Reflections on Being an Active Citizen

I was invited by Southminster-Steinhauer United Church to speak as a guest during the service on February 5. I was asked to speak about my experience as an organizer of the Women's March on Washington - Edmonton Solidarity Event, as well as activism in general. The theme of the service was "The Spirituality of Activism." My talk was entitled, "Reflections on Being an Active Citizen." Here is the text of my talk, as well as a video. --

Reflections on Being an Active Citizen

In September of 2005 I showed up to my first peace march. I happened to have a camera with me, and I asked the organizers if it would be okay to take some photos. They said yes. I posted the photos that evening on some website space I happened to have, and announced that I had done so on an email listserv (remember those?). The response was so great that the website crashed. It was at that moment I realized the importance of documenting the activist and social justice movement in Edmonton not only for historical purposes, but as a way of communicating messages of peace, environmental stewardship, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, Indigenous issues, and so on.

I also became involved with a few groups as an organizer, such as the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism, and so did double-duty at events on photos and videos, as well as sometimes being a musician or emcee.

Flash forward to November of 2016. I heard about a Women's March on Washington to happen the day after Trump's inauguration. The friend who told me about it, asked if something similar would happen in Edmonton, since, after all, I am quite connected to the activist community. My inqueries online led me to a national organizing group overseeing the creation of “sister marches” in cities throughout the country, and I signed up to help with organizing in Edmonton. I was put in touch with two other women who had expressed similar interest, and together we organized one of the biggest rallies held in Edmonton in recent history: reports of 4000, maybe more, people crowded the north side of the Alberta Legislature on January 21, 2017. The experience for me was exhilarating. The energy was palpable. Even though I have never addressed a crowd that large before, any nervous feelings just slipped away when I got to the microphone. It was definitely a day I will never forget.

What was my motivation for getting involved with the Women's March in the first place? It's similar to that which motivates me to be involved in social justice in general. From a faith perspective, I was raised in a Jewish household, and while I am not religiously observant in a traditional sense, save for some of the dietary laws, there are some aspects of the Jewish culture and philosophy that continue to shape my life. There is a Jewish value called tikkun olam, which means healing or repairing the world, and this has been a guiding force for me in activism.

More specifically, I viewed the need for a Women's March in Edmonton in a very local context. I have been appalled by the messages of hate and violence directed towards women politicians in this province. I recoil in horror at stories of Islamophobia directed at women who wear hijabs. In our world today, building love and hope and cooperation between people of all faiths and cultures and genders is more important than ever.

That being said, we, the organizers, worked very hard to make the Edmonton sister march less about Trump himself, and more about the need for a society with civil discourse, where people can disagree without resorting to hate speech, and where there is equity for all people. What was so heartening about the event, was seeing so many men and boys there, standing in solidarity with their partners, daughters, sisters, and mothers.

The question, which, of course, followed the march was: where do we go from here? I, and one of the other organizers, decided to keep the momentum going by building a Facebook page as an offshoot of the main event page, using it to promote local women's initiatives and related events, and for any future events we may organize. The reaction was strong, and within a few days we had over 700 “likes” and it continues to grow – we're close to 1000 at the time that I am preparing this talk. When people ask, “what is the lasting effect of something like the Women's March?” I point out that the simple fact that so many people responded to the event and turned up, is proof in itself that more and more people are not willing to be complacent. That they want a world where gender-based violence, racism, and hatred of all kinds are not acceptable.

I have been involved in activism and attending protests and rallies for over a decade. The main comment I get from naysayers is that protesting has no effect, no lasting result. From all early indications, when it comes to the Women's March, this is simply not true. Also, “protest” does not necessarily mean standing in the street with a placard. It can mean taking action by writing letters, making phone calls, and being active online in promoting the kind of social justice and change you want to see in the world.

If we want a world with gender equality – or any other form of social justice – we have to be willing to make a stand and put ourselves out there, in whatever way seems appropriate. Recent events in the world continue to demonstrate why we needed to march. To summarize, and to elaborate on a meme I saw recently on Facebook: sometimes we look back at history and think what we would have done had we been there. But we are here now. Whatever we're doing at this point in history, is what we're doing because we're present. Don't wait until you are looking back and wondering what you could have done. We all have a choice to be active citizens now.

Social Media and Social Responsibility - Salvos Prelorentzos Peace Award

Salvos Prelorentzos Peace Awards 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

On November 6, 2012 I received the Salvos Prelorentzos Peace Award from Project Ploughshares at City Hall. In its 17th year, the award is given annually to someone in Edmonton who has worked towards the goals of peace and social justice but who has not yet been formally recognized for their work. I was chosen for my pioneering efforts in documenting the local activist scene and using social media and other online tools to share and connect. This is my acceptance speech. For a full set of photos, click here. For all of the videos, here is the playlist.

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Social Media and Social Responsibility
Salvos Prelorentzos Award Acceptance Speech
Paula Kirman
November 6, 2012

When Jim Gurnett called me back in January to inform me that I had been chosen as this year’s recipient, I was at a loss for words – and for someone like myself who makes a living with words, that is indeed very rare. Then, I found myself in a similar situation when I sat down to write my words of acceptance.

So, let me begin by giving thanks. Thank you to Project Ploughshares for making this event possible. Thank you to the award’s organizing committee for selecting me, especially to Alison Scott-Prelorentzos for honouring her late husband in this manner. Thank you to David Climenhaga for speaking tonight, and to Terry Morrison for gracing us with her wonderful music. Congratulations to Mr. Kalia for his lifetime service award. And thank you to all of you for coming out this evening. It really does mean a lot to me, more than I could express.

