The lightness of peace - a heretic's take

CBC's The Sunday Edition is hosted by Michael Enright. I very much enjoy his 'rants'! I first came across his work when looking for something about boats polluting our precious lakes: "Selling Muskoka By The Gallon". At the time, we visited one of the bigger lakes, with a fairly expensive leisure lifestyle, and watched a man top up his boat's gas tank to the tune of $450!

The Peace Tower (left), symbolize Canadian law and values for me. I believe in Canada, and our values. I believe in thinking about what it means to be Canadian, in our multicultural society.

This morning, Mr. Enright introduced a piece on Islam by saying "Most of us used to give little thought to Islam before 9/11".

I disagree. I taught in an Ottawa school, in 1998 - 2000, with a 70% Muslim  population. We talked about their religion almost every day. Many of my students took classes on Saturday at the Muslim school. They spoke of the information conveyed by their 'teachers'. In my mind it was inculcating them in extremist fundamentalism. These schools are unregulated, as they are private, religious schools. It frightened me.

One year, one of our students friend's had a sibling who passed away. A very ill young person with a debilitating, chronic disease. We had a class discussion about death and grief. One of my students piped up with the comment that it was not as if the student committed suicide, but it may be a relief to the burdened family whose lives were severely limited by the child's illness. Another student said that suicide was alright if you were doing for a cause. He explained that his uncle was a suicide bomber and he committed suicide to 'protect his people'. We were shocked and I quickly explained that we do not have those values in Canada. I was determined to learn more about Islam.

In order to understand my students, I took the opportunity to attend workshops on various religions, led by local leaders of all the popular faiths. I did some reading in order to understand, for example, our school librarian who was a practicing Muslim. My best friend and teaching colleague took some Arabic classes in order to understand her class of gr. 6 students better. Her class was 90% male, and with gender issues embedded in some religious fundamentalist groups, it helped her to have a handle on what they were doing and saying.

It is important to understand who we are as Canadians, but important, also, to keep that separation of church and state. Canadian values, Canadian laws must be upheld and maintained in Canada. While we must understand our neighbours, we must stand firm in upholding Canadian laws and principles. Canada is greatly misunderstood. Our values, such as Freedom of Speech, differ from American notions of this issue. We do not have the American value:  'the right to bear arms'.

The Sunday Edition's guest was introduced this way: "Graham Greene once said that heresy is another word for freedom of thought. And by that definition, Abdullah A Naim is a true heretic...In our first hour a moderate takes on militant Islam."

Mr. Enright's guest, went on to explain that Islamic religion is subject to interpretation by local leaders. It is not like, for example, Catholicism - in which the Pope produces pronouncements, and all must follow. In fact, while Martin Luther changed forever the notion of Christianity, he helped ensure that Protestants created their own religious values. Perhaps this is what Islam needs. Someone to move them from the dark ages to this age, and a revision of what it means to be Muslim. Perhaps, somebody, like Abdullah A. Naim, needs to take stronger leadership. I disagree, too, that Islam cannot have a Martin Luther. It is the perfect parallel and an analogy that makes sense.

 In the dark ages, few could read The Bible. It was the priest and their hierarchical, patriarchal society that shaped religious thought. Until the Bible was printed in German, thanks to Martin Luther, few understood what the Bible said. Surely, this is the same problem in places of unrest, where poor, unemployed, uneducated Muslims are choosing violence over education and change, but this is an oft-repeated pattern.  Bassam Darwich, in Islam and Peace says, "The Qur'an and other Islamic books like Al-Hadith and Al-Sira, i.e. the life of Muhammad, are full of evidence which proves that had it not been for violence, Islam wouldn't have existed or wouldn't have survived until today. "

The Qur'an needs to be interpreted for modern day. Where violence is chosen over that which religious texts proclaim and a text written when violence was the only answer, we need to rethink how much weight such a text should bear in modern day.

