Thestar.com - VideoZone - What G20 Leaders will not see

Thestar.com - VideoZone - What G20 Leaders will not see


For those who read my blog, I wish you would click on the above video put out by the Toronto Star. Many of you may not know that I did street work for a number of years in Toronto and none of what you see in this video is exaggerated.

It hurts my soul to see all the expense and grandeur put on for the G8, G20 leaders

In my opinion, as an ordinary citizen, it would be better to get our own house in order by building more affordable housing and giving a hand up for those who are "down". I am one hundred percent sure that these leaders do not have to worry about what they will eat nor where they will sleep or how other humans will treat them. In my street work, I have seen the effects of alcoholism, of drug addiction, of prostitution, and of the loss of self respect. I have also seen how our native brothers and sisters are treated and it is not something to be proud of.

No one person is immune from this happening to them, a job loss, a tragedy which affects the mind, alcoholism and drug intake and the list could go on and on. As I said, no one. One may have built up a savings account, have stocks and bonds, but life is uncertain. Stocks and bonds can go down in value, life savings can be wiped out, no one is guaranteed a good "standard of living". We, in Canada, are more fortunate than most of the world but, we, too, have our dark side which we need to constantly work at so that the life of all our citizens will be worth living.

In the splendor which is shown to these "world leaders", should we not reflect on the realities that many of our citizens experience and do all we can, in a democratic way, to uplift our fellow humans who are "down."

Change can start with one, why not you. I always remember the little song I learned in Sunday School when I was a little child. It went something like this:

"Brighten the corner where you are,
Brighten the corner where you are"

There is more but I don't remember it. It has stuck in my mind for going on 68 years and I am so greatful for the songwriter who composed it as it is so true. If each one of us did one little thing each day to brighten up somebody's little world, and collectively worked together to improve our own towns and cities, what a different place the world would be!

Thanks for reading and have a good day. Change can start with each one of us, if we so will it.