Tolerance and understanding in Cottage Country

I preach this. I do. Having taught 25 years in Ottawa, with a rainbow of diverse colours, and nations, I have taken courses in many different creeds. I can respect another's culture, ideas, and can walk arm in arm, even if I cannot walk along the same values.

It is important to learn to disagree agreeably, so I taught in all of my classrooms.

My students learned to accept one another. I was the mother bear protecting her young, as we fought for one another's value as a human being, whether we be abled, disabled, or needed to learn to tolerate difference.

In Muskoka, the colour differences have been slow to manifest. There is still racism in some forms, attitudes have not always changed. Rural Ontario was founded by those who moved into native lands, taking over the water and the animals from Aboriginal Peoples who had learned to live with nature. Yet, their lands were exploited as white folks moved in to fish and cut 200-year-old pines. For more about this, read Ghosts from the Day - Part 2, Lost in the Backwoods  or  Book Review: Raisin Wine. 
Diversity has just reared its colourful head in these parts, and it is delightful, for example, to be able to get some yummy naan in Gravenhurst after all these years. The Gravenhurst museum, the birthplace of Dr. Norman Bethune draws Chinese tourists who still honour this man. See: Bethune House in Gravenhurst. His surgical inventions are still used in the war arena.

Those who criticize me for speaking out, I simply shrug. Many are trying to protect one another and our planet. Many are raping the land, polluting the land, air and water. For this reason, I laud the work of Dr. David Suzuki and present the trailer for this new film. We cannot continue to pollute and still expect the world to survive.

David Suzuki, iconic Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist delivers a 'last lecture' -- what he describes as "a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die".
Filmed before a live audience, in front of a memory box of moving, distilled images, he articulates a core, urgent message: we have exhausted the limits of the biosphere and it is imperative that we re-think our relationship with the natural world. Suzuki looks unflinchingly at the strains on our interconnected web of life -- and out of our dire present circumstances, he offers up a blueprint for sustainability and survival.
The film interweaves the lecture with scenes from the places and events in Suzuki's life. As such, the film is a biography of ideas -- forged by the major social, scientific, cultural and political events of the past 70 years.

Book Review: Raisin Wine

I was trying to figure out a review for a different book. I have been reading a lot of murder mysteries; you can see from my book review list.

One of my best local reads has Raisin Wine (2007), by our former Lt. Gov., James Bartleman. Written about his home town, Port Carling, it tells a story of poverty, racism and ignorance of Native Culture.

Our phenomenal local man led a life that defies belief, yet one I have read in other stories. Native Peoples living in a land raped and overtaken by white folks usurping their territory. Settlers brought with them disrespect for not only the people, but the land. We still find places where the ancient civilizations were referred to as 'savages', as Champlain did in HIS memoir. I surely hope we know better now.

This book is a raw look at living off the land in a land where it was no longer possible. It tells of substandard housing and victims of poverty - living next door to those who maintained two homes: one in the city and one in cottage country. Beautifully written in the third person, we can see how this marvellous man and humanitarian, has risen above the heartless treatment he received as a youth. He managed to become a heartful human being.
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Yesterday's story from McKellar PK. P.S., Lakehead DSB was shocking: a young boy having his hair cut by an educational assistant. Many teachers (thanks to Gr. 6, and 9 curriculum) have learned to appreciate the teachings of the Aboriginal community, including this symbol of strength. It is one recent example of racism. 'Thunder Bay mom wants answers after teacher's aide chops off son's hair'.

The myths of the Underground Railroad seem to give some pride, yet very few slaves escaped using this route. When they arrived in Canada they still faced ignorance. A brilliant story,The Hanging Of Angelique: The Untold Story Of Canadian Slavery tells of the hanging of a black woman. Well-researched, it busts the myths. By Afua Cooper, 2006.
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Friday's Forgotten Books-for more book reviews