Against my own better judgment, I can’t keep myself from wading in to this debate. I mean, who could stop themselves? It involves buses, and we all have an opinion about buses. And advertising – people feel really strongly about advertising. Oh, and, I guess, there’s one other wee factor in this discussion.
“There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
Oh, right.
It’s pretty hard to raise questions about the existence of God without creating controversy, but a group called the Freethought Association of Canada is diving headlong into these waters by implementing a nationwide transit advertising campaign that states directly: “You can be good without God.” (There’s also a second group, the Humanist Association of Canada, which is waging a similar campaign.)
According to the website atheistbus.ca, the Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign was modeled on a campaign which began in the UK, and which had its Canadian launch recently in Toronto.
The atheistbus website says the campaign was created as “a rebuttal to the multitude of religious advertisements on city buses, subways, and roadsides,” and that “there is currently a terrible lack of dialogue between people of faith, and those of non-faith. …We want to open up communication between faith communities and secular organizations. Only through these discussions will we come to know one another better.”
Proactively, the United Church of Canada has responded with a counter campaign which states, “There's probably a God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” There’s even a poll on the church’s wondercafe.ca site where folks can vote for either side of the argument. When I last checked, votes were 71% on the “no God” side.
The Freethought Association’s plan was to bring their campaign to other Canadian cities, including Halifax.
But in an interview with the Chronicle Herald last week, a Metro Transit spokeswoman said they have rejected the ads on the grounds that they are too “controversial” and could “upset a number of people.”
I get upset when I see ads for Hummers and fad diet products and the Conservative Party, but nobody appears to be prepared to pull those just to prevent offending me. Should Metro Transit and their advertising agency be the arbiters of free speech in Halifax? The atheistbus website suggests that Halifax and the Vatican are “the only two organizations in the western world still in the dark ages when it comes to allowing non-believers the right to free speech in public spaces. That’s quite an accomplishment!”
When it comes to the existence of God, we have to agree that there’s simply no single thing to agree on. A quick wiki search yields a list of worldwide religions and spiritual traditions that’s over sixteen pages long, including everything from Bábism to Restorationism to Gnosticism to Sufism to Hindu Revivialism. Clearly, everyone has a right to his or her own beliefs, and informed debate can only be good.
Besides, the campaign doesn’t appear to be mean-spirited in intent. Wouldn’t those upset by the ads be more justified if the posters suggested “There’s probably no God. Now go out there and wreck everything”?
Surely Haligonans of all faiths (and lack thereof) are sophisticated enough to acknowlege that there’s room for free, open discussion on this subject, and that we need not be protected from a controversial slogan simply because Metro Transit and their ad agency fear raising the question.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Dropped by his Doctor
If you’re lucky enough to have been in good health for a while, you may want to check in with your family doctor after you hear Wayne Perrin’s tale.
Perrin admits that he’s always been a “typical guy” who doesn’t like to run to the doctor for every little thing. “If I get a cold, I go get some medication, and it goes away in a few days. If I get a sore shoulder, I take a pill and it goes away. But when it's something I know I can't handle, I go see the doctor. And I always thought that was what they were there for.”
So did I. But back in late October, the 57-year-old began to have some health problems that he knew were serious enough to warrant a trip to his family physician. He called the office of the practitioner who had been his G.P. for over a decade.
“The receptionist looked at my file and said, ‘Gee, you haven't been here in quite a while,’” he told me. “According to their records, it had been almost six years since I went to see her last. And I said, ‘Well, lucky me, I haven't been sick in almost six years!”
The receptionist gave Perrin an appointment for a Monday, a little over two weeks later.
On the Friday before that appointment, he came home to find a message on his answering machine that left him stunned. “The message said, ‘The doctor has decided that, where you haven't been in to see her in quite a while, there's no room for you in her practice anymore. So she won't be able to honor your appointment.’”
Perrin says he was completely taken aback. “I thought that was absolutely disgraceful,” he says. “I didn't understand it. I was never a bad patient. I was just there when I needed to go. They always tell you, ‘Don't be running back and forth to the doctor and the hospital over every little thing.’ Well, I don't. And look where it's gotten me.”
Where it got him was scrambling to get care for his worsening illness through a local clinic, which left him feeling just as poorly. Finally, after weeks of medications and two trips to the emergency room, Perrin was admitted to hospital for minor surgery.
I can’t give you Perrin’s doctor’s side of the story because she declined to speak with me.
