A Rant Against 'Affluenza'

It is now pretty apparent one of the icons of wholesomeness during my youth and young adulthood, Bill Cosby, was actually all the while a sexually abusive monster; Bill Clinton really did inhale, and used the Oval Office to prey on a young lady for his sexual gratification as well; and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of my country for the past nine years, appears to have lied and deceived Canadians so often over the term he has held the reigns of power that it's actually somehow come to seem normal to get screwed by the government he leads. I think it's sadly well beyond the point that such unethical and abusive conduct seems expected by the masses from the leadership We get from our elected politicians and societal role models nowadays; mass cynicism attests to it.

Have humans really always been so corrupt and deceitful in intents or is this a phenomenon of contemporary times? Sadly, history makes it evident it is a perpetuation of abhorrence, rather than the birth of it, in "civilized" society. History does indeed repeat itself, time and time again, and I suspect it will continue to do so for so long as human beings the world over focus on the differences between us, be those race, colour, religion, age, sex, or sexual orientation, rather than on the similarities and commonalities we share together as Homo Sapiens.

Donald Trump wants to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, and undoubtedly it won't be long before the xenophobia he proselytizes turns its attention North. Renewed calls for "Manifest Destiny" are certainly not beyond the possible with men of his ilk. The Republican campaign is even targeting "Anchor children" within it's own borders now; sending chills down my spin from the nauseatingly recognizable similarities in the divisive discourse and arrogant sense of superiority that has been echoed in every genocidal agenda pursued through the annals of mankind.
In Europe walls and fences are already being erected in an effort to stem the tide of "illegal" migrants swarming into Europe from war-torn states like Syria and drought ravaged countries across Africa. More than 350,000 people have made the harrowing journey toward freedom and a better, safer life this year alone, and no small number have perished trying along the way as well. Today there are more than 50,000,000 people living in Refugee Camps around the globe; displaced by warfare, religious persecution, droughts and famines.

Let those seven zeros sink in for a moment, as you imagine yourself as but one person amongst them. Don't be deceived by delusions of gene pools and birthrights, nor so arrogant and ignorant as to believe that life and your experience of living it could not be turned on its head in an instant. Life and its circumstances are ever-changing and you could well find yourself one amongst the marginalized and disenfranchised were the political system and/or economic system to fail, both for you personally and for society as a whole as well. Both are not only likely, but inevitable too - it's only a matter of when, not if, as demonstrated by the waxing and waning of peoples and nations throughout all past millenniums and during the one we live now as well.

Affluenza not only breeds contempt for those poorer off it seems, but also a delusional sense of inflated self-worth and invincibility. Time and again it is evidenced by historical record that when wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few the vast majority of human beings suffer hardships portionately beyond all possible measure. Sooner or later those masses rise up and cut the heads off the snakes in their midst. Generosity of spirit in words and deeds is the only antidote that can stave off the executioners, but typically arrives too meek and mild, not to mention too late.

The world We live in is not in a good place today. Millions of souls are suffering unspeakable burdens because of the greed, detachment and denial of the "Haves" and their lack of compassion and appreciation for the gravity of the depravity that millions upon millions of "Have-nots" experience every day. The tide of the marginalized and disenfranchised will not be stemmed without a corresponding expansion of atrocities to address it. Those inhumane actions in turn will serve only to motivate with increased resolve those who feel they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking from those who chose not to give and share from the good fortune evident within their plenty.

I am appalled and enraged that I live at a time when it is apparent more and more with each passing day that "Christians" of all stripes are failing miserably in demonstrating they are any good at all at practicing what their Scriptures" preach; Some "Muslims" are bastardizing their religion for extremist political ends by lopping off heads; and racism, unemployment and disenfranchisement of tens of millions of people shines renewed light on unresolved systematic and systemic discrimination in the "free" nations of the West that shatter all illusions of their egalitarian and democratic designs and intents.

The time is nigh for serious leadership and unbridled altruism and integrity in the words and deeds of leaders representing political communities everywhere on the globe. It is achievable because it is imaginable. From great minds can come an abundance of good for all if that is the aim. "High expectations equal high results and low expectations equal no results". It is long past time that our "leaders" start getting that, and are held to account when it's obvious that they don't.

It is indeed time for change! It does not matter which party comes to power next in this country or any other. What does matter is that they must lead with truth, transparency, compassion and humble servitude. That goes for all of them! Achieve that and in doing so it will prove you are worthy of being entrusted to lead the people toward their good governance and welfare. Any less and you may as well put your neck on the chopping block and await the falling of the axe. We deserve far better than We have been getting from our leaders on any given day.

The time is drawing closer and the cooking pots are coming to a boil once again. Will it be snake stew on the menu once more, or will the affluent decide to generously take from what excess they possess to offer up to the benefit of the less fortunate other menu choices instead? Either way the appetite will be quenched. For the affluent the question is simple: would you like the future served up with or without your heads attached?

Donald Trump's "Mein Kampf" - Reincarnation of an Imbecile!

Screw political correctness; far too many innocent people have died because of silence in dealing with bigots, isolationists and war mongers! Bomb the hell out of the oilfields in the middle east to stop ISIS; cast aspersions on "illegal" Mexicans - all they do is bring drugs into America, ..."they're thieves and rapists, and I suppose some of them are good people too." (particularly the ones who have toiled with their blood, sweat and tears to make Trump a billionaire); Immigration Policy is too weak, etc., etc. Undoubtedly many native Americans feel the same way about Donald and his immigrant heritage in America as well, and more justly and rightly hold that view than he does!

These divisive and disruptive rhetorical political tactics are pathetic strategies with historical roots deservedly associated with a very evil man, and by employing them Donald Trump is demonstrating that he is not one ounce better! I cannot see that he is running to earn the Republican nomination for President with altruistic intentions to serve his fellow citizens in their best interests, by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, his sole motivation to my mind is based on an egocentric desire to hold what he and some others consider to be the most powerful public office in the free world. Accordingly he is really and very seriously dangerous to us all, Americans or not. He is not to be laughed at and dismissed as stupid. He is indeed to my mind an imbecile, but not one lacking intelligence. Rather, to me, he is an example of an intelligent man who is negligently applying his brains to employ despicable means toward detestable ends.

