Writer's block has been in full bloom since the passing of my beloved husband and soul mate, for more than a year now. However, I do believe that is finally about to be rectified as I find I can no longer keep my silence. Too much that is horribly wrong needs to be addressed and not just by me but by all of us.

Remaining silent makes us complicit in the wrong being done to our peoples. And Les would most assuredly be disappointed in his very opinionated wife if she continued to remain silent. One thing my husband possessed was an inordinately well tuned sense of decency and humanity along with a great deal of common sense. So here goes.

Be forewarned. I don't intend to engage in niceties or platitudes. I intend to speak bluntly and with, I hope clarity about the mess in which we are embroiled in today's world. Anyone who finds that prospect unpalatable should leave now. However if you do decide to read on, please know you are definitely more than welcome to voice any displeasure or disagreement with me by emailing me and giving me a piece of your mind. You will find a link to my email on the Site Directory Page. At least it will let me know you actually understand what I am saying and maybe even perhaps some of what I say might be at least considered or perhaps,vehemently disagreed with. That is known as communication. Something badly needed today for all our sakes because at the rate we are going we are on a path of destruction which defies description. And of our own creation. And one where the biggest losers will unfortunately be our children and grandchildren. We owe them so much more than this !

I cannot help thinking as I look at the image on this page about how much that is good and decent we lose as time passes and we mature. As children we accept others without judgement or prejudice, and see others as we should, without bigotry or prejudging, as new acquaintances we would perhaps like to know better. Only if they prove to be unworthy of that assessment do we perhaps avoid contact with them or move on.

And yet as time passes and we begin to mature that mindset changes, and not always for the better. Sadly, all too often we are influenced by adults who should know better than to believe that just because someone is either of a different race or religion, or simply not of the same social sphere in which we travel that they are unworthy of being considered our equal in all things. Never has that been more the case than in recent years. And it is to our detriment that this is the case.

I find myself deeply saddened by the after effects of 9-11 almost as much as I was on that horrific day when for the first time in my living memory the horror of that heinous attack was for the very first time brought to our continent. Other continents have lived with these monstrous acts for centuries but not since our earliest days had we been faced with such carnage.

How we have dealt with it should shame us all.

Our actions most assuredly have not honoured those who died on that fateful day. We have created infinitely more damage to our way of life in our reaction to that day than any terrorist attack ever could or will. Where in the early days it united us, in the days which have followed we have seen an unbelievable increase in hatred for our fellow citizens which has created division in our countries which is destroying the very fabric of our nations and everything we have professed to believe in and value. We have done the work of the terrorists infinitely better than they ever could.

If, as has been suggested Al Queda's aim was to destroy our economy and thus defeat our way of life they have scored an unbelievably successful victory. And we have eagerly aided and abetted in seeing that victory accomplished.

In Canada we have seen  an increase in suspicion and hatred for anyone of the Islamic faith , ignoring the fact that it is an infinitesimal number of the members of that faith who support the agenda of the radicals. And now that our Prime Minister has his longed for majority government he no longer is reticent about public statements condemning the Islamic faith in general and fanning the flames of prejudice in the Canadian people. In his early years on the national stage he was less overt about his xenophobia and even made a concerted effort to assure that many of the members that he brought into the Conservative fold with the amalgamation of the Alliance and Conservative parties were muzzled when it came to their bigotry and far right agenda.

Now he, and they, are no longer shackled by the fact his government is a Minority Government as they were in the past and he was very aware of the fact that at any time his government  could be brought down by a non confidence vote in the House of Commons. He now has over four years of a Majority Government in which to wreak his havoc on our country and it's long traditional values of equal rights for all of every race or creed. I shudder to think of what our country will become before Canadians wake up and  he is removed from power in a voting booth. And that presupposes that his kind haven't so contaminated the Canadian people's minds by then that they accept his way as right, changing Canada forever.

Two unnecessary wars, an enormous loss in precious blood and treasure, an economy in shambles  and a citizenry divided as never before, or at least not since the days of the Civil War in the United States. These are all results of that infamous day and our reactions to it. We couldn't have done more harm to our nations if we had actually joined the ranks of the terrorists to bring about our own destruction. We keep worrying about a new attack when the attack is ongoing and from within and we don't even seem to realize it !

Add to all of this the fact that the man now the Leader of the Free World and President of the United States is shown less respect than any president I can ever recall, and why ? Because he is of mixed race and because the subliminal racism is now running unapologetically rampant for the first time in many decades. 

And it isn't because he is not an intelligent man , for he is indeed perhaps the most intelligent president in a great many years, and not because he created the financial disaster he was handed upon assuming office ,a fact either forgotten or deliberately ignored by most, or because he isn't a decent and caring human being. But because the do nothing Congress are determined to work against him to bring about his defeat in the next election. 

They don't even mask their desire to see him be a one term president. The Leader of the Minority GOP in the Senate has gone on record repeatedly throughout the President's present term saying their most important job was to see him defeated and a one term president. Forget what the people and country need. Politics reigns supreme. A victory for any program or proposal he brings to them for approval and passage would be contrary to their game plan , even if it is something of critical importance to those who elected them to represent them.

Remember, the President of the United States proposes... the Congress pass the laws  and his duty then is to sign those bills into law. But the laws are made not in the White House but in the Congress. And so the economy flounders still and the middle class is disappearing  as the fat cats grow richer. And the hatred and venom against one another intensifies as the political rhetoric becomes more and more inflammatory with each passing day..

And don't hold only the Right Wing GOP responsible.. the Far Left are as guilty as any.They wanted their way 'yesterday' when this President was elected , assuming he would be their lackey when he never professed to be anything other than a Centrist. He has genuinely attempted to achieve bi-partisanship but in today's Washington that is an impossible task. And so he is vilified for trying and labelled weak. By both sides of the aisle !  Talk about myopia !! I seriously believe  the intelligence level was blasted to smithereens along with those towers !

And so here we are ... still doing the work of the terrorists ... xenophobia and politics at their worst 

When, or will we EVER wake up and realize political beliefs and affiliations should not be the deciding factor when it comes to the welfare of our countries or our peoples.

We are all either Canadians or Americans who profess to love our countries and cherish our values. For the sake of the next generations it's damn well time we acted like it !