NEXT!

No doubt that over the last number of years world politics have been in a trend of upheaval.  Few countries can boast these days of an even relatively stable political environment.  In a world where billionaires rule the roost, governments are tending to spend more time defending themselves from the trash spoken on social media than working things out with their political counterparts.  

Canada is no exception.  With Big Brother south of the border, the once quiet, peaceful Great White North has had to contend with harsh accusations and inuendo, much of which has tended to stick with many Canadians.  The mood of the land has shifted greatly to the darker side, turning a once reasonably united nation into one beginning to assimilate its neighbour to the South.  The US wants Canada to be more like them, and it seems many Canadians are beginning to believe that they should be.  Growing up in Canada, the moto was always that we were two very distinct cultures, our similarities being the language and not really much else of significance.  

But things have changed.  The once tolerant Canada seems to be fading.  The Canada that listened and discussed openly seems to be fading.  Now Canada is divided and angry, not at all the Canada I grew up in, but it has been many years.  Don’t get me wrong, Canada hasn’t been any better politically that most other nations of its caliber, we just seemed to handle things somewhat more quietly, and that, in a world of unfair advantages, was at least easier on the ears.  

Globalization, an impressive title, has done nothing to help nations and its people, it only created a big shopping mall for the business class.  This, in my opinion, is what’s causing the most suffering, to the most people.  

We now tend to blame refugees and migrants, although, (maybe not in such great numbers), these people, (and many of us are these people, or at least descendants), have been a driving force for Western economies for decades, if not centuries.  Yet now, they’re the scapegoats, used as a very effective tool to divide an already unhappy populus, looking for someone, or something to blame.  Yes, they’re causing strains on local economies, but that is mainly because our infrastructures have been allowed to crumble for decades.   Even with a normal flow of people coming to live and work in Canada, the problems the country is now facing would still persist.  Add to that the strain of prices constantly on the rise due to the “markets”, (in a system set up to feed the ultra rich, using the poor), compounded by wars and endless new virus threats, and not only are people ripe to be divided against each other, but also so malleable that they tend to believe anything, no matter how ridiculous it may sound, hence this current heyday of billionaire heroes.  The power to change or even just adjust the system to allow for more uniformity and fairness lies in the hands of those who benefit from keeping things just the way they are, we have to be conscious of this at all times.

So now Canada has been in political turmoil for a long time, for reasons that I’ve mentioned above, and also because we have a political leader whose head is still in the past, where Canada was a country of respectful dialogue, even if it was long-winded.  But that’s no longer relevant considering that Trudeau announced he would be resigning his post as soon as a new Liberal leader is chosen. I think the country needs someone who is fair and just, and has a backbone to say what he or she thinks is in the best interest for the country.  Someone who can silence all the noise and move forward.  That person doesn’t exist.  Whomever ends up lying his or her way to the top will only be another in a line of cronies with their hands tied by big business.  There is no magic wand or even hope for a better future for ourselves because nothing will change until its forced to.

Fiquem bem,

Raul Freitas/MS