RIP Michael Jackson jokes.
Like with every other major celebrity we chide incessantly, apparently this isn't funny anymore. Millions of people around the world will spend today looking back at the masterful music videos he created, which launched almost everything we know about music today. Many will try and forget that they spent the past few years of his career making nothing but jokes about him. Others will try to forget that they made fun of his incurable conditions. Most will try to forget that they refused to let a man, proven innocent in court, live down the false accusations against him.
His art will outlast these cruelties, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for he himself.
I met a woman in a coffee shop last summer that spent a good hour talking about Michael Jackson to me, that was probably the extent of what I ever really talked about him before today. She, in a bit of a paranoid moment, insisted that the US government made Jackson crazy on purpose after 1985 so that he could not become President one day. That, was insane. What isn't insane, is that little by little, we the public contribute to the sadness and loneliness of the figures which - according to our overall reaction today as a society - make us very happy. Either we chide those who just 'seem to be asking for it', or we say nothing when those around us do.
I have laughed at my fair share of Jackson jokes, so I'm no better - at least I think I have, as none were very memorable. Maybe I haven't, but I could have seen myself doing so. I never really listened to his music, so I don't really have that childhood connection to him. But he made a big impact on me, when he was able to sit through all those trials, accused of something he did not do, and remain quiet and polite. To me, he was wacky brave. Braver than most, including myself, who sometimes shrink behind our lesser natures when exposed to something or someone that makes us feel uncomfortable, that seems strange to us, or that gives us an outlet for our own issues.
Let there be less bullies in heaven than you found here on earth, Mr. Jackson.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
STOP LYING: Canadian Health Care DOESN'T Suck
I love Canadian health care. It is fantastic. Most nations accept that public defenders, judges and government attorneys/prosecutors are a good thing - that everyone should have a professional to care for their political/social self - and I believe the same philosophy applies to public doctors - that everyone should have top notch professionals to care for their physical selves. In my opinion, public courts with private health care is akin to admitting that social health is a "right", but physical health is not. That, to me, is ridiculous.
The above idea is my philosophy on health care. The ideas below are my politics:
Just a brief note to anyone who needs to hear it: Canadian health care does not suck. Personally, I have no horse in the race for fixing American health care. If the American people want private health care, then it doesn't affect me in anyway. I have Canadian health care - it's free and it keeps my nation extremely healthy.
What bothers me however, are the lies being spread about how Canadians in general feel about health care. Well, all I can do is give one Canadian's personal experiences with health care...
If I get sick, I have a few options. I can go to any of the medical centers located within easy traveling distance (often walking distance) of my home and see a doctor within an hour or so - usually less. If I am really sick, I can go to the emergency room - one of the six emergency rooms located within twenty minutes of my house in Montreal. When I lived in the suburbs of Edmonton, Alberta, I had about the same number of emergency rooms within a twenty minute drive of my home. The wait time at the regular doctor in Alberta was even less. Emergency room wait times, in my experience are usually less than a few hours. On a busy night, or at a particularly busy hospital, these go up to about six hours - but that's rare. In any case, basic medical centers with regular doctors were open until late into the night, so one rarely went to the emergency room.
I don't fill out insurance forms, I just show my health care card. If I've never been to a particular place before, I fill out a medical history, but that's it. My health care covers 80% of all drug costs. As an Alberta resident still, I pay absolutely nothing - no premiums, nothing - for basic health care. Blue cross there, which covers dental, optical and drugs - costs a bit, but as a university student I am covered under the plan my college has.
If I want a second opinion, I just go to see another doctor. In Quebec things are a bit different, as I have to pay 60 dollars each time I see a doctor up front, which gets sent back to me through the mail by the Alberta government. Still though, no insurance forms. The doctors are professional, efficient, and get things right as much as possible. I love my health care in Canada, as much as the Rocky Mountains, Montreal nightlife, or my career. Perhaps not more than my girlfriend though - though she is also Canadian, so whatever.
