Rose's Cantina

View image | gettyimages.com One of the things I love about Canada is the spirit that embodies the people of this nation. Maybe it has something to do with the cold; we are always ready to welcome neighbors and people we barely know into our homes, and into our hearts. We are good decent people, well raised, with stellar values. Sure we have opinions on everything, and on the surface, Canadians can appear a bit cranky. I grew up in an extended family with grandparents who “chewed” about the weather, the God damned government, and how strawberries never tasted as good in winter. But they were the first ones to make a casserole, lend a mower, or offer a ride to the grocery store. Our society has changed a lot since I was a scruffy little school girl, and I’ve noticed a mean kind of spirit that has invaded a lot of people, who have become jaded, jealous, and intolerant of others. Sometimes I think it’s because we’ve been given so much in our society, and we’ve stopped ...

View image | gettyimages.com Who among us remained unmoved watching the images of the French under attack? How could a person not feel anger, and utter cries of revenge? From the terrorists' points of view, this means "mission accomplished". They can explode bombs and fire into crowds within days. Or they can do nothing. Regardless, they have caught our attention. Terrorists train us to be afraid, to look around, to be suspicious of our neighbors. Even if it never happens again, the damage has been done. They have successfully sown their seeds, and thanks to the power of social media, everyone in the world knows their power. There are those among us who are calling for unflinching retaliation against those who commit evil deeds. They want us to close our borders, card everyone, and destroy and obliterate whole communities. Pit one human being against another. Put our needs before those who live in rags and swim in sewers. But there are more of us...