It's hard to have a conversation these days without some reference to the Freedom Convoy creeping in.
I had originally submitted a letter to this paper that angrily voiced my strong opposition to the several illegal, uncivil, dangerous and tasteless acts that have dominated the headlines lately.
To emphasize my outrage, and the notion that the travelling circus did not represent the majority of Canadians, I had frequently used the phrase "stop talking for us" which I had abbreviated to STFU. I can honestly claim that I did not want the alternate meaning of this abbreviation to be implied.
However, on cooler reflection, I decided this was not my best approach. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pretty furious about some of the goings on there: defecating on the war memorial; defacing the statue of a beloved national hero; holding a city and its inhabitants hostage; uttering seditious threats; menacing government officials; waving Nazi and Confederate flags; shouting racial slurs; accosting innocent people who are simply going about their day; illegally blocking borders and other crucial transport corridors; etcetera.
I wanted to accuse the supporters of the convoy or moral bankruptcy, indecency and poverty of self restraint. I wanted to lambaste the whole movement with verbal vitriol, low blows and spit! But I realized, after considerable reflection, that I shouldn't do that.
If I myself didn't show some restraint, civility and decency, how could I credibly even suggest that others should? An angry letter, telling everyone who might disagree with me to STFU wasn't really setting much of an example.
I was mostly motivated to re-think and re-write this piece when I thought about how it might influence others who might read it. I especially thought of my young guitar students who are trying to process everything that is going on in the world, often through the eyes of the adults in their lives. I don't want them, or anyone else to think that I, or others, have the right to be mean-spirited, abusive, thoughtless, selfish, vulgar or vindictive simply to make a point no matter how passionately that point is felt.
I want them instead to think that every choice, action and word is an example to someone else. By all means, use your voice to speak out against those things that you feel are unjust or unacceptable but keep in mind the method by which you make your voice heard also sends a message.
So, when we are talking to our children, our friends, our extended family etcetera about this Freedom Convoy, think about the messages we intend to send versus the ones we might actually be giving.
Do we want those we care about to believe that they have the power to protest and rally for change when things seem unjust, unrealistic or just plain confusing? Absolutely! Do we want to teach them that freedom has a high value in our society? Of course! But do we want to teach them to think that the privilege of our personal freedom simply overrides our collective responsibility toward our fellow human beings? I doubt it.
Actions and words that result in danger, insult or harm to others should always be portrayed as unacceptable, regardless of context or how much we identify or sympathize with the cause or its participants. As my parents, and many others before them, simply put it: "Two wrongs don't make a right."
Tom Lindl,
Innisfail
