One Life to Live...My Carpe Diem Missive


Those of you who frequent my Blog or search my archives will see that I spend a lot of time debating ideological issues and abstract visions of a world that we will probably never live to see. Growing up, and to this very day, I have had a fascination (not necessarily admiration, let’s get these points very clear here) with things like the rise of the Third Reich and Soviet Union as they were purely driven by ideologies and visions of a different kind of world (a horrendous one in the case of the Reich, and, from the initial rumblings, of Utopia in the U.S.S.R.). Let’s face it, here in the Enterprise Culture of North America, the whole ideological movement exists solely on the periphery, rarely gaining enough popular support to make the foray into the mainstream. For example, the rich are getting richer while the poor aren’t making much headway, but the socialists are no where to be found. In the last Canadian election I listened to several candidate features and when the 18 year old suitably dressed candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Party spoke, you could tell that he was there more as a joke and to appear cool in front of his little gang of non-conformist friends who see Lenin’s face on a t-shirt as a fashionable protest because it looks cool (makes my think of "Hypmotise" by System of a Down: 'why don't you ask the kids in Tianamen Square/ was fashion the reason all of them were there'). I am being harsh here, certainly, but I am speaking more from frustration regarding the lack of choice. It was nice to see the Green Party fare somewhat better, but they still didn’t manage to elect anyone. It is very apparent that leading this country is much more of a job interview to become a CEO than ideological visionary.

So, it’s back to the microcosms. The University of Alberta is the big school here in town and where I did my Education degree. As expected, this is the hub of most our city’s activist groups, alternative radio and source of ideas. As of late, the Student’s Union (SU) there has made some pretty interesting choices. This is an interesting study of “being my brother’s keeper” as discussed in an earlier Blog entry on my site. The SU bristled some years ago when the UofA signed an exclusive deal with Coke to sell only Coca-Cola products on campus. Freedom of choice and corporate influence on campus were the main issues. In more recent years, the SU has begun to fight against fast food on campus, in an attempt to offer student’s healthy alternatives. Again, interesting to see the ideology pressed into motion, but now we are hitting that slippery point of deciding what is good for you and what choices you should be permitted.

Now, a couple of days ago, there was a write-up in the paper about a motion by the SU to ban smoking on campus (inside and out), as well as to ban the sale of tobacco products. Smoking was banned inside campus-wide some time ago, with the exception of the dorms. The SU received 60% support when the students were polled, pitting democracy against personal choice and personal protection. This also creates some interesting arguments, such as what do you do for smokers who live in residence? Is this too much control? It will be an interesting experiment in any case. Have smokers replaced Communists as the infernal bogey-people of the post Cold War period?

Regardless, we live in a bandwagon, fixative culture. I’d be interested to see what is really worse for you – daily consumption of fast foods or use of tobacco products. I must say, though I am a non-smoker and tend to eat a minimal meat organic whole grain diet, that I really question these health ‘evils’. I know lots of people who have lived fairly healthy lifestyles and been very sick, had cancer, died, etc. Then there are those that I know who have smoked all their lives, eaten horrendous meat and fat laden diets, survived World Wars and gone on to be 90! My Father-in-law smokes a pipe religiously, loves his traditional British food and enjoys a drink regularly, survived the rations and bombings of WWII just outside of Sheffield, England, is turning 70 next year and I’d be hard pressed to find a man his age in better health or happier (he also says that smoking a pipe should be mandatory to save on Health Care). Then there’s a good friend of mine who had breast cancer at 28, was a non-smoker and had no history of the disease in here family. I figure there’s a hand that we’re dealt at birth and only some, but little control as to what cards get played.

So, pulling full circle in a St. Thomas Aquinas kind of way, perhaps life isn’t about political ideology, but rather a matter of being passionate about your little corner (as Auntigrav pointed out in a response in a former missive). Love life until you are too busy to die, do unto others as you would have done unto you and make love not war!

…Perhaps I’ll even run for the Communists next time around, and will definitely be watching Rollergirls this evening!