What we REALLY need.
*BANG*.
And as the victim lies on the cold, barren ground, warmed only by the trickling of blood from a bullet wound, he/she can only wonder, "Why didn't anybody prevent this from happening?"
Toronto has NOT lost its innocence. It is in fact the same city it's always been. Over time, however, volcanoes of frustration finally erupted in a flurry of murders and gun violence across the city. But what is the problem underneath it all? Do we need to get rid of all the guns in the city?
No.
The problem with this city, and with practically any other major city in the world, is politics. Politicians have a funny way of putting things. The government has an interesting way of dealing with things. It doesn't matter if you get rid of guns because those who want to obtain one can easily do so. Where there's a will, there's a way. And the problem is the will. Unless we actively work to change young people's lives by providing positive learning environments, adequate community centres, and other necessary programs and facilities, change will NOT happen. We will keep hearing about shootings. We will keep hearing about stabbings.
In my opinion, the government focuses too much on amending and not enough on preventing. We can recruit as many police officers as we want, but if the correct programs are in place, we won't NEED that many police officers. Those of you who live in Scarborough, allow me to pose a question: How often do you see police cars cruise down the streets?
I remember writing my grade ten EQAO literacy test. It seemed like a big thing at the time, and some teachers made it seem so. But the test is a big joke. While literacy is important, I don't believe that the government needs to spend millions to distribute a couple pieces of paper to each student, have them write a test, and receive the result of either a pass or a fail the following year. I am almost certain that you can ask each and every student who wrote that test about what they learned from it and the reply you'll receive is: "I don't know." We need to put our money where it matters.
So what am I trying to get at here? I'm trying to say, let's make 2006 a good year. Let's make sure we make the changes necessary to give impressionable youths the chance to be successful in the future. It doesn't matter how much firepower a gun has, it matters whether someone's behind it to pull the trigger.
Let's make Toronto a safer place to live.
And as the victim lies on the cold, barren ground, warmed only by the trickling of blood from a bullet wound, he/she can only wonder, "Why didn't anybody prevent this from happening?"
Toronto has NOT lost its innocence. It is in fact the same city it's always been. Over time, however, volcanoes of frustration finally erupted in a flurry of murders and gun violence across the city. But what is the problem underneath it all? Do we need to get rid of all the guns in the city?
No.
The problem with this city, and with practically any other major city in the world, is politics. Politicians have a funny way of putting things. The government has an interesting way of dealing with things. It doesn't matter if you get rid of guns because those who want to obtain one can easily do so. Where there's a will, there's a way. And the problem is the will. Unless we actively work to change young people's lives by providing positive learning environments, adequate community centres, and other necessary programs and facilities, change will NOT happen. We will keep hearing about shootings. We will keep hearing about stabbings.
In my opinion, the government focuses too much on amending and not enough on preventing. We can recruit as many police officers as we want, but if the correct programs are in place, we won't NEED that many police officers. Those of you who live in Scarborough, allow me to pose a question: How often do you see police cars cruise down the streets?
I remember writing my grade ten EQAO literacy test. It seemed like a big thing at the time, and some teachers made it seem so. But the test is a big joke. While literacy is important, I don't believe that the government needs to spend millions to distribute a couple pieces of paper to each student, have them write a test, and receive the result of either a pass or a fail the following year. I am almost certain that you can ask each and every student who wrote that test about what they learned from it and the reply you'll receive is: "I don't know." We need to put our money where it matters.
So what am I trying to get at here? I'm trying to say, let's make 2006 a good year. Let's make sure we make the changes necessary to give impressionable youths the chance to be successful in the future. It doesn't matter how much firepower a gun has, it matters whether someone's behind it to pull the trigger.
Let's make Toronto a safer place to live.