And Capital Health Spokesperson Peter Graham told me that there is no official policy regarding the appropriate way to terminate a relationship between physician and patient. He said it’s up to physicians to be guided by their professional code, as provided by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
That voluntary code – the Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics – specifies that physicians should “continue to provide services until they are no longer required or wanted; until another suitable physician has assumed responsibility for the patient; or until the patient has been given reasonable notice that you intend to terminate the relationship.”
Perrin feels that those guidelines were not followed in his case. “I never told her I didn't want to have her as my doctor. She never sent me notice saying we don't have any room for you and we're going to have to terminate. And I never had another doctor.”
It’s a cautionary tale, at the least. Should we be making up excuses to visit the doctor? Because really, the last thing anyone wants is to be turned away when they finally do need their doctor’s help.
Perrin admits that he’s always been a “typical guy” who doesn’t like to run to the doctor for every little thing. “If I get a cold, I go get some medication, and it goes away in a few days. If I get a sore shoulder, I take a pill and it goes away. But when it's something I know I can't handle, I go see the doctor. And I always thought that was what they were there for.”
So did I. But back in late October, the 57-year-old began to have some health problems that he knew were serious enough to warrant a trip to his family physician. He called the office of the practitioner who had been his G.P. for over a decade.
“The receptionist looked at my file and said, ‘Gee, you haven't been here in quite a while,’” he told me. “According to their records, it had been almost six years since I went to see her last. And I said, ‘Well, lucky me, I haven't been sick in almost six years!”
The receptionist gave Perrin an appointment for a Monday, a little over two weeks later.
On the Friday before that appointment, he came home to find a message on his answering machine that left him stunned. “The message said, ‘The doctor has decided that, where you haven't been in to see her in quite a while, there's no room for you in her practice anymore. So she won't be able to honor your appointment.’”
Perrin says he was completely taken aback. “I thought that was absolutely disgraceful,” he says. “I didn't understand it. I was never a bad patient. I was just there when I needed to go. They always tell you, ‘Don't be running back and forth to the doctor and the hospital over every little thing.’ Well, I don't. And look where it's gotten me.”
Where it got him was scrambling to get care for his worsening illness through a local clinic, which left him feeling just as poorly. Finally, after weeks of medications and two trips to the emergency room, Perrin was admitted to hospital for minor surgery.
I can’t give you Perrin’s doctor’s side of the story because she declined to speak with me.
And Capital Health Spokesperson Peter Graham told me that there is no official policy regarding the appropriate way to terminate a relationship between physician and patient. He said it’s up to physicians to be guided by their professional code, as provided by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
That voluntary code – the Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics – specifies that physicians should “continue to provide services until they are no longer required or wanted; until another suitable physician has assumed responsibility for the patient; or until the patient has been given reasonable notice that you intend to terminate the relationship.”
Perrin feels that those guidelines were not followed in his case. “I never told her I didn't want to have her as my doctor. She never sent me notice saying we don't have any room for you and we're going to have to terminate. And I never had another doctor.”
It’s a cautionary tale, at the least. Should we be making up excuses to visit the doctor? Because really, the last thing anyone wants is to be turned away when they finally do need their doctor’s help.
HaliFacebook
Facebook has its “LVRs” and its “h8ters,” and I guess you would have to count me as one of the lovers. I confess that I use it to keep up with (and, occasionally, spy on) my friends and acquaintances. I’m not above updating my status from “Ang is bummed that it’s raining” to “Ang is trying to get ahead of her deadlines” on an almost daily basis.
And, clearly, I’m not the only Haligonian who’s into it. Aside from all the individual profiles, a quick scan of the “groups” list reveals that there are over 500 Facebook groups with a Halifax connection. These groups are places where people with common interests can get together and LOL to their hearts’ content.
Perhaps not surprisingly, oddities and niche interests abound. Check out this sampling of groups you can join if you’re seeking like-minded souls in Halifax.
There are several groups devoted to the quirks and joys of living here, my favourite being “Satan's Ploy: the new Roundabout in Halifax.” There is also a place for those who fondly recall a tire that used to hang mysteriously from the highest limbs of a tree at the side of Highway 102, called “for the tire in the tree.” To quote the group’s creator, “the tire was a good tire but some idotes (sic) took it out.” Amen, brother.
There are lots of food-related groups, from “donairs of Halifax”, to “rubber-band-wearing-no more fast food eater people”, to “so what if I’m a vegan, your mom is still ugly.” The constant lack of donairs and other fast food is probably making some of these last folks cranky.
Local restaurant-loyalty groups are numerous. I personally enjoy “to me, look ho ho has it’s (sic) own food group.” The site’s creators proudly proclaim “Look Ho Ho has the BEST china (sic) food ever!!!!!” Tellingly, this group is categorized under “Religion and Spirituality.”
