A common aim: the gold standard for involvement

Our country cheered loudly on Sunday. As the minutes ticked down during the Canada vs. U.S. hockey game, you could say that everyone was on the same team.
In these busy times, getting everyone's attention long enough to get everyone on the same team is a challenge. Fractured views, tough economic times, no time to give to one's family, one's community, or the cause of the moment is common.
But we all know that if times got really tough, we'd hang together. Take the ice storm of  '98. Take threats to our community, our families, our schools, our country.
And one more thing: it has to be simple. Hockey and us vs. them was easy to understand.
But the pros and cons and costs of a new highway may be more difficult to judge. Figuring out if our water and sewage bills should be higher or lower when considering the operating costs might be taxing (no pun intended.)
Making a commitment to stop buying bottled water, toxic cosmetics, unsafe cleaning products, unhealthy foods and stepping forward to encourage others to do the same is too risky and might make us feel uncomfortable.
Understanding the complexity or the need for four government-supported school boards for religious grounds is difficult to understand, seeing as how this privilege is offered only to a select religion.  Can we really come up with a good reason why there is no Jewish School Board and no Presbyterian or Islamic School Board?
But religion isn't like hockey. Rivalry between NHL fans is almost a sport in itself and makes everyone feel good. Rivalry between religions and competition between schools striving for high enrolment produces no winners.
The unity that springs from within when Canadians gather around television sets in their homes, in bars and in malls, arenas and other public places is a rare thing these days. If only we could get as stirred up about saving our small towns, protecting our environment, ensuring that we will always have the means to grow our own food and produce our own manufactured goods.
If only we could get as animated when public funds are misused and our governments continue to increase bureaucracy and taxes as if public service is the only growth industry we have.
If only we could cheer together when businesses make sound decisions which place the environment and communities first.
Life is a game and it is up to us how we play it. We need to put together a good team and like hockey, we need to focus on putting the puck in the net.
If we could save one memory from the Olympics, it should be the collective feeling of pride we have all been coasting on for the past few weeks.
Now the trick is to bring that team spirit and drive to all that we do in our communities.                                L.S.