An obligation to the greater good is a throwback from a bygone era when people contributed to the community because it just had to be done. Myrna Leishman was one of that generation.
Leishman’s death on July 11 reminds us of the duty of citizenship and a generation of volunteers who are irreplaceable; not because they cannot be replaced but because the younger generation does not have the moxie.
Her contributions to this community can’t be understated, even though she was. She answered a call to duty that citizenship demands. Some call it responsible citizenship.
Puppies need someone to be responsible for them. Society needs something more. Toughness. Stuff that soldiers do.
People think irresponsibility is the property of youth. Then when babies, real property, taxes, luxuries, debt and puppies come, soldiering on to meet demands of duty to community is really hard. But as long as taxes are paid, it’s all good.
Nowhere on a test for citizenship is there an obligation to duty. Canadian citizenship is cheap, which gets you something that breaks. Unless you’re an immigrant and have to take a test, it’s free.
Community soldiers are too few and they are tiring. All the work they do make it possible for the rest of us to do nothing.
To service the public good is a chore, a thankless chore. It’s hard. We’re Canadians. We don’t do hard. That’s for winter. It has ice.
Myrna was hardcore. She did her chores at home, at work, as a politician and with the many organizations she championed.
Even in pain and a frail state, Myrna wanted to serve the organization she was devoted to once more.
In the week before her death, she told her daughter CaroleAnn there needed to be a meeting of Sunset Homes Society, which was her greatest passion after her children. At death's door she wasn’t done doing her duty.
There is not much doubt that if service to the greater good does not mobilize, the result is Donald Trump.
No current discussion of citizenship is complete, of course, without raising the spectre of the penultimate forum: social media. In this world we are a virtual reality of citizens. Here there is nothing, absolutely nothing to do but watch. We are artificial citizens and the only call necessary to get up for is when the doorbell rings and it’s the pizza guy.
Journalist Alex Madrigal believes the greatest achievement of modern civilization is the internet. Not just the internet but specifically YouTube, where we sit and watch videos of seagulls. That’s the example Madrigal uses.
All of us, all around the world, all sharing the wonder of watching videos of seagulls. His choice is ironically appropriate if you remember the seagull scene in Finding Nemo when the seagulls are all screaming, “Mine, mine mine, mine, mine.”
That pretty much sums up the state of duty to society today. Mine, not ours.
More importantly though, Madrigal has identified the great threat to citizenship: watching. That’s all we do and nobody ever accomplished anything by passively watching.
Now let’s go out and take a video of a seagull.
David Brindle is a reporter at Powell River Peak.
