Okay, this is a quick opening to the following few blogs I post. The world is going to hell. It sucks to turn on the news, nothing good ever seems to be happening, and there is a constant spin in the media, hoping you start to see things their way. Media doesn't deliver just facts anymore; they provide how they want you to see the world.
You open social media, and it is awful. What started as fun pics and stupid status' has been taken over by politics, attacks on people, or mind-numbing videos to keep people glued to their phones. You walk into a waiting room now, and no one smiles or says hi. They are slaves to the phone in their hands, and we look down at ours and join them. I am just as bad at this as anyone.
Politics aren't even politics anymore. Politics are attack campaigns that are not about improving the world but rather about keeping power. Honestly, I never see anything saying this is what we will do, and this is why it is good. It is always what they will do, and we are better than the other guys cause we are doing it this way! Something abundantly clear is we need to move away from populist politics and back to having actual debates that better society.
Drugs, poverty, homelessness, and crime all seem WAY up. Here in Edmonton, people say oh, we are a growing city, and this is growing pains. No, it is not. We have been a major city for decades, and I have never seen it look like this. It isn't just here, though. I have seen it all over the province and not always in "major centers."
Sexuality is out of control. I don't even say that as a prude; that is all we see these days. Either A) You must accept us no matter what! or B) leave kids alone! Why is that such a colossal thing?? Whatever you choose to do in your bedroom is up to you; have at it, but why is it being pushed on children now?? This LGBTQ stuff has existed forever; then we hit the dark ages, and we all became prudes. Now, it is back with a vengeance, and sexuality has taken over mainstream media. We have marches and flags and on and on. Has there ever been a point in human history this has taken such center stage??
If you're talking about the divisions caused by sexuality, what about all the other divisions? Groups that push their agenda honestly, some that are simply criminal organizations. We have BLM, Proud Boys, Antifa, and more. These aren't even lobbies anymore; they are people fighting in the street. Or looting that somehow fights some injustice?
A revolving door justice system. This information isn't timely and will be old news soon enough. Still, within the last three weeks, four violent sexual offenders have made the news as being released but are likely to re-offend. I believe once someone has done their time, they should be free to carry on with their life. However, why are they set free if someone is likely to re-offend? I do believe rehab is better than prison. Still, there are certain cases that a person should be locked away forever, or if they are a legit danger to society, they shouldn't be free.
Global warming is a real thing. I am not a climate change denier; paying more taxes won't change that though. Even if you push the taxes onto major corporate polluters, they will pass the tax to the consumer, making life harder for people in general. This is one of the most giant band-aid on a bullet hole things we have going. We ban single-use plastics and applaud ourselves. It's a joke; while it is a baby step in the right direction, it is useless.
Gun control is the most perfect example of our band-aid system I can think of. Since the dawn of time, we have killed each other. Guns make it easier for sure, but they are simply a tool. If you want to make someone dead, it will happen. Canada has rigorous and SMART gun control, but now we have moved to a gun grab and claim it will improve things. Look at the violence in Mexico, where guns are even "harder" to get. This topic has become a fantastic way to promote agendas, but no one is looking to fix why the crimes are happening, and that's the real problem.
The real problem isn't this list of issues; it is our failure to deal with them. I am not sure if politicians are unable or unwilling to fix them. They are somewhat reluctant, as unpopular acts could cost them power. Two issues are holding them back. First, EVERY PARTY wants to put a bandaid on a bullet hole. They slap a quick fix on it and pat themselves on the back for such a good job. That applies to every party, even the ones I support.
The second problem is virtue signaling; woke agendas dominate as "jobs well done." I have beaten this horse to death, but a prime example is Edmonton. Our council was so happy and proud they removed single-use plastics. You can't walk through the city without seeing homelessness, but we are safe from straws! Also, crime has continued to increase, but we don't want to put more money into policing since the BLM George Floyd protests. (This is a fantastic example I will use in a later blog, as there is so much to it.) I already mentioned sexuality, but a prime example is if a politician doesn't attend a pride event, they are attacked for it. People are trying to use shame in a mob mentality to model society into being just like them. If you can attach yourself to a specific "cause," you can use that. You don't have to believe in it; support it enough to get their support in return. All the better if it appears to be a "progressive" cause. We need to return to doing things that fix issues, and we need to stop governing on "causes" and worry about what is best for all of society.
I will be honest: I have a friend whose politics are almost 100% the opposite of mine. We have conversations on many things, and we often don't agree on them. HOWEVER, he is someone I know is pretty intelligent, and I respect him, so I listen. The fact is there is often, at least, a nugget I can agree with. So I LISTEN, hopefully he does as well. That's what is missing all over. How often do you see or hear one party in power opposing something just because of who proposed it? The official opposition has fallen from people looking at a bill and trying to tweak it to just saying no. People in society are falling into the same trap. I am just as guilty as anyone, maybe more than some. We must stop that at all levels and in all walks of life. Stop looking at things you disagree with as simply being wrong, and try to see if there is at least something worthwhile in it.
