A bad case of Trumpitis

Recently, I have written about our southern neighbour “The Donald” and I felt justified in doing so. Never in the history of the United States has a president said and done so much about so little and shown so little empathy for fellow human beings and more interest in the dollar than anything else.

Democracy as we once knew it seems to have lost its grass roots meaning of “government by the people, for the people, and of the people.”

What about here at home? It would appear that democracy has taken a back seat from its original meaning as well. Of course, I am referring to issues such as the WE Charity. Our illustrious leaders have bounced around this issue like a ricocheting bullet bouncing off rocks. It seems that the premise of going ahead with things and then asking for forgiveness later is the order of the day. It seems like a case of Donald Trumpitis. It centers on if you can minimize the issues in your own mind, it’s alright.

Both Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau are implying the old adage, “I didn’t know the gun was loaded.” That argument is weaker than a wet and soggy piece of tissue paper. Of course, they must have known, especially Morneau as finance minister. In his position, one would think that accountability would be first and foremost.

Apologies by both men just don’t get the job done. They both should have known better but seemed not to. The lame duck apologies don’t make the situation right and questions the ethics of each man.

Saying I’m sorry might be likened to putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound and expecting it to heal perfectly.

The fact that both men had vested interests that were, in fact, conflict of interests, speaks for itself. Morneau’s family vacation expenditure of $40,000 and Trudeau’s family members’ “gratuity payment” appear to show clear indifference to anything that would reflect ethics with respect to their relative political positions.

As I said, democracy as we know it seems to have changed immeasurably. In my opinion, unless there is a realistic look at things, democracy could be on a downhill spiral. Perish the thought! It begs the question be asked “what were the sacrifices of thousands of people 75 or so years ago for?’

Ron Barillaro

Penticton