At least that is what Mitch Sylvestre said in an interview with the CBC. Mitch is one of the vocal voices for the Separation of the province of Alberta from Canada. I laughed out loud when I read the article. Why? Because I remember the story from my childhood. Henny Penny, a young chick, was hit on the head by an acorn falling from a tree. Now people from the United States may know Henny Penny as Chicken Little, one of many aliases. Now our friend Henny, quite young, is obviously very frightened and lacking the knowledge that comes with experience and education, decides that the sky is falling. Her fear, and apparent inexperience in life, leads her to the only obvious action. She must run and tell the King. Along the way Henny meets a lot of characters who are convinced that disaster is pending and they all join the race to tell the King. There is Turkey Lurky, Loosey Goosey, Cocky Lockey. Ducky Lucky and some I don’t recall. However they are also joined by Foxey Loxey who has his own agenda. In older versions of the story things don’t end well for the group as they are all eaten by Foxey Loxey. I believe that story has changed over time so that the group manages to escape from Foxey Loxey. I hope in that ending the King tells them what idiots they are.
Here is the thing that made me laugh. The term “the sky is falling” is synonymous with not just the lack of critical thinking but a warning against not believing everything you hear. Like the silly story characters, people who are guilty of this type of thinking are easy prey for those with an agenda. They are easy marks for fear mongers who spread disinformation in order to increase support for their own causes. Seeing a separatist use this term leads me to believe he doesn’t know the moral of the story or he admits he is preying on the portion of the population that is easy to trick and manipulate. If the sky is truly falling here in Alberta I would guess it has more to do with climate change and our over reliance on fossil fuels rather than federal politicians in Ottawa.
That being said, I had a conversation the other day with a man who is very pro separation. 71 years old he had a list of grievances a mile long. Apparently both Trudeau Sr and Junior contributed to destroying his life. Seniors NEP (national energy program) had him losing over $350,000 in 1981 when all of the oil companies headed south and left Canadians destitute. His words not mine. FYI the oil crises in the 1970’s were contributing factors. Oil embargo’s in the early 1970’s. The Arab members of OPEC cut production. Why? Look it up. Israel and those supporting Israel. Sound familiar. Anyways, this lead to shortages which lead to price hikes and inflation. Then 1979, the Iranian revolution caused a drop in their production. More panic. More inflation. Yet no increase in economic output. I know the NEP was in part designed to protect domestic consumers from the global price changes but that was a moot point in the 1980’s when oil prices plummeted. As the guy droned on I kept wondering how someone who would have been 26 years old in 1981 had $350.000 to lose. I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to encourage him. But the diatribe continued. Trudeau jr, with his drive to fill Canada with immigrants made it impossible for this guy to get a job. I am good at mathing and it was clear this guy was 60 when Trudeau jr was elected as Prime Minister. My mind wandered as I wondered what he had been doing in the 34 years since Pierre had ruined his life. I was not in this conversation as he was the one doing all of the talking. So I was a bit startled when he asked what I did for a living. I told him I was retired and when he asked when I retired, my answer had him reply. “Oh, you’re rich”. Yep that’s me. After 7 years post secondary education, $40,000 in student loans and my first real job was $6 per hour. Equivalent to around $19 per hour today. Minimum wage then was $4.25. Yep I was killing it. Me and my rich friends sit around all day drinking champagne and eating caviar while laughing at the people whose lives were destroyed by two people.
Here’s the thing. This man may not have had an easy life. But from the outside mine looks pretty easy. Frankly I am in a fairly good place as I head towards the finish line of life. I am blessed in many ways. There were struggles but the mindset for us as a couple was saving. Because we went through some hard times financially we were determined to be careful and live within our means. Being a Mom at a young age makes you see the future differently. I was 19 when a friends Dad, a Pastor, held my baby in the hospital and told me she was a blessing in disguise. He was right. Life became about our kids. I had support from my parents although my in-laws were less so. But the one thing we never did was blame others when we made poor choices or bad decisions. Instead, we took responsibility and learned from mistakes. These days, my utility costs are through the roof as is car insurance and gas prices.. So I lower the thermostat, unplug appliances and bought a bus pass, using a motorbike in the summer. I spent a week replacing weather stripping in my windows. I have a large garden and I seldom go out to eat. I shop at thrift shops and I sew clothes from outfits I find with fabric I like. I am old now. My style has always been a little non conformist and as a senior it is more so. I love what I love and will certainly never be in style. These days though no one notices. I am just a weird old lady. Still being frugal.
