Common Ground: Paraskeva, Eisler, Obama and Diaz

Tuesday we watched the Nation Film Board video Portrait of the Artist-As an Old Lady on Paraskeva Clark. For more information on the film itself and the NFB, click here.

"Myself" a self-portrait by Clark

The film, although informative and a great review of Paraskeva's achievements, again made me think of the white anglo-saxon male privilege. I just can't seem to get away from it, and probably never will. That's okay. But I'll never accept it. Sure thee might be times when I'll brush it aside in order to get a job or to help a community reach its goals, but forget about it? Never.

I love addressing the uncomfortable and indeed, I can't help it. Sometime it is to a fault, alienating others without meaning to do so, and thus alienating myself. But most of the time, results are encouraging. As for Paraskeva, the privilege she shines into the light in one of class, nationality, and gender and her route, a politically-charged one.

Last night, Barack Obama was re-elected as president of the United States. Although I’m of the conviction that we as Canadians do not pay enough attention to our own politics or voice our political opinions enough, I also think that we should keep informed of what goes on in politics internationally. One does not contradict the other. And let’s face it, the U.S. is kind of a big deal.

So I watched the elections on campus amongst fellow students who are citizens, like me, of a now global community. I think it is no understatement to say that the whole world was watching. A lot was riding on the outcome of this election, be it economically, in terms of human rights, and in terms of war and peace. From my point of view, peace won, gender equality made great strides, green energy got rooted and, making Paraskeva proud, socialist ideas in healthcare won.

I am immensely proud of our neighbor's electoral decision. Now if we could only do the same here; if we could only focus, once again, on the people of our nation. Yes, the economy is important. But why? Sure it is important to feed people, to buy education, to afford a shelter above everyone's dream-filled heads. But what makes us happy are the people people in our lives and the realationships (sic) we forge with them. However, the "public sphere" -professional and institutional- is the one given the most importance by conservatives in Canada by the Republicans in the United States. Yet The Real Wealth of Nations, according to Riane Eisler, is found within the two layers that ground the institutional and professional levels: volunteer-based economy and domestic or private economy. Without these, the two top spheres could not function. Yet these are severely undervalued, consisting of the historically oppressed: women, children, the elderly, visible minorities, the middle-lower and lower class. And yet tremendous energy is generated and stocked here, rich by the very relationships that make us human and motivated by the hopes and dreams that we cannot help but grow.

The cover of Riane Eisler's book, playing off of the outdated and similarly titled "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith.

The election of president Obama as leader of the United States gives me hope in the same way as art gives me hope for a better tomorrow. In my opinion, he is someone who understands the oppressiveness of privilege and its predatory nature, but most importantly is someone who has worked hard and earned what he has, despite adversity in the form of economic and ethnic disadvantage.

Only 2.5 years to go under the Harper government. Sigh.


Below, author Junot Diaz talks at the google complex about the nature of privilege and the role of the artist in relation. A must see for every artist and for every compassionate and logical human being!