I would like to take a moment of my and your time to question the state our society is in. I believe that community-minded thinking is going to be our salvation. If we see the value in each other, if we help each other, share with each other, and care about each other, we will create a home of our city for future generations to live in.
However, if we continue to tune slack-jawed into the television and if we sell ourselves for the cheapest and most plentiful material possessions being offered by big-box stores that gut thriving downtowns (Westbank, Kelowna), we squander the future of our children and grandchildren. Hand in hand with the capitalist greed we are facing goes the dismal state our local governance is in.
When did it become acceptable that we have to request and fill out an application to speak (if the application is approved) at a public meeting that our elected council holds twice a month? How is this democracy?
A public meeting is to be open to the community to speak for the community about all community issues and concerns — not issues and concerns that our council deems worthy of their attention. So, come on, turn off the television, you’re smarter than that. Stand up, speak out. If you don’t, what stops the steady decline in our freedoms of thought and expression? Who holds our community together? Are you for totalitarianism?
Monica Hoffman
Penticton