Why did Canadians in the 19^th and 20^th century (Residential schools: 1831-1996- That’s 165 years!!!!) believe the Indigenous people had to become like them; forcing them to convert to their language, customs, beliefs and lifestyle? Why were they afraid to embrace the Indigenous culture and language and live together peacefully, learning from each other’s differences?

How would Canada be different had they chosen to connect with the natives of the land in an effort to understand, validate and learn from each other? How would life be different if we chose peace over fighting and war?

Star Trek, the First Generation Starship Enterprise and the Next Generation had very diverse worldviews from which they approached their encounters with other worlds.  The 1^st generation was televised in the 60’s and concentrated their efforts on fighting to solve problems among themselves and with outsiders. The Next generation was broadcast in the late 80’s, early 90’s and they chose to negotiate and compromise in order to find peace within their team and with the strangers they encountered on their voyages. Each represents the culture of the time in which the series was produced, which gives me some hope that maybe we are at least aware of the value of negotiation and compromise over who has the biggest and largest amount of guns and weapons.

Efforts promoting fighting and division are based in fear, while efforts for connection and understanding are based in courage and acceptance, with a goal of peace rather than conqueror. Understanding the psycho-spiritual connections here will help us make sense out of the questions that have accumulated thus far.

We are programmed from birth by our primary caregivers, our environment and our influences. Whether we are conscious of it or not, the society from which we live and the time in which we live has a huge impact on our thinking and worldview in general. I was dumbfounded when I heard the controversial debate taking place over the Christmas song, “Baby its Cold Outside” a couple years ago. It was said to be sexist and belittling to women and an appeal to have it banned was in place. In the generation from which this song was written, the dialogue between the man and woman singing would have been understood completely different than how we understand it today. The relationship between men, women and society came out of a patriarchal worldview, which is slowly dissipating with time. How can we logically apply 21 century thinking to the 20^th century? It is unfair and irrational at best.

I’m in favor of progressive thought and in fact encourage it. Evolution of a society is crucial and thankfully inevitable, but does that mean we ignore or destroy history in the process?  Would it not be more beneficial to understand history and make sense of why people behaved as they did, in an effort to better understand who we were and how we got where we are today.

Awareness of our roots is an integral part of our personal, spiritual and societal growth. However, attempting to live in the past or bring our past into the present is unwise and creates disharmony and conflict because it does not fit.

There are Religious literalist who take cultural elements of texts from their sacred scriptures and apply it to the culture we live in today. It doesn’t make sense and it does not work. It causes division and strife and defeats the more important aspect of their scriptures; what most religions have in common; the concepts of faith, love and charity.

So much energy wasted on who has a monopoly on truth, who is right and who is wrong, when that same energy could be used to motivate love, compassion and harmony within our human family. The enemy of connection is division. If we are hell-bent on conquering something. Let’s conquer our fears, our pride and our self-righteousness.