How many American (along with British and Canadian) soldiers died in the quest to rid the world of a man the likes of Adolf Hitler, and have died since protecting human rights and international covenants, treaties and conventions from men of a similarly evil ilk and with like malign intents? Most Republicans, at least from what I see and read in news media looking from the outside in, have an American flag hanging from their house or hanging somewhere in their yard, at least in part to demonstrate their patriotism and to honour the legacy of defending against political tyranny and racial injustice. Yet, somehow Donald Trump is running #2 out of the possible Republican candidates in poles to date?! Are you kidding me? Give your heads a shake people!!! It seems to me some Americans are taking a symbol of the racist nature of their nation's history down (the Confederate flag) and at the very same time are building up and giving legitimacy to bombastic absurdity and destructive discourse from a "potential" President for the nation. Is that supposed to be some kind of progress? From the outside looking in, it appears to me that Trump's supporters must surely be the ones on drugs, and apparently they're the really psychedelic kind that enable idiocy to somehow seem logical, just and right.

Donald Trump is to my mind an arrogant prick with a Napoleon-like Emperor's woody on. He is being extremely irresponsible and horrifically short-sighted in the pursuit of his personal ambitions, and it is Americans, not Mexicans and Chinese, who will pay for that the most in the fullness of time if this man gets the public office he seeks. I don't care if you live in the back hills of Kentucky or on a main street in a major city in Kansas or Virginia (or any other state), it is way past time for all Americans to get their heads out of the sand and see the evil in this man for what it is! In the contemporary era, particularly with the history of Nazi Germany to draw from in memory banks and history texts, it is inconceivable to me that good, God-fearing and otherwise, loyal Americans cannot see through the charade that Donald Trump is proselytizing and the sham that he embodies with such views. It is past time for the lot of his supporters to undergo detoxification, so America, and the world, can be rid once again of a vile man who would so shamelessly and so arrogantly presume a right to orate such out-right crap for public consumption and indoctrination.

Monetarily I am not worth $9 billion, as I have read Trump is "worth", and in fact monetarily I am not worth much at all. Fortunately, monetary wealth and accumulation of financial assets has never been the measure of a good man, nor will it ever be so. No, a good man speaks truth, honours his Mother & Father, and respects his friends and neighbours. A good man works for the betterment of life for all in his community (locally and globally), not just for those that meet his measure of their worthiness to live their life in liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A good man uses his public podium to build people up, he does not use it to cast aspersions and tear them down.

As for Donald Trump, based on what I have seen and read, I wouldn't pay a penny for his thoughts on anything, and Americans would be wise to recognize that the vision and reality this moron is attempting to create is philosophically bankrupt and a horrendous future investment in the free world for all Americans, and their friends and allies. Donald Trump to my mind has not got a clue what "struggle" really is, but it would most certainly be poetic justice if some day not so far from now that is exactly the Karma he earns for himself with all this nonsense. He needs to go back to building hotels and golf courses and leave political 'leadership' to those who are bright enough to get that with the power of public office also comes the responsibility to serve one's fellow citizens and the global community well with it. That seems well out of his reach, and there is absolutely not one single Mexican he can blame for that - he must just go ahead and own that all by himself!

What I Like About Me

The inside voice can be a cuttingly critical one at times. In the past few years there has been much to process and deal with in life and it certainly has taken its share of shots in and at my psyche for past choices made and paths followed. I believe it is important to be introspective and self-critiquing periodically in life, but it is equally important to know what one likes about oneself and one's situation and circumstances as well.

There have been no shortage of external critics and critiquers frequently eager to offer their impressions over the years and had it not been for knowing what I like about me it would have been easy enough to be submissive and conceding in accepting and being shaped by perceptions of an identity and personality not of my own design.
Part of maintaining and sustaining, as well as building and enhancing, on what is good is to focus on the positives and not the negatives. Accordingly, it's time again in life to take stock of what there is that I like about me.

I like that I value life and the living of it as an awesome adventure and an amazing journey. I experience it's abundant beauty in person by making time in my schedule every day to walk with my canine princesses and seek out what is beautiful, inspiring, or just neat in its own way. Routinely in all four seasons we have adventured together to parks, lakes, mountains, oceans and islands on highways, back roads, trail systems and bodies of water to experience a life enriched by the majesty of nature.

I like that I value everyone and believe that ALL human beings are equal in worth within humanity. I also like that I have a high sense of empathy for others and am not afraid to champion and defend under-dogs and the oppressed. I believe strongly in equality and 'Justice' and in all that is expressed and implied in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I like that it matters to me to be inclusive with my love and appreciation for the wonder of creation that exists within every living being and thing. I like that I am quick to be a good Samaritan or to lend a helping hand to those I see in a situation of need as well. Those occasions in life bless me with the chance to put a smile on MY face for good deeds done.

I like that I am physically strong and intellectually persistent in seeking out and achieving new heights of knowledge and understanding about life and everything it comprises with every breath I take. I like that I feel passionate about unique and interesting aspects of life and its existence in community with others. I also appreciate that I am able to pursue my interests with veracity and tenacity, routinely accomplishing what I set out to discover, learn about and achieve along the way.

I like that I have a good moral compass and a non-violent disposition and nature, but also have the physical size and grey matter to avoid, deter or defend against most threats to my well-being and best interests. I like that I have a gregarious and jovial nature far more often than not and am able to laugh at myself as well as others. I also like that I have the capacity to feel and experience the whole range of human emotions through different situations and circumstances experienced as a part of living. Happy, glad, sad and mad are at times all a part of the ride and offer each their own innate lessons, virtues, benefits and blessings, in encompassing the various parts of my being.

