It’s snowing again so I’ve hauled out my hat, gloves and some earmuffs in preparation for today’s rally. On Sunday, the hubby and I heard people discussing on a local radio station the low turnout of the “Bring our Troops Home” rally in Edmonton. Some of the callers suggested that the reason why they had such a low turnout was because of the weather. This started a lively discussion between the hubby and I about what happens when conviction meets convenience.

The hubby is of the belief that if someone really supports a cause – be it a charitable organization, political event, or the withdrawl of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, then they will do everything in their power to participate. Sometimes that means calling your local politician, writing letters, volunteering your time or skills, offering financial assistance, or just showing up to put “boots on the ground”.

In the case of the rally held at the U of A, this means that cold weather and snow wouldn’t have been sufficient to keep the true believers of the cause away. We both thought that the fact that the rally was held on a weekend (Saturday), rather than a weekday, should have increased the number of participants.

Since the turnout was so low at last weeks rally, we came to a few possible conclusions:

1. Not as many people are against the mission in Afghanistan as the NDP would like to lead us to believe.
2. When it comes to choosing between conviction (attending the rally to show support of an espoused cause) or convenience (staying home because it snowed, going shopping, etc.), most people will choose what’s more convenient. It’s easier to say you support something than it is to demonstrate your convictions.
3. We’ve become an insular society and care more about ourselves than the world around us.
4. A large number of people don’t have an opinion on the Canadian participation in the Afghanistan mission and as a result had no desire to attend a rally calling for the withdrawl of our troops.

I’m going to work to ensure that my convictions outweigh any thoughts of falling back into the security blanket of convenience.

Take today’s rally in support of our troops for example. The minute I learned of it I started making arrangements to attend. It’s on a weekday, so I rearranged my shift at work so I could attend. It’ll be cold, so I schlepped down to a local store to buy warmer clothing – in red of course. The parking will be crap, so I’m taking the LRT. Sure, it’s cold and snowing, but that’s no excuse for me not to attend. Supporting our troops is something I’ve long advocated on this blog.

I’ll be at Churchill Square at 11:30 today. Hopefully if you’re in Edmonton or the surrounding area you’ll be able to attend as well.

Technorati Tags: support our troops, rally, Edmonton, red Friday, Afghanistan

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