Sharia Law, for example, is subject to interpretation by local religious leaders. But in our society, in which the state is secular, and fair for all, not subject to religious precepts, we must stick to this value. Some do 'cherry pick' their religion's values -some Catholics do practice birth control and use condoms, but this cannot happen in secular law. Better educated Muslims agree that "Islam" does not mean "peace" but "submission". It is time that Muslims stood up for Islam, and helped create the kind of world Allah/God/The Creator would want us to live in: peace, harmony, respect for one another. "Do unto others...", or the Ethic of Reciprocity, is one which is the foundation for many religious precepts, and one which we must adhere to in secular society.

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The Country Connection Magazine Story: Selling Muskoka by the Gallon

by Michael Enright. "You call someplace Paradise, kiss it good-bye. ... commonly known as pollution) as a 1998 passenger car driven 160000 kilometers. ... notice that he has about 15 two-litre jugs lined up in the bottom of his boat"

Martin Luther and the Reformation: The Protestant Reformation ...

The Protestant Reformation began in Germany, when Martin Luther posted ... During his time at Wartburg, Luther translated the bible into German. ... Instead pushing for reforms, the protesting Christians had begun their own religion

Islam & Peace

Many Muslim missionaries claim that Islam means 'peace'. But this is not so. Here an Arab explains the word 'islam' and 'salam'.

ISLAM for peace

Our goal is to revive Islam, save it from anachronistic interpretations, and make it a true power to support the values of liberty and humanity

Versions of the Golden Rule in 21 world religions

23 Aug 2008 ... Almost all of these groups have passages in their holy texts, or writings of their leaders, which promote this Ethic of Reciprocity.

What Not To Wear - I

Actually, one of my favourite shows to work out in front of is "What Not To Wear!" I won't go into the details, as many, many people have heard of it. Simply put: two hosts do makeovers on people who have no sense of style, and who they are. It is a formulaic show, but one which reinforces the point that we must look after ourselves, and respect ourselves by presenting a professional, neat, tailored outer side, that matches our inner selves.

I have been watching it for some time. The older shows, while some of the outfits and/or makeup and hair is outdated, has an attitude I can embrace. In fact, what I think has happened is that Stacy & Clinton have developed more sophisticated attitudes, manner and language. Their treatment of clients from their more acerbic wit, designed to find the obscure pun, and get a laugh, has evolved to a demonstration of an understanding of the psychology of the men and women that they victimize! The tell their clients that they are pretty. They are good people and they are worth spending time on themselves.

In the past Stacy and Clinton were much more sarcastic for entertainment value (methinks!). The more recent shows show a deeper understanding of women; their need for reassurance that they are beautiful just as they are. That they can dress their age, not their shoe size, or as a teen, and look younger, more dignified and conquer the world and their lack of self-esteem. Some women, who did not fit the Twiggy stereoptype of perfection, found the 70s and 80s a terrible time to be of large build, imperfect skin, then pregnant and finally a working mom, in an age that didn't totally accept it. Who had time, the knowledge, or the inclination to look after themselves? We were expected to have and do it all: education, career, family, taking positions of responsibility, while entertaining weekly and having the perfect size 8 body. I felt a failure for most of my life.

I was a homemaker and a mother, when my peers were becoming career women. I was a teacher when my peers were becoming women in board rooms. When I put my kids in Day Care, and went out to teach, my peers were becoming principals. During the women's movement I fought a reverse stereotype. I was happy to be a teacher by day and a mom by night. There was much pressure to fulfill all sorts of other obligations, however.

Now that I am dealing with many life issues; middle age, menopause/hormones, teacher burnout, caregiver, bereavement and other life changes, I find it is getting easier to accept that what is...simply is. I wrote about my journey in my book. I am beginning to feel much more myself and I am easier on myself.

Another show, "How To Look Good Naked", is a masterful example of showing women that they are normal, human, and an average size. The phenomenal air brushed model in the Dove - Evolution Commercial, helps us understand that we will look better on the outside if we feel good on the inside. If you have not yet seen it, it is a must!

	1 min 14 sec - 15 Oct 2006 - Reginald Pike's Yael Staav takes us from model to billboard in under 60 seconds

I feel that we do have choices, and that with technology, the economy, ethical committees, standards and a more global understanding of our economic and ecological footprint, that we can now choose NOT to participate in actions that hurt us, others, and the world around us. I have used the premise of What Not to Wear, which truly shows us what TO wear, to write a column about teaching. It was called, 'What Not To Teach!'

