The East York-Riverdale Mirror

It made me think about how lucky you and I are and how, during these quiet days of summer, we should all stop and think about that fact.

Certainly with in our individual circumstances, as shown in the events taking place on Secord Avenue, difficulties and hard times are never far away, which is a fact of life.

The truth is much of the world today lives in a daily state of turmoil and war that we are spared from experiencing except through the news.

While we may think that we are deep in trouble with crime and other problems, the reality is that we are at peace.

Take a walk around the streets of East York during any time during the day and you will see that reality, with the worst experience being a blaring car horn or a random act of stupidity.

I believe that the discontent that so many people are expressing today is not about a lack of law and order in our society but a weakened sense of unity within the community and the country as a whole.

The sense of unity that we once had as a nation seems to be at its weakest today, with so many regional disputes and disagreements, but many can remember back to when it was stronger.

I can personally remember Canada's 100th birthday back in 1967 when the Centennial train was parked at the Leaside railway station and there was a real excitement in the community about visiting it.

There was a true sense of pride in the way this train had travelled from one end of this large united country to the other, sharing a common vision through its displays and speaking well of the experience of being a Canadian.

Those who heard it can never forget the stirring first four notes of "Oh Canada" that sounded when the locomotives horn was played each evening.

It is now several decades later and much history has taken place during that time - not all of it pleasant or heartening.

Despite the emotional distances that have sprung up between the different regions of the country, there is still a strong patriotism shown in East York.

It is heartening to see the many red Maple Leaf flags displayed on the streets.

However, these celebrations seem to be a bit more private now than they once were.

We really do need to work harder on ensuring that no one in this community, this province and particularly the country should ever feel less of a neighbour simply due to whom he or she is.

If there is one virtue that this country can teach the world, it is how the majority of people in this country live together in peace and neighbourlinesses as are practiced in East York.

Truthfully, the real wealth of any nation lays in its people and their diversity.