Are You Scared Yet?

Autumn: a time of reflection, and of yearning for something better. Beautifully coloured leaves show us how to gracefully let go and make room for something new.

With the forest fires, smoke filled cities and catastrophic weather events around the world, many are scared these days.

image courtesy of Pixabay

The giant puppets who reside in Nelson, BC, are processing these events too. Lets join them.

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GOOD TIME: (heaving a sigh): August was such a dud of a month. Instead of lounging on the beach, my friends and I had to hang out at the mall because of all the smoke. And one of them got a migraine after he went to the beach when it was smoky. No fun!

PER: It's so scary! Every summer the fires get worse! What's it going to be like next summer?

MR. PIPELINE: Hey, it's just the cost of doing business! What do you expect?

GOOD TIME: Are you implying that I shouldn't expect to go to the beach in the summer?

MR. PIPELINE: We all have to make sacrifices.

PER: Sacrifices to what end? What is the benefit to society?

MR. PIPELINE: Why jobs, of course.

PER: Are you saying the only jobs are the kind that contribute to climate change?

MR. PIPELINE: Shhhh! Don't even bring up that ridiculous term! There's no such thing as climate

 change! It's just a conspiracy theory cooked up by a bunch of mad scientists.

MR. PIPELINE

GOOD TIME: Oh ya? Then why all the forest fires and weather related catastrophes?

PER: And what do all those scientists have to gain by concocting a story like that if it's not true?

MR. PIPELINE: Those greedy cretins just want to make money for rabble rousing environmental groups. It's just an enormous scam!

PER: Speaking of money, don't the industries that cause the climate change make a lot of money? From what I've heard they've been paying off politicians to subsidize their industries, and influencing the media and schools too. Maybe things would be a lot different -- and a lot less smoky -- if they weren't doing that. Shouldn't we be protecting the public when we find out that industrial practices cause damage?

PER

GOOD TIME: Ya, it sounds like a few people are having a good time at everyone else's expense! What about beach days?

NOWCA (entering the room): Hey good to see you! What's up?

GOOD TIME: We're just talking about the smoky summer, and our fear that next summer will be worse.

NOWCA: Actually, I was going to ask you about a couple of things that can might make a difference about the climate: municipal elections and the vote on proportional representation. Do you know about them?

GOOD TIME: No, I haven't heard anything about them. Are they fun? Will there be parties?

NOWCA: Oh, probably a few parties here and there where you can get to know the candidates and learn more about the issues, and about proportional representation.

GOOD TIME: That sounds kind of boring.

GOOD TIME

MR. PIPELINE: Ya, you're right, Good Time. It is boring! Voting: why bother? And proportional representation scares the bejesus out of me. Why tamper with our democracy?

NOWCA: Do you think our democracy is working the way it is, Mr. Pipeline?

MR. PIPELINE: What's the alternative to what we've got? I'll tell you: there isn't any.

NOWCA: There are countries around the world that have different systems from ours, and many of them work just fine. And, from my understanding they're much more democratic, especially those with proportional representation.

PER: NOWCA, how do these affect our smoky summers?

NOWCA: There's so much power at the municipal level to make our communities more resilient, so voting for candidates who want to reduce our emissions, and help us prepare for climate disaster, helps to take us in a less destructive direction.

And proportional representation makes our province more democratic. Every vote counts under that system, and politicians will be encouraged to work together constructively instead of fighting all the time. And it will reduce the influence of big money, so it'll be easier to transition to a greener economy and a society that's more fair.

MR. PIPELINE: Why would you want to change the system?! Big money is what drives the economy. Hippies on protest lines don't create jobs.

NOWCA: Mr. Pipeline, many of the best jobs are in the emerging clean energy sector.

MR. PIPELINE: Nonsense! Where did you hear that?

NOWCA: Lots of places. The Narwhal, The Tyee, The Guardian, and Democracy Now, to name a few.

MR. PIPELINE: I've heard that those are radical, fake news sites.

NOWCA: They're independent news sources. And, actually, the Narwhal has just been nominated for six Canadian online publishing awards. Where do you get your news, Mr. Pipeline?

MR. PIPELINE: I only get my news from tried and true sources. Respectable sources that people

NOWCA

count on.

NOWCA: How do those sources make you feel?

PER: They make me feel scared.

MR. PIPELINE: Me too. But not scared of global warming. Scared of immigrants and street people, scared of the economy being attacked by unemployed do-gooders, scared of terrorist attacks and bad people in general.

PER: And, to be honest, ashamed of myself, especially when I read news from other sources. And powerless.

GOOD TIME: It makes me want to turn off the TV and go to the beach. Only this summer it was too smoky.

NOWCA: Well, that's useful, isn't it? If people feel scared and powerless or if they just tune out, they probably won't bother voting or writing letters to their political representatives. They'll view good people with suspicion, until they're afraid of their own shadows. They won't want to talk to their neighbours, or join groups who are trying to make the world a better place. People who feel scared in that way are pretty easy to manipulate, don't you think?

PER: So what do you think we should do NOWCA? I'm scared when I hear the news, and scared when there are out of control forest fires, and scared of so many things.

NOWCA: Well, here are a few things I do: join groups that address issues I care about, only get information from sources I trust, and take care of myself by getting enough rest and eating well. And, once in awhile, I take a break.

There's the kind of scared that leaves you feeling powerless like when we watch the news, and then there's the kind that motivates us to take action together like when we're scared of more forest fires and want to try to prevent them. 

GOOD TIME: Joining groups sounds like party potential...

NOWCA: You bet! What could be more fun than changing the world with other people? LOTS of room for parties there.

MR. PIPELINE (storming out of the room): I can't believe I'm hearing this. This is as much as I can take! I'm going to go watch a James Bond movie -- or maybe a western.

PER: I'm going to check out some of those news sources online, NOWCA. Thanks.

NOWCA: Good Time, how about some lunch and a game of Crib? Maybe later we can have a few friends over for tea and apple pie. I just made some from the apples on the tree outside. Per, I hope you'll join us later.

GOOD TIME: Sounds like fun!

image courtesy of Pixabay