My definition

Cue the music (for anyone old enough to remember that horrible Canadian game show, which was used as a cut in a Dream Warriors song). Come on in and sit down while I riff a bit on what I view as my own political ideals and why I define myself as egalitarian.

So here is the dictionary definition of egalitarianism: 1 : a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic rights and privileges 2 : a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people. This is pretty bare bones when it comes to the overall philosophy I carry but it marks the beginning so here is where I will start. I believe that everyone deserves the same thing. I find the nature of greed we use to drive our current society to be grossly inadequate and damaging. I am offended on a daily basis when I watch individuals who fail to realize their actions have direct and indirect ramifications on everything around them.

Now the first thing that gets tossed out when you forward an egalitarian ideal is communism. I don't advocate communism. I advocate social change from the individual up, not from the government down. If each of us started to live by the ideals of equal rights and privileges for all people then maybe we'd start to get somewhere. And to understand how to achieve that requires that everyone understands that they are not an island unto themselves and must contribute and serve the society around them.

The interesting part of this is that my ideas on how a society and it's politics should work don't fall into the whole left/right/center spectrum we use. Because honestly egalitarianism can exist in every single mindset along that scale. You're a right wing nut job who demands less government and more fiscal responsibility? Well then, start understanding how interacting and serving the community around you virtually eliminates the need for government regulations on a great many things. Why do governments interfere with business? Because if they don't a limited number of individuals will amass more resources than they could ever need and will damage the overall society. You're a left wing tree hugger? Understand that without creating a bridge of communication and treating all issues as being 'manageable' on a large scale does not work and requires individuals within the society to actually desire the change needed. Work towards the knowledge and overall sensibilities of the individuals contribution and service to the community with the very real benefits of a far healthier living space and overall quality of life. You're a libertarian who demands that government does not interfere unduly in your life? Well then stand up and start making it so they don't have to, with the understanding that your personal liberties are GIFTS from the society around you and must be treated as such and earned.

So that was a little rant like but let me give an example of how this works in practice for me. By the way I am by no means a perfect member of society, I do however try my best to live by the ideals I've set for myself. I coach. Football, soccer, and I help with my kid's teams at her school when I can. I spend significant time and effort into this task because I see it not as me teaching a sport but as a means to impart good sportsmanship, competition, and citizenship skills to young people. I want them to strive for the best they can do, and always teach that while the physical skills I may teach are only applicable in the sport, the mental and emotional skills I teach are something they can take forward into their everyday lives. I step up and go to bat for these kids. I help them on and off the field. I have helped some with homework. I've listened to them as they've told me the problems they're having. I've bitched out parents of kids I felt were harming their kids. I put myself personally on the line when I coach and hold nothing back. Because I want every kid I coach to understand the basic ideas I hold of equality and personal responsibility. And that's the thing.

So you have that example and it's fairly vague not entirely on topic but here is where I expound. An egalitarian society must be focused on two basic principles. First, you as an individual are one part of a much greater thing. Secondly that you are personally responsible for your actions and must be held accountable by your society. As I mentioned, rights and freedoms are gifts that are given by a society to an individual. I don't buy into this 'inalienable human right' that the Americans jerk off about, nor do I buy into a human rights code that my own country will not include me or my children, or any other Status Indian in it. I know I must earn my rights just as I earn respect and trust from each person I meet and interact with. By the way this does not mean that I think there should be some council of individuals who gets to choose who gets what right and where, I just think we need to stop seeing human rights just something you get because you were born. You get them when you act like a human being who is a part of a society that defines those rights. (There's a very long and intense theoretical argument I could lay out behind this about how language defines thought, and as such society defines individuals but I am hoping everyone is following along.)

Example two. I have lost a job due to my race. Well actually, it was due to an argument with my boss about race. I've also lost a job due to my sex. I as a male am not allowed to place my children as my top priority over my career, and if I make that claim then it cannot be true and instead I am just ducking out of work. Both of these things are inequalities. As a society we MUST stand up and point at them and say 'This is wrong, you cannot treat an individual different because of their condition which is a trait of birth not learning.' As an individual? Do I blame my boss for being a racist which is why I lost my job? No. I made the mistake of arguing with him on a topic that had nothing to do with my job and had I left it alone he would not have spent the next three months cataloguing every single mistake I made so as to fire me. Do I blame the other boss for being sexist and that is why I lost my job? No I should have made ti more clear to my employer why things happened and when, and attempted to compromise with them rather than challenge them directly on their stance. I own my actions. I expect society to enforce unfortunate consequences on anyone who doesn't own their actions. I hope these two points are clear.

So let's go back to the coaching example. Why do I do it? There are a lot of reasons, some selfish, some altruistic, but in the end the biggest reason is my need as a human being to be a part of something bigger. We are in our very nature a social creature. We crave both the praise and challenge of being a part of a working group and we are all at our best when we interact and reinforce one another.

Some king at some time decided he wanted to find out what was the natural language of human beings. So he took a bunch of babies, and gave them everything but language. No one was allowed to talk to them. Every single baby died. Even when we don't know what is being said we require the knowledge that we are surrounded by others who are there for us. Without that, what is the point? As horrific as that experiment was, and while it never achieved its stated goal, it still shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that we require one another.

Yes there are some individuals who break out of this mold and become solitary figures. More often than not solitary figures become maligned and dangerous to the rest of us, others just isolate themselves. But these are not the norm, instead aberrations that reinforce the previous point.

So the point is this. You as an individual are not more important than your society. Without a healthy society that treats all its individuals as equals you as an individual will never reach your full potential or even have the life you deserve. Without those simple understandings most other endeavors will fail. And that is how I view the beginnings, the basis, of my goal of egalitarianism.

Writing

Come in, the fire is still going in case you want to roast a marshmellow or two. Beautiful weather we've had and the skins are pulled back to let the fresh smell of the rain in. Wow is it ever a beautiful night. So I made a goofy comment and someone said 'That could so be a quote for you.' And y'know what, it's true. So I thought I'd explain my writing process.

First the quote: "I see writing as my combat sport." And I do. Writing should provoke something. Thought, emotions, action, something. It should reach out and touch the reader somehow. So to that end I usually require the right mindset for writing.

First off I pick some music, something loud and with a steady driving rhthym. Living Color's 'Cult of Personality' gets a nod sometimes, lotsa songs by The Watchman. Then I grab a book that is completely different from what I'm working on, head outside and power down three cigarettes. When I get back in I down about a litre of some caffinated beverage (My fav right now is Diet Dr. Pepper) and then BAM!! It's GO TIME BITCHES!!!!

I keep the music blasting, I move, I dance, I write, I slam out words into strings of ideas and fight my way towards my goal. It tends to come out fairly well. I do it before essay style finals as well. WHOOT!!!

Forget this quiet place to study and think. I want the noise of the world to pour into me so I can see everything out there and encapsulate it into what I'm writing about. I lock down those ideas and punch'em out.

That's my writing process. *flex*