The Artisan Post

Is it just me or do you also notice that our government is never satisfied? It always seems to want more, more in the way of power. 

There’s an old saying along the lines of… those who gain power are ever so hesitant to relinquish it.

If you are a Star Wars fan like me, Chancellor Palpatine says, “All who gain power are afraid to lose it.” Interesting that the ‘Chancellor’ position was the public cover of his evil self, Darth Sidious.

Do you ever observe that often in movies those who gain power are always seek more? That comes from somewhere. Movies aren’t created in a void. From old movies like Aladin with the evil Jafar, to recent releases like WW84 (latest Wonder Woman) with Max Lord, there is this thirst for more power. The reasons for wanting to acquire more power will vary… sometimes even starting out noble but getting twisted along the way.

Power has the potential to corrupt. Often a taste of some leads to a desire for more. And unchecked power will exploit and pillage.

That’s why government as we know it in North America was designed to have various levels. To not let power fall into the hands of too few… few who could easily corrupt that power and distort or cause harm to the masses.

So let’s do some checks and balances with our current government.

Do we see in our current governance of society any signs of ‘a few’ ruling the masses?

Do we see any signs of a thirst for more power?

Do we see a government not satisfied with the status quo and threatening us to aim to gain more power and control over us?

Do we see shifting markers of adherence, markers that move around so much they become unclear and almost unattainable… holding us to ever increasing level of strictness?

Do we see a government that is never satisfied? A government that simply wants more power??

I’m seeing yes on all points.

Let’s just talk covid and vaccine administration.

There are many aspects of masking and restrictions that I don’t have room to engage with here, so I’m focusing on the dominant element of the day…vaccines.

At first there was a desired threshold of at least 70 to 75% of Ontarians (Canadians?) who would voluntarily take the vaccine. That threshold has been pushed to 80% or more. We see the word ‘voluntary’ fade from the conversation and the word ‘mandatory’ taking over the conversation. This is an unacceptable shifting of the goal posts.
The underlying message is that 80% is no longer acceptable and that others from the 20% need to get vaccinated. If you still decline, there’s even some ‘educational material’ that you’ll need to review. I’m guessing to coerce you to ‘voluntarily’ decide to take the injection.

I wonder if this was originally mandated by a few? And now it has spread to the masses.

Did we see signs of a thirst for more power? Absolutely.

Do we see a government satisfied with the status quo? I haven’t seen it yet.

Even all of us who went for the 80% threshold have been let down because once we got there it wasn’t good enough. And now even at 80% or more it will not be enough. You will be required to get a third shot and a fourth shot and so on. It will be endless. Step in line, “do your part”. Listen to us.

Someone else seems to know what’s better for our health than you or I do.

We end up united… as a people who have been ripped off… and that by a government that is never satisfied.

Consequently, do we not witness a government threatening to attain more power and more control even by use of threatening words?

Ontario’s chief medical officer Kieran Moore just said August 17, “We are aggressively preparing for the fall. I am sorry to say it’s going to be a difficult fall and winter.” More public health measures developed if necessary.

Threats and dissatisfaction.

So what can be done?

For starters, stop and think and assess things for yourself. We cannot believe everything the government tells us. How do we know that it has not been corrupted? And we can’t believe everything the media tells us. It has become the ‘messaging of the government’, propped up by the government. 

Think relating to my initial question. If we see a government that is never satisfied we know something is wrong and that there is a thirsting for more power. And their gaining of that power will be at our expense.

Reclaiming Lost Ground

So let’s push back where we are able. Be informed. Push back for the sake of your health, your kids health, and the overall health of overall society. Don’t allow any further freedoms to be taken away including the freedom of choice, the freedom of voice, and the freedom of privacy.

Remember power has the potential to corrupt.  More is always wanted. And unchecked power will exploit and pillage.

So what can we do?

How can we regain some ground on power lost?

Essentially, how can we stop the ‘more power’ power grab?

1) First, let’s stop fighting amongst ourselves. Vaccinated against unvaccinated, masks against no masks, coloured against white…whatever the division, the government loves it when we fight amongst ourselves. It takes the focus off their current inability and responsibility to us and ends up handing over more power to them as they take advantage pitting groups against each other and gaining further control over an increasingly unruly people. If violence, division and disunity escalate, don’t we all lose?

