Category Archives: Philosophy

Gratitude, Philosophy, Politics

Gondek Booed At Flames Game

She seemed to have handled it well. It would be best though if cultural ceremonies were kept clear of the sporting arena. There are other venues and opportunities to honor the those deserving of society’s recognition. Those folks after all are paying stupid ticket prices to watch hockey.

I’ll say this about Gondek and City Hall. This woman did work some overtime back in the fall during an occasion to hear from the public on the housing crisis. You could have went to see what was up. I was there. She listened attentively. She has also dealt with some hate directed toward her residence. The police had to step in. She has also dealt with increases in demands by constituents lobbying for the Green Line and its construction. Then of course there is the replacement to the Saddledome which has had much contention due to the expectation of taxpayer participation. Many of those same advocates for a new arena are those complaining about a property tax increase. There has been administrative oversight in updating venues and the never ending oversight of new public works and community development. She will be busy managing conflicting interests while staying true to her ideal of what lead her to public office in the first place. In lieu of some pressure…..apparently she got involved with some sipping straws. If this is why you were booing at the game ignorant of her tasks in aggregate…shame on you. Most of the larger decisions at City Hall are made in context of a council made of people from diverse backgrounds. They hold votes and she casts hers singularly.    

Philosophy

People Unsettled

Never has there been a time when people have been so unsettled psychologically. It’s obvious. All that you really need as a metric are the number of references to “mental health” within media and social circles. Many have problems….but why?

Our organization as a society may not be serving citizens as effectively today as it did in generations past.  Merit played more of a role toward ascribing contributions by employees in the past compared to today. While the eight figure CEO flaunts financials with a direct correlation toward his / her leadership, the inputs transpired far beyond the four walls of a window office in Class A office space downtown.  A tax systems looks to redistribute his /her wealth with a progressive system whereby fair beneficiaries aren’t necessarily accessing resources due to broken governmental systems. Poor stewards of tax dollars behave indifferently toward the disadvantaged and culturally we suffer with subconscious minds afflicted.

A despondent state arises because of advocacy fatigue. We think we should be doing more to help but bureaucracy blunts initiative. We turn a blind eye and look inward with attention on what we know we can control.

Certainly, there is a physiological attribution toward some mental health afflictions but I suggest that daily observations of how we are treating each other factor into the manifesting of feeling what we feel. In powerlessness comes despair. If one feels that every outreach will fall on deaf ears, one withdraws. Any psychologist will likely attest that a withdrawn soul infects the spirit. I suggest that withdrawn souls must be mended so that tears in the social fabric can be mended.

We must be more intuitive and less self interested in order to have impact on those less fortunate. We must re-evaluate our reason for being in order to generate activities which deploy contributions of our full potential and eventual legacy. Our stock performance… although worthy of our attention need not be a preoccupation. Neither do we need to upgrade to the latest Mercedes model.  However; we do need to advocate for those less fortunate if we are blessed with such skills which they do not possess.  As such, we are more comfortable in our well deserving material world spreading words of hope and forgiveness. In complement we must help authorities adhere to their responsibility of accountability for members of society who break our laws.

With greater participation sociologically by people positioned to serve unofficially, we will heal our culture. We will foster private participation in cultural development initiatives and even undertake a renewal of “multicultural” expression.  All this can be done without a cell phone app.               

Lifestyle, Philosophy

Are We Becoming A Different Species?

Are we becoming a different species? This is the question pondered by relationship expert Esther Perel. She does so in the context of the impact of technology on interpersonal relations. The question seems ridiculous but when we delve deeper into the changing behavioural habits of mankind, perhaps there is food for thought.

Let’s look to the brain and its wiring. What do we know? Physicians / scholars have identified compartments of the brain associated with functions such as reasoning, emotion, sensory stimulation, and motor control. Yet, the intricacies of neural pathways and the manifestation of behaviours arising from neural impulses are less understood. You can bet that scholars in the field are disappointed that more of a behavioural baseline was not established prior the proliferation of personal computing devices. Such a baseline would have obviously aided new studies in examining change.

Particular behavioural characteristic which interests me in the context of the headline are “empathy”, and “awareness”. That is, any change in a person’s acuity. I postulate that technological utility as it reduces interpersonal time may produce reductions in such traits but could any such reduction make us less human? In other words, can the influence of technology change brain chemistry to the point that we can ultimately label ourselves differently? Notice that I haven’t yet referenced the relatively new acronym, AI, and you all know what this is by now. 

