In the course of two weeks spent in Ontario I saw a good chunk of the people I wanted to see, haunted a great many old haunts, and even experienced a bit of urban-envy while walking the streets of the centre of the universe (you know, Toronto). Really though, I didn’t start to relax until well after my flight landed back at YVR, the 357 express bus to Horseshoe Bay fought its way through long-weekend traffic, and I stepped onto the Queen of Capilano and gulped in the salty Pacific air.
Upon my arrival home I was greeted by deer in the backyard but none in the garden. I felt sure I’d returned to paradise.
A visit to the mail box re-enforced the fact that this is not any old paradise - this is a politically charged one.
In two weeks, five pieces of political opinion and information (some of it could be called propaganda) made their way into my mailbox. If you can look past some of the strong perspectives (which either you agree with or find utterly offensive) there is some worthwhile information within all of that. For example, appreciated the Bowenian’s map, on page four, showing the locations of all six parcels of community owned lands.
Getting caught up on what actually happened on Bowen (in incomplete snippets, of course) was just a matter of bumping into people. I learned that the OCP meeting was actually pretty civil, but the community lands meeting not so much. I learned that the Transportation Advisory Committee gained a member and lost the same member within a few short days, and that BC Ferries left people stuck in Horseshoe Bay following extensive delays.
In the course of all of this, someone told me, “You know, I never cared much about politics before, but living on Bowen, I can’t afford not to.”
This is true, I think. Living in paradise means we have something to lose. The fact that we have such a high level of public engagement can only be considered a good thing. I think that if we could manage a little extra deep breathing in the midst of challenging conversations, if all sides of the debate could speak, if not less passionately, but perhaps from a place that is a little less personal, we might be able to better find a way to get things done - even when getting things done means letting some things stay the same. That said, Bowen Island is not alone in its struggle for constructive conversation, and in any case, it might be a little much to expect the politics of paradise to be easy.