Nevertheless, any complaints about Canadian health care should be taken within the context of wanting improvements to the current system, not a desire for a different one. Governments here have been thrown out of office, or nearly so, at the mere mention of privatization. Except in Alberta, my home province, where a small amount of privatization has occurred - and where the government just announced that it was getting rid of any kind of premium at all (the first province in Canada to do so). People only go to the private doctor if they want a test done sooner rather than later, which they very rarely do.
I take offense to any mischaracterizations of the Canadian health care system and how the general population feels about it. I feel it is a matter of patriotism to dismiss such a besmirching of our reputation. Americans have their Right to bear arms, we have our Right to health care - both are matters each country should hold dear. American supporters of private health care can battle with supporters of public health care in their country as much as they want to within their own country - but STOP bringing us into it unless you characterize things more honestly!!!
And no, I am not saying "please".
The above idea is my philosophy on health care. The ideas below are my politics:
Just a brief note to anyone who needs to hear it: Canadian health care does not suck. Personally, I have no horse in the race for fixing American health care. If the American people want private health care, then it doesn't affect me in anyway. I have Canadian health care - it's free and it keeps my nation extremely healthy.
What bothers me however, are the lies being spread about how Canadians in general feel about health care. Well, all I can do is give one Canadian's personal experiences with health care...
If I get sick, I have a few options. I can go to any of the medical centers located within easy traveling distance (often walking distance) of my home and see a doctor within an hour or so - usually less. If I am really sick, I can go to the emergency room - one of the six emergency rooms located within twenty minutes of my house in Montreal. When I lived in the suburbs of Edmonton, Alberta, I had about the same number of emergency rooms within a twenty minute drive of my home. The wait time at the regular doctor in Alberta was even less. Emergency room wait times, in my experience are usually less than a few hours. On a busy night, or at a particularly busy hospital, these go up to about six hours - but that's rare. In any case, basic medical centers with regular doctors were open until late into the night, so one rarely went to the emergency room.
I don't fill out insurance forms, I just show my health care card. If I've never been to a particular place before, I fill out a medical history, but that's it. My health care covers 80% of all drug costs. As an Alberta resident still, I pay absolutely nothing - no premiums, nothing - for basic health care. Blue cross there, which covers dental, optical and drugs - costs a bit, but as a university student I am covered under the plan my college has.
If I want a second opinion, I just go to see another doctor. In Quebec things are a bit different, as I have to pay 60 dollars each time I see a doctor up front, which gets sent back to me through the mail by the Alberta government. Still though, no insurance forms. The doctors are professional, efficient, and get things right as much as possible. I love my health care in Canada, as much as the Rocky Mountains, Montreal nightlife, or my career. Perhaps not more than my girlfriend though - though she is also Canadian, so whatever.
Nevertheless, any complaints about Canadian health care should be taken within the context of wanting improvements to the current system, not a desire for a different one. Governments here have been thrown out of office, or nearly so, at the mere mention of privatization. Except in Alberta, my home province, where a small amount of privatization has occurred - and where the government just announced that it was getting rid of any kind of premium at all (the first province in Canada to do so). People only go to the private doctor if they want a test done sooner rather than later, which they very rarely do.
I take offense to any mischaracterizations of the Canadian health care system and how the general population feels about it. I feel it is a matter of patriotism to dismiss such a besmirching of our reputation. Americans have their Right to bear arms, we have our Right to health care - both are matters each country should hold dear. American supporters of private health care can battle with supporters of public health care in their country as much as they want to within their own country - but STOP bringing us into it unless you characterize things more honestly!!!
And no, I am not saying "please".
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Hockey Night in Can#$%
"Fucking rights!"
"Fucking A!"
These were the eternal words uttered aloud as several of the Pittsburgh Penguins lifted grand old Lord Stanley above their heads in celebration of their championship season. After winning a Game 7 match against a team that has been heralded as the dynasty of our generation, these young men were more than pleased with themselves. They were fucking overjoyed, damn it.
