Reimagining the World

Thinking about women and their struggles to become persons under the law has led me into some very stressful issues and sometimes I feel mired down by all the garbage we have endured and are still putting up with.  One can experience righteous wrath, raw anger, frustration and a myriad of other hot feelings but at the end of the day what does that accomplish?  In America they are hoping that these feelings will make a difference in the Primary elections in a couple of weeks’ time but again, what will that really for them?

There is more to be done than simply working towards female empowerment, equality under the law for race, creed and gender. People around the world need to reimagine the world as a far better place; a place that is peaceful, civilized, generous and selfless. Readers have seen my frequent observation that for a species that has been around for such a long time our veneer of civilization is very thin indeed. Why is that? Why can’t we seem to live the Christian creed of “do unto others as we would have them do unto us”? Why can’t people acknowledge that everyone deserves to live a wholesome life? Do not begrudge your neighbour welfare or employment insurance if that is what they need at this time of their life . . . there but for the grace of God go you. Did you think that your hard work got you everything you have now? You would be wrong; friends, luck, circumstance AND your hard work got you where you are. Not everyone gets the same opportunity, nor do they necessarily have the same abilities as you but that does not mean that they don’t deserve a decent living wage which includes a proper minimum wage as well as a full 40 hour work week.

I am dead set against businesses being allowed to operate on a 24/7 basis and allow the majority of their employees to only have 20 hours of work per week. There is something seriously wrong with our labour laws; if a business is open for those lengths of hours at least 80% of their work force should be fully employed and have full benefits. END OF DISCUSSION.

When you are selecting your candidate in an election what are the types of questions you want to ask them? Is the thing uppermost in your mind “I don’t want to pay more taxes”? I believe for the majority of Canadians the answer would be yes and I would admonish you to say – wrong question. Instead ask “what do I get for my taxes?” What is the percentage of my taxes compared with corporate taxes? Why aren’t the banks, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, Tim Horton’s and Walmart paying higher taxes than individuals? Is there a fairer way to do this?

Moving beyond the bugbear of taxes, let’s ask another question. As my candidate what would you do to make life better for ALL Canadians? And wait for the answer (and it wouldn’t hurt to time the pause before the candidate scrambles for an answer). It should amuse you or enrage you, depending on how you feel at that moment.

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." —Maya Angelou