Moral Inaction cont'd.

The heroic action was due upon the first hint of evidence of these kickbacks to the liberal party from the sponsorship monies, monies earmarked to promote Canada in Quebec. What wicked irony that the federation of Canada has been so shamefully branded by the slick misuse of these citizens’ monies.

While a housecleaning is surely due, the loss of the legislation and the passing of the federal budget actually trumps the need for another election just now, such is the critical state of affairs in this country.

Our image to the world would be taking more of a shellacking were it not for papal affairs and wars and famines elsewhere. Small mercy there. If, however, I were to be a member of the military elite of say, Norway, and I wanted to make a territorial claim on a certain piece of icy rock and marine passageway to Canada’s north, and I was contemplating the optimum moment to execute my move: now would be good.


THE POLICEMAN’S DILEMMA
A young man at the peak of his mental and physical health has every reason to contemplate with a sense of happy anticipation joining the police academy. He will be trained to handle firearms. Drive high-powered vehicles, detect criminals, protect good people (and lovely lasses), and among other encouraging scenarios be viewed by his old chums and neighbours as rather heroic. And the approval of Mom and Dad can be considered a given.

Graduating from the academy he is thoroughly pleased with himself, trying to constrain his beaming and has every reason to be stuffed with optimism. He knows and has been warned professionally and by his family of the dangers inherent in his career but he’s of that magical age when nothing will daunt him.

He desires to be included favourably among his new peers and to meet the demands of the job with enthusiasm and with what may appear to some there as a disproportionate willingness. In his eagerness, he may sometimes lose sight of the details but he doesn’t harbour doubt and never falters as to his commitment to duty. This eagerness may be considered charming among some of his new brethren, or it may be viewed by the grizzled and more hardened of his fellow police as naive youthful exuberance and foolhardy.

It’s among some of the veterans where the erosive cynicism lurks. Something has happened to these people which has affected their spirit, and which in truth makes them most enviable of the rookie. They’ve lost their heart for the job and they know it. The notion of being engaged in heroic activity has been spent by the day to day grind of having to contend with ordinary morons, creeps, wife abusers, liars and thieves and pathetic murderers. And then also to contend with a judicial system which hobbles their efforts to do any good in removing for any significant time the criminals.