The Cosmopolitan Blog

I’m glad to see my Twitter Buddies are promoting their “green-ness”. Last year, i had a post on what i do to stay green, and i’m glad to see that Big Peach Runner has her post to: http://bigpeachrunner.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-waste.html, so good job there girl!

Oh, and if you like dogs, you should read her blog, it’s got the cutest picture of her Jake at 6 months old!

One of the things you need to know about me is that I am addicted to the Biography Channel. In fact, biographies are one of my favorite types of books too. And since I can be just as shallow as I can be “deep and meaningful”, I’ll take as much pleasure in watching a biography on Charlie Sheen as I do on Nelson Mandela (granted, i would probably not take the time to read Charlie’s bio…).

But since this post is not in the shallow “That’s Hot” category, my post is about Nelson Mandela. This man is definitely one of the great people of this century, a hero to his country, we all know how he spent 27+ years in jail for a cause he believed in, how the people of his country remembered him and continued fighting in his name, how he came out of jail and ended apartheid, became the country’s official leader and held the first free multi-racial democratic elections in the country.

What I found particularly striking and I find reflects on the core of who he is as a man and a human being, is the fact that the lifetime he spent in jail did not remotely make him bitter or angry. He persevered until he reached his goal, and he rarely used guerrila warfare and violence. With regards to this, I want to highlight the following from Wikipedia:

Mandela explains the move to embark on armed struggle as a last resort, when increasing repression and violence from the state convinced him that many years of non-violent protest against apartheid had achieved nothing and could not succeed. Mandela later admitted that the [African National Congress] ANC, in its struggle against apartheid, also violated human rights, and has sharply criticized attempts by parts of his party to remove statements supporting this fact from the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

I don’t think there is anything I could say in this post that hasn’t been said before on this great man, but what I reflect on is how his struggle to end apartheid was not motivated by anger and hate, be it before or after his 30 years in prison. I believe THAT was the variable that allowed his struggle to be successful. So how does a man who sees such injustices not become bitter and enraged? The answer, I believe can be found in his childhood. Mandela was born in a very influential and important family in his region, his great-granfather was the King of the Thembu people, and his father was chief of his village. The point is, for the first 18-20 years of his life, he lived in regions of South Africa that were all-black, and therefore, he did not grow up confronted on a daily basis with racial hatred, he was never meant to feel inferior for the color of his skin. Anyone growing up in an environment of hatred, violence and racism can only end up bitter and angry. Mandela did not feel any of this growing up. THIS, i believe is the key to how Mandela chose to fight his struggle.

*warning: random thoughts ahead :)*

I find Mandela such a beautiful person. I am not someone who is very much into analyzing people’s auras (in fact, i know nothing about auras), but i believe that he must have the world’s most impressive aura. Mandela has often mentioned that one of his greatest influence is Mahatma Gandhi, and I believe this is very obvious. One of the contemporaries that he admired greatly too is ex-US President Jimmy Carter, someone I also admire for his stance on peace throughout the Middle East (yes, yes, I know, Jimmy wasn’t the world’s greatest US president, but I don’t believe this should take away from his amazing foreign policy).

So is Mandela perfect? No, i think not, and in fact, I think that anyone who could devote his entire life to his country’s struggle in such a steadfast and focused way, must be a very difficult man to live with (or without, considering that he spent most the life he shared with his 2nd wife in jail). I think he made a choice of which way his life would go, and that meant that the more time he spent struggling, the less time he spend being a private man, a husband and a father. Life must not be easy being the child of Nelson Mandela. I just think it’s important to acknowledge his family for the sacrifice they were asked to make for the sake of their country.

Last random thought: this man is now 89 years old, and he has retired from public life… Sort of… Last month, he created the council of Elders, which, I know, sounds like something out of Star Trek or Harry Potter, but is, in fact, an amazing way to unite all the great living men and women of this century who have knowledge, wisdom and experience to:

“speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken. Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair“.

I do believe that you probably have to be 70+ to join the club (i’m only 1/2 kidding, i think that to understand and share your perspective and wisdom, you can’t be 40-odd years old), and includes such greats as Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Muhammad Yunus and Jimmy Carter, each of these people having their own specialty and area of expertise.

I am thankful that there are people like Nelson Mandela in this world.

It’s strange, as women, when we hear of other successful women, we feel an extra desire to cheer them on… I’m pretty sure men don’t do this, I mean they don’t cheer other men on just ‘cuz they’re men, I guess we’ve just come that much further…

So i feel the need to acknowledge 2 woman that i greatly admire: Oprah and Christiane Amanpour, the CNN Chief International Correspondent… which, in itself, is funny, because Oprah called Christiane one of her personal heroes when CA appeared on O’s show.

