Today marks the 159th year of Canada becoming a Nation.
I don’t know about other countries in the world, but in Canada there is dispute about this day. Yes, the land was here prior to 159 years ago. And Yes, there were people who lived on the land before that. However, 159 years ago the Nation of Canada was formed.
I am not trying to say that the way ‘we’ went about things was right. In fact, humanity’s history is appalling. When I think about how we treated each other in the past I am sick to my stomach. Then I hear the news and realize we haven’t changed at all… we just disguise it differently (FIFA not withstanding).
We still have a caste system, the haves and the have nots, and the gap is growing. We still prosecute those of lesser means or those who are ‘different’ than the ‘main stream’; that is just another way of saying we still have an ‘Us vs Them’ mentality. We may not want to say it, but there is still slavery in this world. There are those who still have someone else forcing them to ‘work’. It’s not building pyramids or picking cotton anymore, but trafficking at the worst and paying far less then the cost of living at best. (I’m talking poverty wages, not ‘can’t-afford-to-buy-a-house’ wages.)
Sometimes I feel that humanity is still in its infancy stage… still fighting with siblings, not sharing and throwing temper tantrums. Then I think “how long will it take for us to grow the fuck up??!!??!”. How many times must we repeat history before we learn?
That is way I do not believe ‘putting away’ our history is the answer. I totally agree that we have honored those in the past that do not deserve to be honored. I do believe that the true nature of public figures ought to be made public (truth, not fake news). I believe that present world leaders need to be held accountable, and world leaders of the past need to be called out for those things that are now considered ‘undignified’. I also believe that the past needs our empathy. What was acceptable then is now considered unacceptable. However, what are they going to say about who we are today in a hundred years?
And that’s the rub. I think about how I came to be the person I am. The one that I love. The one who I am proud to be. It took me awhile and going through a lot of shit before coming out on the other side being ok with who I am and understanding that it was the shit that forged me and made me someone I could be proud of. I had to learn the lessons. I am glad that I learned them when I was ‘young’ enough to still enjoy life. Not everyone does.
I just hope that Canada and the world learn the lessons before it’s too late… and we are running out of time. With all that said; I am proud to be a Canadian and having been raised here.
