I understand frustration, anger and the fact that personal liberties and freedoms come first in North American society. Hey, it's one of the reasons our grandfathers (and some grandmothers) went off to beat up on Hitler.
I've even said some intemperate things in my life - most of them with a purpose, but sometimes just out of pure selfishness, so there's a bit of pot and kettle here.
Regardless, I find myself wondering where the class went. Why is it suddenly okay to be an a-hole all the time?
Like the famed endless amount of monkeys on an endless amount of typewriters, there's just so much noise out there. This leads some people to believe that they have to shout all the harder - that, if EVERY SINGLE EAR doesn't hear them, and every single heart doesn't agree, that they must shout the rest of us down.
Likewise, the concept of defending your rights has devolved into a pushy free-for-all where some think that the harder they push, the more they get.
I don't have all the proper questions, let alone the answers. It's not just any one group, race or age - it seems that everyone's much less capable of self-control.
As I say, I lose it sometimes, too, and sometimes there's no excuse.
However, being Canadian used to mean thinking of others before yourself, and that's changed. Now, it's okay to mistake venom and hate for simple free speech, it's become okay to push ahead of others, and concern for others is quickly slipping by the wayside.
Maybe it's just Toronto. I hear that a lot of other areas of Canada are still nice to each other. Well, we're supposed to be better.
