Another Push on the Pendulum

As some of you may have noticed, my politics tend to creep into this space occasionally. Be warned - it's creeping time again.

My friend, nephew and FaceBook buddy Dave recently shared a post suggesting that conservatives in the US and Canada should unite to achieve their common ground. For once, his views and mine agree exactly. I think that we should get all of the conservatives together, and we should pay to transport them to that common ground. I hear that Antarctica is nice this time of year...

 For a little while when I was younger, Canada was a community. We cared about our neighbours and we were proud of our identity. We were a mosaic, not a melting pot. We were a gentle, supportive people with our roots here and in the earth of every other land in the world. We elected our leaders from the same stock. We thought of ourselves as fair, honest, polite and dependable, and we never allowed our family arguments to drown out the voices of the minority.

The pendulum has swung back, as pendula are wont to do. Community has become commodity. If you can afford it, you can have it; if you can't afford it, then obviously you didn't want it badly enough. Everything is for sale - food, clothing, shelter, medicine, justice, relationships, family.

We've come to the conclusion that people are deprived because of some flaw in their character. They are hungry because they've wasted their money, they're homeless because they choose to be, they're ill because they haven't taken responsibility for their own health, and they're alone because that's the way they like it!

We don't like the idea of Big Government interfering in the natural order of our daily lives. Level playing fields are only for games, and we're not fooling around here! There's only so much, and we're willing to pay whatever the market demands to make sure that we get ours first. If there's anything left over, then we should sell it to someone who really appreciates it.

We still believe that we're the good guys - that we are fair, honest, polite and dependable. We're doing our best with what we've got, and if others were willing to work as hard as we do, they'd have it too.


Some of us feel that there's just not enough space in the lifeboat for everyone. Others think that our potential is limited only by our compassion, energy and imagination. Too many believe that their opinions and actions make no difference.

On Monday, May second, there's a federal election in Canada. That means all of us have a chance to get out and give the tired, old pendulum another shove. Perhaps our energy will influence its momentum and its direction. You probably already know how I'll be pushing on that day.

My politics were formed a long time ago, and my opinions haven't changed this year. I think the needs have remained the same, it's just the spin on the story that's altered.

Your vote, however you choose to cast it, does matter. You know the issues as well as Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton or me. Make your mind up, make your choice, make your mark.

Be well.