North Korea

While the People’s Liberation Army does not even conduct military exercises with the North Koreans — the government in the North forbids such contact with outsiders — Chinese military strategists adhere to the doctrine that they cannot afford to abandon their ally, no matter how bad its behavior, analysts here say.

 

Doesn't matter how many people say "the enemy of my enemy is my ally" - it's still not true.  Ignoring the bad behaviour of allies doesn't make it go away; it makes you culpable.  By continuing to ignore the threat of the North Korean state not only to its neighbours and possibly the US, but to its own people.

 

I remember living in South Korea during the September 2011 attacks on the US; to my Korean friends, it seemed a tragic but distant "over there" problem.  They lived in the shadow of a much more present threat.  I had the chance to set foot in North Korea at Panmunjom and look North Korean soldiers in the eye - they are made of the same flesh and blood as are their Southern cousins.  The gap between them is less a matter of walls, landmines and flags than it is one of culture, experience and fear, but both of these chasms can be bridged.

 

Someone just has to see the path and be willing to lead people forward.  China could be that leader; their leadership could build some positivity into China's brand and increase their international respect quotient in the process.  To do that, though, they need to stop looking at themselves as a future umbrella and instead see themselves as drops in the ocean. 

 

There stands a train station in South Korea with a sign that says "To Pyeongyang;" everyone will be a little better off when that train can leave its station.

 

The Golden Calf of Canadian Politics

Maybe Aaron’s mistake wasn’t making a false god, but a false image of the true god. After all, while Moses was on the mountaintop, the people were getting restless and needed a tangible image of god to cling to in their hour of weakness. So, Aaron creates a false image of the true God.

Chuck Norris, among others, predicted that Obama gaining a second term would result in 1,000 years of darkness.  That hasn't happened yet.  People the world over misinterpreted the Mayan calendar as suggesting an impeding cataclysmic doom at what was really just the beginning of a new cycle. It's a theme that gets repeated throughout history, from Tokugawa Japan to the Sick Man of Europe to the theory of immutable language.  We have this tendency of either fearing change as the end of the world (at least, as we know it) or an urge to hasten the end so that we can live in a supposed better world to follow.  The more anxious we get, the more impatient we become, willing to settle with what we have instead of building something a bit more ambitious.

What does this have to do with Stephen Harper's penchant for stoking fear of the external and heavy reliance on symbols of yore?  Harper is fixated on an unclearly defined, immutable stability that can only be achieved under his reign and by clamping down on those who would threaten it.  I believe that Harper truly fears the troubles he tells us are lapping at our shores.  He's anxious and impatient about the ability of our outdated democratic institutions to serve his purposes and, as such, has been undermining them in defence of his own definition of Canada.

Alas, the end result won't be what he hopes it will.  Instead, we've seen a steadily growing crowd rising up against his attempted reformation of our country.  By focusing intently on favourable symbols from Canada's past, including the institutions of King and Country, Harper is neglecting the substance of what Canadians care about.

Perhaps the best advice one could offer Harper comes, funny enough, in the form of a metaphor:

Don't be frightened by the crowd - after all, the Church is wherever God's people are praying.  It's through the people, not any institution or symbolism, that the divine is manifest.  The goal of leaders should be not to build walls or towers, but bridges.

When the people come together, the people can move mountains. 

UPDATE 3/1/13:  What if the planet's ecosystem, as J.B. MacKinnon puts it, "is reduced to a ruin, yet its people endure, worshipping their gods and coveting status objects while surviving on some futuristic equivalent of the Easter Islander's rat meat and rock gardens?"

Golden Calf, indeed.

Bridging Ontario's Islands of Excellence - Nov. 16 and 17 in Downtown Toronto

Islands of excellence are people who are out there doing it, making it happen, and are catalysts for change.

 

What if... Islands of Excellence from different fields and industries were brought together for just one evening and one day?

 

 

There is a lot of justified concern out there about the state of Ontario's economy, the sustainability of our health care sector and the effectiveness of our education, social service and justice sectors.  That's a lot of big problems requiring complex, daunting solutions.  It's more than any one person, agency or even one sector can solve on its own.

 

At the same time, there are leaders, innovators and socially-minded entrepreneurs creating pieces of the solution we need to keep moving forward.  School principals are changing the design of learning spaces.  Private ventures are making it easier for private and not-for-profit companies to harness public funding.  New approaches are being devised to facilitate information sharing and how to foster greater workplace productivity. 

 

These islands of excellence are creating tomorrow's answers today - but all too often, they are working in isolation or within individual sectors.  As a result, exciting opportunities are being missed; partnerships that could spin off whole new industries and effective solutions to our social and economic challenges aren't being realized. 

 

Islands of Excellence: Make Waves bridges that gap.  By bringing together the best community builders, thought leaders and entrepreneurs in the province into one space, Islands of Excellence creates a community of opportunity.  That's opportunity for Ontario - and opportunity for you as well.

 

On Friday, November 16th and Saturday, November 17th you have the chance to join this community, add your piece to the puzzle and meet some fantastic new partners.  It all happens at The YMCA Academy, a short hop from both Queen's Park and the MaRS Discovery District.

 

You can register here.

 

Let's bridge the gap; let's build tomorrow's solutions today, together.

 

I look forward to meeting you there.

SCHEDULE

Friday November 16

 

6 pm     Pecha Kucha Social - Islands Of Excellence Edition

 

 - Innovational speakers

 - Unparalleled access to Ontario's thought leaders

Saturday November 17

 

10 am - 5 pm - Discussion Topics:

 

 - Provocateur - Pushing our Comfort

 - Morning - Who are we in the system?

Lunch

 - What is the future of education, today?