Give Peace a Like
I love my province, but we have a lot of work to do.
Like many of you, I was embarrassed and angry to see what happened last weekend in Grand Prairie, where an individual verbally assaulted Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and her staff. Unfortunately, the man's conduct is an example of behavior in Alberta that's becoming far too common. Not just in Alberta but in Canada and around the world. Conduct that is vitriolic, unhinged, caustic, rage-farmed, cowardly, and pathetic in its attacks on women reporters and politicians.
Acts like these are wrong and should be condemned and rejected. I am encouraged that politicians of all stripes did just that. Chrystia Freeland and her team received support from across the Canadian political spectrum. It's the kind of human decency and empathy the average person hopes to see in politicians. The support that was visible to the public was mainly on social media.
That said- the show of support from conservative politicians was not always received, and many rejected that support in anger. For example, the Premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney, tweeted his message of support, only to have much of the Alberta Politics Twitterverse scream back at him. Responses that usually start with, "You don't get to say this when....."
Many would doubt his sincerity and question his level of self-awareness. Some would argue that he's played a significant role in cultivating an anger-charged political climate in the province. In my view, over the last three years, this premier has seized every opportunity to cast Federal Liberals as enemies of Alberta.
So I understand the anger and cynicism that many would feel towards elements of the conservative movement.
And yet I am compelled to give these shows of support space and air time. I'm encouraged when I see the Doug Fords and Jason Kenneys of the world extend support to a political opponent. This is what the average person wants to see. We want to see leaders responding to an unfortunate event with empathy.
Was the support authentic? Did they care about what happened, or was it someone from their communications department? I have no idea. I have absolutely no idea how sincere that support was. But I know they offered it.
In an ever-polarizing political climate, I'll take it! I want to see that spark of humanity fanned into a bigger flame. A flame that can help ignite a culture of empathy in our world. While I may not entirely trust the source of that support, I think it's vital that we seize opportunities to shake hands like this and trust in one another's humanity and not reject it. Peace needs to take its wins whenever it can. I’ll always give a show of peace a like!
We're at a critical stage in the province right now, and we need to find common ground wherever we can. It's important because it's disturbing that some politicians could not do that this week. Yet, these same politicians want to lead our province and country, this bothers me, and it should bother you. We need our leaders to be better than that. If they are not going to show leadership on this front, then it's up to everyday people to lead and live in a way that seeks common ground.
Our challenges ahead are huge, but we can overcome them if we can invest our energy into solving them.
Friend, thank you for reading. May you love your world enough to extend an open hand. Give peace a like!