Again, not surprisingly, Halifax is host to many groups dedicated to honoring members’ tendencies to overindulge in alcohol. There is “ohhhh look at me I’m drunk again!!!” (198 members), “I don’t drink to socialize, I drink to get drunk” (61 members), “Former Underage Commons Drinkers” (47 members), and “FADDTM (Friends Against Drunk Dialing, Texting and Messaging)” (87 members). There’s also “Beer” (Description: “Beer is good.”), and “I love Beer!!” There are actually two different local groups called “I love beer,” the difference being the number of exclamation points they employ to express their love.
And there are random groups like “people who want animals and there (sic) parents wont (sic) let them”, “I work in an office and I steal food out of people's desks....”, the “black eyeliner appreciation club”, and, alarmingly, “sex in point pleasant park” for – you guessed it – people who like to do the nasty in an area which, I would suggest, holds a significant risk of standing, sitting, kneeling or otherwise frolicking in dog doody. Perhaps these same folks also belong to “I secretly adore the smell of the Halifax Harbour.”
I’m considering joining the “Halifax Association of Classy karaoke Singers”, and, if it weren’t already closed, I might have joined “Word Hearders (sic) and Button Monkeys .....Halifax Journalists”. Unfortunately, I think they meant “herders,” so, actually, I guess I probably wouldn’t have joined, especially since I am already a member of “I judge you when you use poor grammar.”
This is just the tip of the iceberg! Who says it’s hard to meet people you have something in common with? And if you’re not into any of these, feel free to join the other 41 members of the “Stop it with the groups. group” group.
And, clearly, I’m not the only Haligonian who’s into it. Aside from all the individual profiles, a quick scan of the “groups” list reveals that there are over 500 Facebook groups with a Halifax connection. These groups are places where people with common interests can get together and LOL to their hearts’ content.
Perhaps not surprisingly, oddities and niche interests abound. Check out this sampling of groups you can join if you’re seeking like-minded souls in Halifax.
There are several groups devoted to the quirks and joys of living here, my favourite being “Satan's Ploy: the new Roundabout in Halifax.” There is also a place for those who fondly recall a tire that used to hang mysteriously from the highest limbs of a tree at the side of Highway 102, called “for the tire in the tree.” To quote the group’s creator, “the tire was a good tire but some idotes (sic) took it out.” Amen, brother.
There are lots of food-related groups, from “donairs of Halifax”, to “rubber-band-wearing-no more fast food eater people”, to “so what if I’m a vegan, your mom is still ugly.” The constant lack of donairs and other fast food is probably making some of these last folks cranky.
Local restaurant-loyalty groups are numerous. I personally enjoy “to me, look ho ho has it’s (sic) own food group.” The site’s creators proudly proclaim “Look Ho Ho has the BEST china (sic) food ever!!!!!” Tellingly, this group is categorized under “Religion and Spirituality.”
Again, not surprisingly, Halifax is host to many groups dedicated to honoring members’ tendencies to overindulge in alcohol. There is “ohhhh look at me I’m drunk again!!!” (198 members), “I don’t drink to socialize, I drink to get drunk” (61 members), “Former Underage Commons Drinkers” (47 members), and “FADDTM (Friends Against Drunk Dialing, Texting and Messaging)” (87 members). There’s also “Beer” (Description: “Beer is good.”), and “I love Beer!!” There are actually two different local groups called “I love beer,” the difference being the number of exclamation points they employ to express their love.
And there are random groups like “people who want animals and there (sic) parents wont (sic) let them”, “I work in an office and I steal food out of people's desks....”, the “black eyeliner appreciation club”, and, alarmingly, “sex in point pleasant park” for – you guessed it – people who like to do the nasty in an area which, I would suggest, holds a significant risk of standing, sitting, kneeling or otherwise frolicking in dog doody. Perhaps these same folks also belong to “I secretly adore the smell of the Halifax Harbour.”
I’m considering joining the “Halifax Association of Classy karaoke Singers”, and, if it weren’t already closed, I might have joined “Word Hearders (sic) and Button Monkeys .....Halifax Journalists”. Unfortunately, I think they meant “herders,” so, actually, I guess I probably wouldn’t have joined, especially since I am already a member of “I judge you when you use poor grammar.”
This is just the tip of the iceberg! Who says it’s hard to meet people you have something in common with? And if you’re not into any of these, feel free to join the other 41 members of the “Stop it with the groups. group” group.
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