Please allow me to use this week’s report as a sounding board for a number of things I have on my mind. Agree if you choose, disagree if you must!
1. People need to learn to read things on the internet. News outlets will post articles to Facebook, and the comments section will typically be comprised of gut reactions to just the headline. Now granted, there are people who will *actually* read the articles but unfortunately, the “I NEED TO MAKE MY OPINION KNOWN!” sector tends to drown them out and things just become a shouting match between people who choose not to inform themselves. It’d be funny if it wasn’t sad.
2. We need to become emotionally tougher as a Western society. It seems like no matter what someone’s intentions may be, there is always someone or some group that is offended by seemingly everything, or the supposed “social justice warriors” will spin it into some grandiose display. Sorry, but I believe in absolutes. Not everything has some different or darker meaning. Some things that just are…ARE. And for the record, I’m a non-political, non-religious guy with a friendly attitude who treats everyone with as much respect as I’d want to receive myself, because that’s how I was raised by my strong parents. There, try to spin that!
3. I had to laugh at the power outage that hit Outlook and the surrounding area last Wednesday. When it came back on, people on Facebook were acting like as if we’d reverted back to the 1800’s. Come on, now. It was out for three hours, people. I get that we have a crushing dependency on electricity to pretty much run our daily lives for us, but when it’s prime summer weather and everything in your home is momentarily dead, it’s time to grab a book and read or go and get some sun.
4. I’ve been seriously thinking for the last few months about putting together some kind of group or committee dedicated to saving the SkyTrail walking bridge. I know, I know, the initial projections and reports said three years ago that it’s something like $5 million to fully restore it and make it sustainable for years, but it has never sat right with me that something so unique to Outlook that has stood out and attracted people from across the country and beyond has just been left locked up and abandoned for almost four years. I’m not saying I have any answers – there are probably more questions than answers at this stage – but is there really *nothing* that can be done? Or at least something done to get the proverbial ball rolling?
5. It baffles me sometimes when I read my fellow newspaper contemporaries around the province and see little coverage about local events or happenings that are coming up in their own readership area. I’ve always believed that a weekly community newspaper has something of a responsibility to be a “booster” for the area that it serves, especially in smaller rural areas such as this one. In the end, we’re all just trying to have an enjoyable quality of life, so giving a little press to something can help make a difference.
6. I think it’s awesome that Outlook is a central hub for activity surrounding the Enbridge pipeline project because it helps put a spotlight on the area and definitely kicks up the local economy. But that being said, I’m not liking some of the things I’m hearing around town. According to some, there are businesses that are allegedly jacking up their prices simply because pipeliners are in town. If that’s the case, then that’s unfortunate. These workers have to make a living and pay their own bills too, as well as feed their families, and if some people just see dollar signs when they come into the area, I imagine it would simply be a matter of time before they price themselves out of some business. If any business owner thinks they can gouge “outsiders” for all their worth, I think they should remind themselves that Saskatoon and all its amenities are in fact just 45 minutes away.
Thanks for indulging me while I wiped that slate of opinions clean. Sometimes they just build up and need an outlet to be released. Luckily, I have this little corner of the world to do just that.
For this week, that’s been the Ruttle Report.
