Edna Ferber - Some More Thoughts

I just have a little more to say about Edna Ferber.  It seems that her writing have fallen out of favour which is a crying shame.  I think with the times we are experiencing now, in America but also around the world, her take on humanity has real value.  

Ferber wrote many books on the expansion in America focusing on the value of the immigrants’ who helped build America, the Polish, the Jews, the Dutch, the American pioneers; in books such as Cimarron, So Big, American Beauty, Ice Palace, Giant and Come & Get It.  In her obituary the remark was “Her books were not profound [well, I take exception here] but they were vivid and had a sound sociological basis.”  In today’s society we have new immigrants who are bringing their work ethic into the country.  In particular the Philippine people are outstandingly hard workers and keep their funds inside the country to help the economy.

 

Do we have challenges today with immigration?  Yes, but overall the majority of the people who enter our country or well-vetted, decent people who just want to have a good life away from war and strife and poverty.  Looking through Edna Ferber’s lens of compassion, curiosity and acceptance I think we can all learn some valuable lessons in being multi-cultural.  It’s not easy, but that’s life. 

 

That’s the velvet.

So Big - Edna Ferber

I’ve been doing some early Christmas shopping and picked up some hard cover books at Costco but unfortunately they are so heavy that I am having a hard time dipping into them.  So I pulled out some of my old classics which I do every once in a while.  Sort of placebo for the soul therapy.  As my readers know I enjoy reading “The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder as soon as it blizzards, this year I went with the first snow.  I always feel cosy and comforted that I have my cupboards stock with food and grateful that the heat is going. 
I’ve been reading the 2 volumes of One Basket which is Ferber’s early short story series but now I am deep into “So Big” one of my all time favorites (on my top 10 list).  I adore the story, I adore Selena, I love the word descriptions and the life lessons.  Some favorite lines
·         A fine show.  The trick is to play in it and look at it as the same time . . . Living.  All mixed up.  The more kinds of people you see, and the more things you do, and the more things that happen to you, the richer you are.  Even if they are not pleasant things.  That living.  Remember, no matter what happens, good or bad, it just so much . . . just so much velvet”.
·         “There are only two kinds of people in the world that really count.  One kind’s wheat and the other kind’s emeralds.
·         But always to her, red and green cabbages were to be jade and Burgundy, chrysoprase and porphyry.  Life has no weapons against a woman like that.
The book is about how the individuals see the world and so few see the beauty and  the Show.  They lead pedestrian lives even if they have money and education where Selena sees what could be.  She sees the Parade of Life.  It’s just so beautiful see wonder at people who can see the absolute joy in the world and I feel grateful that maybe, just maybe, I am one of those people.
So today when you do your commute, when you are shopping, maybe you can just take in the glory of living and the possibilities around us.   
My cup runneth over.

Wy Socialism is a Four Letter Word

When I tell people that I am a Socialist they generally feel speechless, confused and/or alarmed.  All their lives they have been told by media as well as colleagues, family members and others that socialism is a bad thing and not to be tolerated in Canada.  I admit that I was given to understand by my parents that socialism was a good thing but they also gave me the full story of why conservatives and liberals were not good for the ordinary Canadian.  And then I was told to read the newspaper and make up my own mind.  I was 14 at the time.

It’s true that Scandinavians are innately socialist as long ago as the Viking era.  I was rather surprised to learn that fact and am grateful for my mother in translating from the Danish encyclopedia.  There are 13 volumes in my set (going up to 1939) and written in extraordinary detail.  While I can read Danish from the magazines are lesser books I find reading the encyclopedia challenging because it is “intellectual words” which naturally we do not speak in our house on a daily basis.  We speak common Danish.  When we talk politics it is a scramble with mostly English in it.  I give you this information so you will understand that I am open and honest – I am getting my information second hand from Mom although I frequently ask to see the book so I can make sure it’s what she told me. 
As I have said in past blogs, I do urge folks to look up each of the Scandinavian countries’ websites and review their political section.  As well, a very interesting book on the Danes rescue of Jews is found in the book “Countrymen” by Bo Lindgaard which is currently on the bargain shelf at Chapters for about $10.  It explains a lot of the political part of being an occupied country during WWII but more importantly it explains the Danish way of feeling about anyone who is a Danish citizen regardless of ethnic background.  I often say of myself “don’t give me something and then take it away” which is very much a Danish thing.

