A6 Friday, February 8, 2019
opinion Peace Arch News
www.peacearchnews.com
Peace Arch News
Published by Black Press Ltd. at 200-2411 160 Street, Surrey, B.C.
editorial
Be smarter with smartphones
W
e don’t write editorials urging people to stop smacking themselves in the forehead with a ball-peen hammer. Nor do we advise people to not stab themselves in the foot with a pitchfork as they putter around in their backyard. The wisdom of avoiding such self-destructive behaviour we hold to be self-evident truth, simply not requiring editorial comment. And yet, here is this reminder to all that when you step into traffic with your attention focused on your digital screen, you might as well be stepping off a cliff. Which, incidentally, has happened. On Christmas Day 2015, a man from Indiana walked off a cliff in San Diego, falling nearly 20 metres to his death because he was looking at his electronic device instead of paying attention to where he was going. Not the smartest thing one can do with a smartphone. To compound the tragedy, this victim was the father of a young boy. Surrey police said a 22-year-old woman was rushed to hospital Sunday night, suffering from head injuries, after she stepped out into traffic while using her cellphone and got hit by a taxi. Police say she was attempting to cross the busy road mid-block, which is never a good idea under any circumstances. While pedestrians should always cross at crosswalks, in cases like this, it wouldn’t really matter if you’re not paying attention to traffic. Do we really have to say it? Cars can hurt you, and trucks, even worse. Keep your eyes on oncoming traffic before you step off the curb, and while you are in the process of crossing. Surely, for your own safety, you can peel your eyes away from your precious cellphone for at least those seconds it takes to cross the street, no? After all, you’re worth it. We suspect Sunday’s unfortunate pedestrian would agree.
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Regional identity and family values collide
F
or decades, we Canadians have the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, struggled with our national identity the divide between Alberta and B.C. has and what we see as our place in obviously grown in recent years. But, you the world. Despite never having know what? This, too, shall pass. Brenda Anderson come up with a solid answer, Eventually, one imagines, we’re now being asked to drill Ottawa will do something to down a little further and define peeve us both off and we’ll once ourselves as Western Canadians. again have each other’s backs. A recent Angus Reid Institute Then, the two provinces will poll asked what it is that makes join voices in some version of Westerners unique and with ‘Let the Eastern bastards freeze in whom do we most closely the dark!’ identify. We “Western whiners” have to The more noteworthy results stick together, after all. to come from the survey indicate These lines of demarcation exist there is a growing rift between within B.C., too. Talk to people Canada’s two westernmost in the Lower Mainland and many provinces, and that B.C. sees will say they identify with our itself as more closely aligned with Pacific Northwest neighbours. Vancouver Washington and California than with and Seattle do have a lot in common – just Alberta. ask anyone who’s filmed a set-in-Seattle, Of course, it’s never as simple as made-for-TV movie in the past 10 years. collecting and comparing numbers. The Okanagan residents, on the other hand, who, what, where and when questions are might well feel more of a kinship with valid, of course. But more important, I California – identifying with its desert would suggest, is ‘why?’ climate and expansive vineyards. The issues that bind or divide us depend However, if you live up north in largely, I suspect, on what’s happening Dawson Creek, where the Alberta border at any given time. With the dispute over is a 15-minute drive away, you might be
off topic
Dwayne Weidendorf Publisher
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less inclined to look south for common interests. Canada is like a family with 13 siblings who fight and make up for reasons that don’t always make perfect sense. When mom and dad in Ottawa make us angry, we might threaten to go down the street and live with our cool neighbours, or strike out on our own entirely. Some might feel slighted or suspect one sibling is getting more than their fair share of attention. Let’s face it, we all know who mom’s and dad’s favourites are. I’ve lived in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan at different stages in my life and there was never a time I felt like an outsider. Because I grew up (mostly) in Dawson Creek, I suppose I was a bit of a Prairie girl at heart. Generally speaking, we share plenty with our siblings to the east, whether it’s pride in our universal health care or a general desire to live peacefully within a cultural mosaic. But our Western ties are special. We may never be able to pry our way into the tight relationship shared by the Prairie triplets, but B.C. will always be that slightly offbeat (but undeniably beautiful) sibling Albertans don’t quite understand, but still make time to visit every summer. And when they do, we’ll roll our eyes and make up the spare bed. Because when you’re family, that’s just what you do. Brenda Anderson is editor of the Peace Arch News. Peace Arch News is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact: brenda. anderson@peacearchnews.com or 604-5427402. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.