kaitiakitanga
At long last, Israel and Hamas have committed to a cease-fire in Gaza, to last a minimum of four days, for the purpose of a human exchange - 50 hostages captured by Hamas for 150 Palestinian prisoners captured by Israel. At this very moment, the initial exchange is taking place. Also during this temporary cessation of hostilities, more much-needed food, clean water, medicine and fuel will be allowed into the Gaza Strip. And thank God for that but on our Homefront, no such cease-fire exists.
The Gaza ceasefire is a welcome beacon of hope in the recent darkness of war, a war which is serving to highlight the multitude of fissures in Canadian society and the blocs of hatred, prejudice, phobias and racism that exist and are growing. The leaders of each group stand up and loudly castigate the nameless, faceless, Other. This propagates feelings of dissatisfaction, resentment and insecurity within their membership which then accelerates hate, anger and radicalisation. Gone are tolerance, understanding and empathy.
We see this progression every day on the evening news at the televised protests, rallies and demonstrations - coast to coast - at government buildings, at Jewish and Islamic schools, on university campuses and in front of foreign embassies and consulates. Each time hatred hits the news more and more groups bravely step forward, to recount their experiences with exclusionism, racism, hate speech and hate crimes — people of colour, Me Too victims, the LGBTQ2 community, Jews, Asians, Muslims, Sikhs, Indigenous and First Nations people, and recently, especially Palestinians. Every night we see a growing sense of isolation, fear, and the steady deterioration of hope — right here in Canada — play out on our screens.
During this increasingly bitter, impassioned and tempestuous period, it is more important than ever that all Canadians remember the values and principles upon which our Charter was conceived and written - that all Canadians are equal under law, and entitled to:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.
We, each of us living in Canada today, are the guardians of The Charter and of its rights and ideals.
kaitiakitanga
(Māori meaning guardianship.)
With guardianship comes enormous responsibility and each of us has choices in how we take on the safekeeping and preservation of our Charter’s terms — every day — in our conversations, our social media posts, in schools, neighbourhoods, workplaces, clubs, teams, institutions and in all towns and cities in every province and territory.
“What if we no longer see ourselves based on what we look like, what religion we practice, or where we live, but by what we value? Humanity. Kindness. An innate sense of our connection to each other. And a belief that we are guardians, not just of our home and our planet, but of each other. We are borderless, but we can be connected. We are inherently different, but we have more that we share.”*
My dad would have said, A cup of common sense is worth a bushel of learning, and common sense tells us we do indeed have more that we share:
- We all want to be treated with dignity and respect; and
- We all want to be either learning or earning; and
- We all want the freedom that comes with security of each person; and
- We all want access to good healthcare; and
- We all want our children to live happy, safe and carefree lives.
It is high time that Canadians of all stripes embrace the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga — guardianship — of every Canadian. It is high time that we act, in every single instance, with all-embracing tolerance, patience, fairness and inclusivity. It is high time that we make an effort to understand those whose views we cannot yet grasp. It is high time we act with comprehensive kindness, without which it will be impossible to rediscover our shared values and to exert guardianship over our Charter.
me te ngakau pono
(Māori meaning with sincerity.)
It is with the utmost sincerity that I am writing this blog post today. If you were to con your trusty Roget’s for sincerity synonyms, besides honesty you’d also find goodwill, impartiality, justice and honour. Canada is a country of diversity — ethnic, religious, cultural — and sometimes those differences seem insurmountable. We are inherently different, but we have more that we share. Me te ngakau pono, and appealing to our better angels, please embrace kindness and collectivism for all Canadians. Please, with empathy and goodwill, uphold the values of impartiality, justice and honour for all Canadians. Please embrace kaitiakitanga, guardianship, of all Canadians. It’s not too late. Not yet.
’Til next time, y’all…
*Rt. Hon. Dame Jacinda Ardern