Editor:
I broke down yesterday and read Doug Wilson’s letter to the editor supporting the Republicans in America. As a rule, Doug and I do not see eye to eye, but he got me ruminating on his analogy of the dependence of bears on human food to the dependence of humans on food banks.
I thought about those bears. Most of the year they forage in the forest and create no problems until the fall, when the economy of the forest that year starts to have its effects. Was it a good year for berries? Were they lucky enough to find a carcass? Did the salmon come back? Did they have to raise one or three cubs? If one or all of these factors do not come into play in their favour they may fail to secure enough calories to make it through the winter. Is this their fault? Should we call them lazy? Or maybe they just had an unrealistic sense of entitlement to the resources of the forest.
If Doug were a bear he would probably be a big assertive male willing to fight for his resources. These successful bears are not known to share with other rival males or even single females with cubs. They are okay to go to bed well fed and healthy and do not concern themselves with the other bears having problems making a living.
I am glad the people of America do not want to create a bear society. I am also glad Doug is not a bear, because as any old bear will eventually realize, at some point he may not be able to compete with the others as strongly and it might be nice at this point to have the comfort of some compassion and assistance.
Sincerely,
Patricia Joyce
150 Mile House, B.C
