Awhile back, I was out for brunch with a group of bloggers, and someone asked me about the Hartman’s Piano. This was the piano at the Hartman’s grocery store at Bank & Somerset. For years it was a community instrument in a small community-oriented corner of the grocery store. And then suddenly it was gone, to make room for a floral department.
A number of us tried to get Hartman’s to reconsider. Unsuccessfully.
“You can’t win ’em all,” a fellow blogger said.
“Lately I’ve been feeling like we can’t win any of them,” I replied.
And it’s true. I believe it’s our duty to actively try to make the world a better place. There are a lot of big global problems, like climate change and war and genocide and poverty and so on. I don’t expect any of them to be solved in my lifetime, or perhaps ever. But still, I think it’s important that I put my shoulder to the wheel.
There are big national problems too. For example, I’m becoming increasingly alarmed by the liberties the Harper government is taking with our liberties. (The over-policing and brutality against protesters at the G20 rally in Toronto is a symptom of a much bigger problem.) This government’s priorities are seriously warped. Worse, its slogans-and-propaganda style of governing only works on an uninformed and unthinking population, and it concerns me that so many Canadians are falling for it.
There are problems at the municipal level too, and the community level.
Taking on the Hartman’s Piano cause was my way of trying to remain hopeful about activism. I thought “Maybe we can’t achieve world peace, but at least we can get the piano back.”
But we couldn’t. I found that so discouraging. We couldn’t even get the piano back.
But you know what? Today I’m feeling optimistic. When the Chief Statistician of Canada, Munir Sheikh, resigned yesterday over the Census debacle, it was a courageous and ethical stance against Stephen Harper, and it restored my optimism.
I believe Stephen Harper, as set as he is in his autocratic ways, will have no choice but to back down. If you look at these two fascinating lists of organizations in favour of the long-form census questionnaire and those opposed, it becomes apparent that Harper is dead wrong about the Census and he’s alienating a lot of powerful people. He will ignore these lists at his own political peril.
Either way, we win. We’ll either get the Census back, or we’ll get rid of Stephen Harper. Maybe even both.
Boy, I don’t know. It’s not like Harper to back down on anything no matter how many people tell him he’s wrong. He might blame the whole mess on Tony Clement (who is already in trouble over the Do Not Call telemarketing thing); ask Clement to resign and then pretend like it was all his crazy-assed idea. That way Harper can back down without looking like he’s backing down and end up looking good for fixing something stupid that Stats Can wanted to do. In fact, I think Tony Clement also has the Hartman’s piano!!
Ha!
Zoom, ma’am, I hope your optimism is based on precognition. Because lately, the PM’s been winnin’ arguments just by pretending he’s right.
Us coyotes can’t help noticing that the only two organizations on that list with the bald-faced gall to claim Harper’s idea is a good one – face it, Tony Clement ain’t gonna take a whiz without first raising his hand to the PM for marching orders – are ideological ones that Harper is, ummm, in cahoots with. Imagine that…!
Coyote! I think I’ve got a full-blown case of perimenopausal precognition.
By the way, where are you? Rumour has it you’re in a top-secret location on a top-secret mission. Is that true?
Oh zoom, I am SO sympathetic to how you’re feeling. I’ve been feeling so disheartened to, and some days almost in a panic over what Harper is doing. This doesn’t feel like Canada anymore; and I feel ashamed that our country is being represented by him internationally. One screw-up after another after another and I have lost all confidence in the man, and his government of idealists.
I am right with you in being deathly afraid of how the Canadian people are acting like sheep being herded; you would think that if you lash an animal enough eventually it stampedes and crushes the herder, but it seems that people are really buying into the Cons’ idealism. It really, really scares me and hits me where it hurts – right in the soul.
I am so afraid for this country and I am standing up to fight and to scream as loudly as my voice will let me, but again, it doesn’t feel like enough. It feels like there are less standing with me than before.
But there are little glimmers of hope — my incredibly intelligent and well-spoken (not to mention left-wing) friend Tara recently started teaching a class at Carleton, is soon to be a Ph.D., and will be a professor! So many young minds for her to mold, it will be beautiful when her troops move out into society!
And there are still some decent politians left (Iggy is, unfortunately, NOT in any way a Liberal, and his opposition is sad at best), such as Libby Davies and Paul Dewar.
Municipal politics gets me even more upset — but more so into a blinding rage than a heavy-soul kind of feeling. I am SO sick of people supporting Larry O’Brien — the man is a %@&^ing CRIMINAL! He bribed his way into office (much like Bush did), and not to mention since then he’s done NOTHING GOOD for this city.. at ALL! Like, it’s almost out of a fairy tale. This man is such an ignoramus, it kills me. He’s divided council further than ever before, and started some blood feuds that are guananteed to last a lot longer than he’ll be around. Even once he’s gone his touch will be felt for years in this city.
I could go on and on but I’ll cut it short out of respect. Great post zoom!, and look, I didn’t even mention drug policy or harm reduction once! Well, once.
-JM
Nice Article.
Ma’am, I am always on a secret mission in a top secret location. It’s what coyotes do…
Yes! Hope can come from the strangest places – even in the form of a conservative economist. He’s my new hero.
There are many bits of your post that I agree with. Yeah, I agree that the PM is causing us problems. He’s done some good things, things that sell well, but he’s done damage too. It’s harder to see the damage as it’s been snuck in (IMHO) But at the same time, I think we citizens have to take responsibility for things that happen….if I continue, I’ll start to philosophize. The police mess in Toronto, problem too, but the damage done was also a problem. There’s two sides.