Was Tutu an anti-Semite and bigot, as some claim?
On Dec. 26, the world said goodbye to Bishop Desmond Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner and tireless advocate for human rights. He’s best known for his non-violent struggle against and triumph over apartheid, the white-only, racist system of government in South Africa that oppressed Tutu and his countrymen for decades. Lifelong activist Ralph…
No one believes the decision to cancel two prominent women from speaking was a simple misunderstanding
Canada has experienced some strange episodes of late when it comes to free speech. Two recent decisions on the education front are real doozies, however. The Toronto District School Board cancelled two book club events involving prominent, well-respected female leaders from ethnic backgrounds. Why? For fear and concern (completely unfounded, mind you) that these talks…
Rome’s influence continues to cast a light over Western life and culture
Western civilization is constantly under fire these days, accused of causing many of the ills that affect modern society. Many blame aggressive Western capitalism for generating a culture of greed and destroying the environment. Certainly, the most hurtful criticism of the West relates to imperialism. Admittedly, the West has been expansive over the past few…
Any attitude, word, action or law that draws us away from our common humanity steps toward genocide
Most people would agree that evil exists, yet very few of us understand it. We find it convenient to blame all the problems of the world on terrible but powerful individuals, or on one misguided group. In truth, there are good and bad people in every group, and there’s even good and bad in each…
What can be said of those who deny the past and ignore the inherent human rights of their neighbours?
It’s a normal human reaction not only to acknowledge when we’ve done something wrong but to seek to make reparations and heal the relationship with the person we’ve harmed. This is also true on a societal level. As I complete teaching my unit on the residential school system in Canada, I ask students to reflect…
Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Adam Germain's ruling hostile to a free and democratic society
Politically determined public health guidelines during the covid-19 pandemic have come with a cost. Governments have defined essential and non-essential services, ostensibly to ensure Canadians have access to food. Not all can afford essential services food – that’s a story for another day – so food banks have remained open alongside grocery sellers. Several non-essential…
Positive, hard workers are in high demand. And it’s easier to be dedicated to a meaningful cause
Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore made a profound statement about finding your purpose in life: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” This seems contradictory to much of what we hear about finding happiness. The consumption-driven media continually…
Multilateral bodies have an important role to play in spreading democracy
With democrats everywhere grieving over recent events in Afghanistan and the 20th anniversary of 9/11, it is worth recalling that as the first plane struck the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, all 35 Organization of American States (OAS) member governments were in Peru signing a democratic charter that denied OAS membership to…
Joe Biden rivals his predecessor, Donald Trump, in the peddling of lies and false promises
During the final week of Canada’s modest evacuation flight effort, Canadian visa holders outside Kabul International Airport took their chances to fight through the crowds and make it to one of the ever-changing gates that occasionally would open and admit tiny fractions of the throngs of people desperately trying to get on an evacuation flight.…
Giving our children the tools to move the world forward is the most valuable investment we can make
American musician and songwriter Louis Armstrong wrote, “I hear babies cry. I watch them grow. They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.” As an educator, parent and adult functioning in our society, I can think of no higher ideal than this. It’s an empowering, humbling…