We are inundated with choices in curriculum. Many strands within particular topics, and it is difficult to avoid that which buries us in the trivial. For this reason, I think that with all the options to us in the world, we are having difficulty deciding what not to do. What is outside the boundary of ethics? Too many choices exist that are better left undone and innovations that might have better been left unfulfilled. But I will post more on that tomorrow!

YouTube, Copyright & Public Domain

I walked down to Bala to see the falls. I took a video of our heroic EMS crews for two reasons. 1) to show the power of the water from the south falls.

2) to laud the men and women who risked their lives to pull the bodies from the water.
For those unfamiliar with the water, they find it hard to understand the power of the water.

That said, I contacted CTV News to tell them about the incident. They asked permission to use my video, which I granted.
Then, I received a short e-mail from a Global TV reporter who asked if it was my video, and if I took the videos. I said I was. Conversation ended. Then I became curious. Why did he want to know?! I e-mailed him back. He said,

"Sometimes we will utilize you tube video in the show but we always check to ensure its the original thing and not a dub from another source. This has happened before but I prefer checking all sources as a rule of thumb."

My husband was watching the news and saw my video. I e-mail him back and said we saw my video on TV, and shouldn't he credit me with it?

He said,

"I hear you Jennifer; however once its on you tube it becomes public domain--and ends up being you tube sourced as the provider --but I have no problem crediting you...I will put your name up over the video for 11pm."

I did not accept this, checking for info I found none. I then e-mailed Dr. Michael Geist, uOttawa, and asked him. He e-mail me back and told me that,

"No - not true. Just because it is on YouTube, doesn't mean that it is public domain. They may still be able to use a portion as fair dealing, but that doesn't mean there isn't copyright in the work."

I forwarded his message to the reporter, I think it important that we be clear on these things. Many, many people steal the intellectual property of one another's photos and text. Copyright is a pet peeve of mine, and the least understood. When I taught my elementary students I had a hard time explaining that you couldn't copy the entire Internet for your own project! Plagiarism is an important issue to me. Theft of both visual and textual work is unlawful.

As Dr. Geist says, you can quote a portion 'fair dealing', but not all.
My children saw CITY TV featured a portion, but not the whole thing. Again, fair dealing. The reporter got back to me, after consulting the corporate lawyer. He wrote,

"It is lawful to use the video as part of a legitimate news report on the subject of the video itself as a "fair dealing" with the work pursuant to Section 29 of the Copyright Act. Therefore, the use made of the video might be justified as "fair dealing" in the circumstances."

What we need to remember, also, is that this is Canadian law, and the Internet is a world-wide beast. I would be curious about the laws in other countries.

All of us must realise that we cannot use work that does not belong to us. It is simple to ask, as most of us who post photos, text, audio and video, are happy to share with the world, provided we are credited. In this, the age of technology, we must be careful to respect this, despite the ease with with we can copy this work. (And it IS work!)
Read more on Canadian laws: Respect intellectual property.

Read more from a US lawyer: Nine Copyright Myths of the Online World.
Myth #2: It's okay to use anything that's online, because if it's online, it's in the public domain and up for grabs

"Public domain" is a concept that a lot o f people throw around without truly understanding it. "Public domain" does not mean the same thing as "on the Web" or even "publicly available." In fact, the fact that a work is online or publicly available is no indication whatsoever of whether it is in the public domain.


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References

• What is "fair dealing" - Copyright Law 9 Sep 2008 ... What kinds of uses are legal in the United States under fair use but not clearly legal in Canada under fair dealing?
• 1 FAIR DEALING IN CANADA The Canadian Copyright Act (R.S.C. 1985 ...[PDF]
  

  What is "fair dealing"/"fair use"?

