So you know the problems but are looking for solutions?

One of the criticisms I get most often are that I'm good at pointing out or even predicting the problems of the day but so-called solutions are few and far between. It's a fair criticism in the world of modern journalism. Most articles start off explaining a problem, provide a counter-point, then conclude with a solution of some sort.

It's standard within our society to look to others for solutions to our problems. As someone who commented on my blog yesterday said:

I believe that Canada has huge potential and we need good leadership to lead us towards success.

I completely agree that Canada has huge potential. I don't agree however that we need good leadership to realize it. In fact the way I see the situation is completely opposite in that I do not believe we will get good leadership until we are ready to realize our full potential. Afterall what exactly is 'Canada' if not the sum of the capabilities and morals of it's people? As the old saying goes, when the student is ready the teacher appears.

There's a few reasons why I chose not to provide these black & white quick-fix solutions you often find in other commentary. The first and most important is a personal reason for me: who am I to tell you what to do about a particular problem? I don't know your circumstance or your access to resources - in fact I don't know if my readers view the problems I describe as problems at all (obviously this commentor agreed with me, but I'm positive many don't).

The first & foremost thing I believe in is critical thinking. The ability for people to think for themselves. I believe strongly that a person who is motivated to implement change or address a situation doesn't need the go ahead or ideas from me. Every person in this world is able to take a problem, look at their local surroundings, and make personal change to address it or at the very least insulate themselves from it. You don't need a new election, a new leader, or a new government to do that. In other words, it is all about personal responsibility.

I do not describe these problems expecting a govermental white knight to show up and fix them. I write about these problems so that you (the reader) may become aware of some of the more complex issues we are facing that are not normally spelled out for you in your standard media in hopes that once aware you will be able to take action to protect yourself and your family and friends.

The final reason I don't provide the simple solutions is that we're simply not ready to discuss solutions yet. We're not even discussing the problems. If there is ever to be some sort of grand country-wide (or world-wide) solution that's credible, it can only come about if everyone is on the same page about the facts and the problems and only after we drop the hyper-partisan bickering we find within our political system.

It's all about personal responsibility, that's the solution.