addendum

Addendum to my previous post:
.
When i speak of 'change' -- it's not that i want the political system here to change. i think we get many things right -- when we look at them from a broader perpective -- ie, considering that we really are a tiny red dot in a much, much, much bigger world; that many of our problems are shared by many other countries and are the result of larger global forces over which our government, honestly, has little control; that in fact many other countries have far worse problems than we do; and that, by right, we really shouldn't exist as an independent nation. (And to those who point out that we were a thriving port city before Independence -- well, yes, we were a highly successful outpost of the British Empire. And even if we look at the pre-British history, we were always tied to some other more powerful state -- as its satellite or outpost. We were never independent. i stand by my view that, all things considered, the fact that we have survived and thrived as an independent state since 1965 is a miracle.)
.
The change i'm speaking of, is the fact that people are now finding that, lo and behold, we have opinions! Because for once, we have options. And i daresay that many of us are finding out, to our discomfort, that our opinions differ from those of our close friends, families, colleagues. And that's just wonderful. Having to cope with difference is a wonderful thing. i hope we all grow from this, that it fosters a greater tolerance for difference, a greater openness. Hopefully. i just hope we don't get the opposite situation where people just close themselves up against those who think differently, and end up in a comfortable little huddle with those who think the same. i hope to God we do not become another USA.
.
.