God Save The Fat Cats
Mouseland was a place where all the little mice lived and played, were born and died. And they lived much the same as you and I do.
They even had a Parliament. And every four years they had an election. Used to walk to the polls and cast their ballots. Some of them even got a ride to the polls. And got a ride for the next four years afterwards too. Just like you and me. And every time on Election Day all the little mice used to go to the ballot box and they used to elect a government. A government made up of big, fat, black cats.
Now if you think it strange that mice should elect a government made up of cats, you just look at the history of Canada for last 90 years and maybe you’ll see that they weren’t any stupider than we are.
Now I’m not saying anything against the cats. They were nice fellows. They conducted their government with dignity. They passed good laws–that is, laws that were good for cats. But the laws that were good for cats weren’t very good for mice. One of the laws said that mouse holes had to be big enough so a cat could get his paw in. Another law said that mice could only travel at certain speeds–so that a cat could get his breakfast without too much effort.
All the laws were good laws. For cats. But, oh, they were hard on the mice. And life was getting harder and harder. And when the mice couldn’t put up with it any more, they decided something had to be done about it. So they went en masse to the polls. They voted the black cats out. They put in the white cats.
Now the white cats had put up a terrific campaign. They said: “All that Mouseland needs is more vision.” They said:”The trouble with Mouseland is those round mouse holes we got. If you put us in we’ll establish square mouse holes.” And they did. And the square mouse holes were twice as big as the round mouse holes, and now the cat could get both his paws in. And life was tougher than ever. And when they couldn’t take that anymore, they voted the white cats out and put the black ones in again. Then they went back to the white cats. Then to the black cats. They even tried half black cats and half white cats. And they called that coalition. They even got one government made up of cats with spots on them: they were cats that tried to make a noise like a mouse but ate like a cat.
You see, my friends, the trouble wasn’t with the colour of the cat. The trouble was that they were cats. And because they were cats, they naturally looked after cats instead of mice.
Presently there came along one little mouse who had an idea. My friends watch out for the little fellow with an idea. And he said to the other mice, “Look fellows, why do we keep on electing a government made up of cats? Why don’t we elect a government made up of mice?” “Oh,” they said, “he’s a Bolshevik. Lock him up!”
So they put him in jail.
But I want to remind you: that you can lock up a mouse or a man but you can’t lock up an idea.
This story was told and retold by none other than Tommy Douglas. Mr. Douglas was the first leader of what became the New Democratic Party, and one of the most interesting and compelling figures in Canadian history. You know that health card you have, that guarantees you universal health care? That was his idea. He had the strange idea that healthcare should be accessible to everyone, even the poorest farmer, and he made it happen, first in his home province of Saskatchewan, then the entire country.
This “Mouseland” story was first told in 1944, yet it rings true even today. A lot of the ideas we kick around here are often defeated by people who say “they will never let that happen in this city”. To me, a lot of problems could be solved if we just stop electing these “cats” and elect one of our own. It is our right as a citizen of a free society to replace the government if we are not happy with it. If we wish to keep our existing representation, then we must lobby them, call them 30 times a week, and write letter after letter to get things changed. If a city councillor won’t listen, then go over their head, go to an MPP. If they won’t listen, go above theirs, and so on.
If all we want are better and more bike lanes, for example, then we have to bother the hell out of the people who can help us. If council ignores these requests, then we go above their head.
I hope everyone realises that there are a large number of people who care a great deal about this website and its philosophy, and that it inspires people in the mainstream media as well as everyday private citizens. There are a lot of people in our corner, so that gives us some power, certainly more than one person.
Let’s use our lobbying power as a facet for change in this city. There is just too many of us for them to ignore anymore.
Tags: City Council, community improvement plan, mainstream media, obesity
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A long time ago I read an article I think by Gregory Bateson, the husband of Margaret Mead both well known anthropologists where he looked at peasant cultures around the world and he found one thing almost similar in all of them.
Peasants keep other peasants down in their villages and in line by shaming them from getting a head or wealthy or acting out the norm. “You dare to be different and live here!” “Just wait an see what we will do you and your ways!” Windsor has had basically a peasant culture for over a hundred years as you expressed above by stating, “You can’t do that in Windsor!” I grew up in this city with that attitude, my parents lived in that atmosphere all their lives in Windsor. It comes from a under educated (peasant) class that got their wealth not from their intelligence or creativity but by manual peasant labour and union contracts that kept everybody basically equal, none of them wanted anybody to get a head of them, toe the line, keep your eye on the plow and shut up! Don’t get uppity in this town with your creative ways and fancy ideas!
Sadly that class is being gutted and thrown on the midden of life and it us getting worse by the hour today as stock markets around the world this morning are tumbling into oblivion and total collapse.
Today more that ever we need the ideas, the creativity, the innovation that are expressed on this board and all others if our economical well being is going to be saved. It doesn’t have to be a big grand idea, it could be hundreds of small ideas and my first one is Education, we have to raise the bar on education that leads to creativity and innovation or better business practices that starts locally and grows from there.
Income gap widens in Canada
http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/nation/story.html?id=1fcddd81-8183-4daf-97bc-b4bf55b5f722
The fat cats have been getting fatter while the mice have been becoming fewer.
Well said, Urbanrat, well said. Education is absolutely crucial for my generation, and the younger people coming up in today’s society. At least if you have an education, obtain a degree or certificate, no one can take that away from you. However if you just rely on a corporation for your livelihood without an educational backing, you face almost certain doom in today’s market. I believe that higher education should be absolutely free for anyone who wants it/needs it.
The way it would work is that there would be some sort of standardized test that all people take upon graduating highschool, which would evaluate their skills, and suggest the field their natural gifts and talents would be best suited for. You then would go to the university of your choice, yet it would be up to you to pay room and board, and for textbooks.
Opening higher education for all people would greatly improve this country and this society. If all people had the chance to get a first class education, plus the amazing networking and collaborative possibilities that college/university provides then we would produce a generation of highly motivated, intellectually confident, enterprising people. They also wouldnt be shouldered with the burden of massive debt by their mid to late twenties either. I for one, fail to see the downside of this.
Yes, taxes would be higher, but that is a small price to pay for ensuring the success of future generations.
The need to organize for the 2010 election is upon us. People, get your thinking caps on. Want to run in Ward 2 but worried about whether someone else will split the vote with you? Let us help you. Want to run in Ward 4 but are waiting to see whether one of the incumbents is running for mayor? Same thing - let’s work on this together.
It’s time for the cats to go away so us mice can play.
Here Here Mr. Holt! I want to echo Chris’ statement by saying that we need to do two things:
1. Realise how powerful we are together, and
2. Realise that we can use the political system for positive change at a local level.
We are all intelligent, politcally motivated, well informed people who contribute and read this website.
We all share the same ideals and we all want this city to be better. We arent giving up on this city like so many of our contemporaries have, and now definately is the time to organize and get candidates on the ballot for 2010, and get behind people who can move this city forward.
Remember, no idea, discussion or thought is off limits, and remember to think BIG people. The only way we can do this is if we think big first, then we act upon our thoughts and ideas.
Ideas are a very very dangerous thing in our capable hearts and minds.
Love the approach, love the enthusiasm. There is no apathy at SD.