History textbooks are filled with civil rights demonstrations. Women rallying for the vote. Blacks marching in the streets. Rosa Parks refusing to surrender her seat. We admire these acts of defiance, because we know they were right. But defiance in pursuit of human rights isn’t all ancient history - at least not yet. Today’s activists dress in drag and wave rainbow flags.
Few things have been left untouched by COVID-19. Mother's Day is about to be the next casualty. There will be no craft projects made alongside classmates at school. No secret shopping trips with Dad. No Mother's Day teas, craft sales, lunches or get-togethers at restaurants. But moms know the best gifts can't be bought at a store or made by a chef.
The province has laid out its roadmap to recovery. It's a map that rural residents might appreciate - if you make it over the big hill and slow down enough, you'll be there in no time. But if you start heading up another hill, you took a wrong turn, and you'll have to start over. How long until you're there? Oh, you'll know when you find it.
Earth Day 2020 is here today - the event's 50th anniversary. Historically, environmental protection is a fair-weather cause; it emerges as a political priority in times of financial security, only to be shuffled to the back burner with the next recession.
However, the current global crisis of COVID-19 may be what we need to finally break that cycle.
Nothing these days is business as usual. COVID-19's invasion into our everyday life is obvious - roped off parks, closed shops and schools. But what might not be so obvious is what's going on behind the scenes in our hospital system. Our entire healthcare team, from the NWHU through to doctors, nurses and support staff, have been quietly planning for this virus.
We're all in this together.
It's become a mantra of sorts, since COVID-19 made its way into our lives. On billboards, e-mail sign-offs, pep-talks over Facebook. It's an acknowledgement that we're all weary, stressed and tired. That none of us knows how this story will end. That we all feel helpless and vulnerable.
Businesses of the Rainy River District can pat themselves on the back for staying a step ahead of the provincial government in the fight against COVID-19.
Stress and uncertainty can bring out the best and the worst in our society. Anyone out trying to buy toilet paper or disinfectant wipes this past week knows that first hand.
We'll never know if our local hoarders feel waves of pride or pangs of guilt as they gaze at their TP towers, but it's nice to see that some business giants have taken the moral high road.
It's easy to live in the moment. To enjoy the highs of life, like the comfort of a delicious meal or the thrill of watching your team win.
But how often do we sit back and appreciate what went into the creation of our experience? For us, it's just a fleeting moment. But for those on the other side, it's the high water mark in a lifetime of unseen effort.
Tomorrow is the United Nations World Day of Social Justice. It's a day when we draw attention to the plight of those who face oppression, and struggle to secure human rights, due to their race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, ability or socioeconomic status.
