If there is no hope for humanity, what do we do? Hold hands and jump from the nearest cliff? There is no question that the scientists are scared. They are not as worried about the creatures of the land, sea and air as they are about the fate of mankind. We are lemmings headed for the cliffs. We are fools believing in a future. Without hope, we vote for populists. We take out our anger on each other.
But—and this is a serious ‘but.’ One of the truths I have found, in the past 60-some years, is that the impetus for change in any organization has to come from within.
When I wanted change in my community, I formed a ratepayers’ organization. When I wanted change beyond that, I joined a political party. And when I was saddened by the efforts of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, I joined the board and made the necessary changes as president.
Nobody changes the Catholic Church from the outside but the current Pope is doing it from the inside. May God smile on him and Allah be pleased with his recent visit to Iran. This Pope’s changes are not all that visible yet, but he could be unleashing a tidal wave.
And, despite all my pessimism for the current state of politics in Canada, I am still a liberal. Since the inconsequential years of the Chrétien liberals, that has been difficult to say.
It was when I moved to Barrie, Ontario in the early 2000s that I realized, unless I did something, there was no hope for change or reform. Small town Ontario is rooted in the conservative past. The liberals here are more conservative than the local conservatives. Unless you can find a lever with the liberals, they were going to stay that way. You have to find a way to change.
I had little more than my writing. I spent the first year of this blog experimenting. It took me time to find the right length of comment, the style and the stick with which to poke the beast. I will continue to try.
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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry
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