*warning, tangent ahead*

Don’t get me wrong, there are many women i admire, i admire women everyday, my sister for representing the modern multitasker: 2.5 kids, 2 jobs, a spotless house, a successful marriage and an active social life. My best friend for having grown from a reckless teenager to a responsible, independent, profoundly well balanced and happy individual. My aunt for having made a name for herself in a fundamental Islamic country and having single-handedly taken the rights and options available to women miles forward. My mom for representing that older generation of women who believes in long term commitments and the true meaning of “’till death do us part”, standing strong in the face of adversity and dealing with the hard blows life can give you with perseverance and humility.

*end of tangent*

So I’m watching “God’s Warriors” on TV, a 6-hr series that looks at Jewish, Christian and Muslim fanaticism, Christiane took over 8 months to prepare this documentary. It’s a great documentary, and of course, i have tons of opinions on its content, but this post is about Christiane. She is originally Iranian, but she is Christian. She grew up in London and married a Jewish man. She’s a wife and a mother, but she’s also a reporter, and she puts herself in danger (she admits that she has become more cautious now that she’s a mother), but still, she searches for the truth, and looks to always put a human face to any situation… I found that “God’s Warriors”, amongst other things, helps us understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so much better because she brings it down to stories of ordinary families and the challenges they face. She makes us understand how it is that a family, a person could have ended up in such a state of despair or such a belief that they can commit such violence and feel it’s the only way forward.

Christiane is not the only wonderful journalist i admire, there are many more, many, in fact, in my family, but she makes me proud to be a woman. As i watch the Muslim segment of “God’s Warriors”, i watch her sit there and interview men that tell her to her face how they think women are inferior, i watch her be respectful and listen intensely, bringing a mix of class and honesty to every interview. Above all, she lets you draw your own conclusions, she doesn’t force her opinion on her viewers.

I found this great quote from Christiane on Wikipedia:

“There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn’t mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing.”

She said this specifically when speaking about the Bosnian conflict in the 90s, but i can see this belief applied to all her pieces. It represents very much what I feel.

My apologies if you thought this post was about Oprah. I love Oprah, and i think she’s wonderful, and next time i feel inspired, i will devote a post entirely to her as well.

My mom is french, so French is my mother tongue. But I grew up in London, so by the age of 4, i knew both languages, my parents had made sure of it. For many years after that, I was told how lucky I was to fluently speak 2 languages, and how it’s an advantage because it helps in a child’s development and in her abiliity to learn more languages more quickly later on in life. So do Montrealers know how lucky they are? By its very history and location, Montreal is a fully bilingual city.

For those of you who don’t know, Canada has 2 official languages, English and French. English is predominent in most of the provinces in the West, all the way to East to Ontario. Quebec province is mainly french, but, Montreal, even though it’s in Quebec, is also a few kms away from Ontario, so both languages are common.

Sure, the city has a french side and an english side, but you can speak either language in either side and you will be understood. What’s amazing (my friends in the States and in Toronto still don’t believe me on this one), is that you can live in Montreal very comfortably even if you only know one of the 2 languages. All shopowners, taxi and bus drivers, business owners, everyone is bilingual. All products, restaurant menus, official paperwork, everything is written in both languages. There are parts of NDG and Westmount (areas of Montreal), where you have to search to find the french speaker, and there are still areas in Old Montreal and in the East where a shop owner will answer you in french even if you spoke to him in English, for sure, but that’s not the norm.

So, seriously, do they know how lucky they are? I don’t think so. The fact that my friends who live 3 states away in Massachussets or even those who live in the same country (in Toronto, in the neighboring province!) don’t know this, to me, means that Montreal, in it’s advertising, reputation and history does not count this as an advantage, or something to brag about. Unfortunately, I feel that language is this city is always used as a political argument or weapon (long story, i won’t get into the politics in this post), it’s always like a competition, it’s always a cause for controversy (such as deciding which school you can go to depending on the main language of your parents or where you were born).

Somehow, in Montreal, you’re constantly having to pick sides, you’re either an Anglophone or a Francophone… WHY??? I mean, sure, assert your identity and claim your preferred method of communication. Absolutely. But once you’re done with that, be proud of living in a city where there is a 2nd important language, embrace your differences!

Did no one every explain to you that 1+1=2 (and even sometimes 3: the concept of synergy, that together 2 things can have a greater effect that if they were separate, i.e. where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts)?

I don’t care how separatist you feel, surely no one can deny that having 2 languages (and thus 2 cultures) is a benefit. No, it doesn’t not mean that one will swallow the other, if you play it smart, if you value each other, your differences and your similarities. It was a benefit to me to learn 2 languages as a child, it’s a benefit today still to have Montrealer kids learn both languages, it’s a skill that will help them in their lives later on. Learning to live with someone who doesn’t speak the same language, that doesn’t have the same culture, learning this without having to leave your own city, that is priceless.

