There is a time in people’s lives when they come of age. They do not see it or feel it but they mature and their life changes, hopefully for the better. In Babel, a city so dominated by the Christian Council, we would expect that with that maturity comes a sense of charity—of love and respect for our fellows with whom we share this wonderful city.
Is that a faint hope?
We have just come through the second hard fought election campaign in this year. We had a federal election in May and then the provincial election in October. Neither local result pleased this writer. Despite the result, we respect the right of any individual to vote as they wish, to show their allegiance with a lawn sign or by working for this or that candidate. That is democratic.
When we first came to Babel we were surprised at the minimal smattering of signs for candidates. We were surprised at the seeming lack of activity for political candidates. At first we thought of it as small town reserve. We realize now that it is a lack of political maturity in this city. Babel needs to grow up. It is time to realize that politics is neither a tea and crumpets game decided over croquet in East Babel nor is it a game for hoodlums wherein they can freely destroy people’s property.
We all have a responsibility to make sure that hoodlums who disrespect people’s right to vote as they wish are punished. For them to target the Little Avenue home of Colin Wilson, the Liberal candidate in the federal election, and do thousands of dollars in damage to vehicles on his property is a serious criminal act. Colin and others who showed that they cared about who runs our country and province were exercising rights we all share. To deny that right to a few is to deny the rights of all.
No candidate for political office—who knows the cost of signs and the efforts required to have them placed—would ever condone hooliganism such as we saw here in Babel in this month. And it was too targeted and wide-spread to be just a teenage prank. This is not the type of thing over which we can just roll our eyes and say ‘Kids will be kids.’
Babel needs to grow up. These hoodlums need to be punished.
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Copyright 2011 © Peter Lowry
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