“Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
“I was going along so well, but the wheels fell off my wagon, and I can’t seem to get going again.”
“Our social programs will not stop or be diminished, even though our total debt is $45 billion, or in excess of $10,000 per person for every man, woman and child in Alberta.”
Country after country is restricting, if not completely stopping trade with us, in part because of our stand on principles; principles that we ourselves are want to keep.
Opening the doors to our country without order has produced a backlash fuelling racism and mistrust of all new residents; even some people who have lived in Canada for many years, including many who were born here.
Our nearest neighbour is going through a political turmoil the likes of which has not been seen before; a turmoil that is beginning to affect a lot of our residents, especially in the area of white supremacy and racism.
Their leader has even gone as far as redacting the truth on many issues and laughs at people who try to hold him accountable.
Changes in our social structure have had an impact on our ethical and moral well-being like never before. I’m waiting for a social backlash to these events.
To this point, they have been tolerated, not really embraced, which is what will fuel the backlash. More and more, very important ideologies are being turfed because of social media pressure, rather than the logic and reasoning to keep them.
I still find it strange; actually, I find it offensive, when an elected party, because of its own stand on different issues, tells about 30 to 50 per cent of the population that their values are going to be ignored and that its own agenda will rule the land.
Never before have so many people who hold onto certain values been rejected by their own government under the pretence of universality.
Many are the promises of a rosy future or sunny days that have turned into an unrest that is all too palpable. With all the folks I have spoken with, I am surprised that even people who are generally optimistic, are feeling the unrest and the tensions in most of the population.
I am aware that all of this may appear pessimistic, but I do believe there are solutions that will be uplifting enough that the general populace can turn all the negativity around so that we do not have to face the future with trepidation.
We are born with two ears, but only one mouth. You can guess what that implies. We are a very diverse nation, something that some governments promote at their own peril.
If we promote all this diversity to the nth degree, to the exclusion of anything else, where then can we find the very unity that is needed to build a nation?
While steamrolling into the future, we have to stop once in a while to examine where we are and where we are going. For example, if we don’t slow down at times, we are certain to miss the signs that warn us of approaching dangers, or even something more drastic.
Only by taking the time to weigh the costs of where we are going, will we ever prevent an irreversible catastrophe. We need to adopt the slogan attributed to the U.S. Marines, which says, “Leave no man behind.”
In our excitement of progress and growth, we have to remember that what we should be focusing on is not leaving those who are in confusion or even opposition behind.
Only then can we make sense of any political mayhem that currently exists in our beautiful country.
Chris Salomons is a retired Red Deer resident with a concern for the downtrodden.