There are a few things to keep in mind, and the following few deep-dive blogs will keep these things in mind.
1) People are going to people. The reason things like communism don't work is because of human nature. People, in general, are decent. HOWEVER, we have greed, fear, hate, and jealousy, and in the end, we act on them. Throughout history, we have had great ideas or inventions, and we sour them. Communism is a great example; it is supposed to be a society where everyone is equal and looked after, yet it always fails because of humans. Or inventions, take the internet. Initially, academics could use it to share information. Now, you go on and are bombarded by false info. So the fundamental truth is we need laws and order to keep people from peopling and imploding.
2) Apathy is a killer. I hear more and more comments that we shouldn't be so affected by the homeless situation or the drugs or violent attacks in our city because we are now a "Major city" with a million plus. While this is 100% true, that hardly means we shouldn't worry, care, or do anything about it. The more apathetic people become, the more they accept things that they shouldn't
3) We are all equal under the law (Supposedly). That maybe true, but all people aren't equal. People have easier lives, have harder lives. Have natural born talent, some people have to work at things to do good. All people are not equal, except supposedly on paper under the law, and even that isn't always true.
4) Life isn't fair; don't expect it to be. You might be a fantastic person, do all the right things, and are friendly to everyone, but that doesn't mean the universe has your back. If the world were fair, it would be a lot different. I'm not saying that to make people jaded or grim, but that's the cold hard truth.
5) Mind your own business. If someone is doing something you don't like, BUT it isn't hurting anyone, leave them be. This isn't to say that if something is bad, don't protest or disagree. First, try and learn all about it before you judge it, then second, yes, protest if it is hurting people, but if it isn't doing anything, leave it be. The world would be better if we all just minded our business.
6) Canada is Canada. People move here for a better life, and we should be happy to have them IF they act within our laws. This goes for everyone. We built a nation that people want to be part of. When you come here, you abide by that. Your religious freedoms, your beliefs, whatever they are protected by our laws HOWEVER, if they violate our laws, that should be the end. We as a nation should not crumble to people's wills. People should conform to our rules, which have made us a great nation.
7) There is black, and there is white, yet much of the world is grey. Gangbanger shoots an innocent person he deserves jail. Someone is suffering painfully every day, and they have someone assist with suicide; technically, they broke the same laws, but do they deserve the same punishment? That's the grey; almost everything needs a more profound look.
8) There should always be a separation between church, state, and school. Church and state we have said for years but school should be included as well. It needs to be pushed back to how to learn & provable facts. We are increasingly seeing curriculums with slants towards certain parties or beliefs, which needs to be corrected. These three places need a strong separation.
9) Emotions kill logic and need to take a back seat in things like politics. Not to say they shouldn't come into thinking they do have a place, but that instant reaction is never a good one. It feels good, but maybe it isn't right. I punched a wall or two, and it felt great, but afterward, I realized it did nothing. Also, we all have our prime issues. I feel strongly about organ donation or animal charities, but that hardly means they are the only issues. We all get blinded into believing whatever we support; everyone should also believe in it.
10) The most significant divide is not between you and your neighbor. No matter what you think of him, his politics, religion, skin color, whatever it is between the three classes of society. There are the poor, the actual homeless poor who have nothing. The middle, which is 95% of us. It can be further broken down to the people who are working poor. Cheque to cheque living. The actual middle class that could live a while without a job but still worries about money & the upper middle class. The people who may have a few million in the bank and should never have to worry about money if they make smart choices. Then you have the upper class. Millions upon millions or more. Their childrens, children should never have to work if they are smart. These are the most significant divides in the world. You, me, we have nothing in common with the upper class. We also may have empathy but don't truly grasp the bottom class either. Even though we are much closer to that than to being rich.
I may add some more as I think, but that's some of the basics behind my thoughts. I will take a good, deep look at some issues and try to propose solutions that aren't bandaids. I try my best to keep my own politics out, but I am aware like any person, some may seep in. Aim for a new entry every week, a week & a half that will probably take me out of the year with a few other entries thrown in. I am 100% open to decent convos on anything posted, so feel free to comment here or any other socials I am on. Last point: I am in Edmonton, Canada. I can see that many of my reads come from Canada, but if you are from somewhere else and this doesn't make sense, let me know. These issues are all over, or is it just Canada sliding downhill....
(**** Fun edit. A link to this was pulled down from an Alberta page as it apparently has nothing to do with Alberta. Even though these issues are all over Alberta from the capital to all small towns. Personally I am guessing they don't agree with the views so take it down. Exactly what I said the problem is, no one willing to try and see another point of view. It is also scary how many people will defend a book for TODDLERS like Bye Bye Binary. To me a toddler, infant 0 - 4 should probably be learning things like colors, numbers, shapes, how to talk and not shit themselves. Yet some how learning about binary or not is somehow more important? I remember when kids were getting things like The Hockey Sweater read to them. Or something cleverly written by Dr Suess. Guess those days are gone***)
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