A question for those ISIS or ISIL followers:
What are your values?
C'mon youse guys, I know you read this column every week.
What is happening in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Egypt, Yemen and several African nations simply makes me sooo happy to have been born into a country and society that kind of understands democracy and has figured out a way to make it work, generally speaking.
We had our prospects of having our nation torn apart in 1995. The United Kingdom went through it a couple of weeks ago, when Scotland threatened to leave.
On both occasions, the decisions were rendered democratically. Feelings were hurt or rehabilitated, but everyone got to live. Over 100 million people were involved. No lives lost.
Compare that with what goes on in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and then let us discuss the validity of embracing the democracy model.
Our separatists waged campaigns, presented arguments, flashes of anger and demonstrations, but nobody launched a missile or even fired a gun. Same thing in Scotland. The issues ended at the ballot box. Democracy ruled, not tribal preferences, monetary greed or religious zealots. We had no reprisals to face, no bribes to uncover.
Canada and the UK proved to the world that a country can face a major confrontation that can split it apart and yet settle the issue without spilling blood.
Some neighbours in the Middle East get away with undemocratic regimes, but only because they have benevolent leadership. Lose them, and they end up on the same track as Yemen, Syria, Iraq, et al.
Our democratic vote chasing is far from perfect, but free voting is still the best way. We may not agree with the results, but are comforted in the fact that if we don't get what we want, we'll get to vote again guaranteed, within two to five years. We'll get another opportunity to exercise our influence, nominate new candidates, select new representatives and leaders and effect change where we see it is needed where the majority of the people see it is needed.
We learned to accept outcomes without murder being involved. We don't behead those who disagree with us. The worst thing we can do is call them bad names and then we all go back to work, until the next campaign comes along that allows us to make change if it's necessary.
Some of us are too lazy or too disinterested to vote and that's sad.
Some of us don't get good representation, so, if the majority agrees with us, we are allowed to exchange that representative with another one who we hope will do better. We get to vote again and again and again without reprisals.
We look to our policing agencies and our military personnel and see protection. We run towards them, not from them like they have to do in so many other countries. That's because we have that blanket of democracy. We have rules established by our peers.
So ISIS and ISIL and Taliban and al-Qaida, I repeat what are your values? Do you have any values?
What kind of society do you wish to have?
Just wondering.
If you are a real forgiving soul and truly believe that the Leafs and Oilers should be allowed back into the NHL for another season, please contact normpark@estevanmercury.ca
