Talking to Canadians

One thing that has been causing me great weirdness is the culture shock I've been going through in returning to Canada. It's weird in that I only went to Europe, which is pretty 'normal', or a close-cultural parity, by my standards. I've been more than my usual irritableness and irksomeness about Canadians, and I couldn't figure out what was really bothering me this time about Canada. Until someone helped clarify my vision for me: I realize that one of the major things that drive me absolutely batty about Canadian culture is our arrogant individualistic rights-orientated culture.
The more I hear about what people are protesting and complaining about in this country and the predominant issues that consume Canadian discussions, the more I hear voices that say, "well, it doesn't work for ME, so it's no good - damned if it actually benefits all of society, but I won't have anything to do with it because it doesn't help me or my family". And then (because we are Canadian), we politely spin it so it doesn't appear that much that way.
It is no wonder, therefore, without a corporate/communal identity, and without a responsibilities-orientated culture, we live such lonely, addicted, mentally despairing, highly consumeristic lives. No wonder that we cannot think long-term, or what kinds of legislation might benefit future generations. No wonder we closely hover over our children, because we cannot give them responsibility (and discipline, due to their 'rights') and we do not trust our communities, thus they grow up to be small obese emperors that can talk about their 'rights', but cannot share the load of their responsibilities.
That seemed to click for me; therein lies one of the major failings of our society. As grand and beautiful and kind as Canadians are, I do not see how we can move beyond our culture of being coddled and lying about our bassinettes, crying about our rights, meanwhile being unable to get out and start to crawl towards the future...

Who's the talking head?

I haven't really been thinking about very much lately (mainly because I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off), but I want to mention something - I am not entirely sure what the motivations were, but I was complimented recently on a very (VERY) brief talk that I did at church the other day. Which was nice; I thought I did a fairly decent job myself.
However, part of the consternation arose when they asked me when I would likely be able to do a "full" talk. Of course, in my context, that would mean, oh, never. At least not a talk that he would be able to attend.
So there we go: good public speaker, good head on the shoulders, demonstrates can handle small snippets of truth, but obviously, only because I have an extra X on board, not qualified to do more. Hm.

Being sparky

I was invited to dinner with an old friend recently. While I was admiring his new digs, he told me that in the intervening years he'd lost his faith. That's probably a bit inaccurate, but it led to an interesting discussion about his story as to how he arrived at that point of hedonistic agnosticism in his life. He also challenged me in many ways, to articulate how I managed to hold onto faith, despite my own incredible odds over the years.
What I also found interesting is that he has still continued to dabble in the church a few times a year, and his own admission that some of the people he has noticed that have stood out to him as respectable, good people, "sparky" people, he's also found at church, when he's actually attended. He acknowledges that there still remains some beauty, and likely some deep truth to that.
Now, I concur with him that "good" people are not exclusively the domain of the Church, nor even that the Church is made up exclusively of "good" people, as they are found everywhere, in every culture and every religion. However, I do hope that I have some of that "sparkiness" as well, that deep Truth can be seen in me as well...

I kicked an SUV today

What astounds me is the ability that people have to be able to stand perfectly comfortably within a clear contradiction. I've been hearing a lot about this belly-aching about the rising cost of gasoline, and how the oil companies are doing it ON PURPOSE, because there is "plenty" of supply and it is simply the oil companies choosing to refine less crude that is causing the artificially rising prices at the pump. People are calling into radio and TV shows lamenting how much harder it is for them to pay for gasoline, how much harder it is to get around, how they've had to think of alternative ways to transport themselves from here to there, how they've had to curtail or change vacation plans because of the price at the pumps.
Um, hello? Isn't this a good thing? Aren't we also the society that cares desperately about climate change? Aren't we also the ones who are wanting to lighten our environmental footsteps on the earth? Aren't we the ones who are trying to practice the "Three Rs"? It is starting to disgust me how people are complaining on public radio that they can't get around and now, heaven forbid, they have to take public transport or bicycle to where they need to go, and how the government has to do "something" to make gasoline more affordable.
Considering we are only now starting to get a glimpse about the "real" cost of food and oil, I suspect our society is not willing to cut back on the frivolous (ie. entertainment and diversions) in order to pay for the necessities, when push really comes to shove...

Germany III

So, I think I've gotten a bit paranoid since I was in East Germany a few days ago. I was staying with a young Ukranian woman, who was living there with her Italian husband, and was giving me a furrowed brow with her stories of her experience of living there. As the Ukraine is still not yet part of the EU, and also has previous connections to the USSR and communist regime, Ukranians in general are looked down upon by East Germans, thus it has been very hard for her to be allowed to have the papers made to find work, to make friends, etc. She also noted that one of the ultra right-wing parties was the one that held the majority of seats in the local parliament, which for her, had echoes of that of the Nazis. that one of her darker-skinned Spanish friends had indeed been beaten several times by white supremacists in their city.
To me, this is all a little disconcerting, as I find it very hard to understand how, in light of a history that went from ultra-right wing (Nazis) to ultra-left wing (GDR) in a short period of time, both demonstrating their shortcomings, that the East should swing all the way back to ultra-right wing.
Anyways, it was a big relief to take the train to Frankfurt, and, getting off the train, seeing people of all colours and creeds and nations again. The balance between the multiculturalism of Western cities such as Frankfurt and Berlin, with the continued homogeneity and general suspiciousness to foreigners in the East is likely an issue that the Germans will have to work with for several generations yet...

