Mirror, Mirror on the Wall . . .

Last Saturday, March 7, I attended a rally called "Tell the Tories to Look in the Mirror," or, simply the "Mirror Protest." The rally was called by the Alberta Federation of Labour in conjunction with Better Way Alberta to hold Premier Jim Prentice accountable for a statement he made that Albertans should "look in the mirror" to see who is responsible for the province's current budget woes. This inspired me to write a post on Facebook which quickly started being shared around, and I was asked to read it at the rally. Here is the text of that note, as well as a video of me reading it.

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I Looked In the Mirror This Morning

So, Conservative Premier Jim Prentice is telling Albertans that if they want to know why the province is in trouble, we should look in the mirror.

I looked in the mirror this morning. Here is what I saw.

I saw a woman in her early 40s who was not able to secure a career in her chosen field: as a junior high Language Arts teacher. You see, I really wanted to be a writer or a rock star, but I picked teaching because it was "stable." Most of the people in my university class never got teaching jobs either.

My lack of employment was due to Conservative cutbacks to education in this province.

I saw my mother shuffle by in the background on her walker. She just spent a couple of months in and out of hospitals that are poorly maintained and understaffed. Many of the nurses were very obviously overworked through no fault of their own. Patient care suffered as a result.

Alberta's health care system is in shambles because of Conservative cutbacks to health.

I saw my phone go off with a message from my partner. He works in the tar sands. Yeah, one of those people who have supposedly benefitted the most from the "Alberta Advantage." And yes, he makes decent money, when he has work. As soon as construction on a job is complete, he is laid off again with no guarantee of another job. When work is not steady it makes things like planning for the future (buying a house, etc.) difficult. Perhaps this is why there is such a high rate of suicide, depression, and divorce amongst tar sands workers.

The province's finances and oil industry have suffered because of the Conservative government not collecting royalties and because of the flat tax system which allows the most wealthy not to have to pay more taxes.

But hey - look on the bright side: working self-employed hours I have plenty of time for activism against the Conservative government. And my parents don't mind me crashing with them. After all, we're Mom's primary caregivers.

Independent Jewish Voices in Alberta

I joined Independent Jewish Voices a few years ago when I became frustrated with the situation in the Middle East, and how, if you are Jewish, you are expected to think a certain way politically. I also disagree with the way politics and faith are purposely interconnected on this issue: if you are Jewish, you are expected to support Israel unconditionally. Finally, and probably the most concerning, is that fact that any debate on the issue of Israel - any disagreement - is immediately shot down in conversation and the person branded as a self-hating Jew or an anti-Semite (a ridiculous accusation to someone who self-identifies as being Jewish).

Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) provides an alternative voice for Canadian Jews like me. It is a political organization that counters groups like B'nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress, which are political (not religious) organizations claiming to speak for the entire Jewish population in this country.

Over the last couple of years I have spoken for IJV at a number of rallies concerning human rights for Palestinians. Most recently, I spoke at Al Quds Day on August 2. What I say in this video pretty well sums up my views and the purpose of IJV:

IJV has chapters in individual cities, with representatives on a national steering committee which shapes the direction of the organization. I decided it was time for more of a voice from the Prairies and recently joined the IJV steering committee as the representative for Alberta. With a few members in Calgary and Edmonton combined, it made more sense to have a province-wide chapter rather than one for both cities.

I have been spending some time trying to attract new members. It's not easy - even amongst "progressive" Jewish people, there can be fear of retribution over speaking out, as well as ambivalence on the whole topic itself. Non-Jewish people are also welcome to join - the only difference is that non-Jews cannot join the steering committee or vote at an AGM. The reason for this is for IJV to maintain its identity as a Jewish but non-Zionist organization.

Membership is confidential (unless one chooses to make it public, like I did) and requires very little in the way of a time commitment. Mostly, members receive emails that contain information about current BDS campaigns (SodaStream is the big one right now), news items of concern, and petitions. BDS, to explain for those who don't know, means Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions. IJV is the first national organization in the world to adopt BDS, in 2009.

I will be starting up a low-traffic email list for Alberta members, and possibly organizing one or two in-person events over the coming months (likely discussion circles over coffee). However, for now, if you are someone who is concerned about the one-sided viewpoint concerning the actions of Israel that is propagated by the mainstream; if you are concerned about the human rights violations of the Palestinian people; if you believe in truth, social justice, and peace: please consider joining IJV.

On a personal note, for the record, I am not anti-Israel and have never spoken against Israel's right to exist as a country. I believe that most of the people who live there want peace and that the actions of the Israeli government and IDF are to blame for much of the suffering that continues in that region.

Taking Back Our Education

Taking Back Our Education #TBOE, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Last week, I attended a rally at the Alberta Legislature concerning cuts to education, organized by high school students. Taking Back Our Education saw students abruptly leave classes at 11 a.m., board buses, and head to the Legislature.

Aided by several unions, #TBOE (as it was also called) was a huge success. Hundreds of students and those in solidarity filled the area around the fountain. It was a moment where I could really feel my age. It was also a moment that caused me to reflect upon how I have ended up in life where I am now.

Many people know who I am and what I do, but don't know much about my background. I graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Ed in Secondary Education (English major and Music minor). I wanted to become a junior high Language Arts teacher. Although I was already into writing and photography, and had actually been doing those things professionally as early as high school and throughout university, I viewed teaching as stable and something I could fall back on if my writing career did not pan out.

Well, there is an old Yiddish saying along the lines of "People make plans and God laughs." And I am sure the Almighty viewed this one as a gooder. I graduated in the mid-90s, in the midst of the Klein government's ravages to education. I, like numerous of my classmates, never made it into a classroom. There were simply no jobs to be had. Those who were lucky enough to find a job often lost it if they did not yet have their permanent contract.

Fifteen or so years later, the Conservative government is still in power and are responsible for more education cuts which will result in the loss of teaching jobs. I can empathize with those young teachers and those who are just graduating with their B.Ed degrees about the uncertainty of their futures.

On the silver lining side of things, those of you who appreciate what I do should thank the Conservative government for the fact I am the activist I have become. If I had landed a teaching job, I probably would not have the time to go out and document protests against all the incredibly destructive things this government has done. And the sheer number of rallies I attend are testament to the fact that this government does a lot of really destructive things.

Wanting to become a teacher should not be a pipe dream. Cutting teaching positions equates to larger classroom sizes, lack of personal attention to students with special needs, and just a lower quality of education overall. We apparently have a government that does not realize that its greatest asset is not actually the environmentally destructive tar sands. It is our future generations. Attending #TBOE gives me hope that a generation of voters (most of the students were in grade 12, so were 18 or almost 18) is coming up who will really be able to effect some tangible changes in the near future.