I generally try to avoid chatting about politics because it can lead to some very spicy conversations.
That being said, with the current global political crap storm going on, I find that I cannot help but way in.
This year that has brought us the continuing madness of a senseless conflict in the Ukraine, courtesy of the megalomaniac residing in the Kremlin. His obvious disregard for the human condition easily places his name along side some of history’s worst perpetrators of crimes against humanity.
I certainly am not claiming to know much about anything but would like to pose the first of a few rhetorical questions.
Why would NATO not simply expedite a membership for Ukraine?
We have all heard the warnings from the madman demanding the rest of the world stay out of the conflict that he has started. These also included warnings to NATO about expanding their membership including the newest member, Finland. I am aware that this is a sensitive game of chess with very high stakes but do we really believe that this individual is so unstable that he would risk turning his country into a wasteland with his poorly veiled threats of escalating things to include the use of weapons of mass destruction? And if so, does that not pose a number of other questions that all have obvious answers ?
Violence has become the brand of the year. This has been made horribly evident by the 130 mass shootings across the United States in just the last four months. It has continued the search for a cause and a cure, fuelling the debate over mental health vs. gun ownership. The short answer on this debate is that not enough has been done on either front as politicians drink the kool-aid in the form of contributions from NRA and participate in the hostage negotiations for proper funding while voting down any meaningful bills that are proposed by their counterparts. In case it was too vague, the hostages are the American public.
Without question, mental health is a global issue that has just recently come out of the shadows allowing it to be discussed openly. A subject that used to be hidden away for fear of how people think or being shamed has now been recognized as a subject of necessity. I would dare to stay that there is not a single family on this planet that has not been touched by this subject in some degree. Perhaps you are not aware, or you do not want to believe it but somewhere, someone in your family could benefit from some form of therapy. As long as help is readily available, affordable and is stigma free, a little help once and a while is not only welcome, it is necessary.
If you have a population that does not have these services available, an increasingly tense living environment due to to any growing number of adversities blended with readily available firearms, you can expect that there will be some horrible consequences.
What can be done to correct it when opposing parties refuse to work together ? What is the solution when the politicians seem more interested in their own personal preservation than that of the constituents that afforded them their position ? What is the true cost of putting campaign contributions ahead of human lives ?
These questions are asked every day. Perhaps the phrasing is often less pointed, perhaps the perspective is not as harsh, depending what shade of glasses it is viewed through but the issues at hand are real and the cost has been human lives and untold levels of mental anguish for those loved ones that are left behind.
Generally, the short answer is that we look to our governments for guidance and protection from the larger issues that seem beyond one single person’s abilities. Our elected officials use to be our shining beacon of behavioural standards. We could look to them for examples of personal sacrifice of putting the masses before the individual.
Those days are long gone. The example that we now have is a soup of misogonistic sexual predators, bullies, petty criminals and delusional lunatics. With the exception of a few great politicians that continually swim upstream against the currant, I find it hard to believe what I’m being told about serious issues. We can research issues and concerns on our own but even the national news networks seem to have polarizing view points on almost every subject. There are a couple of networks that have moved from genuine news networks to more of an entertainment network, telling the viewers whatever it takes to keep them locked in. This leaves us alone to reason and research, hopefully coming to the understanding that we all have to take at least some responsibility for allowing things to get this far off course.
The best way that I could visualize this would be to compare it to your own personal property. We are all responsible to maintain our property and do the maintenance necessary to ensure the value of your property continues to increase and not lose value. One of the most simple tasks is to weed your garden so that they do not over run your flowers and choke out all of the intentional beauty that you have carefully planted. Our government is no different. We thoughtfully selected individuals that were suppose to enhance the beauty and value of our country but found out that some of them turned out be nothing like the picture on the package they came in. What do we do ? Allow them to take over the whole garden and make our property look like we just don’t care, or do we “weed” them out and replace them with complimentary species to enhance all the good things in our garden?
We weed Them Out !
So let’s collectively do the right thing. Do the research. Listen to and read from many sources and come to the right decisions for our property, our block, our city, our province / state, for our country.
Power generally comes with a level of responsibility. Remember that the citizens within a democratic society are the true bearers of power. Wield it wisely.