The best time to change things was years ago, the second best time is right now
Okay, so you’ve got the basics on culture if you’ve been keeping up with this series (and, if you haven’t, head to carillonregina.com to catch up). Steps one through eight. As with the previous article, this is not an extensive list.
“What else is there that I could or should do?” This is a great question. The fact that it is even crossing your mind is important.
This question shows that there has been serious deprogramming and learning done on your end, as there is not a single country who will truly and fully own up to their current and past crimes willingly or without being monitored.
Countries are led by people, and typically people don’t want to say, “Hey, I fucked up. Here are all the ways, every single one, in which I fucked up. I’m working on it and making headway in my journey to making up for my mistakes. Here’s what I’m doing to make sure I never do that again.” There’s usually quite a bit of backlash first before they may say anything like this.
That is why what you could and should be doing is putting pressure on the government to represent, and care for, the people. And not just “the people who look and think like me.” All people.
Paying attention to politics and the news is vitally important to the safety of all community members in Saskatchewan, Canada, and anywhere else on Earth. Our safety now and in the future. Building a bright future starts by building a bright present.
Having said that, never blindly trust the news, always do further research, and try to find first hand accounts. Some news companies have directives that journalists – people trained to bring the truth and what needs to be known to people – don’t think are right but don’t want to lose their jobs.
However, sometimes the truth is more important than your job. There have been times in the past when journalists quit because of these conflicts of interest between the owners of a paper and those of the people looking to the paper for information.
One such example is the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which was bought by Sheldon Adelson through his son-in-law Patrick Dumont. Information on this fascinating story can be found at reviewjournal.com and some is included in the Journalism 100 course taught by Joe Couture (I highly recommend this course, it is… enlightening).
Sure, people are elected to government positions in Canada and therefore they supposedly already represent the people’s interests, but – unfortunately for some people – those interests may not actually be what is needed, both in the world and in the community.
You want your voice heard? Be loud. Contact your representative. Email them, call them, send them a handwritten letter, whatever works best for you. Tell your representative how you want them to vote on things and why. And if you think they need a little more incentive to listen, let them know you will not be voting for them next time if they don’t do what you say. Enough people saying, “Hey, I’m not going to vote for you if you don’t do this,” will get their attention if nothing else will.
And if your representatives aren’t listening or if being loud as a single voice isn’t working, find a group. Protest. Get louder. Be so loud they can’t possibly pretend not to hear you.
There are so many injustices and so many awful things going on in the world and it’s exhausting, but if your voice can make it so that some kid somewhere can finally have a day of peace, it is worth it. Always.
“What are some actual recommendations on how to move forward?” Go out into your community and see what people need. Observing is one way to do this, but sometimes the best thing to do is to ask. Once you know what they need, find a way to get them what they need or help them get what they need.
Joining volunteer communities is a further way to help people in your community. Some in Regina include REALM, MS Canada, Carmichael Outreach, and Habitat for Humanity. One not specific to helping humans is the Regina Cat Rescue.
If you have spare money but no spare time, donate to organizations that do things you agree with and are working towards a better world. Groups such as Native American Rights Fund, found at narf.org, and Clean Water Action, found at cleanwater.org, are ones to look into or to start off with in your research.
