As many of you may know, I have long been committed to the ideals of socialism and consider myself a socialist. It has been said that the essence of socialism is the same as that of many great religions—a commitment to putting others ahead of one’s own self interest.

At one point in time, I used to believe you needed some sort of card in your pocket to be a socialist. Over time, I came to the realisation that the card was not necessary, and in fact might be misleading—a person with a card might not actually embody the values of socialism. However, I still believed that it was not possible to be a socialist without actually realizing or claiming it.

Then in 1996, I met a man who would become a lifelong friend—Dr. Fred Bass.

Fred has taught me that one does not need to be aware of the fact they are a socialist to be one. At its core, socialism is nothing more than sharing, caring, and altruism—all of which Fred constantly demonstrates.

In 1996, Fred and I both ran for the first time for Vancouver city council—he with the Vancouver Green Party and I with COPE. Neither of us was elected. Three years later, in 1999, we both ran for council again, this time both running under the COPE banner. We were both elected!

Over the next six years on council, Fred taught me a lifelong lesson. I learned that one does not need to be a conscious socialist to nevertheless be one. In his actions and decisions, Fred epitomizes sharing, caring, and altruism. I often teased him by accusing him of being a subconscious socialist.

There were some in COPE who were card-carrying socialists but who were selfish, uncaring, and totally lacking in altruism. Fred would carefully analyze each issue that came before council and decide how to vote based only on what was best for society—never on what might be best for his career. He always voted with complete disregard for any impact his vote might have on alliances, in the sense that he was never vulnerable to the maxim: get along by going along.

I learned during those six years that in politics there are far too many politicians, including within COPE, who would simply base their positions on what would curry favour with others in the party.

This blog was prompted by Fred’s visit to our home last week. He had called prior to the visit to let us know that he was going to be at the Kitsilano Farmers Market and to ask if there was something we would like. We said "yes"—garlic scapes. Fred did not arrive Sunday with just the scapes. He brought a dozen different items.

We then had a most wonderful chat about his lifelong campaigns to reduce smoking and to raise environmental awareness.

Fred still works a full day, most days a week, on his causes—as he says “not in spite of, but because he is 87 years old and has the time available”. His current priority is promoting and facilitating Eco-Sattva Workshops that bring Buddhist wisdom to help people face the ecological and social threats we all face. For information about these, he can be reached at fredbass@shaw.ca . He continues to bicycle because as he says “he likes the planet and likes cycling”.

This week’s blog is dedicated to my good friend, the subconscious socialist Dr. Fred Bass.

Daily atmospheric CO₂ [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]

Latest daily total (July 12, 2021): 416.72 ppm

One year ago (July 12, 2020): 415.36 ppm