A Tale of Two Rallies: Idle No More and Walk for Values

On Saturday, June 1, I went to Gazebo Park with the intention of attending a rally relating to Idle No More and Occupy Edmonton. The topic was questionable actions made by the Harper government, and their effects on the country's indigenous population and the population in general.

When I arrived at the park, I noticed another, larger rally taking place. Walk For Values, I learned, is an annual event and supports values like peace, love, and right conduct and is organized by Edmonton's Sai Baba community.

I got very excited when one of my friends in Occupy told me that the rallies would be marching together. After all, they stood for similar values. Solidarity and working towards common goals is part of what movements like Idle No More and Occupy are all about.

As I filmed the Walk for Values people starting their march, I noticed the Idle No More folks were staying behind. Instead of following Walk for Values to Whyte Avenue, I went back to find out what was going on. After all, I have been documenting both Occupy and Idle No More since their inceptions, and that was the main reason I was there.

The person with Occupy who had originally told me that they had been invited to join Walk for Values now said the invitation had been rescinded on the explanation that they were "political." I found this rather odd considering speakers with Walk for Values were talking about the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi - someone who preached non-violence but was very political.

The Idle No More/Occupy rally began and I grew even more disturbed when an elder spoke, saying she had asked an organizer with Walk for Values if she could take the microphone for three minutes just to welcome everyone to Treaty 6 territory. She was refused and said she was told the person "did not care" when she tried to explain that this event was indeed on Aboriginal land. I was not privy to this conversation, but I do respect and trust this woman and totally believe her when she explained to the smaller rally how disrespected she felt.

Later on, as a woman from the NWT spoke, the Walk for Values group returned, blaring music (as it was when it left). I think someone realized there was another rally going on and the music got lower and was then totally shut off. I believe that this was done out of respect by someone who realized it was the right thing to do. This redeemed the Walk for Values in my eyes somewhat.

While I admit I am not familiar with the Walk for Values, and an hesitant to paint an entire group on the actions of one or two individuals, I do question the way the elder was treated to the point that I question the entire event. There are many who give peace, love, and other values lip service because, well, it's the right thing to do. When it comes time to walk the talk, things change. Actions do speak louder than words and an organizer should represent what a group is all about.

At the same time, I have been involved with organizing numerous events where people or organizations try to jump in on the agenda - with their own. This is why an agenda is often referred to as "set" and a reason why sometimes open mics are not a good idea. However, what happened at Walk for Values is somewhat of a different situation, whereby another group was invited to join, so naturally the elder thought it appropriate to speak and according to her, she told the organizer what she intended to say. All things taken into consideration, from what I know of the events, I definitely felt like there was hypocrisy in action.

This is what I think needs to happen: the organizer in question needs to apologize to the elder. The groups involved need to dialogue with each other to emphasize points of commonality and to plan ways in which they can work together in the future. Focus on the common goals - not the politics behind them. If a group that says it stands for "right conduct" does so in a way that excludes other groups, something is wrong.

Love Is All There Is

Activism is about love. Love for the world, for our fellow humans, for animals, for the environment, for peace.

I recently read a book by Evangelical author Rob Bell called Love Wins. His views are controversial because he argues that the concepts of heaven and hell are not just for the after life - they exist here on earth. We make choices that can literally lead to hell on earth or make the world more like heaven.

Activism is about trying to make the world a little better. Maybe we won't make it into heaven, but there certainly is enough hell out there created by a number of forces of greed and power to try to overturn.

More and more, the terms "conservative" and "Christian" are being used in the same phrase. Yet conservative politics often espouse values that are far removed from Jesus' teachings. Cutting social programs, removing health benefits for refugee claimants, an imperialistic foreign policy, tax breaks for the rich and corporations - where are Jesus' values of compassion, loving thy neighbour, caring for the sick and poor - in other words, where is the love?

When you give love, you get love. This is as true for activists as for anyone else. I don't know anyone who doesn't want to be loved. We form a community, we organize events together, we work together for a common cause. That takes almost as much commitment as a long-term relationship.

It's the kind of love that can change the world, both on a large scale and between us as individuals. After all, isn't love all that matters?

Eat, Pray, Love in Edmonton

I just finished reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. To summarize, without giving too much away, the book is a memoir of one year in the life of a woman who steps outside of her life and travels to three global locations where she learns a new language while finding pleasure in food, develops her spirituality despite doubt, and finds true love while continuing her spiritual journey.

This plan certainly worked for her and while I don't agree with all of her choices, has caused me to take inventory of my life. Going on a world tour is not practical for many of us, yet taking stock of our lives and finding new ways to develop is part of having an active, healthy life. So here are ways in which we can eat, pray, and love - right here in Edmonton.

EAT
I have this habit of "discovering" a certain kind of food and then trying it out at as many different restaurants as possible. The most recent example of this is pho, Vietnamese noodle soup. I'm addicted and have even picked up a few words of the language in the process. Slowly, I am moving onto banh mi (Vietnamese submarine sandwiches) as well as other kinds of ethnic delicacies. I sometimes feel like I travel the world with my mouth. Edmonton certainly has many wonderful restaurants from just about every culture: Indian, African, Latin American, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese ... the list goes on. Try something new and discover something about that culture and your own tastes. My site at Yelp offers reviews of hundreds of restaurants (and other local businesses) to give you just a sampling of what's out there.

PRAY
Even if you have not darkened the door of a church/temple/mosque/fill in the blank for decades, it is never too late to get in touch with your spiritual side. Even though I come from a Jewish family, I always find it fascinating to visit a house of worship of another religion. It teaches me about that faith and sometimes helps answer questions I have about my own. Years ago, I helped to plant a church that combines elements of two of the major Abrahamic faiths - it still meets in west Edmonton. That is kind of extreme (and a lot of work) but getting together to pray, share, and worship with a few others in a home is another way to build fellowship. I also tend to view prayer and meditation as a personal practise and thus I often do that in private, or find spiritual elation in such solo activities as biking and long walks/hiking in the river valley. That whole social justice thing I am into? You got it - it is all part of how I practise my faith in a practical way in the real world. What do you believe? Live it.

LOVE
While a torrid affair with a sexy Brazilian might be a pleasant fantasy, it is not realistic for most of us. Besides, that is only one kind of love. Expressions of kindness towards those closest to us (family, friends) and those who are the most vulnerable in society (children, seniors, the homeless, those at-risk of becoming homeless...). Volunteer with an organization like the Boys and Girls Club, Youth Emergency Shelter Society, The Mustard Seed, Hope Mission, and Edmonton's Food Bank - these are only a few of the worthwhile places that need volunteers. As far as love in the emotional/physical sense goes - when you are active and involved your passion shines through, and it makes for a very attractive package to those watching. Just get out there and be involved and the rest tends to fall into place.

As a side note, I began reading the book before the film came out - even before I knew there was going to be a film. I am honestly not sure if I want to see it. I find that movies are never as good as their books. But I probably will eventually. For now, I want to concentrate on living life and finding my direction.