Christmas is about to arrive, bringing with it the 12 nights of Christmas and the gifts our true loves will bring us this year. I have my list. I drew it up especially this year since the one about to expire was, on balance, disappointing. Certainly it has had its highlights. The Vancouver Winter Olympics was a super boost to our national spirit. The oil and gas patch is recovering. Our banks are solvent. Our housing market hasn’t collapsed. My children are coming home.
But let us get on with the 12 wishes.
First, I want a world where children have a positive future. Starving children who can’t read or write breed a world of angry despair. When we have to send our military to fight corrupt despotism, let us add education, shelter and food to the list of ammunition we use.
Second, United States’ President Barack Obama needs the will to reach his potential. To date he has failed to rally his country in tackling the fallout of the Cheney/Bush presidency.
Third, Prime Minister Stephen Harper requires a dash of intellectual honesty, a pinch of common sense, and, fittingly, a new coffee mug. Passing up the United Nations General Assembly for a cup of Tim Hortons in New York City was a diplomatic disaster. Blaming Michael Ignatieff for Canada not getting a seat on the Security Council was infantile.
Fourth, Stephen Lewis deserves a careful listening ear from Canadians in his role as our nation’s Old Testament prophet reminding us of our global responsibilities. Our foreign aid contribution has shrunk to 2.7 per cent from five per cent GDP. And we wonder what happened at the UN.
Fifth, Alberta Health Services needs the courage to reinstate competitive senior managers with the freedom to act on local initiatives. The system is a bureaucratic tangle of self-protective, close-minded and intellectually constipated middle management committees.
Sixth, our education system needs some flexibility in teaching. The over-emphasis on standardized tests stultifies initiatives for learning and does nothing to help children with learning disorders.
Seventh, our members of Parliament need a dose of common sense. We are not a nation of criminals where we need to spend as much on prisons as we do on education.
Eighth, convince us as a country that we need to get serious about understanding global warming. It is a puzzlement.
Ninth, give us the desire to learn about and understand our history. It is messy but not an educational option.
Tenth, bring back safety in children’s sports. The Russians allow body checking after age 18. They play a pretty decent game without concussing the brains of school-aged children.
Eleventh, keep the spirit of volunteerism alive in St. Albert. We are in danger of losing it.
And finally, bring back civility to city council chambers. The recent budget process was accusatory with bouts of suspicion-laden cross-examination that lacked courtesy. Perhaps it was triggered by the atmosphere of United States’ mid-term elections.
In the end, all any of us wants in this little city that dares to exist is to continue to help make St. Albert an even better place to live.
Let’s end the year by enjoying the birth of a baby in a spirit of hope and a commitment to an optimistic renewal of what makes it worthwhile to be alive.
Dr. Alan Murdock is a local pediatrician.
