It’s amazing how quickly the media’s focus can change from one tragedy to another - in our case, from the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake to the call of a federal election in Canada.
Yes, I did call the federal election a tragedy.
The tragedy is that none of all the good reasons to call down the Harper government were used. Instead, the Liberals and NDP used what pretty much amounts to a point of order to defeat an unremarkable budget.
The tragedy is that I see three political party leaders who don’t seem to care as much about serving the public as they do about serving themselves and their friends.
Welcome to the days when political careers are determined by popularity polls. When every statement is shaped by professional public relations firms before it’s ever spoken, just to get the maximum punch for that 30-second sound bite on the news.
I suggest that all of the candidates set up their own Facebook account and we can all vote by friending the one we’d normally vote for. We won’t even have to leave the house.
Yes, that’s sarcasm and I’ll get over it by the time the election actually rolls around.
Thank goodness we live in small towns where we still care about the truly important things in life, like the well-being of our neighbours.
In the case of Ashcroft, some of those neighbours live on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
When it comes right down to it, we are all related, even to the people we don’t like. But that’s family, right?
A room full of Ashcroft and Cache Creek residents gathered last week at the Ashcroft Community Hall to share a supper, raise money and welcome friends and neighbours from Sendai who joined us across the Internet from their city.
And for a little while, there was no ocean separating us. If only everyone on the planet could keep the welfare of others as a priority.
Imagine.
Wendy Coomber is editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal