What is happening to us?

What is happening to us?
Humans are unique. We can see things through dark or rosy glasses, but we must maintain a balance. If you go “all-out” either way you lose credibility. I  see the slogan “No justice, No peace” and it scares me. A historian knows the price of revolutions and wars. There is a peaceful solution available to those who listen, not just talk. It makes Heaven available on Earth.
I go outside and look around. There are flowers in the forest, purple, yellow, white, and pink. The birds are chirping and a squirrel is running up a tree. I see a doe with two spotted fawns and another laying down on my lawn observing my wife trimming bushes. On the edge of the hill, a fox is trotting busily, going somewhere. Above is the forest crowned by mountains. I can hear a train disappearing in the distance and when it has gone, the rushing water of the river.
What I see and hear is most beautiful, but it is only a tiny part of reality. I am living in a country that most people envy. The world itself is improving as I look. People live longer than ever; poverty is being reduced and hunger is no longer rampant as it used to be. There are no major wars and technology connected us all together. I am alive to see this paradise thanks to medical advancements. Am I grateful? I say yes with all my might. The overall picture is better than I could ever even imagine in my youth.
I remember listening to a preacher some years ago. He was describing Heaven, but he didn’t have it right. His paradise couldn’t be reached in this life, but here it is. The only difference is that his was perfect with no possible improvements and ours here always leaves us with something to strive for. I think it’s good.
I blink and look again. My perfect world is threatened by a deadly virus. People are suffering and many are dying. Fear is paralyzing the economy while politicians strongly influence events to solidify or gain power. I see people around me destroying nature for profit or simply to change God’s creation to satisfy some personal needs or wants. Some people can’t leave anything alone.
Generations before me fought against slavery and genocide, while my generation battled to eradicate inequality. I observe a perfect world, but it looks as if we must fight a lot more or return to slavery and servitude. In the preacher’s Heaven, it is not so. Heaven is perfect and poses no challenge. Is that what I want?
I seek a place where people like me, born without privileges and perhaps marked by racial disadvantage could be happy and not feel inferior. Why is it not happening I ask? The word on the airwaves is “systemic discrimination.” It is most obvious when based on skin color but spreads to most people. What is it? In my mind, it is a system that favors some people ahead of others without being obvious, so people accept it. I am looking for an easy example.
I could use the example of the US breaking a peace treaty with Iran and forcing Canada to treat the Chinese as criminals for doing business there, but it’s too complicated. Let me use an example from here.
When I first saw Blairmore in 1995, it was a thriving little town. Mountain sheep and deer were wandering around, tourists were walking the streets and most downtown stores had little businesses. There was also a little indoor mall and two local newspapers. What we didn’t have were corporate franchises. Look at the town now.
We have two quaint little coffee shops owned by locals employing locals. They suffered greatly from the Corona related shut down and may survive if we support them. In comes an opportunity to help them. The Alberta government purchased too many disposable masks, out of our money, and decided to distribute some free back to us. A noble gesture, if you ask me. However, the government could have helped our private little coffee shops by letting them distribute the “free” masks and give them some free advertisement, but instead, they chose to support the Tim Horton’s chain. They forced us to wait in drive-through line ups. Most people who waited bought their daily coffee in the outlet they waited in line for.
This is just one minor example of how the powerful who are rich already receive benefits from our taxes while the hard-working family-owned businesses make do with the crumbs. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of our elected members who made the choice own  places that distributed “free masks.”
I have conflicting emotions about the News these days. The pandemic is a horrible thing that has killed some of my friends and is a great threat to me and those I love dearly. At the same time, it did some good. It showed us truths that were hidden. We can feed ourselves and keep the country going while producing much less pollution. We discovered that the primary engine of our economy are the low wage essential workers, not the great money traders and investors.
It has exposed the abuse of our seniors in care homes for what it is. Austerity measures against the most helpless often by those proclaiming to be the best Christians. Society realized the actual value of educators and childcare workers. We found out that our food is produced by foreign workers who can’t be replaced by our citizens who will not endure the low pay and poor living conditions.
Systemic discrimination is affecting most of us and must be dealt with, not by more policing but by balancing social powers. I only hope that it can be done peacefully. I wish for heaven on Earth made by our choices, not by a miracle or by force.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.