So, Montrealers, do you know how good you have it????

I’ve lived in many places in my life, as I will surely discuss as I develop this blog… But I was so impressed when I arrived in Canada. On the global awareness scale, Canada is way up there. They recycle like it’s 2nd nature…

I haven’t lived in london in a looong time, but I was in New York until 2004, and I can tell you, neither of these cities came close.

At work, you should see the kitchen. We have all the different recycling containers, and there’s a rotation as to who takes them to be recycled. Yes, it’s true, even the high-powered execs of my office can be seen, in turn, leaving the office with trash bags filled with stuff for recycling and they take it to the nearest center. Everyone prints double-sided like there’s no other way to do it, people don’t waste water, take their own mugs down to the coffee shop to avoid being served in styrofoam cups, all our computer monitors are LCD with automatic switch-off…

Whether it’s the clubs I’m part of, or the friends’ houses I go to, lights are switched off everything a room is left. Everyone has the different recycling boxes (or makeshift piles).

Montreal is one of the largest biking cities… Everyone bikes here. For fun, to commute… People walk (like in New York), from one end of the city to the other.

Maybe it’s really true… maybe we can shift mindsets in one generation…

“Be the change you wish to see in this world”
- Mahatma Gandhi (who?)

Today is the LiveEarth concert. And I was doubtful what benefits could really come out of it… So I started watching, and was pleasantly surprised to see what was being done, even at the concerts themselves: all drinking cups were made from corn (not sure the name of these), the stage was decorated with only recycled materials (tires in NY, barrels in London) and a lot more… And then the commercials, 90% of which (at least here in Canada) were related to global warming, including easy to do useful tips…

At the beginning, I was annoyed by the fact that each singer / celeb would keep repeating “every little thing helps”, because, well, I felt like it was just empty worlds. So I went to liveearth.msn.com and read up and was amazed by how easy it was to make a difference. I mean, yes, I knew of most of the tips (you know, don’t run the dishwasher until it’s full, switch the lights off when you leave the room), but what I didn’t know was the numbers. How much I’m actually helping. By committing to changing 10 bulbs to energy-saving ones, I would be avoiding 3,608 kgs of carbon gas from polluting my world, which is like planting 92 trees. 92 trees!!! that’s huge!

So here’s what I think is the minimum anyone can do:

• when you only buy 1-2 items from the store, when the clerk asks you if you want a bag, say no! but it in your purse.
• When going grocery shopping, demand paper bags, or better yet, bring your own clothes bags
• At home, if you have a computer, chances are, you have all the different power wires plugged into a power bar. Well, when you’re done with your PC, don’t just turn off the monitor (which is the bare minimum), don’t just turn off your PC, actually bend down and switch off the power bar. This is what i did. I have a PC and a laptop at home. And so I switched the PC off (cuz I’m using the laptop) and then turned the power bar off. Of course, then, my wireless rounter turned off, hehehe, I forgot i need it for my latop. So I took the trouble to reorganize my cables, so that the network router was in a wall plug and was the only appliance left on.
• Don’t leave the TV on when you;re not in the room (my biggest fault)
• It’s summer, it’s hot sometimes, I know, but go easy on the AC if you have it. Turn it off as soon as it cools down in the evenings, or even better, in the morning, close your blinds and curtains to keep the room cool… Unless you’re currently experiencing a heat wave in your city/country, there is NO reason why your AC should be on during the night.
• At work, I’m lucky I work in a tech firm, so everything is top of line, energy-saving, but you can also contribute: print double-sided, and if you’re like me and need little pads of paper to write notes down, go to the recycled bin and pick up sheets that were only printed on one side, and use the other side for notes (or even cut it up in 4 squares, do a lot of them and staple together, and you have a makeshift notepad).
• Everytime you take the subway or the bus instead of your car, you’re saving the planet. Seriously, think about it, it’s summer, go out and walk or bike.

Go to liveearth.msn.com and pick your country. There are a ton of things you can do to make a difference, right here and now, in your own house, it won’t cost you a cent more (chances are it will save you quite a few too). Take the pledge, commit to change, take it seriously. You live in this world too, make it better for other, for you kids, your nieces and nephews, for your grandkids… why would you leave them with the consequences of what you DIDN’T do???

If you happen to be reading this post, leave me a comment and tell me 1 thing you did today that was environmentally-friendly. If you can’t think of one, then write me a comment and commit to 1, right here, right now!

ok, I’ll stop preaching now! Enjoy yourself! Go out and take a walk… Or watch the Life Earth Concert!