Be vigilant
We are watching the attempted destruction of democracy in the U.S. before our very eyes.
Although we hear many good arguments about boycotting American products, perhaps the most important U.S. product to boycott is that of the MAGA movement, which is forming an oligarchy, a kleptocracy and an autocracy. If it can happen in the U.S., it can happen here too.
It is striking that the actions of the Trump administration reflect so clearly Yale history professor Timothy Snyder’s small but mighty book called On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Some of the lessons are: Do not obey in advance, defend institutions, beware a one-party state, take responsibility for the face of the world, remember professional ethics, be wary of paramilitaries, believe in truth, investigate, contribute to good causes, listen for dangerous words, stand out, and be as courageous as you can.
Whether we are Canadian or American or both, we need to be vigilant. We cannot sit back and let our nation slide into chaos. We must vote. We should urge our elected representatives to support democratic principles. We ourselves can support those institutions and organizations that are doing the good work of defending democracy, the rule of law and the people of our nation.
Susan Thorpe MacLeod,
Salt Spring
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Support civility and decency
Today, after reflection, I withdrew from a long-planned trip to Bellingham. It wasn’t an easy decision, as the trip was to be with friends, and a lot of energy and anticipation had gone into the planning. Also, it wasn’t easy because cancelling seemed such an insignificant, imperceptible response to events south of the border.
Thinking about how trivial my gesture seemed, I decided to write this short letter. Cancelling trips to the U.S., buying Canadian and waving flags are ways of expressing our frustration and alarm at what is happening, but let us do more than that. Instead of just cloaking ourselves in patriotism, let us firmly and assertively support the values we care about. Let us support civility and decency. Let us be proud of being “politically and socially aware.” Let us do our best to quietly, yet firmly, oppose and counter injustice in all its forms.
How to do that? Different people will have different approaches. Some might do so by volunteering for community organizations. Others by fundraising for such organizations, and for schools and youth groups. Still others by simply talking to their friends and neighbours and by clearly, calmly voicing their beliefs.
As for me, beyond writing this letter and doing some of the above, I plan to donate money to the CBC and to the Driftwood. Much of what is happening south of the border — and here too, to some degree — is caused or enabled by not having trusted sources of information. While I don’t always agree with what the Driftwood and the CBC say or do, I believe that they generally support civility and decency, and that they make an effort to base their reporting on verifiable facts. We should do all we can to support such news organizations. They help us make sense of the world, and in doing so, help us make informed, responsible decisions.
Andre Gerard,
Salt Spring
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Reduce costs
The Feb. 12 article about in-house costs of processing developments permits is interesting.The Islands Trust has realized that application fees are paying less than 10 per cent of their costs of processing, thus are considering increasing application fees to cover this shortfall.
The first thought should be how to reduce the in-house costs of processing development applications, not sustaining current procedures and charging applicants more.
When 32 per cent of all working hours are spent on applications, you have a problem in the process. Find the bottlenecks, resolve them and reduce your costs.
Harry Kirwin,
Salt Spring