The words were broadcast live, unedited, on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. There were no apologies, there were no words of condemnation from the broadcasters - there was no public outcry in the morning papers the following day. I was immediately interested to see what NBC was doing in the face of this obstacle - foul language coming from a team named after a popular, stuffed children's toy. But the US station was not filming each player as they took up the 'greatest championship trophy in all of sports'. They were running interviews, one on one, with each player after each player had handed it to their next colleague.
But try as they might, the US stations could not capture the same pure emotion and joy from the players as the old CBC did by just showing each player take the trophy for the first (or but second, or but third) time in their lives. It was like if NBC had cut away from Michael Phelps the very moment he touched the wall for another gold medal, or from the baseball diamond the second the final pitch had been thrown out during the final game of the World Series. In other sports, the celebration occurs immediately following the victory itself, while in the NHL, the real celebration does not begin until the player can place his fingerprints on the luster of the Cup.
In hockey, there is no censorship. In hockey, people curse. In hockey, people fight. In hockey, no one cares who's listening. In a time where the Super Bowl can end with more people talking about a momentary 'wardrobe malfunction' than the actual score of the game, or who won the darn thing, it is refreshing to see something real. It is nice to be able to love the moment without having to deal with the word police.
It has been a week in sports that may outshine any other week this decade. Federer finally won at Roland Garros, to complete his career grand slam. Tiger Woods finally racked up a significant win this season at Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament. Kobe Bryant is having a career series against the Magic. And the Penguins, with their roster of young guns and the sage Lemieux watching from high up in the owner's box, were able to fill the Stanley Cup with the dozens of bottles of Veuve Clicquot awaiting them in the locker room.
Sport is both a virtue and a vice. Children learn team skills and how to make friends, how to win and how to lose, playing sports. Then, some of those children grow up to destroy their lives betting on the same games they loved so much as a kid. Sports can make a grown man weep. They can also induce thousands of people to riot. This twin nature of sport, is an essential part of why we love our games so much. The words of our heroes, however crude, are still the words of our heroes.
The majority of television played on TV sets in Canada, is American television. Most sports broadcast in Canada are merely rebroadcasting a US network feed. Most of our television shows, are made and broadcast in America, only then rebroadcast to the rest of the world. Yet the American stations can rarely capture something the same way the CBC did last night, because censorship reigns in America.
It makes me wonder how much we are missing, when the nation that controls much of the news, sports and programming beamed into our homes is one that cuts away from impassioned moments out of fear that someone may become offended. A nation that will publicize the trash website of James von Brunn for days, but cannot bring itself to capture the true reactions of heroic men doing heroic things.
George Carlin once said that without street language, the emphatic nature of any situation will be lost - making things less compelling. And who the fuck wants to live in a less compelling world? Champange and curse words belong together sometimes. Just as much as television, and real life, often don't. There is a bit of a lie in every space a curseword is removed. Not that TV would ever lie to us... just saying.
"Fucking A!"
These were the eternal words uttered aloud as several of the Pittsburgh Penguins lifted grand old Lord Stanley above their heads in celebration of their championship season. After winning a Game 7 match against a team that has been heralded as the dynasty of our generation, these young men were more than pleased with themselves. They were fucking overjoyed, damn it.
The words were broadcast live, unedited, on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. There were no apologies, there were no words of condemnation from the broadcasters - there was no public outcry in the morning papers the following day. I was immediately interested to see what NBC was doing in the face of this obstacle - foul language coming from a team named after a popular, stuffed children's toy. But the US station was not filming each player as they took up the 'greatest championship trophy in all of sports'. They were running interviews, one on one, with each player after each player had handed it to their next colleague.
But try as they might, the US stations could not capture the same pure emotion and joy from the players as the old CBC did by just showing each player take the trophy for the first (or but second, or but third) time in their lives. It was like if NBC had cut away from Michael Phelps the very moment he touched the wall for another gold medal, or from the baseball diamond the second the final pitch had been thrown out during the final game of the World Series. In other sports, the celebration occurs immediately following the victory itself, while in the NHL, the real celebration does not begin until the player can place his fingerprints on the luster of the Cup.
