People in our town were asked to ring bells at noon Jan. 1.
The church bells pealed and individuals rang chimes they had at hand.
The effort was promoted by the economic development committee, the board of trade and the newspaper. It was an effort to welcome a new year and a new century, but more than that it was an effort to bring people together, to foster a sense of well-being and solidarity.
On a small scale, it worked. On a bigger scale, we are starting the new year exactly where we were 365 days ago: Divided by a rural-urban split and with farm groups unable to agree on everything from farm aid to the best way to market grain.
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One city friend asked me why we expect all farmers to agree when we don’t expect all mechanics to speak with one voice, or all teachers or stockbrokers, lawyers or economists.
That comment did give me pause.
Of course all farmers aren’t the same and won’t think alike all the time or maybe even some of the time.
However, given that all grain growers are facing common problems – low prices, high input costs, the devastating effects of foreign subsidies, lack of a long-term safety net and a federal government that will not accept responsibility for the problems it helped create, it should be no stretch to expect that farmers could put aside their differences and fight together.
That happened for a while. A coalition of farm leaders and politicians went to Ottawa and spoke with a common voice.
How long the coalition will last, however, is up in the air. Always shaky, it appears in danger of crumbling.
The Saskatchewan Party has broken ranks and is demanding that the province ante up.
The federal government in recent days said there might be more money if Saskatchewan kicks in. The province, with some other farm leaders, is holding firm, saying it’s a federal responsibility.
In a year-end interview, premier Roy Romanow told me that provincial aid to farmers at this point would give the wrong signal to the feds. To give in is to pay.
While one’s head is with the premier, one’s heart is with those demanding aid. It’s fine to stand pat on principle but principles don’t feed people and they don’t pay bills.
In the long run, however, maintaining the coalition may prove to be the right course. Farmers have lost too much over the years by allowing themselves to be divided and conquered.
Just this once, it would be nice to see what solidarity will do.
