The vast majority of us were brought up not to cheat, lie, bully, be racist or demean others because of their race, gender, physical disabilities or think differently than us. We teach our kids this, choose our friends based on this. It’s how we determine who to trust and who not to.
People who don’t care generally have a small circle of like-thinking friends or those who for whatever reason feel powerless or afraid to stand up to others. They also tend to exhibit sociopathic tendencies by not caring what anyone else thinks, dismissing rules that go against their wants, and have a volatile temper when things don’t go their way.
Sadly, we can see these traits from U.S. President Donald Trump and our neighbours to the south, where out and out lies become ‘alternative facts,’ and daily ‘Twitter litter’ continues to erode an already divisive country. Add to this the rants and threats against intelligence agencies for carrying out investigations necessary to ensure the laws and constitution are upheld, all of which does nothing but undermine democracy. The attacks against Islam, the press, and citizens rights to express what they believe smacks of McCarthyism, and that is a very slippery slope.
The U.S has always been the land of opportunity and a beacon of hope throughout the world. Like here in Canada, all democratic countries face problems that will continually need to be addressed as times change. But going back to a dark time in history isn’t the answer. In the U.S., there is a lot of work to do but let’s hope those in power can put democracy ahead of personal political ambitions and get that country back on track. Democracy is a wonderful system, but shouldn’t be taken for granted. I’m sure our allies are worried, and our enemies are beginning to smile.
Lawrence Ricketts