Lieutenant John McRae was a Canadian poet, author, artist, and soldier. During the Battle of Ypres in Belgium, during World War 1, he served as a battlefield surgeon. He wrote “In Flander’s Field” following the death of his twenty-two year old friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who was killed by artillery fire and buried in a makeshift grave in a Flanders, Belgium poppy field.
In Flanders Fields,the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flander's fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hand we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high If ye break faith with us who those who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders Fields.
- John McCrae
In honour and memory of all who have served, far from home and loved ones, to protect our lives, our families, ourhomes, and our freedom. In honour and memory of those who paidthe ultimate price – those who gave their lives and those who mourned their loss.
During this global pandemic, many churches have taken their services online in an effort to protect their congregation from catching or transmitting this potentially fatal disease. Whether they choose to, or are forced to by law, this is meant to be a good thing.
The Regina Victory Church is one of our local churches that has moved to online services via Facebook and You Tube. Last weekend, they posted a sermon “Raising Godly Children” by their pastor, Terry Murphy.
In this sermon, Murphy told parents that they should discourage their children from making poor choices – specifically making the ‘choice’ of becoming gay, (which he insinuated is on par with ‘pedophilia’ or ‘being a tramp’ – amongst other ongodly things).
When the LGBTQ spoke out against this sermon, Murphy claimed to be a strong person with strong opinions who was a champion of personal rights such as free speech. He would not apologize for his opinions, nor would he be silenced or ‘cancelled’.
This weekend, Murphy posted an ‘apology’ on the church website. He apologized to those who may have been offended and assured them that he never meant to be offensive. ‘Sorry, not sorry’.
Sadly, I am not surprised by any of this.
The right to free speech is meant to protect citizens and grant them the right to speak out against misguided political policies, injustice, and the like.
It disgusts me when those with power and authority attack vulnerable groups in our society. It disgusts me even more when they justify their ignorance and cruelty by cowering behind their ‘right to free speech’.
Our ‘right to free speech‘ is a privilege – one that we are most fortunate to possess. I, for one, am tired of seeing it bastardized by these pathetic bullies who use it as a weapon to encourage hatred, spread lies and misinformation, and generally target and undermine anyone, or any specific group of people.
These are hard times, dark days for many. There is our ongoing pandemic, political problems, economic and environmental issues, countless global issues – all above and beyond the inevitable struggles of our own personal, individual lives.
I am fortunate and grateful that I am in a good place right now – better than most and better than many places I have been. I may not share the pain of those who are struggling right now but I can and do empathize.
When one is going through a really difficult time one can easily feel abandoned, attacked, hopeless and helpless. Life can be draining and devastating – mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is easy to feel like giving up.
Many years ago I experienced a life altering moment. My life in general was bad – really bad. I left the hospital where my father lay dying, to drive home to take care of my family. It was typically a two hour drive on a good day. This day was not a good day. My father was dying, my marriage was in shreds, my husband had become a raging miserable bastard, my kids needed me, my parents needed me, I needed to be at work – and I was driving home in a blizzard. I could barely see beyond the front of my car (which was a worn out little sedan with no heater). I was terrified, I was heartbroken, I was sobbing and my tears made it even more difficult to see the road ahead. The stretch of road I was on is a series of hills and valleys. This day, as the snow fell and the wind blew , the valleys filled with snow drifts which I had to step on the gas to power through. Every drift that I pushed through brought me to a stretch of sheer ice at the top of a hill. My hands were frozen and my arms were limp. When I reached the point of believing this trip was going to end very badly, I noticed a sign a few car lengths away from me. I thought, okay. I may not make it home but I can get that far. I did. Then I saw a utility post – and I made it that far. This went on and on and on, until I made it home. I was frozen, I was exhausted, I was stronger, and I had learned an important lesson on how to navigate through life’s hard times. (Which I, unfortunately, had to use a few times since!)
For anyone struggling right now, take care of yourself, be kind to yourself, and do whatever you can to to help yourself feel empowered – even it just for a day, an hour or a moment. Know that you can, and that you will, make it through this – as long as you keep moving forward.
Also, If you must walk through hell, walk through like you own place!
I hope you enjoy my own unofficial theme song from Rodney Atkins.
I started a serious housecleaning this week. When I was wiping down my kitchen walls, I washed off this little cross my Mother gave me years ago.
I thought I would share it for our American neighbours today. I am so glad for you that your election is finally over. Congratulations on your new president! I hope he serves you well.
The day has finally arrived! It is election day 2020 in the USA. I have my opinion as to the results I would like to see but as a Canadian, my opinion is pretty much irrelevant today.
I would, however like to take this time to wish all of our neighbours to the south the best of luck today.
I hope that in the midst of this global pandemic, that you were/are able to cast your vote in a safe and confident manner. I definitely hope that election day does not lead to another spike of Covid-19 cases in your country.
