The Christmas Con

Our First Video Release - Just in Time for the Holidays!

THE CHRISTMAS CON

A Little Bit About It...

All of us here at the blog are very proud to announce the release of our first blog video! It’s a Christmas message from us to you, and we hope that it stirs some emotion, stimulates thought and conversation among family and friends...

It was a collaborative effort, and many individuals were involved in the making of this film - a lot of whom may not know they were involved at all... No worries though - it’s a personal thing, so read those little credits at the end of the movie, and let us know what you think!!

The following films were the ones we liked best that we used in the making of “Christmas Con”

Earthlings, Big Sugar, Surplus, The War Tapes, The End of Suburbia.

Find links to these films (and more) in the sidebar of our blog.

Social Contradictions: A Curriculum of Killing in Canadian Schools

Recently we’ve been examining some of the many social contradictions that are provided to us by the policy makers and institutions of our nation. One of the most recent, acutely relevant, and highly controversial contradictions to surface is that of the increased presence of the Canadian military in our high schools.

It’s relatively clear (see article entitled “Ten Things You Thought You Knew About Canada and Other Stuff No One Wants You to Know”) that Canada’s “volunteer” army, much like that of the United States, is aimed at recruiting poor youth who have few options in their communities and particular social demographic for any sort of real opportunity in life. Targeting the poor and minority communities, the military institutions of North America are working to fill their ranks with able-bodied young men and women that are prepared to do anything to succeed, including die.

The popular perception of a military career is based upon the illusions of prestige, power, respect, and duty. A sense of heroism permeates the fabric of the military, and those that die are seen as true “heroes” who die “fighting for freedom”. This fantasy is what draws many into the ranks in the first place. It’s an institution in which your apparent integrity, bravery, and dedication are rewarded with economic security and external respect. This could not be further from the truth.

(Don't take our word for it, check out films 15 and 16, at this link)
http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/6/#


The fact remains that the duty of a soldier is to kill. They are trained to use firearms, to respond unquestioningly to commands, and to be unapologetically subservient to the whims of their masters. The military institution rewards conformity and lack of thought - it rewards brutal violence and a general disregard for human life. In exchange for their lives and minds, soldiers are rewarded with the promise of economic security and the chance at a hero’s death in the desert of a foreign land. (Digression: Although Canada appears to honor it’s military members with job security, many Canadians beg to differ. Check out the opinion of Lee Prokaska of The Hamilton Spectator, who argues that there is no real job security for Canada’s reservists.

Click on this link to read the article...
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com

For years it seemed that the Canadian military would be forever a body of peacekeepers, deployed on humanitarian missions throughout the developing world. With the dawn of the Harper administration, the Canadian military purpose drastically changed in direction and intent, and veered off into being a somewhat bellicose body. Aligning ourselves with the policies and actions of our southern neighbors, our country is headed along the same foreboding road towards a military industrial complex that will inevitably claim the lives of countless human beings around the world.


The political and military tactics of the United States have been questioned and even condemned the world over. (At this point, I would encourage you watch the movie “What I’ve Learned About American Foreign Policy” if you lack knowledge in regards to the worldwide terror the US has unleashed on this planet to date....)

WATCH THE MOVIE HERE...


With General Rick Hiller at Harper’s side, it’s hard not to see Canada as a US lapdog, but this isn’t just an accusation, this is something that the Defence Department and the Canadian government outwardly acknowledge in their “Defence Strategy 2020”. There’s a special part of this strategy, entitled “Special Relationships with Principle Allies” which states:
“Our most important ally now and for the future is the United States where our strong relationship has long benefited both countries. We must plan to nurture this relationship by strengthening our inter-operability with the US Armed Forces, training together, sharing the burden for global sensing and telecommunications and pursuing collaborative ways to respond to emerging asymmetric threats to continental security.”

(For a close look at Canada’s “Defence Strategy 2020, see the following website...)
http://www.cds.forces.gc.ca/pubs/strategy2k/s2k07_e.asp

It seems as if our government and our military general see nothing but positivity in the actions taken by the United States in their “war on terror”. Canada, walking proudly, hand in hand with a nation that is seen as a murderer and a rapist the world over.



Cleaning Military House
A 2006 status report released by the Auditor General of Canada in regards to the efficacy of the National Defense Department and their endeavors at military recruiting and retention, states that there seems to be “a low interest among Canadian youth in joining the military, and increasing military operational demands [demonstrate] the current recruiting system is not supporting the needs of Canadian Forces”. The report goes on to explain why the military shortage is so pressing - new foreign commitments, an aging current force, numerous unfilled positions within the institution, and the never-ending expansion of the “war on terror”. The department stated in their report that they were “concerned that the number of recruits is barely replacing the members leaving”.
(to view the full report see: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/20060502ce.html

The Canadian Forces recognizes that their target market is changing. “A National Defence survey of this specific target group (Canadians aged 16-34 who are physically fit) indicated that only 6% were interested in joining the Regular Force, although about 30% said they would consider joining if their education was paid for or if they were offered an entry bonus”. The report also recognizes that “young Canadians from visible minorities are becoming an increasing portion of the population” and it recognizes the “need to recruit young women and young Canadians from Aboriginal and visible minority groups. It’s not surprising that this darker sector of 16-34 year olds is also among the most likely to obtain student loans in order to finance their post secondary education, as they are among Canada’s most impoverished. Entry bonuses and free education are music to this demographic’s ears.

