disenfranchised and disenchanted...
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This 20-something-year-old, well-educated, currently unemployed, immigrant Canadian drowning in student loan payments and a series of short-term jobs that provide absolutely no benefits is sick and tired of the constant bad news from the Gomery inquiry and the whole Canadian political scene. Sick of politicians who cater to their needs and not my own. Tired of political parties that bicker among themselves about stuff that has nothing to do with me, or ignore the things that do, while constantly finding creative ways to take what few pennies I've got.
I suppose I could be happy about having the government's hand in my pocket if I could just see where my money goes. Instead I get to hear about AdScam, bad subs, a weak army, a crappy transit system, immigrants with PhDs who drive cabs, marijuana grow ops in my community, an unfair immigration system, Canadians dying in hospital emergency rooms while waiting for a doctor, and how good we are compared with those evil Americans. Who cares about the "evil" Americans when I am unhappy with my own government? Are we so preoccupied with the rest of the world and the Americans that we have failed to notice how much trouble we have in our own backyard?
Our government has done good things for our country, but it has also left me scratching my head at times. What I am looking for (and I'm pretty sure you are, too) is a government that cares deeply about the average Joe. People like you and me. I want leaders who understand that we work hard and want our taxes to do great things for our nation. I am hoping and praying for leaders who can inspire me and make me proud to be a Canadian. I want leaders who inspire me to the point where I would stand in rain, sleet or snow just to shake their hands.
When I, like most immigrants am struggling to make my way in this country, hear how our hard-earned dollars are wasted I become infuriated. How can I feel good about a country that allows its citizens to sleep on the streets, its children to starve because their parents can't make a decent wage, or that allows its black youth to drop out of its public school system at an alarming rate? How can I feel proud under the Maple Leaf when I know that the guy who is driving me down to Union Station in his cab is really a family doctor who came to this country because he was duped into thinking that he was really wanted? Why should I feel that my government is doing right when I must step over homeless people to get to my destination in downtown Toronto? Why should I feel good about a country that allows criminals to roam the streets shooting innocent women and children?
It is time that we practise what we preach. If we truly are a nation that values democracy, equality, transparency, honesty, fairness, peace and social justice, then let us demand the same from our leaders and ourselves.
This 20-something-year-old, well-educated, currently unemployed, immigrant Canadian drowning in student loan payments and a series of short-term jobs that provide absolutely no benefits is sick and tired of the constant bad news from the Gomery inquiry and the whole Canadian political scene. Sick of politicians who cater to their needs and not my own. Tired of political parties that bicker among themselves about stuff that has nothing to do with me, or ignore the things that do, while constantly finding creative ways to take what few pennies I've got.
I suppose I could be happy about having the government's hand in my pocket if I could just see where my money goes. Instead I get to hear about AdScam, bad subs, a weak army, a crappy transit system, immigrants with PhDs who drive cabs, marijuana grow ops in my community, an unfair immigration system, Canadians dying in hospital emergency rooms while waiting for a doctor, and how good we are compared with those evil Americans. Who cares about the "evil" Americans when I am unhappy with my own government? Are we so preoccupied with the rest of the world and the Americans that we have failed to notice how much trouble we have in our own backyard?
Our government has done good things for our country, but it has also left me scratching my head at times. What I am looking for (and I'm pretty sure you are, too) is a government that cares deeply about the average Joe. People like you and me. I want leaders who understand that we work hard and want our taxes to do great things for our nation. I am hoping and praying for leaders who can inspire me and make me proud to be a Canadian. I want leaders who inspire me to the point where I would stand in rain, sleet or snow just to shake their hands.
When I, like most immigrants am struggling to make my way in this country, hear how our hard-earned dollars are wasted I become infuriated. How can I feel good about a country that allows its citizens to sleep on the streets, its children to starve because their parents can't make a decent wage, or that allows its black youth to drop out of its public school system at an alarming rate? How can I feel proud under the Maple Leaf when I know that the guy who is driving me down to Union Station in his cab is really a family doctor who came to this country because he was duped into thinking that he was really wanted? Why should I feel that my government is doing right when I must step over homeless people to get to my destination in downtown Toronto? Why should I feel good about a country that allows criminals to roam the streets shooting innocent women and children?
It is time that we practise what we preach. If we truly are a nation that values democracy, equality, transparency, honesty, fairness, peace and social justice, then let us demand the same from our leaders and ourselves.
-- Keron Cato, TORONTO STAR (05/05/05)
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posted by þΛųL jØŋαŦhΛŋ @ 05:05
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