My Thoughts XIV, Activism: A Twenty-four Hours Job
I was up until about half past four in the morning last night, again. I had picked-up one of my books, “The Inconvenient Indian, A Curious Account of Native People In North America”, by Thomas King and I could not put it down. The only thing that made me turn off the light eventually and try to catch some zzzs was the fact that in a couple of hours light would start shining-in through the window. I can no longer go to sleep if the sunrise arrives when I am still awake so, I forced myself to sleep.
As I was lying in bed, well it’s not a bed – more like a mattress on the floor, I was thinking again about how unless I really make a conscious decision to shut down “the machine” (a term used by Aldous Huxley in regard to “the mind”), it never stops working. A great part of my life is dedicated to Activism. Therefore, there is always something to research and to work on.
Whether there are issues relating to the First Nations, Environmental issues, matters of politics or of social importance, the work is pretty much never-ending. Greenpeace never sleeps – there are Activists around the world working on different projects every day and night. How could I sleep, really ... while I am sleeping Japanese fishing fleets are hunting endangered species of whales in the Pacific Ocean. By the time I wake-up in the morning more poachers have hunted-down my good cousins in Africa, the rhinos. They are also endangered but human greed has no limits.
So, I sleep little at a time. I eat little at a time – always ready to go. Go where? Anywhere. Anywhere where I can be of help; anywhere where there is a necessity for action. An activist dedicates his or her life and work to causes he/she believes in. There are many creeds of activists, as there are causes to be involved in. That is why, in my opinion it is important to focus on just a few issues and not spread oneself too thin.
I remember not long ago, I received an email from an someone in the United States asking for help with gun-control issues. All I did was sign a petition. I had to respond by saying that I honestly have no time to start getting involved with matters regarding gun-control in the States. It is not that I do not think a little gun control would be bad but I simply have only twenty-four hours in a day and that is not enough for everything. At this point, I remember a former writer here on Hub-pages, Mrs. Lynda telling me once to pick my battles carefully – wise words indeed!
“You should meditate”, someone else advised me. Yes. The poachers should meditate too. The lying politicians should give it a try. How about we advise the Military Industrial System to meditate a little because all It is doing is continuing an arms race on this planet, which eventually will result in Death on scales we have not seen since WWII?
Activists have to always be on point. Just like their counter-parts: the police department, the lobbyists who relentlessly corrupt politicians with fat checks and private deals, the Secret Services (such as the RCMP here in Canada or the FBI in the States) who spy on us regularly with tax-payer's money and so on. You snooze, You lose ... so, no snoozing here.
It is what it is. No complaints on my part – just some observations.
All the best to everyone!
Note: My Photograph, Toronto, 2010