Happy O Canada Day (July 1), the 150th birthday of our great friend to the North!
“When the state trusts citizens, citizens trust the state” (Justin Trudeau).
The 26 community centers in Vancouver B.C. could represent a third way beyond the state and the market. The centers have a cushioning and multiplying effect as surrogate counseling and classroom opportunities. Anyone can use the computers for three hours a day and caserolle dinners are only $4. The Canadian spirit, the thankfulness of being protected from cradle to grave, is encountered everywhere. Do we have anything to learn here?
The Sky Train, the Canada line, and the Evergreen line in Vancouver B.C. are computer-operated light rail lines connecting the whole city, magic trains running every four minuters some since 1986.
When will the US recognize and congratulate Canada and Vancity and break out of its insular, exceptional hubris?
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2017/06/434877.shtml
The following are excerpts from Chris Hedges’ address “Fight Fascism” in Portland OR, June 2017.
We are entering the twilight phase of capitalism with a cannibalized government, wealth by manipulating prices, casino capitalism and a long tale of plunder and murder by the white race. War becomes a critical business of kleptocratic states. Then we are to blame; the system is not to blame.
Resisting evil is lifelong. Ruling institutions mouth the language of democracy but serve power. Institutions collaborate with radical evil. Life dedicated to resistance is vital. To be a rebel is to reject the mantra “I come first.” The cross is paradoxical. Hope comes by way of defeat (James Cone). Faith is only possible with humility and modesty. The cross is God’s critique of white power. If justice perishes, human life loses its meaning (Hannah Arendt).
Rebels ultimately triumph over the state and military power. Living in truth exposes the corruption, lies, and deceit and is the refusal to be part of the facade. We must live in truth and not be complicit. Every act of resistance passes on another narrative. In resistance, there is a balm that leads to a strange transcendent joy.