I was in a position that made it hard to escape this man. Voting line. He definitely wanted to separate from Canada. Apparently all of his problems were going to disappear when Alberta became it’s own country. But he also was very keen to stop all of the immigrants. He was clear that he was a racist and a Christian but he only became a racist 3 years ago when a Muslim attacked him and said he was going to kill him. I reminded him that Muslims are those who follow the Islam religion and not a race. He said it is a cult and he knows because he looked it up. I know, as a Christian that Islam is one of three Abrahamic religions along with Christianity and Judaism. Again my first thought was what did this guy do to provoke the Muslim. And second, how did he know his attacker was a Muslim. I was tired of him and finally said that there were many people working and voting who were obvious immigrants, visible minorities, many of which were so happy to be living in this great country. Being born here he should really be grateful for not just that privilege but also the fact that he is a white, blond blue eyed man. There is nothing more privileged than that. Well that was the point. He said. and I quote “I am tired of them coming here and stealing my privilege.” I told him he needed to stop talking to me.
Now frankly I believe these are the people who separatist groups prey on. All with the fear that things are getting worse and the East and the federal government are the enemy. Things will be so good if we go it alone as Albertans. We send all of our money to other provinces and get nothing back. Independence is the word of the day and yet… I watched an interview with Jeff Rath and he was quite insistent that no country does it alone and is truly independent. His point was that of course an Independent Alberta would have a truly intertwined economy with the United States. From my own vantage point the only differences between the present and proposed future Alberta would be different leaders in Alberta bowing down to a different federal government. It is all about personal power and greed. In the end, there are more than a couple of separatist groups in Alberta. None of them seem to have a cohesive agenda or shared visions for the future. They can’t tell you how the future will turn out with an independent Alberta, but it is going to be great! I deal in specifics. Wishy washy generalizations piss me off. The only clear message I see is that too many people wishing to separate would be content with becoming American. I recently heard the term maple maga. I laughed and laughed. It is so apropos to the “leave” movement. But it really isn’t a laughing matter. There are serious consequences.
One is the mental health of young people. As an old lady I have lived through so much more that my kids and grandkids. I heard all of the stories about my parents during WWII. I lived much of my life in the cold war era. Growing up in Alberta, our biggest fear was that the USSR would nuke the U.S. but accidentally get us instead. We had little faith in their logistical powers when it came to nuclear weapons. We lived with it although there was an underlying anxiety. As we aged, our fears dissipated somewhat while we told ourselves that they would never purposely take out us folks here in Calgary. Office workers. No we felt safer thinking they would probably hit refineries that were farther north. Now sadly, the biggest threat we see is the States. Who saw that coming? Well, everyone really. Well everyone who employs their critical thinking skills. But for my kids generation, there are young people fearing that there are too many who want to leave Canada. Then what do they do? Where do they go. This is their home. They were born here. They love it here in Alberta. But they could never stay here if we were to leave confederation. Looking back on my own life so much of the fears and anxiety were due to the unknown. That is what is happening now. The young people who do not buy into the separatist rhetoric of doom and gloom fear their own future. Where would they go? Where would they live. What about jobs. Family. Friends. They won’t want to stay in a new country that doesn’t share their values. My 7 year old grandson told me that if Alberta separates, they are moving to the cabin. My cabin. In BC. It is sad that this is a real fear for so many young folks. I don’t think many people even considered this as a by product of a vote that was unnecessary and a waste of money. I doubt that the separatists care.
When we elect members to the legislature we place our trust in them. Not only to protect our interests but to do what we believe is fair and right. Our MLA’s have a fiduciary responsibility to us. the public. The current government has a mix of those who wish to stay and those who wish to go it alone, outside of the beautiful umbrella we call Canada, If the grass is truly greener outside of Canada why can’t people just show the proof. Why name call and spread discontent. Why use fear to control and manipulate the population. Why turn us against each other. The answer is simple. Greed and power. I don’t have to look back through history to see what happens when those who gain power do so for personal gain and ego stroking. Although the examples are limitless. Today I just look south of the border where a grifter and his sycophants are doing a bang up job. It is easy to see why their approach works. An entire country has been told for decades that they are the greatest country in the world. Why shouldn’t they get everything their hearts desire. They deserve it. Alberta has been told for decades that they single handedly pay for an entire country. Our taxes are the welfare for everyone else. We are better. We are entitled. We are being ripped off. Sound familiar? Again. Bullshit rhetoric. We are one country built on immigration. We have a dark disturbing past. We have destroyed generations of first nations people. That doesn’t make us better. It should make us grateful that they allow us to live here at all. And if we are blessed with wealth today we must feel honored to share that with all of Canada. I learned long ago from my Grandmother. Pride cometh before a fall. It is a long fall down off this mountaintop on which we Albertans have placed ourselves. We don’t know what the future will bring but it would be nice to have friends if the sky really does fall.
