By Colleen Beaumier
There will be an election in Canada in Tess than four months and many Canadians are feeling a Cautious optimism about the future, Hope for a better future depends on you. I cannot say it enough times. You are the government. We are the government, and that it why each and every One in this country must strive to make themselves informed voters. Your attention to political issues over the next four months is a must. We all know what our rights are. This is your responsibility, and the choice that you make will shape the future for your children and your grandchildren. The issues will be economic growth including NAFTA, employment universal healthcare and the environment. These are the backbone issues and careless decisions about them could destroy our standard of living which would consequently erode the value of humanity in our society. Tolerance and humanity are the first to suffer. We must continue to grow beyond our present state.
Canadians are a tolerant people. Every time I hear that expression and think about what it really means, the thought becomes more and more distasteful to me. By now we really should’ have progressed beyond tolerance. People have varying degrees of tolerance, tolerance for pain, tolerance for stress, tolerance for error and mismanagement, tolerance for different opinions and for people with different ideas and religions. In building, architects and engineers determine a tolerance level to ensure that structures will withstand negative forces. We never talk of a need for tolerance when we speak of joy, love, happiness or anything that brings us pleasure, Tolerance has limits. Love and understanding has no boundaries. Degrees of tolerance can be dictated in society through legislation (government), but government cannot legislate what is in our hearts. That is where our role takes meaning. Tolerance is condescending and artificial, but it is necessary to prevent negative forces from crumbling the structure of our society and certainly societies with a higher level of tolerance are much better in which to live than those with out it, But i think that the time has come for us the opportunity to do this, If we have the will and the sense of sharing and adventure, we can create a society which has no. boundaries amongst humanity. We can become world leaders in all that is positive for the survival of the human race. When we learn to share and appreciate each other we can teach the world.
So my friends, pay careful attention to political issues over the next few months, keeping in mind that the social programs which helped to create equal opportunities and tolerance area vital part of this county’s beauty and potential. Then act on this potential to further our growth, Understanding takes a conscious effort and it is not always easy {9 achieve, but the rewards are boundless and it always leads to truth.
Remember “people of like mind must stick together’… Think about it.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 28, 1993
