Altered States - The Summer of Our Discontent

Some things have gone missing this summer.  Our sense of purpose in Afghanistan has taken some severe hits as we heard repeatedly in July and August from various commanders that the conflict isn’t going well. Even with the additional U.S. troops it appears as though the tide has turned in favor of the Taliban.Numerous municipalities wonder whatever became of the stimulus money. So much hype had been raised about the renewal of city infrastructures through the infusion of federal cash that we almost believed it.  Instead, key projects remain dormant as the funds are delayed.It was good news to hear that the recession was likely over, but the recovery seems to have gone AWOL. Bankruptcies have doubled, small businesses are closing, EI claims continue to escalate as no job recovery has appeared on the horizon.  We find it odd to think of an end to a recession that is devoid of a recovery.  Perhaps it will arrive, but it didn’t show up this summer.Obama-mania suddenly lost its momentum as the president’s fight for healthcare undermined much of his support.  This had its effect on Canada, to be sure. Even with the troubles we were facing there was always the sense that something new was emerging in the world, being led by a remarkable individual in Washington D.C.  The loss of that dynamic has stilled our own spirits.Perhaps worst of all, Canadians have gone missing. For some reason a rash of incidents have occurred where citizens of this land have been stranded overseas, unable to return to our midst.  This is new.  There were always odd instances previously, but for some reason they have intensified, leaving Canadians to wonder whether they should travel.With the various political parties positioning themselves for what appears to be a likely fall election, there is a strange sense of the absence of vision.  Michael Ignatieff has been huddled with his experts in preparation for a broad and compelling view of this country, but we’ll have to wait until summer is over.  Perhaps this is only right, but we miss the broader view nevertheless.  Elizabeth May lost a place to run in Nova Scotia in the next election and the NDP almost lost part of their name.  And as the polls have shown, Stephen Harper has lost an intangible “something” that had once prompted Canadians to elect him as their PM, and as the highest official in the land must take ultimate responsibility for our ineffectiveness.  The result has been that all parties collectively have failed to provide the kind of narrative designed to put some life and energy into our national malaise.Numbers at our food bank in London, Ontario and across the country continue to climb. The jobless rate keeps escalating.  Our national deficit burgeons.  Climate change has affected numerous parts of this country this summer but no plan showed up that could at least deal with it seriously.  Farmers lost their crops, either through drought or water saturation.  Soldiers died in a conflict we are having trouble understanding.  Our image in the world has been soiled by the treatment of our citizens around the globe and our unwillingness to take a leadership role in assisting the most needy in the world.No wonder we sense a bit of foreboding.  Something is amiss. We say we don’t want an election but we do want a majority. That’s just another way of saying that we are skeptical and discontented at the same time – not a good national condition.  Summer won’t end this distemper, and it’s unlikely the resumption of Parliament will either. Our state has altered. That’s why an election may just be inevitable.  Something has to change.