Lots of Stuff...

 Lots of stuff today.  A pastor lead away in leg-irons for refusing to stop preaching.  In Alberta.  

Pastor James Coats, Grace Life Church.  

They're panicking....  Dangerous times.

Also: Rush Limbaugh passed this morning...  His wife opened his show with the announcement.  Very sad.

Going Forward

 We are living in the beginning of Interesting Times.  Those times that historians and those who study history find interesting.  Generally war, earthquakes, unrest and disasters.  Why do I say the beginning?  Well, does anyone reading (does anyone read this?  LOL) remember Millard Fillmore?  Franklin Pierce?  James Buchanan?  Well: they were the three US presidents prior to Abraham Lincoln... (I am sure you have heard of him).

Where am I leading here?  Well.  There were many people prior to old Abe's term of office who tried to 'wave off' the upcoming unrest.  They could see it coming, surely not the exact events, but it was known that the trends were trending bad, and they tried to steer the ship through the shoals (without any long term luck).  And there were some who through greed, vindictiveness, hardheadedness or (mostly) plain old incompetence allowed the ship of state to sail on until it hit the rocks.  Disaster.

I read this article earlier 

https://accordingtohoyt.com/2021/02/04/the-path-forward/#comment-745710 

An interesting article (actually helpful if you read some of her past writings for it all to make sense).

But all that aside, truthfully, what can the individual do?   Things will play out as they will play out.  We are only individuals in this sea of life.  Last time I checked my email there was nothing in my 'inbox' from Justin Trudeau or Joe Biden, nor over the past couple years from Donald Trump or Steven Harper, asking my advice on how to steer the ship of state.

So, what should I do?  Give up?  Drink beer watch sports and ignore it all?  Well, I cannot agree with that.  Just like some of those fellows (and gals) in times past, who found themselves saddled with being "King/Queen whatever the forty-fiftieth" realizing that though they may not be the most suited to the job or even the most interested, stepped forward and did the job.  

We live in a country that has 'responsible' governance, "self-government".  What does that mean?  Well, we are not a democracy (nor are those to our direct south, but that for another conversation), though we democratically elect those whom we desire to 'represent' us.  We elect those representatives (members of parliament or the legislation, federal-provincial) who go and sit in a legislation building or a parliament.  To represent our interests.  It has been distorted a bit by adding political parties (because lets be honest, an individual alone would probably accomplish nothing).  Is it perfect?  Absolutely not.  But of all the alternatives, this is the best.

They represent us.  But we, as citizens are sovereign, they represent us.  Of course it used to be that our sovereignty was held in the Queen (or King), but the return of the constitution in the last century (for all the issues that brought up, most still out there) meant that sovereignty now resides in the citizen.

So you're a King (or a Queen) and need to 'step up'.  Wait a minute you say.  I cannot yell out "off with their heads" and see it done.  Well guess what, neither could most Kings and Queens throughout history.  Executive power is a tricky thing.  Very rarely does it reside solely in one person (though only one person loses their head if things go south) and even when it does the person exercising it can be limited in what they can actually do.  The formal chain of command and the actual chain of command are not the same thing.  Talk to anyone who has tried to herd cats.

So, Joe Biden may be a fool, Donald Trump may have been a bit of a trickster, Obama may have been the cool aloof sharp crease fellow...  None of them were / are dictators.  Not how it works.

All that aside (did you read the article?).  What should we do going forward?  As the article states, live our life, marry, have children, go to work, read, sit around the fire, raise your kids etc, etc.

And of course most of all: do right.  You may not be Joe Biden or Justin Trudeau, but you are who you are.  You will make decisions, you will interact with other folks.  Even no decision is a decision.  What should 'you' do....  Do Right!

As per the children song by Ron Hamilton:

"Do right till the stars fall, do right till the last call   Do right when there’s no one else to stand by you!   Do right when you’re all alone, do right though it’s never known.   Do right since you love the Lord — do right, do right!"