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By Brock Weir My paternal instincts come and go. On a particularly sunny Sunday this past
weekend, I had the chance to just sit back and relax by the water and indulge
in some people-watching. As someone who is employed to observe and
report, for lack of a better phrase, the sheer variety of people that call
southern Ontario home never fails to fascinate. People were out walking their dogs; dogs
of all shapes and sizes, accompanied by owners of the same. Some boomers were enjoying a Sunday outing with their elderly parents,
taking in some golden moments in some golden light. Others, keen to enjoy the weather but not
necessarily interact with their fellow man or woman, were basking in what
nature conjured up, casually but firmly plugged into their earbuds to drown out
the din of humanity. Others were out with their kids, some
pushing strollers, keen to soak in one of the very first near-perfect days of
our long-delayed spring. One such kid was watched by his smiling
parents as he walked a dog several times larger than himself. Another couple was out with their toddler
daughter who was still taking her first tentative steps. As she walked towards the water closely
followed by her parents, she had her right arm stretched out and dangling from
her wrist was a black and white soccer-themed bracelet. It was clear that
despite their best efforts, even at this early stage, that the girl was
probably not going to be Canada's next soccer superstar as she marched towards
the water, right arm outstretched, purposefully – that purpose being to toss
that plastic bangle into the drink, apparently so she could continue living her
best life off the field. Those scenes sometimes make my own
biological clock tick a bit faster; then again, it grinds to a halt when the
reverie is pierced by an eardrum-shattering screech from another nearby child.
Or two. Or three. An entire gaggle of kids who, despite pleas from their
parents or caregivers continue on their merry way, content with challenging any
and all boundaries set before them. Almost each and every instance is another
tap on the biological clock's snooze button and we're back to square one. The problem is these instances are coming
all to frequently and from all too many directions these days. And it is not just limited to kids. Whatever the factor, we appear to be
living in a climate where walking right up to the line, putting that big toe
in, taking it out, putting it back in again for good measure and shaking it all
about is becoming a rule rather than an exception. Asking for permission before having any
cause to ask for forgiveness used to be the standard, but not anymore. Take, for instance, the ongoing furore in
Alabama regarding their new abortion laws which will see a near-total ban on
the procedure, even in cases of rape and incest. It is an unconscionable move
for the obvious reasons. It rejects and rolls back reproductive and basic human
rights that were hard-fought by previous generations, and sets the stage for a
looming larger battle that will see just how far special interest groups can
push back against basic human rights for all in favour of the interests of a
few. From a wider perspective, at the Federal
level in Washington, the country is facing an executive quagmire at the top
that seems to be waggling its toe over just about every line it can find with
increasing regularity, damn the consequences. Regardless of your opinion of the
individual holding the office of President of the United States at this or any
other time, just a few short years ago there were some standards one could
count on; standards that, although relatively informal, were the benchmark of
presidential behaviour and dignity for the office. When those standards were
seen to be breached, whether it was the Watergate scandal or the Lewinsky
affair, individuals elected to be the public's checks and balances on the executive
were deployed for the sake of the collective standards in which members of the
public held that office. Now, nearly two-and-a-half centuries'
worth of those standards have been tossed aside rather unceremoniously as
lawmakers continue to move the proverbial goalposts to suit their own agendas. We're not immune to this here at home. In Ottawa, for instance, we have ongoing
questions and controversy on whether the Prime Minister has attempted to move
the accepted goalposts when it comes to the independence of our judiciary and,
closer to home, at Queen's Park, we have a Premier who seems keen on poking
many of the institutions we hold dear, like public health care, to see just
where those limits are. When those limits are reflected in public
opinion polls, however, backtracking begins and these instances of backtracking
are reframed as a gesture of good faith in the people of this Province – like
Monday's announcement the Provincial Government was backing down on a number of
retroactive cuts to municipal funding, including dollars allocated for
emergency services, public health and child care. Each of the proposed cuts sparked a
furious and immediate backlash from lower tiers of government and members of
the public alike. “We're a government that listens,” said
the Premier on Monday, noting that future cuts were still on the agenda but
immediate cuts were now off the table. It is indeed true. In many cases, this is
a government that listens, but it seems that these ears prick up only when
there is a potential hit at the polls. If governments adhered to the old norms of
consulting and listening to the public to find out where the line is before
they stepped over it, everyone would be in a much better position. Where those lines currently lie, however, anywhere around the world, is
anyone's guess.
With each plea, a new line is set, new goal posts are planted, and, faced with
a new challenge, the kids are all too content to step right up to that line and
gingerly place their big toe on the other side just to see what happens.
Post date: 2019-05-31 13:14:16
Post date GMT: 2019-05-31 17:14:16
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