  In Canada, the principal exception to the exclusive rights of copyright holders is called "fair dealing". Fair dealing creates a limited number of exceptions, including private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting. This list is exhaustive, such that fair dealing applies only to those categories of dealings that are specifically mentioned.
  The equivalent user right under American copyright law, "fair use," is, by contrast, an open-ended system which adopts a non-exhaustive approach to categories of dealings, and focuses instead on principles for determining whether a use strikes an equitable balance between user and copyright holder interests. These principles include, but are not limited to: determinations of the purpose and character of the use; the nature of the work; the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the entire work; and, the effect of the derived work on the market for the original. Fair dealing relies on similar fairness principles, but only within the scope of the itemized categories of dealings. The term fair use is thus more expansive than fair dealing and the terms should not be used interchangeably.

the work ethic

The work ethic is an interesting topic in Canada. What with outsourcing, the developing world developing, and work being sent off-shore, there are those that bemoan the state of the economy.

If we go for the cheapest, like Cheap*Mart does, with undercutting, and forcing companies to use cheaper materials and labour, it is no wonder that small businesses are going out of business. I shudder when I see yet more big box stores in Muskoka.

I see this societal practice reflected in my classrooms. Back in my teaching days many students tended to tackle the "easiest problems". It is time to step up and create jobs through investment in local, regional, provincial, and national industries.

This past holiday season, the we had good news in that our retailers reported good sales. I hope this trend continues. Manufacturing is down but there is hope that things will continue on an upward trend in our region.

Random Acts of Kindness

This morning CBC featured a group trying to put a little love back into the world. Their Dec. 14th web post says,

"Darius Bashar is the site's co-founder. He joined guest host Karen Horman to talk about using social networks to make the world a better place...one act of kindness at a time. Learn more at the Daily Challenge website."

What an intriguing revision of the original RAK, on the RAK Foundation site. RAK has become a popular notion since its inception. An Amazon.ca search brought up 40 books on RAK.

I recall driving across a toll booth, one of the suggestions in the book I read (see image!), and paid for the person's car behind me. It was so much fun!

My students were right with me. We began complimenting each other and writing each other and found more and more websites with more ideas.

For parents I sent home: An Affirmation of our children.I practiced this in February in my classroom that year. I found a free poster and it encouraged us. It was a pleasant way to spend Valentine's Day week and provided writing activities.

A s I peruse the site, I have had some doubts, though. Some of the challenges seem to be far less that RAK, and more visions of the world as it could be. For example, they suggest turning off your computer when you leave work. What is with this? This should be a mandatory part of your day. Another: "drink at least a litre of water today". Really? That notion is outdated and has been determined to be unnecessary to one's health. How does that help another person? Or, "opt for more exercise today". I rather believe that the RAK ought to involve people in social situations.

Manners seem to be a thing of the past. I have blogged previously about this, with the lack of "Thank you", in society. During the radio interview Darius suggested that we say hello to the security guard, for example. I wonder if this should not be a part of daily practice?

It occurs to me that we are asking people to step up to the plate to be kind, when it is truly good manners. I adore my husband's manner in social, or business settings. On our 7th date he took me out. When we got out of the taxi he said to the driver, "Thank you, sir!" I was so impressed. Being uncertain of myself, not a user of taxis, I was a bit nervous. I realized what a simple, polite things we can do for everyone. The driver must have been around his age. I have tried to practice this simply idea since.

I make sure that I find a good thing to say to everyone I meet when provided with goods and services. It makes them a bit more friendly. I ask 'how are you today?" If they look a bit harried I try to reflect this back to them. I like to empathize if they appear overworked and tired. I often ask if their shift is nearly over. I worked as a cashier for two days a week and understand what customers can be like. I try to act positive when in the other position. It is not easy. Annie's Cafe always has people with a smile. I feel as if I am a special guest, not paying customer.

When I drive, I am not usually in a hurry and will slow down when conditions are ripe for them to pass or I will pull over to let speedy drivers pass. It seems only good manners and a safe way of being proactive. I cannot stand the incidents of road rage. There is no reason for it! I have often made a mistake driving and had a driver give me an ugly look (or finger) and have no way to apologize. People are quick to judge and consider me aggressive or berate me with their horn.

I think we all should simply act our age and not our shoe size. Show simple respect and treat others the way we would like to be treated. The seemingly old fashioned 'do unto others' would stand us all in good stead. The Ethic of Reciprocity is a good one, found in texts and religious precepts. Let us be kinder and happier. Make the choice.