Everything feels harder. Relationships feel more fragile. Classrooms feel more tense. Communities feel more divided. Even small things seem to carry more weight than they used to.
These four writers and their stories are worthy of your attention.
The Surprising Source of Disconnection
Many of us have turned to social media to process, and while it can feel like connection, it often creates the opposite. I write about issues that I feel are important to REVwords readers. Then I post the content and am surprised by the responses I get.
Connie helped me understand why I get conflict when I’m hoping for clarity.
Connie Jakab is a friend and colleague. She hosts the Brave Podcast. This was from her latest broadcast.
Indigenous Cancer Rates
If you appreciate engaging writing you’ll love Brandi Morin. Brandi is an award-winning French/Cree/Iroquois journalist from Treaty 6 in Alberta. For the last 10 years Morin has specialized in sharing Indigenous stories, which have influenced reconciliation in Canada’s political, cultural and social environments. She is one of Canada’s most prominent voices on Indigenous issues.
Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro addressed a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 16th announcing findings from an independently commissioned health study showing cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan are at least 25 percent higher than the rest of Alberta. Fort Chipewyan is located downstream from the largest industrial project on earth – the Alberta oil sands.
Tuccaro is 48 years old. He remembers drinking straight from the creeks as a boy. He remembers going out on the land with his uncles, taking an auger in winter and drawing water directly from the Slave River.
“Now,” he said, “people take more water than gas when they go out on the land.” Drinking water, that is.
The fish are sick. The moose are sick. Read more here.
Ant-Intellectualism
If you watched Dragon’s Den you will remember Arlene Dickenson, the longest running female Dragon in the show’s history. She is also a three-time best-selling author and a seasoned public speaker, frequently travelling the country to speak and inspire teams, students and leaders. Nationally recognized as one of the top business leaders in Canada, Arlene is the Founder and General Partner of District Ventures Capital.
She helped me make sense of the Leader of the Opposition’s criticism of the Prime Minister’s education credentials.
“Anti-Intellectualism is a virus. It hollows out public trust, degrades discourse, and frankly produces leaders who are great at campaigning (and staying in office) but terrible at governing.”
No Hyperbole
Dave is a friend of my friend, Ryan Hastman. They co-hosted a podcast at one time. Both are political geeks to the nth degree. Dave’s political commentary is measured and non-partisan so when he offers a warning, it doesn’t hurt to listen.
Dave wrote, “I make a real effort to not stray into hyperbole when I write about Alberta politics, but I don’t believe it is an exaggeration to describe the minority report as gerrymandering. It’s difficult to read the minority report maps without thinking that they were drawn to increase the partisan advantage for the UCP in the next election.
The minority report’s map would make it basically impossible for the NDP to ever win in enough ridings to form a majority government — and it seems like that’s the point.”
What caught your attention? Please join the conversation and post a comment below.
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