Consent of the Governed

I stand at my window.

Bright snow on the distant mountaintops.

Clouds drift up the valley from the south.

Not long ago, that same sky was filled with the purple orange smoke of a wildfire just kilometers away. The fire went from out of control, to being held, to extinguished, due to the hard work of over a thousand firefighters, supported by heavy machine operators and water bombers.

As the sun creeps along the horizon, the frost on the metal rooftops dissipates. All around me, houses of stucco and concrete. Yards immaculately firesmarted. The community takes the wildfire threat seriously.

I gaze out over lovely yards, through which bears and deer roam freely. The fall was busy as they forage for fruit. Sometimes they walk right through our yard.  The regional district and the local community organization keep us updated with bear sightings. Just today, I read that a large grizzly boar is roaming the river bottom to the north. We and our neighbours try to live in harmony with these creatures. If someone pulls out a gun, it's to scare them away- not kill them.

The  newsletter from the regional district informs me that there are 4 new covid-19 cases in the valley, bringing the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 43.  Recently returned from an overseas trip, we are on day 7 of quarantine. We hope we do not add to the statistics and we report daily on the ArriveCan app that we still have no symptoms.

Almost within earshot is the lovely Coldspring Creek which burbles happily down to the river. In spring however, the creek turns to a torrent, washing debris downstream and risking property damage. The regional district recently commissioned a study which recommends a mitigation project that will soon be underway.

Much further to the south, summer wildfires devastated parts of the country. 46 people died. The president blamed government agencies for mismanagement of forests. 

Yesterday, there were over 1200 covid deaths in the U.S., bringing their death total to over 238,000 human lives since March. There were 53 in my own country- a total of just over 10,000. The U.S. has had 723 covid deaths per per million, while Canada has 273. Instead of listening to science, hundreds of thousands of citizens in the U.S. pretend that wearing a mask and avoiding large gatherings is a some kind of affront to their liberties. When it comes to "Give me liberty or give me death," it appears they have chosen death. A decision that mystifies me and most of my fellow Canadians, who have consented to respect the advice of government and the science on which they rely.

The US election is still not settled, with the sitting president tweeting that elections workers should stop counting votes. Armed, unmasked supporters surround voting stations and threaten elections workers. The National Guard is standing by. The rest of the world holds its breath.

And I wonder how it is that in my nation, the vast majority of citizens believe that the government is not the enemy. We may not always like the political party that was elected, but we recognize the right of the majority to form government. The vast majority believe in working together to keep each other safe and prosperous. That is how democracy is supposed to work.