I am writing about Mr. Mike Zapchek’s letter in response to Jennifer Hamilton’s Dec. 02 opinion piece in the St. Albert Gazette titled “Helping fellow man is our Canadian duty.” His letter begins by self-deprecating comments about responses it might elicit, then oddly takes direct shots at Ms. Hamilton and the federal government. He also says that “Sometimes we need to have a grown-up conversation and not a progressive, left-leaning, feel-good irrational one that ends in phobia based name calling.” The sentence is oddly self-contradictory given the name-calling it invokes!
I agree with Ms. Hamilton and think it’s a great humanitarian thing to provide tens of thousands of people with hope and better lives for them and their children. I think it says well of us as a society and a country.
Mr. Zapchek’s approach to society and government appears to be one based on economics. It’s a common theme of both civic, provincial and federal Canadian governments over the past decades. It seems based on a belief that all governments should mainly base their activities and decision making on economic models and do things solely on a benefit-cost basis, and often further purports that unless things are at least revenue neutral they shouldn’t be done at all.
I think proponents of this style of government have got it wrong. Societies are made up of people. It’s people who are important, not money. Governments are creatures of societies. They are institutions that we choose to give the authority to make good decisions for all of us collectively and to provide codes of conduct for us to get along with one another. Over the past few hundred years they have also slowly transformed into institutions that provide care for society’s disadvantaged.
Mr. Zapchek’s suggestions regards the Syrian refugee crisis reminds me of the attitude to life initially displayed by Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol published 172 years ago on Dec. 17, 1843. It’s discouraging to see that Scrooge’s initial attitude is still evident among us. It’s hopeful, however, that the mainstream of our society seems to now have attitudes that more reflect Scrooge after his eventual reclamation. It is even more hopeful to see younger Canadians with such views as demonstrated by Ms. Hamilton’s article on Dec. 2 of this year. I hope she never loses her faith in Canadians.
David Merritt, St. Albert
