MY CANADA ASKS ... CAN CANADA COPE WITH OUR CHANGING WORLD
MY CANADA commentary shall now be updated after a couple of weeks without change. Much has happened mostly about the American election and accusations that the two nominees for November’s presidential race decided to character assassinate due to past sexual behavior of the candidate or a spouse. Occasionally there is a news item about an ISIS attack, something taking place in the current refugee crisis, the fact North Korea, Russia or even China are flexing their military muscles with dangerous threats to world peace and stability. Hopefully the situation will normalize after the election and the winning nominee will be able to deal with the threats currently poised to tear apart the worlds most cherished and power balancing nation.
The scenario is more frightening than most people in the few true democracies realize. Should North Korea use nuclear weapons for any reason, Russia expand its Ukrainian expansion or China invade some islands in the South Pacific considered traditional territory the world could change dramatically and quickly. The unknown factor making the problem even more perplexing is the American response to any of the situations once President Obama is replaced after the November election. We can only wait and see hoping for the best, especially if Donald Trump becomes the President since the man has never indicated much more than having an itchy trigger finger and limited knowledge of world situations outside the United States.
The death of former Harper Government multi-ministry minister and Alberta Premier for a time Jim Prentice is a sad event that will undoubtedly affect Canadian politics. Like everyone commenting we feel My Canada needs to express sorrow. Prentice was a political icon with regard to evenness and diplomacy with the ability to separate hard line politics and the needs of his constituents and all Canadians. The surprised to many in the flood of releases about his airplane crash death was the fact Jim Prentice was born and lived in the Timmins Ontario area before the family moved west for the well liked personality to leave his not soon to be forgotten mark on the entire country.
In Canada the main political problem is opposition party fractures. Both the CPC Conservative Party and NDP New Democrat Party choosing new leaders is so political the needs of the country seem secondary. Both according to news reports are so intent on finding a leader that will promote the party leaving people issues g in the hands of Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau and appointed ministers. The other parties still criticize everything proposed and enacted by the majority Liberal government. The seems especially true if the criticism politically enhances any other party’s appeal to the base and voters without party affiliation traditionally voting for whichever party promotes the average citizen’s needs rather than the political party.
The new media that until the advent of social media influenced election outcomes and could sway party direction has lost the ability to do either. Most media is now aligned directly to a party of choice by the corporate masters paying the bills. Freedom of the press it seems is no longer a part of media culture. There is even strong indication journalism schools might be experiencing a great deal of corporate influence. Teaching specifics related to party oriented politics rather than independent non-aligned free thinking journalism has declined. Reporting the facts on political issues instead of factual information with the writer’s political leanings seems the status quo for trying to influence readers. The world of journalism certainly changed over the years.
Journalism isn’t the only change most of the world is experiencing. Whether the current situation is simply following the circle history states is inevitable or basic changes will send future history in a different direction will be determined by the end result. People are after all an intelligent (we think) animal that developed into probably the most progressive creature that ever lived. Of course that surmising is made without really knowing if anything or anyone else exists in the vast unexplored regions of outer space. Our claim to intelligence is after all only a few centuries old and we haven’t even determined if we are alone. Maybe that’s not a My Canada issue except that Canadians are a small part of the trillion of people inhabiting the world and whatever happens elsewhere is bound to affect our way of living, dying and the sovereignty of nationhood we pledge to protect at any cost. Ignoring the health of the atmosphere for the sake of the almighty dollar or even failing to protect our Arctic regions by allowing the Canadian naval strength to deteriorate might influence the way the nation experiences change.