I am very honoured and humbled to have been chosen as this year’s recipient, especially when I reflect upon the incredible people and organizations who stood up here in past years, many of whom I am privileged to call my friends and my brothers and sisters in our common struggle to bring about a world of peace and justice.

Now, I will tell you a bit about myself. As a child, I made an impassioned plea to my parents for two things: a camera and a guitar. I am fortunate that my parents indulged me, although I have to admit that the guitar took a little more convincing.

Communication is what I do professionally, and there is a need for communication about peace and matters of social justice between organizations, individuals, and the world. We have the technology at our fingertips to do this. I am fortunate to be part of a generation to embrace social media as well as the technological gadgets that make archiving and sharing possible.

Then, it was just a matter of connecting with the local peace community – something I did not know existed until I purposely went about looking for it. When I found it, I showed up at a peace rally with a digital camera and started taking pictures. At that time, I was really the only person taking pictures at these sorts of events, and then the first to get the images online to be shared.

When I saw the possibilities to really show the rest of Edmonton and beyond that the city really does have an active, engaged peace community, this expanded into acquiring a video camera, learning to edit film footage, as well as increasing the number of social networks upon which I share my work while getting into more sophisticated forms of blogging and website design.

I am now so enthusiastic to see others showing up to events with cameras and getting online and sharing and commenting. Those of us who are privileged enough to be able to access and use technology have a choice to use developments like social media for the good of society. It gives us the opportunity to become independent citizen journalists and present our perspectives in a widely public forum but in a way that is very real with a human element.

Equally important to presenting and showcasing the city’s activist movement is sustaining it. In order to make sure the city has a peace movement that stays active, it has to stay relevant and attract younger people. Love it or hate it, the so-called “new media” is how to make this happen. When I do things like get Project Ploughshares onto Facebook and reviving the website for the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism it is with a sense of excitement for the future.

Now, about that guitar - when I got involved in the local peace movement, it was a natural transition to write songs with social meaning. I was, after all, raised on a steady diet of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. It was also a way of being more directly involved with events rather than always just standing on the sidelines with a camera. And again, thanks to social media, I’ve been able to reach an audience far beyond just the people who show up at the events.

At the same time, thanks to social media, my activism has been very public and that is not without its challenges, personally and professionally. But like I said earlier, we have the tools at our fingertips to share and build our movement. It comes down to a matter of choice, and I have considered working towards peace to be a personal responsibility.

And on that note, I will end with the chorus of the song I wrote about choosing to stand up for peace in the face of resistance, called “Walls”:

I can’t sit on the fence anymore
When I have to choose between peace and war
And object to oppression where it arises
No matter what else it is disguised as

I hope that we can all make similar choices in our lives. Thank you.

Liberal vs. Conservative

I find these two labels to be confusing at times. I am not talking about the political parties either. I am talking about lifestyle.

It appears that there is a pre-conceived notion when someone is described as "liberal" or "conservative." A person who is liberal is a bleeding heart, anti-war, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pseudo hippy. A conservative person loves guns, is pro-life, pro-war, anti-gay, and a Bible thumper.

Is there no middle ground?

Both labels present contradictions and fallacies. Someone who is socially liberal (or, progressive), may be quite conservative when it comes to their spiritual life, or just life in general. Some liberals life akin to modern-day hippies. Some don't.

With conservatives, I suppose it is possible to be fiscally conservative but at the same time, have a social conscious. This is sort of like old-style Canadian conservatism before it started to follow in the neocon way of the United States.

I also cannot fathom someone being pro-life and pro-war.

I wonder if Jesus Himself was here today, what the hardline Conservatives would think of Him. I wear a button sometimes that says, "Jesus was a liberal."

And indeed, I agree with this statement.

Unitarians

Amongst my activist friends I am often thought of as the "religious one." I have not gone to some events because they came out on Jewish holidays, for example. Yet quite a number of my friends are involved with the Unitarians. In Edmonton, there are two Unitarian churches, one on the north side, and one on the south side. Most of them go to the north side one.

The Unitarian church has intrigued me for quite a while. I am totally in love with its commitment to social justice, something which I think is lacking in evangelical churches today. There is a focus on people's sexual behaviour, but on little else. I commented to a friend of mine last evening that I would like to see someone put on congregational discipline because they do not support the poor. She felt that was not Biblical. "Well," I said, "We're supposed to help the widows and orphans." (James 1:27) To me, that implies the poor and needy. It's an extension of that verse, the same way many of the verses that touch upon sexual behaviour are open to broader interpretation. She suggested I take this up with our pastor. I think I will.

The main criticism of Unitarianism that me and my friend discussed, was that it takes the best of all faiths and puts them together under its own banner. There is nothing at all wrong with learning from other faith traditions. But when you pick and choose what you want, you end up with "everything and nothing" as far as a faith system goes. Yes, there are certain principles for ethical living that Unitarians follow, which are great, but they have little, if anything, to do with G-d -- and I am not just talking about the G-d of the Bible, lest anyone say I am lording (pardon the pun) my Judeo-Christian chauvinism over anyone. I am talking about G-d as a concept in general. And I am someone who holds following G-d and the Bible in high esteem.

Otherwise, Unitarians carry out their lives like any other church-going folk. They fellowship regularly. They make offerings. They sing hymns. They listen to sermons. The "sacred" in Unitarianism, seems to be social justice. Being good stewards of the environment, being critical of the government and its decisions, and treating everyone with dignity and respect. And with those principles, I cannot disagree.

Now, if only other churches got on board with those practices, we may see a radical demographic shift in church-goers!