As soon as we think our way is better, higher, more popular, or the way things should be, we step into the very position that causes division.

“Do what I’m doing, or you’re in the wrong,” divides us.

We become agents of more power to the government.

Remember, a little grace and forgiveness goes a long way.

A better way is found when we…

2) Acknowledge differences from those with differing or opposing views and then seek to hear them out. Seek first to understand before being understood. It’s like swinging around to the same side of the table and realizing the problem is before us not between us.

My in-laws vaccinated right away and we have not. We talked about it and have heard their point of view and they ours. We don’t align with them on wanting to vaccinate, but we still hang out with each other and treat each other with respect and dignity, continuing to enjoy life together.

They don’t look at us as filthy unvaccinated animals and we don’t look at them as inoculated virus-propagating machines.

We are fellow human beings who will need each other moving forward.

We best maintain relationships with all those around us to remain as a united front to maintain the freedoms we have and regain some ground on the ones we lost. Doing this together is key at this time. It is challenging but not impossible. Reach out to someone who thinks differently than you, listen to their point of view, share your position if possible, and then…

3) Establish some common ground. Acknowledge the common (shared) problems of today. Even if it takes a balcony perspective. Find some common ground. There are some pretty high-level problems we can all agree on:

Viruses pose a problem. Vaccines pose a problem. Overreach of government is a problem. More power into the hands of the government is a problem. Tyranny is a problem. Division amongst the people is a problem. Division amongst family and friends is a problem.

Being together and acknowledging problems together brings us to a place of nodding in agreement. Nodding in agreement brings us to a place we can deepen our understanding of each other even if we disagree on the severity of or solutions to the problems. Together, discussing one problem at a time, we can talk about what are things we can do together to dispell the problems we face. Part of this includes…

4) Naming the fears we have. We all have fears. We fear different things. Life, death, jobs, sickness, security, health… we all struggle with fear in some way. Often talking about and sharing fears builds community and trust. Talking about what might be potential ways to overcome our fears helps us take steps to facing our fears, facing tomorrow, and standing together. As we build community we can…

5) Acknowledge the common ground we stand on in this country. We all live in Canada and we all arrived on these lands at different times and for different reasons. These lands are not our own. We did not arrive here by chance. We live here on intentional time and on borrowed space.  What do I mean by that? We all live here for but a moment in time. Our purpose is greater than self edification or self satisfaction. It is to look up and understand we are part of a larger story, to look around and see who needs our love, and look beyond if there are others we can serve.

If we only hold our own selfish stance or bend only to what the masses want as the measuring stick of what should be, we fall prey to losing power, the power of being together, the power of unity, the power of the beauty of our intersect in time… something we rarely witness our current government bolstering in this country.

6)  Hold the government accountable. Let’s hold the government to their word. If they say they are going to do something, then let’s hold them to it. We cannot have them turn us on each other. That is a divisional tactic which only places more power into the hands of those over us.

If we are moving forward and restrictions are to be lifted but the government changes its mind or changes its message, we cannot turn on each other as if some of us are responsible. For example, touting the unfounded fallacy that the unvaccinated are causing a slow to restrictions lifted. Let’s call it what it is… ‘All who gain power are afraid to lose it’. If the government keeps moving the marker so that it is ju-u-u-ust out of reach, they wield a growing power over us.

We lose. They gain.

If they set certain markers then let’s hold them to it. Seventy five percent voluntarily vaccinated means exactly that.

Holding the government accountable might also include asking them to be open to and share varying narratives. Regardless of what the dominant narrative is, are there opposing narratives that could be shared in an unbiased way?

7) Stand together, with the people around us, wherever we can. Do not let the government divide us.

So back to the question…

…is it just me or do you also notice that our government is never satisfied? It always seems to want more, more in the way of power.

Would you join in taking a stand to reclaim some lost ground? It can begin by not fighting with and blaming each other, finding some common ground, holding our government accountable, and remaining united as a people of this great country at this crucial time.

Let’s do that while there is still time, before too much power is lost from us the people.

And if you don’t notice a dissatisfied government (meaning you see a satisfied government), well, let me know, because I’m not seeing it.

Photo by Norbert Hentges on Unsplash