In hockey, there is no censorship. In hockey, people curse. In hockey, people fight. In hockey, no one cares who's listening. In a time where the Super Bowl can end with more people talking about a momentary 'wardrobe malfunction' than the actual score of the game, or who won the darn thing, it is refreshing to see something real. It is nice to be able to love the moment without having to deal with the word police.
It has been a week in sports that may outshine any other week this decade. Federer finally won at Roland Garros, to complete his career grand slam. Tiger Woods finally racked up a significant win this season at Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament. Kobe Bryant is having a career series against the Magic. And the Penguins, with their roster of young guns and the sage Lemieux watching from high up in the owner's box, were able to fill the Stanley Cup with the dozens of bottles of Veuve Clicquot awaiting them in the locker room.
Sport is both a virtue and a vice. Children learn team skills and how to make friends, how to win and how to lose, playing sports. Then, some of those children grow up to destroy their lives betting on the same games they loved so much as a kid. Sports can make a grown man weep. They can also induce thousands of people to riot. This twin nature of sport, is an essential part of why we love our games so much. The words of our heroes, however crude, are still the words of our heroes.
The majority of television played on TV sets in Canada, is American television. Most sports broadcast in Canada are merely rebroadcasting a US network feed. Most of our television shows, are made and broadcast in America, only then rebroadcast to the rest of the world. Yet the American stations can rarely capture something the same way the CBC did last night, because censorship reigns in America.
It makes me wonder how much we are missing, when the nation that controls much of the news, sports and programming beamed into our homes is one that cuts away from impassioned moments out of fear that someone may become offended. A nation that will publicize the trash website of James von Brunn for days, but cannot bring itself to capture the true reactions of heroic men doing heroic things.
George Carlin once said that without street language, the emphatic nature of any situation will be lost - making things less compelling. And who the fuck wants to live in a less compelling world? Champange and curse words belong together sometimes. Just as much as television, and real life, often don't. There is a bit of a lie in every space a curseword is removed. Not that TV would ever lie to us... just saying.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Democratic Erratic
A sticky note has sat on my desk for nearly a full year, which reads "Is Democracy a Metanarrative?" What I am asking myself is this: is democracy nothing but a way in which we are trying to force together the many facets of our society that don't really belong together?
I ask this question in a time where politics have lost their meaning. The only goal of any good politician is to win. What follows that day of victory, comes a plan for keeping power and shaping the nation in the image of the victor's best thoughts and ideas about what needs changing. The best solutions to contemporary problems, however, are not sought out. The actions of people in power never match the rhetoric of their stump speeches. At the end of the day, elections simply present the public with a new set of elite minds that are given free reign over the very fabric of society.
A 'metannarative' is the overarching structure of basic traits and fundamentals which bind a field of ideas together. A simple example can be found in the field of biology - where all things in the world that are living are studied together - or, in literature - where all things that are written down by people, are grouped together for study. No matter how different those living creatures, or written documents, might be, they are considered a part of the same study group. Yet the common cold virus and a blue whale have almost nothing in common. Virology and Marine Biology however, are still grouped together under the general term "biology". Biology has certain rules - evolution, entropy, etc - that are accepted as common to all things within its field of ideas. But what are the rules of "democracy"?
We vote for our leaders on paper ballots. Yet for as long as men and women have lived together under the guise of civilization, no leader has been able to succeed without the support of those around them. The Queen of England is only Queen so long as people accept it - the streets of London have many other residents that claim, with total self-confidence, that they themselves are the real Queen of England. The only difference between the mad man in the alleyway and the Queen herself, is that we have decided to grant the Queen her position; we have not dethroned her.
What does it matter?
I ask this question in a time where politics have lost their meaning. The only goal of any good politician is to win. What follows that day of victory, comes a plan for keeping power and shaping the nation in the image of the victor's best thoughts and ideas about what needs changing. The best solutions to contemporary problems, however, are not sought out. The actions of people in power never match the rhetoric of their stump speeches. At the end of the day, elections simply present the public with a new set of elite minds that are given free reign over the very fabric of society.
