peddlers of such drugs and/or foodstuffs that reacted to the possibility of there being gov't regulation of these materials and their claims. In the second instance, it was primarily Christians who reacted. In the third, it was primarily youth who reacted. In the fourth, well, I guess those who feel kids learning of sex on their own via the internet is preferable to actually properly teaching it in class.
So, people are not apathetic when it comes to something that they feel affects them personally.
Great points. What concerns me is what about things that don't affect people directly but negatively affect others? HOw do we get people to care about others?
DeleteSome of the initiatives above should have been pursued despite the opposition that was expressed (certainly #4).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yeah, how do we get people to care about others? Hard to say. I think the current NDP are right to focus on how social democracy can be beneficial to us all, rather than portraying it as simply an additional social conscience burden on average people to help the underprivileged. After all, if the majority wouldn't benefit from a government more focused on egalitarianism, like the NDP, then they shouldn't vote for them.
The fact is we are all "underprivileged" when it's one of the two big business parties in power. We'd all do better with a social democratic country. The problem here though is most people don't consider themselves "underprivileged" (IE, in need of help). So, it will be interesting to see if this works for the NDP (Layton certainly had some success with this). See http://affordable.ndp.ca/
Apart from party politics, there are people who do great things but I think they are few and far between. What motivates those who consider the world around them and then do something about it and 80% of the others who don't either care or are not motivated to do anything...even something as simple as signing a petition.
ReplyDeleteI've already received two fundraising requests surrounding the above petition, asking for money to support a lawsuit that Ruby is leading.
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