Editorials - March 21, 2025

Outspoken lawyer and consumer advocate Ralph Nader is calling out America’s most influential citizens for standing by while the Trump/

 

Musk machine runs roughshod over the U.S. Constitution. In a scathing essay, Nader pointed out that even though they are horrified at what Trump is doing to the government and its domestic social safety net, past presidents and other influential political figures are staying silent. 

 

For much of the 20th and 21st centuries, the president of the United States has been referred to as the “leader of the free world”, but in the last few weeks we have seen that responsibility be used to upset global stability, rather than be the benevolent power we’d come to expect.

 

President Trump and his MAGA supporters have convinced the American public that somehow the U.S. is downtrodden and abused by the rest of the world, including its biggest allies. 

 

Nader is right. Some true leadership and statesmen are needed to remind their citizens that they are not some third-world country that needs to fight for scraps at the table. They have one of the highest standards of living in the world, and for decades their foreign policy was designed to provide leadership to less fortunate countries. 

 

Trump and Musk are bullies. Americans need to stand up to them and let them know that destabilizing the economy by destroying trade agreements and shutting down government programs is not going to Make America Great Again, but Make America Poor Soon. – DS

Of all the times Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” has been quoted in The Citizen, most often by our wise and considerate founder, Keith Roulston, this may be the most bang-on usage. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” sings Mitchell, and while the Wingham Community Garden and Orchard may not quite win any Eden look-alike contests, in its place, soon, will be, quite literally, a parking lot. 

 

The garden and orchard, it should be pointed out, is not some rinky-dink hobby project in the corner of someone’s backyard; in 2024, it yielded nearly 2,000 pounds of produce for the North Huron Community Food Share. Now, the Maitland River Community Church, which owns the land, is essentially evicting the garden as it plans to expand its offerings and will require more parking, eschewing an offer from neighbouring Libro Credit Union to use its parking lot. 

 

As food insecurity rises and food bank usage skyrockets, pulling up this garden is tragic, not to mince words. And while the church has been gracious in allowing its land to be used for the garden for over 10 years, the finite ending for the garden feels shortsighted and seemingly at odds with one of the core tenets of the Christian church itself, which is to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. 

 

Churches of all denominations have always faced a fork in the road; the question of serving those in need outside the church walls as well as those within them who fill up the collection plate every Sunday. Congregation vs. community. Many would think that a project like the garden would be within a church’s mandate, taking precedence over more parking for one day per week, especially with an alternative being offered. It’s difficult to do the math in a way that proves that parking spots will serve more people than the garden’s bounty. – SL 

In these unsettling times of global uncertainty, it’s easy to retreat inward, focusing on what we can control. As wars rage, economies falter and environmental crises deepen, the overwhelming nature of it all can make us feel powerless. Many look for refuge in the simple comforts of our own lives. The world seems too big, too complex, and we often feel that the most we can do is focus on the immediate and the personal.

 

In an editorial dated March 19, 1980, Citizen founder Keith Roulston recognized this tendency long before it became a defining characteristic of modern life. He observed the rise of the “Me Generation” and the retreat into selfishness, but he also questioned whether this retreat was a symptom of something larger. Was the rise of self-interest the cause of our troubles, or was it a response to them? As the world grew more interconnected, the constant barrage of bad news made it harder for individuals to feel that their actions could have any meaningful impact.

 

Yet, Roulston warned against this withdrawal. He believed that while the desire to retreat is a natural response to feeling overwhelmed, it carries risks. The more we retreat inward, the less we connect with those around us and the communities that give us strength. In his view, the true antidote to the world’s troubles isn’t isolation but solidarity.

 

Roulston isn’t just a keen observer of the world around him - he is a visionary. His understanding of the power of community has always been ahead of its time. While the issues may have morphed, his unwavering belief in the strength of community has been a constant. Huron County is fortunate to have such a thoughtful, forward-thinking voice guiding it through troubled times. – SBS