People behaving badly.

Why is life so complicated and political? I ask this question from a place of privilege, and comfort. If I were poor, and homeless, I might be asking where my next meal is coming from, or where am I going to sleep tonight? I am not poor, so I ask the question I have the luxury to ask, considering my current circumstances. Even in this relatively civilized world of The West, in 2012, people are still power hungry. People still bash others for being different. People are still in it for themselves. 

The Partie Québecois won a minority government yesterday, and someone went on a shooting rampage in revenge of English speaking people, allegedly. There is talk of Separatism, again, in Canada. I love French. I love languages. I love experiencing different cultures. This is what makes the world fantastic. People have managed to evolve, and adapt to so many different environments on this planet, and we have all done it very differently. I understand how people want to perserve certain cultural heritages, and protect language rights. My family, and I struggle with this everyday. I do not understand why it requires violence, or even political pressures, and threats of leaving our country.

There is violence in the name of religion, race, culture, language, money, land, food... The list goes on. You can say it is in our nature to fight. Survival of the fittest, right? We are the most intelligent living organisms on the planet. Humans have a conscience. We should have a sense of morality and ethics. Yet, we continue to hurt each other on a large scale, and on a small scale. What for? Sometimes it is just for the smallest of things. Why can't we all just get along?

I suppose life would be boring, if there were no conflict. Adversity leads to innovations, and improvements. Dissention brings change. I wish the change could come about peacefully. We can all agree to disagree; don't take it so personally. It should not be the end of the world if someone does not like the same things as you.

I make it my responsibility to educate my children about their culture. I try to expose them to as much French as possible. There will come a point in their lives when they will probably decide it is easier to express themselves in English. With the base I have provided them, I hope they will feel comfortable communicating with other Francophones in French. It is up to individuals to maintain a culture, and it can be done peacefully, and quietly. We need to teach the value of our culture. You can be proud without having to impose your beliefs on everyone else. Be polite, be courteous. Yes, you can have a difference of opinion, but in the end, that is all it should be. A difference of opinion. It should not be an excuse to behave badly.

Posted with Blogsy