I like that I am wise enough to know that life is about change and capable of perpetually learning how to adapt to survive and thrive through it. I like that my instincts and impulses are most often nurturing and that I feel compelled toward tenderness and protectiveness of all that is endowed with vulnerability and innocence. I also like knowing that I can and have responded appropriately and successfully in life in defusing, preventing, and resolving many dangers, threats and conflicts with confidence, competence and composure.

I like that I value music and the arts, and that I find pleasure in creating and sharing my passions and talents to please and enrich life for myself and others. I like that I feel humble about the skills and abilities I have as well, and that I am able to admire and learn from those who I discover on my journey are better or brighter at one thing or another. I like that I have come to understand with age and the plethora of insights I have enjoyed on the journey to now just how little I do know and how so very much more there is to discover, learn and come to understand still.

I like that I feel a predominant desire to be kind, considerate and respectful toward all living beings and achieve that ambition the vast majority of the days and nights in my life. Above all else, I like that I can like and love myself and sleep well at night knowing that on the whole I like the man that I am.

Canada - An Insensate Society

There is no question that on the whole Canada, for all the proselytizing to the contrary, is a brutal society that far too frequently proves to be lacking in good sense and humane decency. From all indications in the state's propaganda and media there are few, if any, other nations that are any better, but there is no solace in being at the top of a putrid pile. The fact is that be it in the municipal, provincial or federal spheres, Good Governance is not being achieved and altruistic leadership is dismal. Cynicism festers wherever it has not been replaced with disdain and outright contempt within its citizenry. Now in its 150th year of nationhood, the country and its culture are in desperate need of a major overhaul if there is to be any possibility for it to thrive in the future. 

Affluence abounds, and with it proportional ignorance and callousness as the gap between the haves and have-nots grows steadily from a fissure to a canyon. In Vancouver there has been an increase in homelessness of 30% in the past year, with some 3,500 people now living in tents or sleeping on the streets. I suspect that number is under-estimated and also only captures the dire circumstances reported for one municipality. It is a growing population from coast-to-coast-to-coast. It is estimated that 3 million households live precariously on meagre means and C.T.V. reported that in 2016 there were an estimated 235,000 homeless Canadians, and another 50,000 who rely on family or friends to provide them with shelter. I am one of them. In the face of such staggering numbers of fellow human beings enduring such hardship is the reality that there are no shortage of livable spaces that could house them. On any given day I would wager there are at least ten times as many Motorhomes and 5th wheel trailers sitting empty, with their owners paying to store them in gated lots so they can use them on vacations for a couple or a few weeks each summer. The majority will be worn out while sitting idle through the passing of seasons more than they will be from wear and tear through utilization. It is resource wastefulness and absurdity on the grandest of scales! 

On April 12th, 2017 the Parliament of Canada bestowed honorary citizenship upon Nobel Peace Prize co-winner, Malala Yousafzai with much pomp and ceremony, not to mention tax dollars spent. I wish to take nothing away from Malala's human rights activism and her championing of girls education. There is no question that globally it is a pressing need for millions and she is a wonderful soul doing what she can to encourage positive change. That said, the theatre on display in Parliament and the ovations from M.P.s during her speech reeks of hypocrisy, to say the least. 

1 in 7 Canadians - nearly 5 million people - live in poverty today. An estimated 2 million seniors live on less that $17,000 per year, while the most basic standard of living is calculated at $18,000 per year for a single person. 3 million children live in poverty and fully 40% of indigenous children in the country are living in poverty. Precarious employment has risen by 50% in the past two decades. In the past 25 years the population in the country has risen by 30% while national investment in housing has declined by 46%. It has been reported that the average earnings of the least wealthy Canadians has declined by more than 20% in that same period. A staggering 8 out of 10 provinces saw an increase in food bank usage in 2016, and 1 in 10 Canadians cannot afford to fill their medical prescriptions. 

Unless and until Canadian politicians effectively address the deficiencies in their own homeland the pretentiousness of their leadership will remain the reality of optics on display. Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assemblies and municipal Councils need to stop patting themselves on the back for achieving such horrific leadership results. They need to pull up their socks, and get busy working to solve the very serious and life-threatening socio-economic challenges faced every hour of every day by millions of their fellow Canadians. There has been far too much political grandstanding and far too little progress achieved. There is no longer reason for pride in Canada. There is ample evidence for reasons to feel shame though, and that needs to change. We do not need flowery speeches and the bestowing of honorary citizenships. We need citizens and politicians with honour and integrity, who see and feel the urgency in the lives of those they serve and work diligently and tirelessly to produce a more compassionate and successful nation worthy of celebration. 

The Misnomer Nature Of Neutrality

Silence can be deadly, and so too can be sitting on the fence; two of the primary characteristics of folks who claim they are adopting a position of neutrality in conflicts between people and/or states. Achieving genuine objectivity and neutrality is an impossibility for a subjective being's brain, and that point seems lost on far too many human intellects today. 

Neutrality more often than not does nothing more than convince its observers of the untrustworthiness and unreliability of its adherents. It can be even more insidious if the neutrality brings allegiances into doubt. A facade of neutrality employed as a tactic aimed at achieving avoidance of conflict is far more offensive than disagreement. It is also of poor utility in the process of achieving any actual resolution of disputes. It often serves only to perpetuate resentments that further alienate otherwise allied souls through a continuation of strained relations. The parties in conflict see within it the lack of logic it demonstrates and the void in resolutions for anyone it results in accomplishing. It's akin to putting duct tape on a frozen pipe and then walking away ignoring the fact that the glue doesn't adhere to a sub-zero surface. It's a waste of tape and there can be little surprise that as soon as the climate changes the tape falls off and the fluid starts gushing out again. 

If the genuine aim is a resolution of disputes in any given family, group, community or society, parties within it who choose the path of avoidance and neutrality are pursuing a lose/lose course that benefits no individual member of the group in the long run, and much less the group as a whole. Conflicts, particularly protracted ones spanning many seasons, aren't going to get resolved through silence. It may serve to defuse tension within the inter-personal and/or inter-state dynamics in the present but does nothing to solve the causes of disharmony that everyone is impacted negatively by. Doing nothing is worth exactly that and will produce exactly that. In fact, it is more often than not likely that it will generate more negative consequences in the long term by masking over and ignoring the tumour that continues to grow within. 

