Make Love, Not Fear.

Vietnam? That far-away place on a globe most of us had only seen in school.
And yet, that distant slaughter shook young people around the world, pushed them into the streets, onto the cold pavement for sit-ins and marches, demanding peace, demanding sense. That was back then in the Sixties and Seventies. 

Now, half a century later, the world is staring once again — frozen, anxious — at a political stage where fascism flirts with the spotlight. Not as a costume, but for real.
And with it creeps that same old fear — the one that settles in the neck first, then quietly slips into the heart.
Fear has this nasty habit of freezing the ones who feel it.

So yes, the world needs new stories again.
Hopeful ones. Playful ones. The kind that make us believe, just for a moment, that moving forward is still worth it.

I know — not exactly the kind of thing you want to read two days before Christmas.
But if we focus on the first two words — Make Love — maybe the fear fades for a few hours.

A headline from the North

As a freshly minted Canadian, I still get a little riled up reading the news.
And yet, somewhere in the flood of bad headlines, I always find small sparks — little signs that a better future could be possible.
Then I stumbled across this one:

“Canada Plans Civil Defence Force of 300,000 Volunteers.”

Excuse me, what?

Headlines are made to grab attention — sometimes to confuse the audience.
But here’s what’s behind it:

“Rising threats, fueled by accelerating technologies, present urgent, simultaneous and unparalleled challenges to Canada’s ability to defend itself. Global security has been dramatically affected by the rise of strategic competition among states combined with the growing frequency and intensity of natural disasters linked to climate change.”

Sounds grim — but it’s not a new idea.
The concept of a civilian volunteer defence force has been floating and discussed around for years.
Countries like Finland and Sweden already do this, combining civic duty with national resilience.

As a lifelong hippie by DNA, the part that caught my attention wasn’t the military one — it was the mention of climate change and natural disasters.
Volunteers, after all, are the heartbeat of community. They show that citizenship isn’t about waving flags, but about showing up when it matters.

So where does that leave me?
Well, as a defender of free will, I’ve always liked the word voluntary.
Even at seventy, I’m sure there’s still a job somewhere in that civilian corps for a storyteller with a pulse.
Because standing by and merely hoping is getting old — and dull.

I still marvel at how much this country, my second home, makes me care.
And that, dear friends, feels pretty awesome.

Final note:
I am a volunteer —
not a voluntear.