Who's Your hero?

Yesterday the world lost a great man, maybe even one of the last truly great men left.  Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95 leaving a legacy of hope, justice and forgiveness behind.  I became aware of Nelson Mandela in the 1980's when the issue of Apartheid in South Africa was the popular issue for world activists much like Free Tibet is today.  Songs like Sun City, Biko, and Free Nelson Mandela along with movies such as Cry Freedom brought the issue of racial segregation to the middle class suburban masses of Canada and the United States.  It was through the story of Nelson Mandela that as a teenager I became interested in history and the stories the world held beyond the typical cold war rhetoric I had grown up with.  For me Nelson Mandela became a man to look up to, someone embodied strength, determination, compassion, sacrifice, caring and the willingness to sacrifice himself for his ideals.  Since my teenage years Nelson Mandela has always been there as a symbol that not all sacrifices go unrewarded, sometimes right does win and individuals do matter. For me Nelson Mandela was the living embodiment of histories greatest figures like Martin Luther King Jr and Ghandi.

The world is messier now than it was then.  We like to focus on the failings of people and we live in a world where people's personal lives and every misstep are often exposed to the world.  Professional athletes are regularly in the news for being arrested, our politician caught in scandal, our heroes constantly being brought back down to earth.  Mandela and his fight against Apartheid reminds us of a simpler time when there was a right and wrong stance and it was OK to pick sides, even if the people you were siding with weren't perfect.

Visit the following link and explore the life of Nelson Mandela and the legacy he left for world.  Then examine your own beliefs and who matters to you. Leave a comment on a person you admire or an issue you believe in and explain your stance.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nelson-mandela-dead-at-95-1.2417872

Click on the following links to see some more on Nelson Mandela

Mandela's Release from Prison Speech
Who's is Nelson Mandela
Mandela, The Man and His Country

The Depression Takes Hold

During the 1930's the Canadian economy was dependent on the export of raw materials such as wheat, lumber, and minerals, all of which saw foreign markets plummet after 1929.  Manufacturing companies in Canada were forced to cut back on production and lay off workers because of the dramatic slump in demand for the goods they made.  Unemployment skyrocketed.  Young, single men, frequently in search of their first jobs after leaving school, were particularly affected.  Many of them traveled across the country, hitching rides on railway freight cars, in what was all too often a vain search for work.  

During the Great Depression, many desperate Canadian wrote directly to Prime Minister Bennet, Appealing to him for assistance.  There were few other places they could turn at that time, since there were few social welfare programs in place, and the need was so great.  Bennet a Millionaire, actually did answer many of these pleas for help, often enclosing a small amount of money in his reply.

Post a comment in the form of  a letter to Prime Minister Bennett as if you were either, an unemployed Canadian man traveling across the country in search of work, or a mother with four small children struggling to survive.  The letter should contain details of the problems the writer is facing along with an appeal to Bennet for help.  Remember, Bennet, his government and many wealthy Canadians thought it was unacceptable for people to get “something for nothing”. 

Letters from the Front

Explore the First World War website and Canadian Letters from the Front to get a feel for some of the details of the front lines in Europe.  

Create an interview between a reporter and a soldier or a fictional letter home from a Canadian Man or women on the front lines. Assume the person has served in the Battles of Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge and Passchendale.

Post your interview or letter on this site under comments (be sure to include your initials at the end so I can give you credit).  Your interview or letter should aim to inform the Canadian public at home about and include details about a minimum of 5 of the following:

·         trench warfare

·         life in the front lines

·        the roles of technology in the war

·         the quality of military leadership

·         morale of Canadian soldiers

·         the effectiveness of Canadian troops

·         hospitals and medical treatment

·         the roles of women in the war