"The forming–storming–norming–performing model of group development was first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965,^[1] who identified that these phases are all necessary and inevitable in order for a team to grow, to face up to challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliver results." Tuckman also points out that there is no guarantee any given group will emerge from the storming stage unless all members of the group are committed to the success of the group. Further, these stages are not milestones that once achieved never recur again. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Whenever there is a change in the composition of the group or in the priorities and objectives of the group these stages recur. 

The worth of an anchor is tested in a storm. If the decision is to do nothing when the storm clouds kick up not only has the opportunity to put down an anchor been lost, but possibly also the ship along with it. That is the absurdity of neutrality in a nut shell; its like playing Russian Roulette with the group's success. Eventually a bullet fires and all are shocked and dismayed even though they all willingly acquiesced in the game and were aware of it's predictable outcome. 

Neutrality is a misnomer in genuine conflict resolution. If that is indeed the aim doing nothing, just like Russian Roulette, is a fool's game. When neutrality is employed as anything more than a tension reducing tactic for brief interim periods in the conflict resolution process, it only ensures that the decay and the disintegration of the family, group, community or society will be the eventual outcome. All group development requires action from all of its members that serve the common purpose and success of the group. Doing anything less is not in the whole group's best interests. It is disingenuous to the success of the group and is a disservice to all of its members. 

Conflict resolution allows for multiple approaches. Neutrality is one of them, but if any group thinks that tactic utilized alone will successfully resolve any conflict, from my experience in life I say, good luck with that. I'm not liking your odds and I won't be taking a chair for that game, but go ahead and keep pulling that trigger.

All groups have the potential to wax or wane at any given time, just as people, nations and cultures have since the beginning of humanity's history. It's entirely up to the will and actions of its members collectively that determines whether any given family, group, community or society achieves its potential for success or ensures its eventual disintegration. 

Life And The Living Of It

In August of 2011 my father passed away at the age of 84, following a two-year battle with cancer. My Mom, at 84 herself now, has had some health scares in the past year or so and my eldest brother, Rob, has been battling serious ailment for the past year also. In August of 2015 I had to put down my dog, Kaiah, after her health declined rapidly. She was just 4 years and 10 months old when her end came. This past spring my first dog, Jazmin, declined in health and went to roam the after-life off-leash park on June 12th, 2017. She was just shy of 10 years old. I have come to know grief and the enduring of it through the waning and departure of these loved ones and primary companions in my life these past 6 years and the weight of it on my soul has been heavy at times. Over the half-century mark myself now and being the youngest of six siblings, with a large extended family, ensures that for however long my journey continues endings are likely to be more prevalent than beginnings. It is the curse of aging to serve witness to and to experience waning and associated sufferings routinely in daily living. It is saddening and even maddening at times, but it is the cycle of life and the living of it all the same. 

Professionally life has treated me harshly over the past few years as well. Dishonesty, nefarious agendas and maliciousness by some industry associates and board volunteers caused untenable working environments, tarnished my many years of good works, thousands of hours of my devoted and competent service, and smeared my lengthy track-record for good management, leadership and sound judgement. I made a few mistakes along the way in managing the politics of it all as well that ultimately provided the daggers for my foes to fling. At times I have been partly infuriated by circumstances, partly disillusioned by them, and partly saddened by them, but most days now I am just resigned to the reality of it all. I have journeyed through the ebb and flow of many thoughts and feelings, reminding me through the introspection travelled that I am an emotional being.

It is a truism of life that it can be lonely at the top and I most certainly learned that lesson in spades. With no allies or good friends now aiding in the service of my best interests, "it is what it is" has become my go-to mantra, anchoring my consciousness in the present. Each new day I persist with positive energy and a determination to right the ship by over-coming the adversity of the past and rising above my detractors and adversaries. Time will tell if that is yet to come. All I can do is continue to strive toward it. 

Through it all if there is one thing I have come to know best it is that truth does not always prevail. Life is neither fair nor just and far too often evil triumphs over good. Be that as it is, I refuse to abandon the high road, whatever the consequences may be. For better or for worse, I will not succumb to the urges for vengeance nor will I allow the grief and anger I have felt to make me a lesser man than I know myself to be. I can only proceed proudly in my life by accepting what is and doing what I can to achieve brighter days ahead. Life is not always what you make of it. Life is also what you allow it to make of you.

Despite the challenges, injustices and depravities experienced, for so long as I am above the grass, I will remain confident in my value and worth. I await new opportunities in days, months and years ahead with the knowledge that I continue living my life by honourable principles that are worthy of the journey I am blessed to still be on. When the end does come, a day or decades from now, I will sleep eternally knowing that I was not perfect and earned no sainthood, but on the whole I was a good, honest, compassionate and kind-hearted man who did the best I could to serve others very well. That, from my perspective at least, will be a life well-lived. 

Change

The one reliable fact of life is that change is constant. Whether for better or worse, whether sooner or later, change always comes. 

Humans have an innate desire to control and manage change for personal advantage and do their utmost in a myriad of ways to try and achieve desired aims. Sometimes plans and their corresponding actions achieve the intended outcomes and sometimes they don't. We call it "success" when plans work, and "failure" when they don't. Sometimes change arrives out of our efforts and actions that we didn't plan for or even see coming. We call that "lucky" when it's for the better, and "unlucky" when it proves to be for the worse. 

Sometimes, indeed often from my perspective, change in life arises from circumstances beyond our personal control. Akin to an avalanche, environmental factors grander than our personal creation are set in motion and we are simply caught up in their momentum. We can do little other than try to keep our heads above the fray, hoping to find solid ground again beyond the chaos to stand upon and re-establish our footing once more. Those environmental influences can be caused by natural forces or by human ones, but either way all we can do is try and manage what transpires in a manner that serves our personal well-being and interests while in the eye of the storm and until the dust settles. When such things occurring are good we call it "fortunate", and when bad we call it "misfortune" or "unfortunate".

