In the face of personal or communal calamity, the phrase “bent but not broken” resonates with profound truth. Our lives are peppered with adversities, from drawing our first breath until we take our last. While these challenges can humble and humiliate us, they rarely break us completely. The resilience of the human spirit ensures that we rise once more, determined and unbowed.
This past week, a series of catastrophic events tested the indomitable nature of the human spirit. A devastating inferno ravaged much of Jasper, wildfires scorched vast swathes of California, and torrential floods wreaked havoc across the globe. These disasters underscore the precarious relationship between man and nature, a partnership fraught with tension and unpredictability.
Climate change is often blamed for these extremes of drought and deluge. Indeed, extreme changes challenge our ability to adapt, anticipate, and protect ourselves. While our capacity for resilience is formidable, it is not limitless. Nature, with its unpredictable fury, can humble and, at times, break us.
The fires in Jasper, Slave Lake, and Fort McMurray are stark reminders of nature’s dominion and the costs it exacts. Despite our best efforts – firebreaks, controlled burns, insurance, and fire brigades – sometimes nature’s wrath is simply unstoppable.
We confront another form of adversity in our daily lives: the interminable wait. From call centres to healthcare services and public utilities, the scourge of waiting has become a ubiquitous frustration. The Canada Revenue Agency’s recorded message advising a wait time of two-and-a-half to three hours and Telus’s customer service line holding callers for up to six hours are emblematic of a system that appears indifferent to individual needs. This widespread issue transcends sectors, affecting healthcare, telecommunications, and beyond, with the familiar refrain of “current demand exceeding expectations.”
Many of us have become adept at navigating these obstacles: hanging up on unsolicited charity calls, silencing the barrage of advertisements on our phones, and recording TV programs to skip through excessive commercials. Even our grocery habits reflect this shift, as the price of a steak becomes prohibitive for the average middle-class family.
We are inundated with messages that claim our importance, yet the reality is that suppliers and service providers are manipulating supply and demand. Recent revelations of price-fixing in the bread industry, exorbitant gasoline prices, soaring realtor fees, and relentless credit card charges highlight the systemic issues plaguing consumers. The cumulative wait times and inefficiencies are not just inconveniences; they are eroding our productivity and quality of life.
Governments have been warned about the impending crises: forest fires, the collapse of healthcare under the weight of an aging population, and the unsustainable burden of taxation. Yet, the response has been tepid at best. We need not just acknowledgment but action – more competition, better regulation, and stringent penalties for those who exploit the system.
The human spirit, though bent by these challenges, remains unbroken. It is time for a change. We must demand more from our suppliers and service providers and insist on a system that values efficiency, fairness, and care.
Only then can we ensure that while we may bend to the adversities we face, we will not be broken.
Dr. Perry Kinkaide is an accomplished manager and visionary, a change agent with passion and perspective. Since retiring in 2001, Perry has remained active as an advisor and director for several diverse public and private organizations. He is the founder (2005) and Past President of the Alberta Council of Technologies Society. His pre-retirement positions include Canadian Knowledge Management Practice Leader and Managing Partner for KPMG Consulting in Edmonton (1987-2001) and Assistant Deputy Minister, Director of Privatization and Funding Reform, Edmonton Regional Director and Regional Coordinator of Services for the Handicapped with the Alberta Government (1972-1986). He received his BA from Colgate University in 1964, MSc in 1967 and PhD from the University of Alberta in 1972 in Brain Research.
©
