Yes, We Can watch Obama on the CBC. And do other stuff, too.

President Obama has captured a lot of attention, and every one and their dog has written something or other on his legacy of hope, his socialist agenda, his ability to save the world from the terror of incompetence which reeked havoc on human rights, the economy, world peace, and all else over the last eight years. I was rooting for Obama, I was talking about Obama, I was smiling with glee when Obama was elected and his wife looked so pretty and his speech was so good. But of course, I couldn’t actually vote for Obama, because I’m not an American citizen. (I do have an American parent, and always thought I could be an American citizen if I really wanted to…but apparently that isn’t true. Stay tuned for the rant on how red tape killed my dream of moving to Hawaii and owning a goat.)

Canadians sit in a unique position. Our economy is largely based on the United States - they are our largest trade partner, and I can’t think of a single industry or public sector that doesn’t have some sort of American influence; think: fisheries, land and wildlife conservation, tourism, forestry, beef…oh, the beef. We are inevitably influenced by everything they do - and yes, everyone is, in a butterfly-to-hurricane effect, or more accurately a domino-to-domino effect as demonstrated by the recent economy. But Canadians are unusually close - we’re living within 50 km of ground zero, we can see exactly what’s going down, and yet are essentially powerless to influence it. We’re generally more socially minded and generally thoughtful, but we don’t have much of an international voice, so we stand silently on the side lines, watching, waiting, wanting to hope but knowing that there’s probably no point… It’s stressful, and we don’t even get the benefit of feeling proud when the right decision is made. As much as I love Obama and wish him all the best…I didn’t do that. What did I do? Elect Harper, apparently. …yay?

So, as Obama visits Ottawa and sits down with the CBC, I find myself wondering…are we really that apathetic? Don’t we, too, want to Make Change? Is it laziness, indifference, or have we maybe just forgotten how? It’s true, we probably aren’t going to ever outrank the Americans on the international stage…and we’re not going to beat them in any eating contests, either. But there are a lot of things that we can do better…so why don’t we?

Because I am regularly pissed off by any opinion piece which proposes questions without offering answers, I’ll make this one easy: we can make change. I don‘t think we‘re lazy…I do think we care. We're just used to our role as spectator, and forgotten we're players in a much bigger game. Can we fix everything? No. But we can make it better. I myself am one tiny little person with $50 in my chequing account…if I feel capable of making the world a better place, surely you can, too. Even for huge, seemingly unsolvable problems. For example: can I solve world hunger? Probably, no. But I can pay FreeRice instead of solitaire. I can consider the environmental impact of the food I eat, buy locally, and discover what exactly kale is. I can volunteer time at a food bank, and learn about how my irresponsible consumer choices inevitably enslave malnourished children in Asia. See? Responsible consumerism is fun!

It’s not even about any given issue, even. It’s about an attitude, or a vision: seeing the world as a work in progress. Because Yes, We Can. So if something isn’t right…try to fix it. Do something. You probably can’t do everything…do what you can. If something bugs you, make it better. Don’t like how certain laws seem exclusionary or stupid? You can change laws. Start a petition, or a kickass blog, or write your newspaper. Conduct a publicity campaign. That’s how laws change. If you don’t like exploitation of third world populations, look into free trade, and stop buying bananas. If slow walking people who take up the whole sidewalk drive you nuts, next time, bring a cattle prod. Change really is that easy. (I kid...except…not really.)

The world is a work in progress. You are the agent of that progress. And, damn it, if you want anything right, you’ll have to do it yourself. So please, get off of your laptops, and start changing the world. Because I’m tired, and I need to go to the bathroom, so I can’t do it all myself.