Germany II

One of my big "tourist" goals in visiting Germany, more than Reformation sites, more than additional churches and museums, more than eating as much bratwurst as could possibly be eaten, was to visit a concentration camp. I wanted to see what we had always learned about in school, about the horrors of institutionalized hate and murder, that was mandated by government, and tacitly condoned by the Church. The careful calculations of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, its careful design, security perimeters, lavish grounds for the SS officers, the landmarks of torture and incarceration, the gas chambers and incinerators... it was really too much for me at several points... To know that an entire peoples allowed such horrors to happen, in their time, while they were eating and drinking and living on the "outside" (for many of these camps were found sidled right next to residential areas in town), made me shrink in horror at my own apathy to suffering and evil...
One thing that spoke to me was how Pastor Niemöller, one of the prime leaders of the Confessional Church, the only Christians at the time to speak out against these atrocities, for which they too were sent to the concentration camps, was considered "Hitler's personal prisoner" because of his status... Pastor Niemöller at several points in his incarceration wavered in his faith and his convictions, but emerged with a stronger faith, and a desire to foster unity within the Church, after it had done so poorly in defending the defenceless, and speaking for the voiceless.
His is the poem that spoke most eloquently at the time for the travesty of staying silent in the face of injustice:
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Germany I

A few observations about Germans: They are definitely not as fit as the Swiss, and are more similar in shape to the North Americans. I think this may be because a lot of their traditional cuisine involves wursts and potatoes. That is to say, sausages in all their shapes and forms, and potatoes every which way.
Fortunately, a large influx of Turkish immigrants to Germany have providentially provided a way out of this problem by providing donairs and kebabs, which I have been gladly eating, as I realize I quite miss the food from that region of the world. In fact, Berlin has the largest Turkish population outide of Turkey. I think I will likely write a bit more later about the East/West divide and the Berlin Wall, etc the longer I hang about here. I have, sadly, seen skinheads still walking the streets (though thankfully not to beat me to a pulp), and have witnessed the Reeperbahn, which continues to sadden me and reminds me that Europeans also need compassion and mercy extended to them as well.
Anyways, this will be brief, as I am on a German keyboard, so am having to correct myself quite frequently, due to the different keyboards...

Switzerland IV

One interesting statistic from Switzerland is related to their guns. As I had mentioned before, each healthy male in Switzerland is conscripted to the army for 20 years. Furthermore, there is obviously gun and rifle training as well - women are also free to partake in all these activities as well, though it is not compulsory for them.
Because of this yearly return to military base for further training, Swiss males keep their army-issued firearms at home. This makes the Swiss the most highly-armed (in the individual sense) in the world. However, strikingly, their murder rate by handgun violence is low, just a bit higher per capita then Canada, which, of course, has much stricter laws against handguns (though the politicians are considering banning them altogether). And, obviously, a CONSIDERABLY lower rate than handgun violence than America.
This brings up many questions, to my mind. Does this really mean that "guns don't kill people; people kill people"? What does this say about our North American culture, that guns are used for the sport of killing people, that we have very lax values in civic pride, that we have less respect for our environment and culture? Does it mean that we don't value life and stability as much? Are there socio-economic factors that play into the handgun violence in North America? Do we really have anger and rage issues that prevent us from treating each other with civility? It makes me wonder, had Canada gone the way of firearms a la America, would we too have a handgun murder rate comparable to them? Does it not strike you as odd that we are just under the rate of the Swiss, when they have at least one gun in every home, and we have so few?

Switzerland III

One of the strange things one can find in Bern, the capital, is a 'bear pit', since, historically, the town was founded on some sort of bear hunt. The very sad part of it is that it is literally a pit, with a few rocks, and then a few bears that roam around pathetically, hoping tourists will drop snacks into the pit. Apparently, they have been talking a long while about making a 'bear park', where they might be able to have room to roam and actually live a bear-like life, but tradition dictates all, and since there has been a bear pit for hundreds of years, actually improving the lives of bears for the better takes a long time to change...
I also had supper with some Swiss folks last night, and they would like me to clarify: They don't eat cheese all the time; in fact, we had chicken curry for dinner. So there.
Some other observations I've made of the Swiss: They smoke relatively less than the average European. They are also strikingly less obese than North Americans are - I think some of this has to do with the European lifestyle generally contributing to healthier people, but I think also the mandatory conscription of all healthy males into the Swiss army also helps in keeping people fit. Furthermore, I do note what I think is a huge prevalence of polio (?I'm not sure - does anybody know?), as there are many many people here with what appears to be polio deformities and using crutches to walk. That is odd, so I wonder if there was some slip-up in their vaccination programs (sorry, that's obviously just job-related ponderings).
That being said, there is a lot of cheese here - we spent the day in the Gruyere region of the country, eating (duh) Gruyere, which is quite tasty, though I think, with the obscene amount of cheese that I'm eating, I would have to say that I'm a bit of a patriot, and still prefer cheddar. There, I said it - just don't tell the Swiss...