Regardless of election results, I pray that cooler heads will prevail. I hope that you will be able to avoid the unrest, violence and turmoil that we have seen far too often in recent years.
Finally, I just hope that whichever way this election goes, that the next four years are good years for you, your families and friends and for your beautiful country.
Covid-19 has been one of the most all encompassing social situations that we have experienced in decades. This challenge has been particularly onerous for government and health officials who have been tasked with creating a mandate to deal with it. There have been life and death decisions to make and limited time to make them.
When the first cases of Covid-19 began to spread globally, people wholeheartedly supported their government’s efforts to control this potentially deadly threat. Certainly that was the case in Canada.
Our federal and provincial governments stepped up with aggressive plans to prevent an onslaught of cases which had been seen in other countries. To date we have been relatively fortunate – especially in provinces like Saskatchewan where our population density is particularly low.
Since we have been spared the catastrophe that other areas have experienced, people are beginning to question whether our governments and health officials overreacted or used this situation to overreach their authority.
I have to admit that I was shocked and concerned to learn that our government had all but shut down health services in Saskatchewan. Since I was suffering from health issues at the time, this was something that immediately caught my attention and it seemed like a really bad idea. I had no reason to believe that my health issues were potentially life threatening but I was concerned none the less. My concern was moreso for those whose health issues were far more serious than mine. People who had, or who would develop, cancer, heart disease, strokes, kidney failure, and the like. These people would require more than a phone consultation with their family physician or urgent care in an emergency room. As I thought it through, I realized that what health services we had could not be compromised and that maintaining regular health services would be a threat in itself for the spread of Covid 19. The whole situation was mind boggling.
Last week, one local family experienced their worst nightmare. Their nineteen year old son died from massive heart failure. It is possible that his death could have been prevented if he had had a routine scheduled cat scan which may have identified the potential problem before it became fatal. My heart goes out to this young man and his family. No parent can imagine the pain of losing a child. No parent could possibly deny this family has been devastated by not only the loss of their son, but a loss that could potentially have been prevented. One has to wonder how many other lives have been lost under similar circumstances.
It would be easy to blame our government and health officials for such losses but what decisions would we have made under current circumstances? How does one choose when there is so much at stake?
I am grateful that I was not tasked with making any of the decisions to deal with Covid-19. I am grateful for those who were.
My heart goes out to all who paid the price for the decisions that were made to protect us all.
I know there is real struggle in the world today. Poverty, illness, violence, racial inequality, political incompetence – I know it is there and I know that there are families and individuals struggling to survive right now. My heart goes out to them.
I also believe in hope and faith, kindness, peace and positive energy. In my blog, I try to focus on the positive. I try to use bright, cheery or calming photos. I try to make it personal – I am a real person and I do care. If someone reads my blog, I hope that I have made a moment in their day better or easier.
Today, I am going off the rails. Today I cannot stick to the positive, feel good attitude that I prefer to put forth. If you are going through a tough time, you should not read this. I am so sorry. This will not help you feel better.
Today I awoke to the news of the lifeless bodies of two beautiful innocent little girls being found. Two little girls who’s lives were taken by the one man who should have done anything and everything to protect them.
In Canada, and most notably in Saskatchewan, when there is a domestic homicide in the news, the reaction is typical. It must be poverty related, it must be race related. If it is neither, people are shocked and the excuses pour forth. There was mental illness, there were drugs or alcohol involved, there was no warning, it was someone else’s fault.
The perpetrators of many, many domestic homicides in Canada are white, priviledged, educated and well employed. These stone sober, cold blooded domestic homicides (and much domestic violence) are a result of arrogance, contempt, lack of personal responsibility, selfishness and control.
We can once again feign shock and sorrow or we can get our heads out of our lily white butts and start dealing with these horrific homicides that are occurring more and more regularly.
We need to stop looking over there for the problem and start looking here for potential problems – at our families, and our friends, and our neighbours. Look for signs of contempt or control. Look for signs of fear and abuse. The signs are there – and they are obvious.
We need to start raising our children to take personal responsibility. We need to start teaching them that they are here to serve others – not to be served.
We need to start teaching our children real values – kindness, respect, humility, and dignity.
We need to stop making lame excuses for ourselves and our children – it was just a joke (some things are not funny), boys will be boys, well tempers will flare, it was just an accident …
We need to stop teaching our children to blame their victims. That does not teach them self control or personal responsibility.
We need to start training professionals – law enforcement, judges, lawyers, teachers, doctors, etc. to tell the difference between abusers and victims. Victims often sound irrational, irate, upset, dramatic. Violent, sadistic, cruel abusers and murderers often sound calm, cool, rational and responsible. Sometimes you have to look deeper.
