Demographics and You...

Ok, where to start? First, the mood set by this 'report' is nothing less than insulting. The horror-film-esque beginning, the dire tone of the narrator and the 'menacing' middle eastern style music in the background are all attempts to make the benign demographic data seem somehow scary. Generally, demographic data are used to better predict the current and future needs of a population: how many schools and retirement homes are needed, what kind of services will be in demand, etc... I'm not sure where the numbers for the 'islamic' birth rates come from, but 8.1 kids per woman seems a little excessive. The highest numbers I could find outside of this 'report' are 4.4 kids per woman. Granted, that number knocks the western world's birth rates out of the water, but what does that mean? That in 20 years white kids will be a minority in many schools? And? Maybe it'll teach white kids a little respect for other races and cultures... The fear mongering here is shameful and I am saddened that I might be (if only from appearance) associated with this 'culture.'

I was also not impressed - I know, strong words - with the pitting of Islam (completely undefined and unexplored) against "culture" and using culture as a euphemism for christianity. If this demographic 'report' wasn't trying to be disingenuous, they may have steered clear of the emotionally charged word 'culture' which is understood as "the integrated system of socially acquired values, beliefs, and rules of conduct which delimit the range of accepted behaviors in any given society." The beauty of using this term for both the creators of the report, and for me, is that for them people perceive culture as an inherent part of one's identity and thus must be defended. Whereas for me, I look at the fact that culture is socially acquired and is not something to be lost or stolen. In the interest of honesty, the makers of the report should have instead gone with the more baggage laden term nation: a population with a shared history, culture, language and territory. But asking people to breed in order to protect one's nation from the hordes of undesirables sounds much too close to another nationalist movement that was popular in the 1930s and 40s. In using Canada as an example of how dire the threat from immigrants is, the idiots have completely disregarded the fact that Canadian culture and immigration are intimately linked. We're all immigrants for cripe's sake, and the official national policy is one of multiculturalism. How do you miss that? Or are you aware of the fact, but know that your target audience has little to no understanding of anything outside their county's borders (yes, county), so it's safe to use bullshit like that to support a bullshit premise. I think that may be closer to the truth than one might hope for from the authors of a 'report' on demographics...

I think the icing on the cake was the part of the 'report' that nearly completely exposed the fear mongering intentions behind the film. It was when they invoked the threat from Christmases past and combined them with the threat of today and warned us that "40% of the entire Russian Army will be islamic in just a few short years." Puh-LEASE. I'm actually stunned by this part of the report. I've seen it now 4 or 5 times and I still can't formulate a coherent sentence expressing my disbelief at this tactic and line of reasoning.... All that keeps going through my head is, "really?"... "I mean, really?" Sometimes a question jumps in there too, "Is anyone still afraid of Russia?" - well, I guess they will be now...

I wanted to touch on a few other things too, like the language used in the piece (short for piece of crap) like 'church regions' and talk about why they felt it necessary to actually do all the math for you like, (as of 2008) 2025 is "just 17 years from now," and 52 million doubled is "104 million," and how all of a sudden the latino population is the only thing sustaining the American 'culture.' Or how about the implications for the environment if the western world increased their reproductive rates to match those of the east. There wouldn't be enough of a planet to go around! I spent about a half an hour yesterday ranting about this report to a friend and I only stopped because I could see she was getting bored. And that's why I'll stop here too.

Let me be clear, the video above is nothing but a thinly veiled piece of racist and xenophobic propaganda and in my opinion bullshit. The report did not make me fear muslims and inspire me to breed. Rather, I am more frightened of the American christian extreme right than ever before and I am reconsidering having kids at all if only to save me from losing them to the christian extremists... (notice how I excluded the majority of christians from my ire by using a qualifying word? Something that the bigots above refused to do...) Ok. I'm done.

Democracy without Representation?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure our brethren to the south revolted because of taxation without representation. The American colony desperately wanted to have some sort influence on what happened with their hard earned tax dollars. Understandable, considering they were living in a colony which, under British rule, had no democratic structures. People's only recourse when it came to talking to the 'government' was to beg and plead with appointed representatives of the King who sat thousands of miles away.

Where is the Canadian's ire? I'm certainly not suggesting we take up arms here, but Canadians should consider the current political situation and take a moment to think. Let me help get the ball rolling. Canadians have long lived in a benevolent dictatorship. It sounds extreme, but essentially all power in the government (especially in a majority) lies with the Prime Minister - the PM chooses Cabinet members and who gets the accompanying salary, has the direct ear of the Governor General (who, as a matter of convention, does whatever the PM says anyway), selects committee members, appoints senators, etc. etc.. The Canadian people are allowed to say 'yes' or 'no' to the PM's work at intervals of at least 5 years -generally 2-4 years though. Actually influencing the direction of the government during its tenure, however, is damn near impossible, and the best most of us can do is beg and plead with a representative from the government which, for many of us, sits several thousand miles away. Sound familiar? On top of that you can't really expect a lot from said 'representative' because his/her effectiveness, and job for that matter, is entirely dependent on the will of the PM. And God forbid your 'representative' isn't from the ruling party!!! Thanks to our right honourable PM not even our 'representatives' are allowed to have a say at the moment. Proroguing Parliament has left us ALL without federal representation. And why? Steve can't be bothered by the rest of us while he and his minions devise a plan to save our economy... Bullshit. How much of our 'democratic' reputation are we going to put on the line simply because "it's not like he's killing people or something"?

Democracy isn't supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be a LOT of work. It's supposed to take the best of us to work on solving the collective problems of all Canadians - not just those carrying a certain party membership card. That's why we elect 308 people to help solve these problems... NOT 38!!! I know it must be bothersome to have to work with people with different points of view and from different backgrounds and who you can't bribe/intimidate but THAT'S WHAT A GOVERNMENT IS SUPPOSED TO DO!!!!! You guys do it, so we don't have to. You solve the big problems so the rest of us can go about our daily business making enough money to pay for the projects you design to make all out lives a little easier to navigate.

Especially as the upcoming Winter Olympics draw the world's gaze toward Canada, Canadians should be aware of how the world will see us. In my travels around the world, I've always tried to be a responsible ambassador for Canada and represent those things that have given Canadians the tremendous international reputation that many of us have truly enjoyed. It is time for Canadians in Canada to do the same. Think about what makes us the envy of the world, and what institutions, privileges and responsibilities have brought us that acclaim and if it's something we should value. Then do something about it. Ask questions, get informed, as an informed public is the hardest to dupe. Get on Facebook, MySpace, or whatever social networking site you choose, and let your exasperation be heard. It's time for Canadians to demand that their Government represent the same qualities that make Canadians so beloved throughout the world.