I Know My Writes – “Write To Resist”

I used to love politics.

Maybe that statement right there is, in of itself, a problem. Specifically, the words ‘used to’ and what they seem to imply.

I still vote. I still pay attention. I still try to participate in referendums and major decisions as they relate to whatever municipality I live in – or province, or the whole dang maple-loving country.

So, anyway, I’m at public school years ago, right? It was grade five.

The scholastic book fair was coming up and, boy, was I excited!

Without droning on, I’ve always had a love of literature. My imagination used to run wild listening to my Mom read Dr. Seuss books. Once I could read on my own, I wanted every book I could get my hands on.

Truth be told, if I had never started playing video games I might have actually poured most of my time into reading.

I digress (as I always do).

The book fair was coming up and there was a specific book I had my eye on, though it wasn’t the kind of book you’d think any kid would go out of their way to purchase let alone be interested in…

My teacher, Mrs. Law, had just finished teaching her unit about the levels of government – and she was no slouch, that Mrs. Law; her lessons were detailed but not overwhelmingly so, and she could tell when a particular subject or topic caught a students’ interest.

That year, I would discover just how old of a soul I am because the two things I was most enamoured with were as follows: 1) the Weather; and, 2) the Government.

I just knew – despite our lessons – there was so much more to learn.

I guess at the time I kind of felt like I was “uncovering” some truth but, really, I was just researching and reading to help my young mind comprehend how it all worked.

I didn’t want to just think of politicians or political representatives as celebrities to be worshipped or vilified.

What I already understood (and something I wish more people cared about now) is the fact that politics determine the outcomes of our lives – our quality of life, our ability and right to live free of discrimination, to earn a wage that actually allows us to live… the list goes on.

How quickly we forget.

How patterns repeat themselves when we deny history and act without humanity.

And then there’s all these binaries people get caught up in.

The “my party is better than your party,” sports team, hootin’ and hollerin’ mania that has come to characterize much of the North American political scene, certainly.

While a vocal assembly of MAGA-supporters in the United States of America voted a convicted rapist/felon into their highest office for a second time, across the pond, New Zealand’s youngest sitting Member of Pariliament in over two centuries just protested the Treaty Principles Bill – a bill aimed at enshrining a narrower interpretation of New Zealand’s founding document, the 184-year-old Treaty of Waitangi (Hīkoi mo te Tiriti) – in the coolest way possible.

Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke has now made history for more than one reason – and I certainly couldn’t be prouder to see such a display of open defiance against a growing gamut of old white outrage and authoritarianism, the neo-colonist network hitting full throttle.

So, dear reader, you might be asking yourself: “Okay, so, WHAT THE HECK DO WE DO NOW?”

The answer is simple…

No, but seriously, the answer is and isn’t simple because the times we face – and I hate to use this terribly overused word but here goes – are unprecedented.

We are living history as it happens. There is no manual for this… except, like, every historical book written ever.

But who reads those anyways, right? No, really, who reads those?

I’m pretty sure the last literacy statistics I heard were pretty bleak. Nonetheless, I know a few teachers and I’m banking on them saving the next generation from eternal brainrot. Then again, the internet is always one click, cellphone, gaming device, or (as it happens) WiFi-enabled Samsung smart fridge away!

And, I’m not saying everything is doom and gloom – because it’s not.

But that’s my point: we jump to conclusions so quickly about each other but so much of it is based on misinformation and AI-generated nonsense now.

What was that old saying about assumptions again?

And that saying about those who never study history?

I guess the word doom does come up in that last one… whoops.

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I had a thought recently (shocker, I know).

Maybe the best way to carry myself moving forward is with open defiance in the face of this surge towards fascism and autocratic-oligarchies.

Maybe, taking all of that pain and anger and frustration and distilling it into something more poignant and moving will get my message across – and I suspect there are others out there who may feel the same way.

As a writer and someone who works in creative spaces, I’m not inclined to bear arms.

No, for me, the pen is mightier than any sword, gun, or nuclear weapon.

More than that, taking those words out into the world as an act of open defiance and justice for the oppressed, colonized, and culturally assimilated is and always has been important.

For my all my kin in the 2SLGBTQI+ community; for the people of Palestine; for Ukraine; for those trapped in Xinjiang internment camps; for the women and girls of Iran; for First Nations communities in Canada and Indigenous people worldwide; and, for my own ancestors who endured slavery and the machinations of colonization without knowing exactly what the future held – who kept on, even when the ‘future’ seemed merely a dream…

I’m only scratching the very surface here.

And, I myself have so much still to learn. The list I just provided is not exclusive.

I don’t necessarily represent all or any of the groups I’ve mentioned above – I just believe in justice, peace, and equity.

I believe in a safe world for all.

Don’t come at me with that “there will always be crime and murder” stuff because, while true, it’s such a straw-man fallacy. Of course humans aren’t perfect – of course there will always be bad, good, grey, and all the colours of the rainbow!

But why not actively structure our society in a way that helps people rather than crushes or punishes them?

Instead of inspiring class warfare to keep the embers of capitalism stoked, why not work towards alternatives wherein every citizen of the planet has access to the resources they need to survive?

Why is that so radical?

I mean, I understand why – in the systems we’ve created and propogated – this is seen as radical, but I’m asking as a lone human who wants us all to make it…

You don’t even want to get me started on climate change and anti-environmental policies. The planet is screaming, folks!

With that in mind, let this serve as an introduction to a new series and a real-life writing group I intend to co-lead – “Write to Resist” – to serve as a platform for not only political discussion but also creative endeavours, group projects, and how we can navigate the next four years (at least).

Here, we have a space to actively decolonize.

A provincial election is on the horizon for my home province, Ontario, and a federal election looms in its wake.

Things are changing and they’re changing fast.

We need to be on our feet, well-aware, with pen in hand.

Won’t you join me as I “write to resist”?

Stay tuned for opportunities. In the meantime, make them hear you!