What Canada Needs...

You know, I remember a time when I used to think that being an ultra right wing conservative was just about the only thing that I knew I was right about in the world. I was of the mind that this country, and world of ours was falling apart from a lack of morals and values in our family unit. There was a horrific divorce rate, abortion was killing unborn babies, adultry and plain ungoldly behaviour was overtaking our neighbourhood. There were a million reasons I could think of for this. This could've been blamed on the change in demographics in our immigration program. Canada had become a multi-cultural society, and I was watching my predominately white Christian country turn into an experiment for the whole world to laugh at. My country's founding father's would be rolling over in their graves if they were alive today to see what we've done with their sacrifices.

I looked at the United States and thought, "They have it right"

They are simply Americans, and proud to be there. They all drink the meltingpot Kool-Aid, and they all come to the land of opportunity to live the American Dream. They all have great high school spirit and community camaraderie.
Their sports teams give them identity and something to cheer for. Hollywood puts out the movies that the entire world watches and the entertainment industry revolves around Southern California. Everyone wants a piece of fame, and it oozes out of the United States.

The thing is, I used to believe that most of these things are true. But I was extremely disappointed in myself for believing these things now.

It's kind of funny when you think of how you've changed and haven't realized it. You still think that you are the same person that you once were, and then one day, you realize that you aren't. Its a weird place to be when you wake up and think, "Why don't I believe that anymore?"

The thing is, our world has changed so exponentially since our parents were our age that the same generation gap can't be applied anymore. We have experienced a quantam leap in technology and that has provided extreme changes in choices and opportunties. Never before could such wealth and achievement be possible as it is today. But we have ignored the warning signs to adapt to our new found wealth and quality of life.
We want all the new conveniences of this new life, but we don't want to follow the cost of what we have paid to get it.

We have ignored many basic human needs in our everyday lives. We have not adapted to our new population boom and all the problems that it brings with it. We have become so full of debt living our lives in society, that we have to mortgage our future, and our kid's futures to pay for our lives today. Our environment is being overrun, and our Earth is beginning to look like it is a tired 90 year old man. We are trying to use solutions that our parent's generation would think of, instead of thinking towards the future with the tools that are available to us today that were too unimaginable to think of just 25 years ago.

We need new thinkers for these inherited problems. Our father's, and our father's fathers have left us the potential of greatness and we are sitting here amongst ourselves dividing the spoils of table scraps, when we could be uniting together and creating the greatness we are so close to having. We disagree on a few factors that separate us from being the country that we could and should be. Something that Canadians have long been admired for is our peace loving, well-educated, world class standard of living. Sure, we may not have the Military of a Superpower, or the GNP, the industry that our closest neighbour and biggest ally has, but we also don't have the racism, poverty, poor education and lack of healthcare that they also bring to the table. Our standard of living is much more stable for each and every Canadian without the peaks and valleys that 90% of the rest of the world has in its infrastructure make-up.

So then how have we let our once world class healthcare system and social programs fall into the sorry state that it is today? How have our social programs become a real joke that take away from the purpose of the meaning of the word security? How have our schools become overrun with numbers that overwhelm our education system and overwork our teachers? It seems that what we have been taught in school has not been analyzed to see what needs to be overhauled because it doesn't apply anymore. We need new subjects in school to be taught to help our young people not make the same mistakes we have previous to them. Simple things that mean so much like money management, interactive people skills, nutrition and health wellness need to be taught rather than time placed into alegbra, and other out of date subjects.

I could go on and on with the things that have changed that seem to have gone unnoticed or unchanged in the current systems, but I won't for time's sake.

What Canada needs is someone like Barrack Obama. We need leadership, and not a Prime Minister who more resembles a big business CEO. Canada hasn't had a charasmatic leader since Trudeau. Thats going back about 7 Prime Ministers and almost 30 years. You can't tell me that the best our country has to offer for the past 30 years is these ordinary men (and woman)
I refuse to believe that, because accepting it would mean I don't care in the state of our country. And although I care less than I did previously, I am just so disappointed and disenchanted in our political leaders that I just refuse to vote. I know that it's a shame to NOT vote. But the way I see it, I would rather NOT vote, than vote for someone I think would less the lesser of 2 evils. I won't vote for simple mediocrity to lead us as a country.

We need a new type of leadership, and not the same old vision that our current political parties represent. At least the United States pit a Black man against a woman VP. That was a great start in the change of views. The ultimate reason why the Republicans lost is that John McCain represented the old party mentality, and Barrack Obama and the Democrats represented the new mentality that needs to usher in serious change. This change is needed to rescue the world from a Global recession brought in part by George Bush and his War on Terror.
It takes courage and intelligence to see what needs to be done, and then execute that plan to get the American people to buy into it. And I think it would happen better if the people who vote Republican understand that in voting George W Bush in for 2 terms, they have put themselves in a terrible position, and now need to sacrifice some things that they have been used to in order to save their country from further disaster. This means that you need to stop complaining of what you are now NOT going to have, in paying more tax, or receiving less benefits, and be happy to help out where you can. Never before since John F. Kennedy's speech about "ask not what you country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country" has this applied more than it does right now.

I'm also tired about hearing the wealthy complaining that they have to pay more tax. Here's the thing...YOU SHOULD. If you have more, it's easier to take from you, than taking from people who are barely making ends meet. And there are more of those people than wealthy people.
You do the math. I think its simple economics. Besides, if this were a business, and you elected a CEO and he lead the company into near bankrupcy, and he was fired, the WHOLE company has to chip in to make it all work from the depths of dispair. This means possibly taking a pay cut, reduce spending, 4 day work weeks or whatever it takes to get the company to function again. If our nations were companies, we would all be fired for what we are NOT doing to make it survive, and this makes me sick with disgust.

And if you don't want to be part of the rebuilding of this company, and are just here for a paycheck, GET THE HELL OUT. Go find another country to exploit and abuse for a better standard of living rather than walking all over our hard earned rights and freedoms, only to not care about being a Canadian. If you are not here to become a Canadian, we don't want you here. I would think that we should make it more obvious than we do, but I would hope that future administations of our Federal government should make this clear, rather than trying NOT to hurt your feelings for moving here and not contributing.

So, if you really want this recession to move on, stop asking what your government is doing to help you out, and make it a lot easier by trying to find out how YOU can help them out in making our country get back on track. Stop waiting for a handout... Roll your sleeves up and start bailing some water to keep our ship afloat rather than asking when all the water has been emptied out. The more you help, the faster it happens.

And right now, I know that we can all help if that's what it is that we want.

But I dont think most people will ever get it, and thats why they will always complain.

Because its easy, and you can do it very effectively from the cheap seats...