Image Credit: Contributed / Jessi Minnabarriet
One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Is it just me or is it a more sombre holiday season this year?

Dec 19, 2024 | 6:00 AM

MAYBE IT’S THE FACT that I spent most of this year in hospital, or maybe it’s the seniors’ dilemma of trying to keep the wolf away from the door, but it seems that there’s a lot more on people’s minds this holiday season.

I’ve always been a ‘glass half full’ kind of guy, but so much is going on. From the atrocious cost of the necessities of life, to an affordable housing crisis, the healthcare crisis — which is getting worse — to a changing climate that threatens to change the course of history, to the rise in the use of drugs and trying to determine the best way to deal with the most vulnerable members of our society. The list of issues goes on ad infinitum.

And the way governments deal with things is to throw tons of money at the issue, then strut about with their hands in their suspenders telling us how great they are, the money largely wasted. And the budget deficits just keep going through the roof. There is no accountability. Add to that the general state of economies all over the world. Canada, France, Germany, the United States, and most of the third world countries.

Even if you’re a ‘glass half full’ person, more than ever, it’s on your shoulders to make sure the glass stays that way. One skip and we could descend into a rabbit hole the likes of which we have never seen before.

And we haven’t even touched on all the gun violence. How would you like to be a second-grade student who calls 911 to report a shooting at their school where schoolmates were being killed? Or some guy ticked off about insurance companies is alleged to have killed the head of a large insurance company in the U.S.?

Happy Holidays?

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.