Evaluating Life

There is a real danger in attempting to evaluate one’s life using celebrity benchmarks, and yet it is understandable that one would simply because these are the lives we know about and the lives that are “celebrated”.  I like to read or hear stories about ordinary people being acknowledged for something above and beyond the ordinary and some news programs bring more of that style of reporting into their program.  The other day Global had a story about an 80 year old woman who still teaches dance every day in her Toronto studio.  She sure looked terrific and at least 20 years younger than her age.

As I have written before most people are so bound up in their own lives that it is hard for them to think beyond their own families.  We were having an animated conversation in our home yesterday asking the question “what can you do about the problems you gripe about daily, here in Canada”?  My answer was that a first step is to write your concerns to your MLA, MP and the ministers involved in whatever the concern is (health, transportation, etc.).  For example, something that really upset me last month was when Flaherty adamantly stated that there would be no revision to Canada Pension Plans or Old Age pension plans despite all the provinces finally coming to an agreement on change.  How can he have the right to flatly say “it will be many years before that can happen”?  Let’s just reflect (as my blood begins to boil yet again) on how the disgraced senators fought, and won, their “right” to have their $80,000+ pensions intact.  Are you kidding me?  Honestly, every Canadian citizen should take pen, paper, typewriter, whatever, in hand and write a blasting letter objecting to this ENTITLEMENT.  Yes, this is the favorite word of the current governing bodies around the world.  We ordinary citizens (who, let me boldly remind you, have the power to vote you in or out) feel “entitled” to our CPP, EI, getting on a bus, and so on.  My goodness me, does anyone hear the echoes of Marie Antoinette’s infamous line?

No, this is not a call to revolution per se but it is a call to Ordinary Citizens taking a first step in help make change.  Just write a simple letter to your various representatives asking for a change in pensions because no one can live on $12,000 per year.  Certainly poor Pamela Wallen can’t manage on $225,000.  Yes, you can make a difference and a little tip, if you write to Ottawa you don’t even have to put a stamp on it (or at least, that’s how it used to be . . . I will double check on that for you, my faithful readers).