Right in the centre - Excellence should be the goal
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- Published on Friday, February 4, 2022
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
I got into a fairly deep discussion with someone a generation younger than me. We were discussing how my parents, and in-laws, stayed with their farming roots decades ago in very difficult times.
The person said, 鈥淲hen your dad was in his 20s, there were 16-year-olds faking their way into the armed forces (WWII). Back then, 20-year-olds were typically married with kids on the way and expected to find a job and stick with it. Unlike you and Christine, most of your generation鈥檚 main focus appears to be personal tenure and benefits wherever possible.鈥� This younger person said, 鈥淚 may be over simplifying, but access to 鈥榮ecurity鈥� took a pretty big bite out of the creative energy that drove actual industry. The generation that didn鈥檛 want their offspring to work in factories pretty much made sure it鈥檚 rarely an option by shipping all the work offshore鈥�.why? It was easy to do because folks want cheaper stuff, no matter what it costs them and their country. That, plus the fact that corporations have a fiduciary duty to make shareholders as much money as possible, regardless of how it ripples through their industry sector.鈥�
Then came a very telling contrasting statement, 鈥淲hen the focus is on making the present a launching pad for future generations, industrious folks thrive, but when the focus is on comfort and the delusion of stability, people start to think short term and sell their future for current comfort. Interest rates are so low now that we can barely feel the bleeding.鈥�
Wow! That鈥檚 great insight.
All my life, I have heard people crabbing away at the next generation to not follow their footsteps, be it into factory work, farming or business. That has always annoyed me and puzzled me. Who do the naysayers expect will run the businesses, operate the farms or work the factories? As the next generation spokesman said above, it seems many of my generation don鈥檛 care, as long as they get cheap stuff and, for those who have had some cash to invest in corporation shares, let the dividends keep flowing in. That鈥檚 worked out well for us, hasn鈥檛 it?
We have far fewer factories and less domestic manufacturing than we should have. We import way more food than we should. We have elected governments that are inept at predicting the future or developing our economy. In spite of decades of informative history and experiences, the mistakes just keep repeating themselves. Governments have become very good at imposing phoney deadlines, phoney climate change goals and pandering to countries that can readily undercut our manufacturing capabilities and prices.
It鈥檚 all about attitude. How many farm kids can remember their teachers say, 鈥淒on鈥檛 be a farmer, get an education.鈥� Turns out that today鈥檚 farmers are far better educated than a lot of professions. The idea that one 鈥渟houldn鈥檛 be a farmer鈥� was based on some knowledge of hard times for sure, deprivation even. The excuse was that farming was hard labour, and it was, but the hard labour has been largely replaced today by huge automations. Long hours, yes, but hard labour is a thing of the past on farms.
Then there was the isolation of farm life. My wife鈥檚 grandmother would go weeks without 鈥済etting to town鈥� in the winter when roads were bad. That doesn鈥檛 happen much any more. Farm homes were often cold and wind swept. Well, that changed as most farm homes are very comfortable today. Then there was a lack of water and sewage. My parents, like many farm families, didn鈥檛 have the modern conveniences back in the day. No Hydro until 1954. No water and sewer until 1967. That鈥檚 all changed.
So why is there still a 鈥渄on鈥檛 farm鈥� message? Get an education, they said, and get a job. When was the last time you heard it said, 鈥済et an education and start a business?鈥� It鈥檚 all about bad attitudes and habits.
Fortunately, many people stay in, or go into, farming. Many people do work in factories and trades and many do buy or start businesses. But, as the younger generation person quoted above, there鈥檚 still a 鈥渇ocus on comfort and the delusion of stability.鈥�
Better we should embrace optimism, common sense and encourage people to develop 水果视频 and Canada into what it can be instead of just sinking into a mode that says, 鈥済ood enough is good enough.鈥� No, it鈥檚 not! Excellence is the goal, not mediocrity.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer鈥檚 personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.