The pace of change beyond my control and capacity to influence around the world, in my country, in my province of residence, in my local community, in my extended family, as well as in the affairs of my professional and personal lives has been staggering over the past few years. It has also been and continues to be, for the most part, bewildering, dismaying, disappointing, exasperating, frustrating and downright annoying in many respects as well. 

It seems from the external inputs and the experiences of my daily existence at every strata that I walked through a Stargate a while back and into a cyclonic atmosphere characterized by cruelty, callousness, maliciousness and contemptuous absurdity. The corrosive nature of discourses and the toxic character of inter-relations experienced and witnessed on a daily basis is rampant to the point of being rabid. I recall drunken dizziness and delirium following a few Cabarets in my College years that today pale in comparison to the sense of disorder and disorientation that exists for me in the Now, and evidently for many others as well. I am an intelligent being, pretty well-educated, decently well-read too, and I think for the most part I am pretty level-headed and lack no sanity. For the life of me, I am no less dumbfounded in understanding and making sense of any of it. It is as though genuine madness has afflicted the vast majority of souls in what used to be my social network and throughout the rest of the globe as well. 

The greatest challenge in times such as these is not to become jaded and hardened by the onslaught of negativity, animosities, antagonisms and rejections. It is easier said than done, with good days and bad along the journey, but at least so far I remain optimistic that the storm will pass and better days still lay ahead for me and for humanity as well. Without that daily dose of faith I would have thrown in the towel already several rounds ago. I am either too stupid or too stubborn, or perhaps a combination of both, to accept that good times and brighter days will never come around again. The nature of life from my experiences and observations of it is a cyclical waxing and waning of all circumstances, whether they are good or bad, happy or sad. Sooner or later, change will come.

 A Chinese proverb says that, "the gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials", and Heraclitus is said to have observed, "it is in changing that things find purpose". Like a bird that feels the light and sings to greet the dawn before the sun has risen for a new day, belief and confidence must be the guides along the way. 

Uniquely Illuminant

I was not born into this life to emulate, and neither was anyone else. The uniqueness of each individual and their cumulative life experiences enhances the beauty of our world and the Universe it is a miniscule part of. Like stars in the night sky, each astoundingly reflects and contributes to the majesty of the whole. Wondrous virtue is inherent in all beings and is not subject to the capacity of any given viewer to appreciate any particular luminance.

Shine on in your own special way, regardless of how others choose to judge; that is their burden to bear, not yours. For as long as the Sun rises, mountains stand, waters flow, trees grow and birds soar tranquility and self-worth will be found by those who know they have a mystical pertinence to Life that is irrepressible and irrevocable by any other soul.

Rumours - The Bastion Of Ignorance

“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please”

                                                                Mark Twain

It is a perpetual paradox that in an Age of abundance in knowledge and communication means to attain it there seem to be so many who prefer not to acquire its genuine insights in the formation of their opinions and judgements. "Facts" are far too frequently dispersed from the mouths of folks who are least in the know with respect to first-hand accounts and experience, yet the roots of such diseased discourse permeate an air of legitimacy in impressionable intellects that can be staggering in their propagation. "Hey, did you hear....", perks the ears with titillating pronouncements that all too often are born from malice and ill intents, or sometimes simply the misguided proliferation of misinformation. It is a truism of life that one should always be cautious in casting stones, lest boulders boomerang back to crush the caster.

In an era of cynicism and distrust and a world that seems governed more by passion and prejudice than by genuine reason I am reminded of a poem I came upon in University more than a quarter century ago that reeks with pungent poignancy and prophetic wisdom for contemporary times:

                                         “God give us men. The time demands

Strong minds, great hearts,

Truth, faith and willing hands;

Men whom the lust of office does not kill;

Men who possess opinions and a will;

Men who have honor; men who will not lie;

Men who can stand before a demagogue

And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking;

Tall men, sun-crowned men, who live above the fog

In public duty and in private thinking.”

John G. Holland

A New Dawn Is Stoking

Traversing fairways and greens is about to take on a whole new meaning for recreational users in Canada, and the golf industry needs to start rolling with that budding reality. The pace of play will be marshalled best by strategic thinking that sparks up discussion now about how to cultivate the growth of the game with a new menu of products and services offerings that will tee up an abundant stash of cash for those who are ready to grip it and rip it! It is time to get off the couch and embrace the appetite of a new Age. No stone must be ignored and go unturned if the #1 recreational sport in Canada is to benefit optimally from the new buzz about the land that is certain to see eagles and birdies pursued ever-the-more-so with a spliff in hands.  

There is no shortage of irony apparent in the prognosis that the game of golf and by extension the Club industry in Canada, as well as increasingly across all of the Americas, stands poised to benefit from enhanced opportunities to increase food (read, munchies) and beverage sales through the eradication of the prohibition against a weed. Less than a hundred years ago Clubs embraced the opportunity to grow in popularity across North America as venues where their patrons could satisfy their interests and desires for contraband alcohol during its era of prohibition. Now the game and its industry stands posed yet again in contemporary times to sprout anew from the elimination of a prohibition on toking dried leaves. The stagnation in the appeal and growth of the game, as well as the Club industry, will only be capitalized on proactively if the conservative stewards of tired traditions and under-informed thinking shed the inclination to boggart on the budding cultural dynamic that is destined to alter far more than just the states of mind of its current users, as well as its potential patrons. 

A recent poll conducted by The Globe and Mail underscores the potential in the winds billowing on the horizon. It was reported that 1 in 5 Canadians already choose to partake in the herb for its medicinal benefits as well as for their recreational desires, and 3 of 10 Canadians will avail themselves of this choice as soon as cannabis is legalized and regulated for sale from coast to coast, to coast. Its utilization is already multigenerational as well as multi-cultural and this poll makes it clear its user-ship is poised for a significant growth spurt. A recent poll in the United States found that 59% of Americans support legalization and in Canada a Liberal majority Federal government was elected at least in part on a platform promise to legalize and regulate the sale of cannabis for recreational as well as medicinal use. The Ministerial Mandate letters of the Justice Minister and Public Safety Minister in the Federal Cabinet clearly instructs them in no uncertain terms to work with Federal departments and provincial governments and their respective bureaucracies toward the implementation of this agenda. Legislation has already passed through Parliament, with a legalization date of July 1^st, 2018, now emerging from the haze.  

