Protectors of the Planet by Jamie Bastedo

Author:Jamie Bastedo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Published: 2021-03-12T13:48:06+00:00

Kathleen in her teens enjoys a pensive moment boating on a Sudbury lake.

“So, I wasn’t the kid wanting to save the whales or dolphins or sea turtles. That just wasn’t me. If you’d asked me if I wanted to save them, I’d say, of course. I’d always had a pervasive sense of justice, which I still hold.”

“How did that take root, your sense of justice, of what’s right and good?”

“We may never have gone camping when I was growing up. And my parents may not have taught me about the natural world. But, boy, they absolutely gave me the training to stand up for what you believe in. That was one hundred percent the doctrine in my home. You stand up for people who need a voice, who need your help. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like what I’m saying, as long as it’s true for me. I’m not trying to be rude. I always try to be polite about it. But I will absolutely say what I think. That’s your job in the world.”

“Your parents instilled this in you?”

“For sure. As an American, my father was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war. My parents came of age in the 60s, protesting the war, standing up for what they believed in. They knew that their young voices mattered, that they had power, that they could speak truth to others who held power, that they could disagree with authorities. Invariably, when you looked at our grocery list on the wall, my dad would have written: ‘World peace.’ Or if a waitress asked at the end of a meal, ‘Would you like anything else?’ he would always say, ‘World peace.’ He was teasing but he wasn’t joking. It was the thing that drove him. So, it was clear to me from a young age that there was a lot wrong with the world.”

“And your mother?”

“My mom is a teacher. I remember when I was small, longing for her to stay home like my friends’ moms. But she loved what she did and she was superb at it. And it wasn’t long before I saw how wonderful it was that I had a mom who was working—not just to help her students, but in other ways, too. She helped in the fight to gain and protect equal rights for women teachers in Ontario. My mom also had a cousin, Father Abraham, who ran a project in northern India to help people in deep poverty. My parents visited there many times. It taught me the importance of trying to help solve difficult problems in other parts of the world, too.

“My paternal grandmother was a lawyer way back when very few women went to university at all, let alone law school. She became the first female State Attorney in Illinois. There is a story about her refusing to bake something for a church fair until all the men lawyers did the same. It’s a great example of how small everyday changes are the building blocks of broader social change.

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