I am in correspondence with several of my Danish cousins and one day Laust and I were talking on the phone and I had to laugh a little when he said “I pay my taxes with joy”.  I said while I don’t pay my taxes with joy I pay them because they are my responsibility as a Canadian citizen.  If I want health care, infrastructure, schools and so on it behooves me to pay for it.  I never skirt my taxes or try to cheat, it just isn’t worth it for me to feel dishonest.  Most Danes feel the same way although they love to complain about the taxes; at the same time they would rather pay their taxes than lose the things the taxes pay for.  In this regard I think it is worthwhile to read “The Almost Nearly Perfect People” by Michael Booth.  While much of what he writes annoys me because he is fairly derogatory about the Danes’ he does make some points that are relevant when it comes to taxes and the Danish and other Scandinavians’ attitude.

Something that irritates the heck out of me when discussing social programs is the phrase “whose going to pay for it?”  Well, you are of course but why do you have to ask when you already pay for so much crap in our system.  Why would you begrudge $100 or so for abortion when the alternative could be a child born in poverty and then you will pay how many thousands of dollars for 18 years of social services?  (Forget the pro-life stance, it will only irritate me more).

The 4 letter word is really something that the media creates via their corporate owners since they don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes.  If they did we would likely be able to fund free college educations, fund infrastructure in rural areas, keep schools and hospitals current and so much more.  But hey, why would we need these things in the 21^st century.  Let’s just fall further and behind European countries who actually know what they are doing.

Another re-think moment.

Political Anger Management

Two weeks ago Justin Trudeau threw 18,000 Sears employees under the bus when he made the statement that he would not be reconsidering the bankruptcy laws.  This relates to the fact that those at the front of the line, the bank get their payout, the executives get their multi-million dollar bonuses (and why would a bankrupt company give the executives bonuses for going bankrupt?) and then the employees will NOT get their pensions because the fund was “underfunded” – when the truth is the American owners have syphoned the funds into the States over the last few years.  Shameful, absolutely shameful.

This is by no means the first pension fund that has been so-called “underfunded”.  This has been going on for decades.  Why has nothing been done to correct this problem.  Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals have made any effort to protect the ordinary Canadian.  We already have a crisis with respect to pensions in Canada; people who believe they have pensions are suddenly left with nothing but the CPP and Old Age – the cumulative total (at maximum) is approximately $1,500 with some folks qualifying for a Supplement that can bump up their monthly stipend to $1,800.  And we know how far that will go in a month.

Linking my outrage at Trudeau I am also extremely vexed concerning our Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s shenanigans.  It seems completely false to believe that he was “misdirected” by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner.  First of all he’s not exactly stupid, he’s been in politics for some time and must know the rules.  If he didn’t he has no business being a Minister of Finance.  Meanwhile the company that was not in the blind trust is also a pension management fund and then he goes and tries to push through a tax reform bill that alters the way pensions are managed?  Umm, who can believe that he was ignorant of all of this – something that benefits him?  Again, shameful that he isn’t suspended at the very least – but no he goes on his merry way.

Lastly the Paradise Papers have me so angry I can hardly type!  Three former Prime Minister have tax havens.  How shameful that these rogues will avoid paying taxes while the tax payers are paying their pensions!  How greedy are these people?  And many more in Trudeau’s circle are doing the same thing.  Beyond disgusting that this is allowed, this is actually legal.  Why?  Because we continue to vote in 1%’ers with some sort of deluded idea that they are going to protect ordinary Canadians? 

 

IT IS TIME FOR PEOPLE TO WAKE UP AND SMELL THE B.S. WE ARE FED BY MEDIA.  WE NEED TO BE OUR OWN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS AND LOOK AT THE HARD FACTS, THE PAST RECORD THAT ALLOWS CORPORATIONS AND RICH INDIVIDUALS TO AVOID TAXES.  CURRENTLY APPROXIMATELY 90% OF THE FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS ARE COMING IN FROM ORDINARY CANADIANS.  YES, ORDINARY CANADIAN LIKE YOU AND ME, OUR LITTLE LEGS ARE CARRYING THE COUNTRY AND WE KNOW WE DO NOT HAVE 90% OF THE WEALTH IN THIS COUNTRY (AND NOW WE KNOW FOR SURE OUT OF IT AS WEL).  ARE BACKS ARE BREAKING UNDER THIS BURDEN.

IT’S TIME FOR A NEW PARTY THAT IS DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE.  IT’S TIME WE ALL TAKE A MORE SERIOUS LOOK AT THE NDP AGENDA, THEIR IDEAS, AND THEIR WILL TO HELP ORDINARY CANADIANS. 

I URGE EVERYONE TO DO A SERIOUS RE-THINK OF WHAT THEY WANT FOR THEIR FUTURE AS WELL AS THEIR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.