No silver platter

JOHN AMAGOALIK

We do expect the new government of Nunavut to be different from the one in Yellowknife. We expect it to be more sensitive to the needs of the people. We expect it to make better use of its money. We expect it to relate better to the ordinary citizen. We expect it to have a better sense of purpose.

But we should not expect it to be all things to all people. In the years leading up to 1999, responsible leaders have reminded everyone not to expect the new government to solve everything for them, to not expect it to change things overnight.

There are things in life that governments have no control over. It cannot make you get enough hours of sleep so that you won’t be late for school or work. It cannot prevent you from drinking too much and making you dysfunctional. It cannot control the way you spend your money or how you relate to your family, friends and society in general.

It can make rules and laws and penalize and punish those who cross the bounds of acceptable behavior. But it cannot dictate or control individual choices. How good a society is comes down to individual choices and individual responsibility. We can have a good government, but it will not improve things if we, as individuals, are irresponsible. It comes down to a very basic decision between good and bad. Between right and wrong.

Don’t expect the government, any government, to come and serve you things on a silver platter. What the government can do is to provide the environment and conditions where individuals can make the silver platter and the thingstoputon it.

Greed, greed and more greed

Alexi Yashin does not want to honour his contract (worth about $5 million Canadian) with the Ottawa Senators.

He wants them to pay him between 12 and 15 million dollars (Canadian) per year or he will not play this year. Someone should remind him of his humble beginnings and to remind him that greed is just as bad as stealing and cheating. It makes hockey fans like yours truly want to cry.