Passengers Along for the Ride

There’s an old joke attributed to Will Rogers

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Out of the blue, that joke entered my thoughts as I was preparing for bed one night this week. And then it hit me. We’re all the passengers in that car. Someone else is at the wheel, and there isn’t a damned thing we can do to change that.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsh light at all of the inadequacies of the systems and processes that we have in place. Whether it is pandemic preparedness, long-term care homes, or benefits and supports for workers, any and all faults are exposed and compromised by the pandemic.

Regardless of how well prepared we are, we need a strong hand to respond and guide us through this with intelligence, focus, determination and commitment to action and saving lives.

We do not have that. [Federalism is failing us all, Robert Hiltz, April 14, 2021]

In Ontario we have a thin-skinned, venal, blustering, bully who is a slave to his own pride and ideology. At the Federal level we have a light-weight dilettante whose version of strong action is staring soulfully into a camera and communicating his passion for doing something.

Of the two, the provincial level of government has been the most deadly and the most damaging. The Federal government’s inability to manage and secure our borders is also a clear and present danger.

But what both levels of government share is isolation and protection from prosecution. Iron-clad job security. They are in charge, their hands are on the wheel, and we are along for the ride, come hell or high water. Or a cliff edge.

There is a petition to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to have him remove Premier Ford from office. The Lieutenant Governor does not actually have the power to do so, but this is where we are at. We’re left with performatory actions to express our displeasure at how we are being governed.

The levers available to the people are essentially nil. We can engage in petition signing, letter writing and social media scorning. And that’s about it.

The only other option is revolution and forcible removal of the government through rebellion.

I have to admit, I now understand the rebellions and revolutions that have happened throughout history more so now then I have ever thought. What was purely an intellectual understanding now has the weight of personal angst and anguish to relate to that need.

So what do we do now fellow citizens? Do we scream as passengers in the car as the driver nods off at the wheel? Or do we descend into riot and mayhem as we try to oust those that are perpetuating this disaster?

If only there was a third option.