Spontaneously all over the globe, the democratic impulse erupts like a long dormant hope suddenly doable. After all, democracy means governance by, for and of the people. The Arab Spring. The Occupy Movement. 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai pushing for girls' education, echoed by thousands of Pakistani women. The women of India publicizing unpunished, unreported rapes. And now, Idle No More in Canada – a chance to redress historic, systemic wrongs perpetuated on our Founding Nation and Environmental Stewards. Interviewed by CBC's Laurie Graham, a weeping native man says, I do this for my kids; I do this for my ancestors.
Ordinary people, not the controlling power brokers of various stripes, are standing up for their rights and dignity, speaking their own truth. Whatever the outcome – and many peoples are risking everything, including their lives – if we all rise to our authentic selves, then the world becomes a more loving place, one truth, one right, one dignity at a time.
Katerina Fretwell
Seguin