The Rural Voice, 2001-09, Page 10SERVICE CENTRE INC.
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6 THE RURAL VOICE
Keith Roulston
Seeing life from a groundhog's view
Imagine the different view of life
you'd have if you were a hawk,
circling high in the air compared to a
groundhog who literally has tunnel
vision.
The groundhog's world extends
about as far as a quick dash to the
safety of its
underground
burrow in case of
danger. The hawk
sails high in the
sky. travelling
miles on air
currents.
Today we
humans should
have a vision
more like the
hawk's with our
ability through
modern
communications
to have a
perspective that allows us to see far
and wide. We've got old-fashioned
newspapers, radio, television (often
beamed to us from around the world
via satellite) and the instant world-
wide communications of the internet.
So why do people seem to be
thinking more like the groundhog
than the hawk?
Perhaps it's information overload
but people, instead of seeing the big
picture, seem to be focussing on the
short-term goal of what's on their.
mind at this particular moment. How
eisc do you account, for instance, for '
those people who risk their lives
passing me going up hill when I'm
already travelling faster than the
speed limit? They must only be
thinking of the importance of getting
to their destination quickly, and not
worrying about the possibility of
making a mistake that will keep them
from getting to their destination at all.
From expectations of stock
market investors to politicians, the
focus of our society is increasingly on
the here and now over the long term.
Some large companies may be
crippling their futures as they try to
keep shareholders happy by cutting
costs in order to deliver immediate
profits. What happens, if good,
innovative people are lost due to job
cuts? What if research and .
We should hcwe
perspective but
we often don't
development investment is
abandoned in the search for a better
bottom line this quarter or this year?
U.S. President George W. Bush
killed his country's support for the
Kyoto accord on global warming
because he foresaw short term pain
for the U.S. economy, particularly
for the oil and gas sector which is
dear to his heart. Yet if he's wrong
and global warming continues, many
in his country, including farmers,
could suffer irreparable harm. (With
western Ontario suffering drought in
four of the past Live years, the
predictions of climate pessimists are
gaining credibility.)
When you're focussed on the
short -run, the environment doesn't
stand a chance of getting much
attention. You can measure the cost
of protecting nature each and every
day but you can't measure the cost of
nor protecting it until the bill comes .
in years or decades later.
Similarly, obsession with saving
on today's tax bill can undercut the
infrastructure that will be necessary
for success in the future. Penny
pinching on highway maintenance
can hurt speeding goods to market.
Cuts to elementary, secondary and
post -secondary education can mean
we have a future workforce that isn't
competitive with other countries.
Similarly, lack of government
investment in agricultural research, or
abandoning the field to privately -
funded research, will mean many of
the advantages our farmers have
gained in the past 50 years will be
lost to future farmers.
Wisdom has always come from
perspective. We have the ability to
have that perspective if we make use
of it. Too often today we're like
someone lost in a forest and
concentrating on each tree and not
knowing that we're only a few
hundred yards from being in the clear
because we can't see the big picture.
Like a good harvester, wisdom
helps us sort out what's impblrtant in
life and what's fluff. Too often we
get wrapped up in the chaff and miss
the important stuff.0
Keith Roulston is editor and
publisher of The Rural Voice. He
lives near Blyth, ON.