Election About More than Economy, Tariffs



	Election About More than Economy, Tariffs Brandon Sun “Small World” Column, Monday, May 5 / 25 Zack Gross Canadians have always prided themselves on being polite and kind. While our election was fought on who can best meet the challenges of our economy and our neighbour’s threats from the South, for me it was also about what kind of culture do Canadian want. By culture, I don’t necessarily mean theatre, music and art. Rather, like a team culture, the most successful sports teams say that they have created a culture where everyone matters and people pull together toward a common goal. What matters to people are the basics of food, shelter, and security. These have come up during the election, that although generally Canadians are better off than most people on our planet, we still have deficits in these areas that must be addressed. Emergency shelters, food banks, police and social services, and others who deal with problems in our communities know that we must do better. We live in a diverse country. This is a significant change that has unfolded during my adult life. What was once, in Canada, a mostly white, male-dominated, heterosexual culture, now is a multicultural, multilingual, non-binary reality where women work and grow in their power and influence in our society. As I youngster, I expected that Moms stayed home. I thought that non-white people were likely athletes playing for local professional teams. We knew no better. We live in a fast-evolving, dizzying time. Thanks (or no thanks) to technology, we are bombarded with information at a faster rate than ever. There was no internet with its questionable sources of news. Communication came to us in the mail (snail mail) and we had time to think about it, rather than emails that scream “answer right away”. TV and online news comes to us live from anywhere in the world. We can watch war or other catastrophes in real time. Change creates conflict. Many extreme political ideologies and organizations are harkening back to “the good, old days” when things were simpler and better. But, of course, even back then, people didn’t always think that things were all that great, and they, in turn, harkened back to an even earlier time, etc., etc. I was speaking in a high school classroom not so long ago where a teacher had the students, every morning, watch the TV news and then discuss it. A very articulate student spoke up in favour of the US President, saying he would make things normal again, that he would, in my words, stop (and roll back) change. Carol Off, a Canadian journalist and broadcaster, recently wrote the book At A Loss for Words about her experiences being part of the news industry and contemporary Canadian reality. In her job, she had interviewed countless people across the country from all walks of life. She fears for our culture – our ability to communicate with one another – and seek and work toward a rational, open-minded society. She sees the “American” influence of polarization, intolerance and misinformation growing in our land. As I’ve shared in previous columns, my wife and I take a long walk every day and visit with people along our route. We actually have acquired a reputation, kind of like “hall monitors” for our neighbourhood. Two of our neighbours think very differently on issues. One is referred to by his wife as “a redneck”, while the other one is so far to the Left, he didn’t bother to vote. Down the block and around the corner are two houses, side by side. A widow lives in one, and a widower lives in the other. We think they would make a great couple, but the guy is openly biased against indigenous people, which the lady is. We wonder if he realizes how often, when he opens his mouth, he puts his foot in it. Yet, here we are in Canada, where we expect and know that if we slide into a ditch on an icy, snowy road or have water rising in our basement, people of all political stripes will come together to rescue us. Observers were optimistic on election night when political party leaders spoke of the need to work cooperatively to deal with the national and international problems that we face. At the same time, there were also voices yelling “me first” or “not on my watch”. While Canadians need to hold our new government to fulfill its promises, and also to govern for all citizens, we also need to urge parties to seek common ground to get best results. On any team, there are different personalities, beliefs and experiences, yet to be successful, players seek way to communicate, support one another and attain their shared goals. Zack Gross is Board Chair of The Marquis Project, a Brandon-based international development organization, and co-author of the new book The Fair Trade Handbook: Building a Better World, Together. * * * * * Return to Articles page