Yesterday, I took a tiny time travel trip. Picked up a $5 Neil Diamond CD and listened to it on the drive home. Wow, music is really amazing magic. This was not the first worm hole into the past I jumped into, and, most of those holes have been opened by music. I love music, I am not very picky, I enjoy bits and pieces of pretty much every genre, even some rap. I love classical, I enjoy Dolly De Luxe, which is a mixture of opera and rock, and I am partial to a sh*t load of punk and head banger music. Of course, without having to think, AC/DC will always be my favourite, but...again, I enjoy variety. So, when I spotted Neil Diamond, I grabbed it up, a little time travel, filled with memories of my "little" brother, and far more innocent times.
Hellooooo..it was one of those collections that had songs I loved, but a bunch of ones I would have fast forwarded, in the past, this time I listened to them, and it got my grey matter sparking.
In only a few days, my oldest grand child will turn 15, yep, that's right, I will be the Grandmother to a 15 year old teenage girl. Next year, this child will be old enough to drive!!! Holy crap, WTF happened to time? Did it go on some sort of warp speed, and I missed it because it happened so fast?
My aging seems to be connected to others. Hey, I know how many years I have been on this earth, but, I have grown older with a large group of friends, and although the number of years we have survived may look pretty shocking, I think it doesn't seem old because none of us act like old farts. I look to my friends to see what nearly 60 is all about, and hey, it is not yet the time to sit in our rockers and contemplate the end of our lives, so...most of the time, I am NOT old. Oh, I have the aches and pains of a body that has been somewhat abused, I have memories of a time before push button phones, and remote controls. I have memories of life before games that needed at least one other person, and required being outdoors. Memories of life when junk food was a special treat, not a constant, and eating a little dirt was required if one wanted to be one of the crowd. I have memories of games of Dodge ball when the whole idea was to throw an object and hit someone, and hey, that was NOT bullying, it was playing. I have memories of straps, and smacks, and calling all adults Mr. or Mrs. My head and heart are overflowing with memories, and the ones from childhood likely seem so naive, and innocent compared to those of children today. But they allow me to remember a time when life was not filled with pressure, and fear.
O.K. there was some fear. I grew up during the "cold war", you know that time when drop, duck and cover was taught. Yes, where I lived was pretty darn close to Russia, and when I heard a plane flying overhead, I wondered if this was the one that was going to drop the bomb and blast us off the face of the earth. But...that fear was usually forgotten quickly, it did not rule our world.
So, Mr. Diamond, what did he stir up? It was one of the songs I didn't like, that got me thinking, a song called "coming to America". He sang about how folks from other countries were coming to his country on planes and boats, and how the flag was waving, and everyone was so happy to be moving to this new world. Well, that was true in the past. Our continent has seen many waves of immigrants, packing up from (what we used to call) the "old country" and making the choice to become American or Canadian. These folks had a dream to make their lives and those of their children better, and that is usually what happened, after years of hard work, they assimilated into the "new" world, and our countries were richer because of this.
Now I look around, I no longer know my own country. My government has turned into rulers, my law enforcement is questionable, my justice system is backed up and flawed. My industry is owned by far off countries, my food is imported and filled with stuff that I can't even pronounce. My health care system has taken a step back into the dark ages, and become so expensive, only the wealthy are entitled to proper care. My restaurants, and stores are staffed by folks who are just "visiting" from countries that require a full days flying on a Jet. My banks now cost money to save or remove MY money from. I have to pay for bills! Going to school requires fees, garbage has become big business, environment has become an oxymoron, with fees charged for bottles and cans, but parks and preserves now open to pipelines.
I have had to realize I no longer have a say as a citizen of this country. I have to be nice and accept those who have decided to relocate in Canada, I have to bend to their wishes, and let them do what they want, because they want to be here, and assimilation is not in their plans. They get to use my government for assistance, they get to use the health care system, they get the education system, and scream for English as a second language classes. They get the jobs, and send the money back to their countries. Heck, some of them don't even have to travel here, and our jobs are sent to their countries!
See, things are changing, and not for the better. Only a few days ago, my honey stopped at a McDonalds, because it was the only place open late in the evening. The place was staffed with those TFW's we have everywhere. He happened to be there when an older (O.K. here it is, the dreaded word) white male was asking for a job. Guess what? Yep, he was told there was no work for him. So, the stories that these jobs are given to TFW's because no one here wants them, we know that is a crock of sh*t! Our own country is stabbing it's citizens in the back. They are making it impossible for us to make a living in our own country, a living that pays for the country to run.
So, for my 15 year old Granddaughter, I worry. I wonder if in only these few years, our world has turned it's back on those who live in North America, to hand everything we have over to other countries, along with military assistance saving countries that don't want saving, what does her future hold?
My time here is coming to a close, I am far more afraid than the fears the"cold War" caused. I fear for the future, I fear those now coming to our countries are not doing so because they want a better life, I think they just want new property, and pretty soon the First Nations will not be the only ones wondering how the H-ll they got screwed.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
―
Groucho Marx
No comments:
Post a Comment