“Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on a machine and fluids from a bottle,” a husband told his wife. “If that happens, just pull the plug.”
His wife promptly unplugged the TV and threw out all the beer.
This story illustrates how one person’s solution could be another person’s problem.
Recently, Hollywood’s Lady Gaga gave a problem-solving speech, urging everyone to abandon labels such as race and gender. She noted that during times of chaos we all start pointing fingers and blaming each other, which allows evil to filter into our society. She then admonished everyone to set all that aside and instead relentlessly pursue kindness.
[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see this week’s print edition of The Cross Roads.’]
Though her words inspired, there is a difference between pointing fingers and holding people accountable. We see pointing fingers when government blames others for their own actions. However, accountability is when leaders are forced to take responsibility for their own decisions.
It’s true division weakens society, making it easier for evil to permeate. The problem is, evil disguises itself as something beneficial for Canadians, and you end up having one group believing it’s beneficial and another believing it is evil, depending upon people’s values. Freedom of religion provides guidelines for some people, but for others values are subject to change.
And yes, the pursuit of kindness is noble, but what is kindness? A parent who teaches their child to respect authority, have a good work ethic and eat a balanced diet, is essentially being kind to their child. However, the child doesn’t always interpret those lessons as kindness. Kindness is much more than a hug and a handout.
Immigration lawyer Guidy Mamann has helped migrants in Canada for over 30 years, and describes Canadians as very kind. Yet he also noted the UN Global Compact on Migration that the Canadian government wants to sign, raises lots of questions.
For instance, will it replace our own immigration laws, and if other countries don’t meet their obligations to refugees, will that lead more refugees to come to Canada?
Along with questions, this lawyer has concerns. For example, the compact requires the media to refrain from voicing any criticism of this agreement.
“Telling countries to shape public opinion and no one can disagree is something I’ve never seen before,” Mamann concluded. He also noted that because the agreement blurs the distinction between refugees and migrants, real refugees who need help could be lost in the process.
Michelle Rempel, Conservative MP for Calgary Nose Hill, did some digging and discovered every illegal border crosser receives aid equivalent to the annual income of a minimum wage earner in Canada. That financial assistance pays for the process of handling their asylum claim, but doesn’t include health care costs, housing and welfare. With over 35,000 migrants in Canada so far, Canadians will be financing total care for these migrants for up to six years until their cases can be processed.
So what does the relentless pursuit of kindness look like?
An example of this pursuit in action could be when government representatives (like Michelle Rempel) inform Canadians about decisions being made without their consent, and hold our federal government accountable for their actions.
[/emember_protected] 