According to head of Canada’s air force, the recent $17 billion dollar spending blitz on new military glitz “will help attract young people toward military careers” by helping to “counter public perception that the air force’s equipment is old and not up to the job”. Lt.General Steve Lucas, in an interview with Canadian Press (July 6, 2006), also outlined some “initiatives [that] are underway to attract and keep more people in the armed forces... includ[ing] processing new recruits more quickly and even loosening some long-standing rules about body size, in some cases opening up occupations that were previously closed to women”.

General Rick Hillier and his famous quote: “We are the Canadian Armed Forces. Our job is to kill people”


Getting Them While They’re Young

According to Carleton’s Capital News, “the Canadian forces wants to increase its regular force by 13,000 soldiers to about 75,000, and is also looking to raise the number of reserves by 10,000 to 40,000 over the next few years”. These are big expectations for a country not really known for it’s military prowess. How to garner from a peace keeping nation the number of trained executioners need to support this international “war on terror”?

The auditor general’s report on the status of the Canadian military concluded that it has “shown some satisfactory improvement in recruiting the military personnel it needs to meet it’s operational requirements” but “[t]he Department has not been able to improve it’s recruiting of Aboriginal people, visible minorities, or women” since the last audit. Although the Department has “carrie[d] out studies on the demographics of the Canadian labour force, is promoting diversity, and is spending $1.5 million on diversity recruiting, these efforts are not achieving results”.

The Canadian military is thus currently faced with the huge task of drastically increasing it’s numbers by extracting from what seems to be an unwilling population. The military department knows it will require ingenuity and creativity in order to create the number of soldiers it needs in the near future, and as such, they are embarking on interesting new measures throughout high schools across the nation.



One of the most controversial of these measures is the introduction of a high school co-op program, in which children in Grade 10 and up can earn money while they learn to kill people, which is exactly what General Rick Hillier needs them to do. In many public school boards across the nation, the military co-op plan has been instituted in our secondary schools. Our children are encouraged to join the reserves as a part of their educational curriculum, for which they will earn high school credits, extra cash, and health and dental benefits.

In many high schools here in Canada, the rules governing co-op placements as educational programs stipulate that no program should pay the students to enlist, eliminating incentive biases. The Canadian military was able to sidestep that stipulation. Apparently the military goals of our country are more important that the educational standards in our public schools.
Yet Another Social Contradiction...

There was a time shortly after Columbine, when North America was reeling from the effects of guns in their schools. Canadian education, for decades, has stressed conflict resolution without the use of violence. Some schools even ban the game “Red Rover” because of the level of physical “aggression” the game requires. The current “Safe Schools Act”, a code of conduct whose purpose is to “encourage the use of nonviolent means to resolve conflict”, seems contradictory to the message our General Rick Hillier feeds the nation.

In Canada we have never tolerated guns on our streets, particularly in the hands of our children, or in the halls of our schools. Our educational system has always had focused on the acceptance of diversity and the dangers of racism, and it has worked hard to prevent and deter violence in schools through numerous measures including locker searches and educational programs. Why is it, that our children, are now suddenly subjected to the mentality of the military? Since when did we as a people decide that 14 year olds ought to throw grenades, shoot rifles, play war games, and learn to kill people? Since when was basic training considered public education? We shame and condemn other countries who use their children as soldiers, but are we any different?

According to the Women in Black, there are “overwhelming enticements and pressures on youth who do not have the resources for higher education and look to this option. This plays into an insidious underlying focus on vulnerable youth of a certain socioeconomic and racial stratification...”.

It’s not like kids who want a chance to get military training and shoot rifles with the big boys can’t - there’s always been cadets and Naval Reserves for youth who wish to involve themselves in it. They are already able to receive training (after school, weekends, and summers) and get paid for it, so why permeate our public schools? “Why is the school board acting as a broker for the military?” ask the Women in Black, “Is enticing students into a military co-op program bring monies into the school board’s coffers? Are our students being used as commodities for budget purposes?”

These are tough questioned that have yet to be answered, and have not even been acknowledged by the mainstream media. Although many numerous and disturbing questions remain unanswered, there are a few things that are infinitely clear:

1) Rich kids don’t join the reserves, they don’t join the regular forces. They go off to large private institutions where their parents pay for their post-secondary education, and they are not in need of a summer job.

2) The video game market demonstrates that our teenagers get a kick our of games like “Medal of Honor” and “Full Metal Jacket”. Kids who like these sort of games would love to try out the real thing and get paid for it, especially if it was a part of going to school.

3) The military is in desperate need of new members, members that will stay on long enough to make their paid training and education a benefit to the Canadian military, who foot the bill. As such, those who enlist now are faced with longer terms of service and tighter contracts.

4) The Canadian military is investing millions of dollars into targeted advertising that is meant to catch the attention of impoverished or underprivileged individuals. Not only is this campaign integrated into local media and the public landscape, it has been directly implanted in high schools all across the country. This was done quietly, with little fanfare and no consideration of public opinion.

5) People who go to war, go to war to kill and die. If you do not see your child as a killer, nor would you be happy seeing him or her dead, tell your local school about how you feel.

Quote...

"I still think today as yesterday that the color line is a great problem of this century. But today I see more clearly than yesterday that back of the problem of race and color, lies a greater problem which both obscures and implements it: and that is the fact that so many civilized persons are willing to live in comfort even if the price of this is poverty, ignorance and disease of the majority of their fellowmen; that to maintian this privilege men have waged war until today war tends to become universal and continuous, and the excuse for this war continues largely to be color and race."

W.E.B. Du Bois, Preface to new edition of The Souls of Black Folk (1953)