Like many social issues of our time, domestic violence and homicide is not going to be eradicated overnight. In cultures and societies where this issue is not acknowledged and addressed it will never be eradicated.
How many more innocent lives need to be taken or destroyed before we realize we have a problem?
I do not discuss politics often. In this day and age, it seems as if it is not so much a discussion as a drag down/knock out fight. However, today I will make an exception.
In Canada, there are three main parties – the Conservatives on the right, the NDP (New Democrat Party) on the Left and the Liberals in the middle. Although Canada is far from being as politically intense as our southern neighbours, there are Canadians who are to the extreme right of the Conservatives and the extreme left of the NDP. These two demographics seem to be growing – or at least growing increasingly vocal.
I am not a card carrying member of any party but, since I prefer compromise to battle, I tend to favour the Liberals – who happen to be currently in power.
I voted Liberal in the past two elections because I am comfortable supporting them and their leader. I like Justin Trudeau for three reasons. (1) He consistently displays affection, kindness, respect and appreciation for his parents. (2) He consistently displays affection, kindness, respect and appreciation for his wife. (3) He consistently displays affection, kindness respect and appreciation for his children.
I do not have a major issue with the left or far left. I just do not believe that all of their ideals, although important and well meaning, are practical as a be all and end solution for maintaining a strong country. In Canada, the left – even the extreme far left, tend to fight for their beliefs with protests and the like – mainly peaceful demonstrations. They take issue with the Liberal government and Justin Trudeau for not doing enough to support their causes and I can respect that.
I have a harder time finding respect for the right, specifically the far right. They tend to flat out oppose anything the Liberal Government does. They flat out oppose anything Justin Trudeau does. Justin Trudeau and the Liberals can be doing exactly what the majority of countries and their leaders are doing and it is all wrong – and all Trudeau’s fault. (He caused the pandemic, caused the many repercussions of the pandemic, caused the fall in oil prices, caused the increasing frequency and devastation of natural disasters around the globe, caused the ramping up of racial tensions, etc. … 🙄). Those on the far right seldom show any respect in their opposition and quite frequently spread questionable ‘facts’, use righteous indignation, or use questionable humor in their quest to destroy the credibility of Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. This is politics as it is today and politicians know what they are getting into when they run for public office. I generally roll my eyes 👀 at such nonsense and move on.
Then there are those, from the far right, who attack and taunt anyone who supports Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. These people are not just small pockets of strangers. Some of these people are relatives and friends. To these people I am a libtard and a snowflake, unworthy of using my vote as I see fit, and too lazy to take care of myself and my family (hence my support for social programs, justice and the like). Theseare people who know that I am worthy of respect. These are people who know that I not only have the right to my vote, but who deserves that right. These are people who know that I have worked all of my adult life to provide for myself and my family, who has helped others in need and who has paid my share of taxes regardless of who was in government. None of this matters, to those on the far right (specifically people on the far right who know me) because I chose to vote for the Liberals and Justin Trudeau. 🙄
I do not fight often but I will fight for my right to vote as I see fit. AND I will fight for every other Canadian’s right to vote for whoever they see fit. (Even those who know me but choose to mock, attack and insult me for how I vote.) 🇨🇦
When I was growing up, a privilege was something that was earned. It was also something that could be revoked if it was misused.
I am not quite sure what ‘white privilege’ is supposed to mean now days but I do not agree with it. I do not believe that it should be a ‘privilege’ to have access to education, healthcare, employment, justice, respect or kindness simply because of the color of one’s skin – or their age, sex, sexual orientation, weight, physical or mental abilities or any other superficial reason by which they are judged. These things should be human rights.
I have known many people who have felt ‘entitled’ to special treatment for any number of reasons (being white, being male, being wealthy….). As more people realize how wrong prejudice and discrimination are, the more dangerous and delusional these people are becoming. They are angry and afraid that they are losing their position of entitlement. They feel threatened and people who feel threatened become defensive to the point of being aggressive.
Different movements have been created and have grown to protect and support those who do not have the same rights that all humans should have. Personally, I believe their success will always be limited. I believe this because those who are the focus of these movements are not the problem.
As a white (privileged?) person, I believe for real changes to happen in our society, we must focus on ourselves. We are the problem or we are at the heart of the problem. We must look at ourselves. We must look at our children, our siblings, our parents, our cousins, our friends and our neighbours. We must question and change our own dangerous entitled beliefs and challenge the dangerous entitled attitudes of those around us. We must hold ourselves and those around us accountable for mistreating or misrepresenting those who want nothing more than the human rights that we already have.
There is nothing to be lost and everything to be gained by accepting and encouraging those who are being deprived of the rights and benefits that many of us take for granted. It is not them against us, nor should it be us against them. As they thrive, we all thrive. We are one humanity.
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 