Is brain chemistry interconnected with spirit and soul? If so, could our spiritual selves now be encumbered of expression through neural blocks produced by technology?

When postulating the question, Perel had the human experience in mind related to our physicality through touch and sex. She claimed that we can live without sex but we cannot live without touch. Who here has been tasked with selling off a grandmother’s dining room table but there are few buyers because families are now not large enough to need one? Unquestionably, we have grown apart and the divorce rate exemplifies such. We are less tolerant of foibles and less committed to relationships. In carving out our personal freedom through intolerance, we’ve become isolated and judgmental. A crassness has been infused within our psyche perhaps due to a powerlessness we now feel through the degradation of community supports.

With a few paragraphs of reflection to temper the ridiculousness, I suppose a study could incite yet more curiosity. 

Philosophy, Politics

Government Missteps Galore

Yet another apology. You’ve witnessed government missteps galore .This time because of inviting some guy into the House of Commons despite his unsavory history. I have a suggestion for government officials. Our country has a mechanism for bestowing special honors on our citizens. They need not show up in the House of Commons. This institution has been built so that you can tend to our business. It’s not a Merry Go Round to serve your special interests.

If you are an MP, I hope you are embarrassed for standing and clapping for somebody who’s history was little known to you. I expect you to operate with your conscience and not by acquiescing to expectations of party lines or expected decorum which in your opinion may be out of bounds.  Your good conscience carries weight amongst the electorate. You were in fact vetted by the electorate when we sent you to Ottawa.

Now Justin Trudeau is apologizing on behalf of “all of those in this house” but I suspect few of them had authorized personally the recognition last Friday of this man who had fought for Nazi Germany. 

This issue speaks to a larger issue of mismanagement with the federal government. The utilization of government platforms for stroking the ego of politicians and their good friends is and always has been a disservice to the Canadians who look to such institutions to serve them through good governance and good governance only.     

Economics, Lifes Lessons, Philosophy

Calgary Affordable Housing Forum

Over the past two days, the City of Calgary has hosted a civic forum inviting residents to chime in on the housing affordability crisis. I took a Friday afternoon off and spent three hours listening to presenters. I did so not having read a 30 point recommended blueprint drafted by “experts” which will be before city councillors for a vote. It was apparent that most of the presenters I had witnessed had briefed themselves on the document.

Firstly, I was generally impressed by the quality of presentations to the point that some hope has been restored with respect to the capacity of our people to articulate positions around social policy. People demonstrated an empathy for others not necessarily aligned demographically with themselves.

Secondly, the degree of the problem was showcased emotionally by those impacted. Statistical data points were highlighted by citizens holding career positions oriented around the issue. The city did an admirable job of accommodating no less than 150 presenters while providing audio / visual support.

A backdrop to the forum is an offer from our federal government to provide housing targeted funding with conditions oriented around a blanket zoning change to all communities which would ultimately expedite building approvals city wide. This blanket zoning change would enable “mid-block” infills to accommodate multi-family buildings irrespective of the character surrounding communities only ascribed to single family dwellings. You can see where this is going. The conditional funding offered is substantial. Municipalities will be asked to sign on from a position of weakness having not effectively planned communities for decades while home owners wonder why they are expected to acquiesce to a zoning change potentially negatively impacting their homes market value. Suddenly a carrot is being waved at city councillors across the country which will help break ground on new construction to aid in resolving the housing crisis.

While the federal government’s aggressive immigration policy spurned the housing crisis, the accommodation made for Ukrainian and African refugees has put us into a crisis and action is required – that is the kind of action now not subject to the luxury of urban planning studies. The failures are easily evident in massive urban sprawl and downtown core vacant office buildings. If we promise a Canadian way of life including a home to immigrants and refugees willing to contribute, it’s apparent to me that we must deliver or send them back with a note that we’ve failed them.

We can’t have everything all of the time in the context of serving multiple demographics within a civilized society. Canadian home owners have seen amazing valuation returns on their property and may continue to do so but will be asked to provide their community assets toward the assimilation of those marginalized. It’s actually social while preserving the capitalist ideal. The purchase of a home within Canada has never come with a guarantee that there would never be a zoning change. Everyone must do their part to solve a society ill. Working collectively is good for us all – especially during a time of much division. Some homeowners will be impacted more than others should an infill turn to a multi-family building. City bylaws may need updates. Life will go on.