Faithfully yours - Building a responsible society

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Published on Saturday, September 12, 2015

By Neil Strohschein

The Neepawa Banner

In 1934, the animators at Walt Disney released a Silly Symphony cartoon that chronicled the experience of Hop the Grasshopper and his friend The Ant.

The two could not have been more different. Ant spent the days from late Spring to early Fall collecting and storing food. He knew that Winter was coming and he wanted to be ready for it.

Hop couldn’t be bothered to store up food. His beliefs were summarized in the cartoon’s signature tune: “The World Owes Us a Living.” He spent his days playing and singing and of course, when Winter came, he came home to a cold house with an empty pantry.

Hop would have died had it not been for the kindness of Ant who, as it turns out, had stored up far more food than he needed and so had some to share with his destitute neighbor. Hop sees the error of his ways and changes his tune to: “I Owe the World a Living.”

What was going on in 1934? North America was in the midst of the Great Depression. Money was scarce. Supplies (like food) were scarce. Jobs were not as plentiful as they had been in the 1920s; and there were many who felt just like Hop—the world owed them a living and it was time for the world to pay up.

Five years later, that attitude had changed radically. The world was at war. The draft had taken thousands of able bodied men out of the labor force. Their places were taken by their wives, girlfriends or siblings who could not go to war. While their menfolk were overseas fighting in Europe, Africa or Japan, those at home were working in mines, factories or on farms to produce the food, munitions and supplies to enable the soldiers, sailors and fliers to win the war.

When those who survived the war returned home, they settled in communities like ours. They did not feel that the world owed them a living. They had put their lives on the line to create a world in which people could live in peace. Now it was time to build a strong nation that would be able to help its neighbors preserve the peace that had been won on the world’s battlefields.

Their first commitment was to their families and community. They worked together—husbands and wives—parents and children—to build mixed farms, schools, churches and community facilities. They did not ask for help. They took pride in being able to support themselves, to live independently and to make their contribution to building strong communities. They believed that by doing this, they were helping to build a Canada that remained strong and free.

These people understood what it meant to live in a responsible society. They did not expect, nor did they demand that others would do for them what they could do for themselves. So they worked long hours with few days off and even less time for vacations to ensure that those for whom they were responsible—their partners and children—had food on the table, clothing on their backs and a roof over their heads. They did their jobs well; as you and I both know.

Sadly, some of their descendants do not share those attitudes. They believe that “The World Owes Them a Living;” and they want the world to pay up.

This attitude, if allowed to persist, could bankrupt this country in two generations. We need a revival of responsibility in Canada. Next week I will share three ways to make this happen.