No One IS Listening
A 'metannarative' is the overarching structure of basic traits and fundamentals which bind a field of ideas together. A simple example can be found in the field of biology - where all things in the world that are living are studied together - or, in literature - where all things that are written down by people, are grouped together for study. No matter how different those living creatures, or written documents, might be, they are considered a part of the same study group. Yet the common cold virus and a blue whale have almost nothing in common. Virology and Marine Biology however, are still grouped together under the general term "biology". Biology has certain rules - evolution, entropy, etc - that are accepted as common to all things within its field of ideas. But what are the rules of "democracy"?
Pointlessness.
We vote for our leaders on paper ballots. Yet for as long as men and women have lived together under the guise of civilization, no leader has been able to succeed without the support of those around them. The Queen of England is only Queen so long as people accept it - the streets of London have many other residents that claim, with total self-confidence, that they themselves are the real Queen of England. The only difference between the mad man in the alleyway and the Queen herself, is that we have decided to grant the Queen her position; we have not dethroned her.
Nothing Will Change.
So we now vote with paper ballots, rather than with violence and due to discontent. What then is democracy? Could it be that democracy is nothing more than this? Nothing more than 'peaceful transitions' between heads of state? If the worst thing a politician can except for creating ill-constructed policy is to be rushed off to the global speaking circuit and handed a book deal instead of continuing on in their position for a few more years, then what is it that keeps those leaders in line? Why are we so confident in the trustworthiness of our governments?
We trust our government, because trust is the metanarrative. Democracy, is trust. You have to be able to trust the people around you. And trust, comes from security. It comes from the belief that the people around you will not hurt you. When people complain about their politicians, they are rarely more adamant than when they are fearful that their government is hurting them. People don't just claim 'my government is doing a bad job', they claim that the government is doing something harmful. People think their government, is going to kill them.
The only real threat to democracy then, if democracy is nothing more than a feeling of trust and some legistlation built around the assumption that such will not be wavering anytime soon, would be danger. And that is why I no longer speed.
The only way to succeed in this world is to help limit the danger out there for others. So when I am behind the wheel, I have learned to become patient and curteous. The open road is one of the only places, other than the polling station, where you come face to face with all the others out there that you have decided to trust. You have decided to trust their values and their intelligence at the ballot box, their competence with a spatchela behind the fastfood grill, and to trust in the idea that we were raised fairly well by the world out there to become adequately well-adjusted people.
So the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, and you have the opportunity to pull up beside them later on down the road, at a red light... Roll down your window and simple state aloud, "You are a threat to the very fabric from which this great nation has been woven!!!" Because, well, someone's gotta do it. Might as well be you.
I trust my Government. Completely.
We trust our government, because trust is the metanarrative. Democracy, is trust. You have to be able to trust the people around you. And trust, comes from security. It comes from the belief that the people around you will not hurt you. When people complain about their politicians, they are rarely more adamant than when they are fearful that their government is hurting them. People don't just claim 'my government is doing a bad job', they claim that the government is doing something harmful. People think their government, is going to kill them.
Fearfulness is a long word.
The only real threat to democracy then, if democracy is nothing more than a feeling of trust and some legistlation built around the assumption that such will not be wavering anytime soon, would be danger. And that is why I no longer speed.
The only way to succeed in this world is to help limit the danger out there for others. So when I am behind the wheel, I have learned to become patient and curteous. The open road is one of the only places, other than the polling station, where you come face to face with all the others out there that you have decided to trust. You have decided to trust their values and their intelligence at the ballot box, their competence with a spatchela behind the fastfood grill, and to trust in the idea that we were raised fairly well by the world out there to become adequately well-adjusted people.
So the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, and you have the opportunity to pull up beside them later on down the road, at a red light... Roll down your window and simple state aloud, "You are a threat to the very fabric from which this great nation has been woven!!!" Because, well, someone's gotta do it. Might as well be you.
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