No doubt you’ve heard of the term “open your eyes,” referring to the need to ignore biases, stereotypes and impressions and see things from an entirely different and perhaps revolutionary perspective. Consider this a plea to open your ears.
The time has come for us to have a meaningful, sincere and open public discussion about a host of issues with severe and significant implications on our lives. Looming large are both real and intangible deadlines for us to address issues like healthcare, the Kyoto Accord, military funding and more. Stubbornly plugging our ears and refusing to have an actual discussion — as we’ve done for years — will put us in holes we may never get out of.
It’s time for Canadians to listen to arguments we may find ridiculous, extreme or “un-Canadian.”
Perhaps there is no better example of such a debate than the one involving healthcare. Our public system is tearing at the seams. Billions upon billions of public money are poured into it annually, just to keep it on life support. Your most recent hospital experience is likely the best evidence of this.
But despite the warnings being sounded across the country, are you really willing to listen to any argument with the words “healthcare” and “private” in the same sentence? You can almost hear minds snapping shut across the country as those traitorous words are spoken.
But aren’t we doing ourselves a disservice by not giving a minute’s consideration to all the options? Why are we so eager to limit debate on an issue of such vital importance, a matter — in the truest sense of the words — of life and death?
This is in no way an argument in favour of private or public healthcare; it’s simply about the need to have rational debate in the first place.The same goes for the environment: are you willing to entertain arguments that the Kyoto Accord is misdirected and not our best option for combating greenhouse gases?
What about the military? Do you really want your government to invest vast sums of money in a venture whose peacekeeping and combat abilities are bogged down by an endless list of weaknesses? Or, on the flipside, do you truly understand the implications of not having viable armed forces?
Federalism, bilingualism, even something as morally charged as abortion: in how many of these debates can you say, in all honesty and sincerity, that you have listened to, heard and considered all arguments, with all their implications?
We are too quick to deem something “un-Canadian” and beyond debate. We need to confront reality and consider all options.
Do you really want to look back 20, 30 or 50 years from now, and realize the one thing that kept us from solving social problems was — of all things — pride? If we don’t unplug our ears soon, our misguided patriotism and closed-mindedness will no doubt prove to be our own undoing.
— Joel Kom