In part the
blog of yesterday was motivated by a particular part of Peter Loughheed’s
eulogy. Everyone commented on his “favorite
charities” and while that sounds very charitable here’s my objection. We live in the richest province in one of the
richest countries in the world and yet we have more charities than you can
shake a stick at. I am inundated with
charities calling my home on a weekly basis. Have a cup of tea and read on.
North America is famous for being the
first ones to reach out a helping hand to other nations, or within their nation,
when there is a crisis. But again, the
major part of the charity falls on the 99% who least can afford to make the
contributions. It’s another way the
government has us fooled into believing we are good citizens. Don’t get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with
having a good and decent heart that is willing to help out others. What I see wrong with this picture is the
fact that it is necessary to do so in the first place. Here in Canada we have people who are dependent
on food banks, who are in fact homeless or nearly homeless, families who are in
need whose children go under the radar when it comes to education. In the 21st century and in a
country who has muscled their way into the G8 we should not have poverty or the
need for charity. We should not be
funding out of the general population for research into medical concerns such
as cancer, Alzheimer’s and what have you.
A government that is obsesses with using taxpayer money to fly into
space could also be obsessed with curing cancer, for Pete’s sake!
What baffles me is how few people seem to
question a statement such as “his favorite charities”? As a powerful leader in this province shouldn’t
Mr. Lougheed’s legacy have been that charity was not needed in this richest of
provinces? In 50 years we should have
had a heritage fund equivalent to that of Norway’s rather than discovering it pillaged
again and again. Think outside this box
and ask some questions about this begging society of ours.
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