It has been estimated that Federal revenues from the sale of legalized and regulated cannabis in Canada could be in the range of $5 billion annually. Even the most conservative estimates suggest the revenues generated will exceed $1 billion annually. Ignoring this reality and failing to proactively prepare for its increased legal prevalence throughout our Society in months and years to come is not just a recipe for allowing new opportunity to go up in smoke. It is also potentially hazardous to the ability of the industry's stewards to provide informed and proactive leadership that can serve to positively influence and manage its impact on the game and on the culture within the game, as well as within the communal cultures of individual Clubs throughout the country. This is no longer a matter to snicker about and dismiss as a fringe thing. The time is now for the golf industry's professional stewards and its volunteer Boards and memberships to begin a serious dialogue in respect to how best to prepare for, manage and capitalize on Mary-Jane's increasing prevalence on the daily tee sheet as well as the impact it will have on the policies and operating procedures that govern the players who participate in and employee cadres who provide their services to the game. 

There is little question, to my mind at least, that the industry's stewards floundered and failed to provide informed and timely leadership ahead of the current when it came to the changing trends in personal preferences for more casual golf attire and corresponding amendments to traditional Dress Code policies, as well as with the emergence and mushrooming use of cell phones and other equipment and technology advancements that have swept across the country and affected all courses and clubs in their wake over the past two decades. A lot of hours in policy debate and drafting in committees and Boards across the country occurred trying to catch up from behind the wave. No shortage of discontent festered in the interim void in proactive leadership that served to negatively impact the daily outings and experiences of patrons and Club members, not to mention the workplace environments of their management and employee cadres. Eventually the industry's leadership were forced to shed their entrenched affinity for grasping on to dying traditions and embrace the emerging realities and desires for change within their communities and the will of their majority of members and patrons. 

Will conservative-minded resisters of change and adaptation to new realities continue the trend of reactive leadership behind the wave this time as well? Time will tell. Let’s hope that wiser minds will prevail and the industry's stewards will prove to have learned their lessons from the experiences of the relatively recent past within the golf and Club industry in Canada. Let's hope that they choose instead this time around to stop snickering and put aside their snifters, wine glasses and beer steins long enough at least to be proactive in discussing and preparing for the Mary-Jane Tsunami that there is little doubt now will be landing on the shore this coming season. 

It's like dipping a pinky finger into the icing on a cake to ponder on what this could mean for dessert and liqueur sales alone. Less tongue-in-cheek, it is no joke that Clubhouse kitchens and dining rooms can potentially see increased benefits ahead in both cost reductions and improved sales from the planting and tending of herb gardens. Grounds Crews, with their agronomy and horticultural expertise, may well be able to become revenue generating Club departments, eclipsing the expense budgets of golf course maintenance and turf care management practices across the nation. Hemp fabrics and products may also serve to reduce costs and increase durability of golf fashions, along with many other products utilized on a daily bases at courses and in Clubs throughout the country. The impact on the golf and Club industry in years ahead is in an embryonic state now, but may well grow with weed into a green giant virtually overnight.  

It won't be long now before millions of Canadians will be rolling along in laughter on fairways and greens. Whether the golf and Club industry is ready to embrace that coming day and is proactively prepared for the benefits and challenges that change will bring, only time will tell. One thing is for certain, those who chose to ignore the smoke and pretend it is not already prevalent in use on courses and at Clubs throughout the country are in for a blunt awakening in months and years to come. The surest buzz-kill awaits those who bury their heads in the sand and cannot see the plant's growth in use and opportunities, nor are prepared through proactive strategic thinking to welcome and embrace it, as the new era in legal recreational use of cannabis dawns in Canada in 2018.

Anger: Humanity's Achilles' Heel

"There is a harassed, knife-edge quality to daily life. Nerves are ragged and...tempers are barely under hair-trigger control. Millions of people are terminally fed up." [Alvin Toffler -The Third Wave]

It is no revelation that life and the living of it is a journey through a kaleidoscope of emotions that are coloured from a plethora of internal and external stimuli. Anger, associated with the colour Red on the spectrum, is unquestionably the most perplexing of the bunch intra-personally and inter-personally. In both spheres of its existence it is frequently experienced and yet seldom is it rationally considered and constructively examined. Most often it is nervously avoided, dismissed as irrational, or confronted in kind. Rarely is it understood and only exceptionally is it appreciated and regarded as reasonable. Yet, it is as natural a human emotion as happiness or sadness and no less logical and predictable in the circumstances that trigger it. It is prevalent in micro and macro group dynamics in familial, communal, societal and global arenas on a daily basis and yet it is shunned as a subject of genuine discourse and on the whole treated as a taboo topic. As natural as it is to the human condition and as frequently as it transpires, it is phenomenal how often it is stratified as inappropriate, intolerable and unnatural. 

Akin to the billions of galaxies that comprise the known Universe, anger is in equivalent abundance and has comparative complexity in its representations and manifestations in the human condition and in human inter-relations. Scores of millions have prematurely met their demise through the anger inherent in the hostilities of wars globally and regionally, as well as through genocides of antiquity and contemporary times. An estimated 45 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives in the Second World War alone, which wasn't really only the second global conflict; it was actually the sixth in a series of global wars dating back to 1618 and the start of the Thirty Years War.

The Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan, the War on Drugs and the War on Terrorism in the years since 1948 have added scores more to graveyards the world over. The genocide in Rwanda and numerous other racially motivated massacres along with the killing of scores more by groups like ISIS in the name of religion have added immeasurably to the astronomical body count of human beings annihilated by the anger of others.  From archeological excavations to the study of primates and throughout the annals of mankind there is ample evidence that anger has been an ever-present aspect of the human condition and the experience of life since the dawn of our kind. 

Anger is hardly the sole purview of the military arms of nation states either; indeed it festers and ferments perpetually in all societies and cultures throughout the world. It knows no borders and is shared alike by all races, cultures, political communities and socio-economic classes. It is also neither gender nor generation specific. Adversarial and penal justice systems and institutions have been invented as a means to address it; laws and policies have been written in efforts to manage and curtail it; libraries are filled with research and commentaries on its root causes and the plethora of its consequences; and professions are devoted to responding to it, counselling about it, as well as medicating to try and tame, control and overcome it. Through it all, anger demonstrates its profound resilience. If one has ever witnessed a school yard fight, a bar room brawl, a boxing match or a hockey game when the gloves drop to the ice it's apparent anger can even be socially accepted, championed and cheered on feverishly. 

In communal, workplace, familial and domestic environments anger is also abundant and routinely vented. Political discord, racial tensions and even the outcome of sporting events routinely give rise to protests, riots and mob violence toward people and the institutions and entities of their making, as well as to the destruction of personal and public property. A massive body of research and courses of study focus on conflict resolution between managers and subordinates,  between peers, as well as between patrons of businesses and the employees that serve them. Careers are created and sustained solely devoted to offering psychological elixirs for managing the disgruntled and behavioural strategies for defusing and placating ire. Families and their domiciles are no less affected by anger and its expressions than any other stratum of human existence and can be as volatile and as decimating, or even more so, to individuals within them as between nations and their populations. Spousal abuse, sibling feuds, corporal punishment, and both physical aggressions as well as psychological tormenting are common place experiences in the lives of billions of relatives generation upon generation. Animals, and especially family pets, are even highly susceptible to being the subject of the wrath of Homo Sapiens of all ages, races, creeds, religions, sexes and sexual orientations. 

As this brief summary highlights, there seem to be as many words in language to describe anger in human interactions as there are occasions of it. There can be no doubt that it is humanity's Achilles' Heel. No human being is immune from it nor to it; it is an intrinsic part of the emotional arsenal naturally existing in everyone's psyche and within the interactions shared with all others. In my own life and its plethora of experiences I have been the subject of it, the perpetrator of it, exposed to it and collaterally affected by it more times than I can possibly recount. At 54 years of age, if I multiply the number of days I have been breathing by, conservatively, a half a dozen instances of anger affecting my psyche on any given one of them, it's in the range of 120,000 instances marked by the presence of anger in my lifetime alone. It is claimed that there are 60 times the number of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy as there are human beings on our planet. I would wager humanity's collective experiences with anger and expressions of it would dwarf that star count by astronomical proportions. 

In the various employment roles I have fulfilled through the past four decades in the restaurant & hospitality, security & loss prevention, health care, and golf & recreation industries I have been exposed to and affected by anger frequently. On numerous occasions daily I have also been responsible to manage and endeavour to resolve anger and its myriad expressions within amongst patrons and employees alike, as well as within myself. I believe it fair to say that through observation and osmosis from perpetual immersion in hostile interactions and environments I have not only been a student of it but also have accumulated substantial experience and significant expertise in managing and defusing it. Through all of it I have pondered and debriefed on its occurrences, studied its impacts on individuals and societies and quested to understand how best to combat and overcome it. 

After decades of living with it, studying it and addressing it, I have arrived upon one good answer to it, and I am not lightly saying so in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The answer is simple and indeed also natural; quite seriously, everyone with anger management issues should be smoking weed. 

Before discarding my hypothesis as silly or outlandish, it is appropriate to understand how I have arrived upon it. I have one particular life experience to site as an example, but I also have dozens upon dozens of others I can recount that are similar to it. Collectively they have all convinced me over time that Cannabis is in fact nature's remedy for combating and minimizing the impact of agitations and the expressions of anger arising from within the human psyche. 

In 1992 after graduating University I took a job as Night Manager of the Edmonton Inn, a large hotel property across the street from what was then the municipal airport. Within the hotel was a large Country & Western themed night club call Esmeralda's, a sports bar, a casual lounge and a couple of restaurants, along with several large banquet rooms and meeting spaces. It was then a busy and well frequented property with many conferences and conventions held there and numerous sports teams in the city for tournaments housed there as well. Every weekend and a lot of week nights as well Esmeralda's was filled to its 200 or so patron capacity and on a lot of nights angry patrons affected by alcohol became involved in physical altercations. As I recall, there was a Bouncer staff of at least six to eight strong guys on shift every night to manage whatever conflicts arose, and on frequent occasions the police also had to be called in to deal with the most unruly and agitated of patrons.

On one particular weekend the Edmonton Folk Music Festival was being held at Gallagher Park and many of the musicians and their road crews were staying at the hotel. The banquet rooms were utilized as a 24 hour Hospitality Suite for them to come and go from as they desired. At any given point on those Friday and Saturday nights there were upwards of 800 to a 1,000 people in those banquet rooms and the air was a bluish-grey haze of Pot smoke. Over those two nights there were no less than a half dozen serious fights that spilled out of Esmeralda's and into the parking lot, four separate instances requiring the police to be called and a couple where ambulances were required as well. Conversely, in the banquet rooms where up to five times the number of patrons were socializing while passing around joints there was not one single confrontation or fight amongst those in attendance all weekend long! 

I have worked the doors and on the bars of a lot of drinking establishments as well as supervised and managed the floors of a lot of cabarets and banquet rooms for wedding parties and golf tournaments over the past four decades. Time and time again I have observed the vastly different behaviours between those who swig back alcohol and those who suck back joints instead. The verdict is an easy one; alcohol consumption encourages and magnifies anger, while Cannabis use suppresses and eliminates it. Society is gradually coming to understand its benefits as a treatment for anxiety and PTSD in more recent years and more and more people are coming to appreciate its calming and euphoric influences on the psyche of its users as well. I dare say you will never find a group of pot-heads smashing all the glass in a neighbourhood bus stop or filling up Emergency wards in hospitals because of bar and parking lot brawls on most any given weekend across the country. Instead, you are much more likely to find them laughing it up and chatting while sitting in small groups in a park or on the beach, or while playing music and dancing, alone or together, in a care-free state. 

All of this is not to suggest that everyone needs to smoke Pot to suppress and eliminate anger, but for those who are challenged by control of that emotion it is to say that Cannabis can be a positive tool in its management based on my life's experience with it and around it. Anger is humanity's Achilles' Heel and a natural remedy for its treatment should not be illegal to possess and consume in this country or any other. That fact that it is today in many places is quite simply counter-productive, absurd and unnatural. Humans are always going to medicate with one substance or another. It makes sense to allow them to do so legally with a natural plant that actually achieves positive results and lessens the negative impacts arising from  humanity's propensity toward expressing the nastier qualities of its nature.

Intra-Planetary Identity Crisis

632 A.D. marks the death of Muhammad and the historical reference point for the beginning of 1,385 years since of a succession of 'Holy Wars' between the faithful of Islam and Christianity. For nearly fourteen centuries intolerances have spawned antagonisms, oppressions and aggressions that have perpetuated the zero-sum inter-relationship between the followers of these religious traditions through innumerable Jihads and Crusades. Millions of Muslim, European, African and Asian peoples have gone to early graves, and millions of Judaism's faithful have been exterminated as well, all in the pious service of 'God'. 

The quest for 'supremacy' motivates the ardent adherents of ancient teachings century upon century to claim the moral high ground; employing it to legitimize the vilest of atrocities and most inhumane of deeds, indiscriminately carried out against believers and non-believers alike. Piety is propelled through the Ages on a thick current of humanity's blood and portaged over mountains of corpses. Through the annals of this ancient obduracy the ultimate aim of supremacy for any religion has remained elusive. Were it ever actually attained it is left only to wonder, what will actually have been gained? 

The reason for being of every religion in the annals of humanity, whether long since abandoned or still proscribed to in the Common Era, is rooted in the fallibility of the mortal mind. In infancy, childhood, adolescents, young adulthood, middle age and geriatrics in the lifespans of our kind the innate quest of identity compels immeasurable crises of conscience. Religions are elixirs invented to counter the internal storm by providing communal norms. They generate parameters to narrow the psyche's myriad of choices in the expression of self and temper its inclinations toward primal instincts in the interests of communal harmony. The Ten Commandments offer an example through "Thou Shalt Not..." admonishments that serve ambitions toward temperance of individual egos in the interests of the Common Good. Parables are employed as a means to educate ignorance with lessons from precedents that impart the wisdom gleaned through the school of hard knocks. Should the day arrive that one religion attains supremacy over all others, so what? It's very existence will ultimately achieve no grander purpose than any of its predecessors or rival constructs. Millions of souls have perished in loyalty to divergent paths that in actuality are all intended to lead to the same destination.

Religions need to be abandoned on mass and be replaced with one entity that serves the universal destiny quested by all of their divergent paths. In proselytizing this course it is not lost on me that the views herein expressed are antithetical to religiosity and would result in excommunication as a Heretic or execution as an Infidel in any earlier period of history, and could well achieve such a response in many parts of the world today. Fortunately for me, and for their articulation, I live in one of the few nations on the planet, if not the only nation, that separates church and state through secular governance and enshrines a citizen's right to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression in the highest law of the land. Without that liberty such candour would have significantly graver potential consequences. 

In reality no freedoms are absolute, even in the Great White North. It has been said that a pen is mightier than a sword, but I am also cognizant of the fact that holds true only until such time as a wielder of iron catches up with the author of the ink. There is always a measure of risk to longevity when choosing to challenge the deeply held religious beliefs of others. History is replete with accounts of bodies and books burned, but as these religious traditions and their histories attest to, there is some solace in knowing that ideas are not so easily quelled. I am not so naive as to think this discourse will stimulate an end to the absurdity I see as inherent in the religious distinctions and divisions existing intra and inter-societally on this third rock from the Sun within my lifetime. The best I can hope is for them to be a seed for more rational thought and a more peaceful world in years, centuries and millenniums to come.

What I advocate is humanity's collective membership in a 'Human Interest Club.' Eligibility is inclusive of all Homo-Sapiens born into life on planet Earth. Its Vision is a world in which there is acknowledged value in, and absolute commitment from all hearts and minds for everyone on the Planet to co-exist lovingly and respectfully in our shared humanity and experience of life together on Earth. Its Mission is to tenaciously purse the day when violence and aggression are extinguished as legitimate and accepted human inter-actions in the addressing of interests and grievances.

To achieve these ambitions I propose enshrining the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights as the paramount legislative instrument, applicable and enforceable in all regions of the Earth. It already serves as a foundation for defining the rights of individuals within our shared humanity on the globe. The Club's Creed would champion the following tenets: 

'Good Governance', achieved through Secular laws and institutions; 

'The Rule of Law', administered through a Restorative Justice legal philosophy, framework and system;

The responsibility to protect the Earth and its environment for future generations;

The elimination of all forms of discrimination, inequality, and injustice;

Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, tempered with respect for the rights and interests of the ''Greater Good";

Free health care, child care, optical, dental and burial/cremation services;

The right to work and to earn a fair living wage, with equal pay for equal work;

The eradication of homelessness, along with free support services for the physically and/or mentally disadvantaged or addicted;

The right to healthy food and clean drinking water, along with safe and secure shelter, inclusive of electrical, mechanical, recycling, sanitation, sewage and waste disposal services;

The right to freedom of mobility and public transportation services;

The right to free education, public Libraries and Internet services;

The right, when exercised while of sound mind, to all decisions over one's own body, or bodies living within one's body; and,

The right to choose to die with dignity.

It is not a comprehensive list of tenets and will undoubtedly require refinement, but it is a good starting point toward the ambition of universal respect within humanity and the ultimate aim of genuine and lasting peace on Earth. It would certainly get us all a long way down the path of harmony and bring an end to millenniums of killing fields perpetuated by our intra-planetary identity crisis.