Tomorrow is Remembrance Day.  With two larger scale wars happening on two different continents, it seems we may be having some trouble remembering.  Beyond simple remembrance however, it seems people don’t remember why we have Remembrance Day.  The Fly on the Wall has an interesting take on this issue, reminding us not only of the losses, but the why behind it and how that connects to today.

Personally, I’m kicking around another episode of Borscht.  Long time readers will recognize that as my code-word for an article about terrorism, but honestly, this one is giving me trouble.  Not my opinion on it, that’s absolutely clear.  What’s giving me trouble is hearing how many people seem to have an opposite opinion.  The issue of Israel and Hamas seems to be one of those that is very divisive, but when looking at the sequence of events, I have a hard time understanding why, and that’s giving me pause.  To me, it seems very clear cut, with only a tiny bit of nuance but it’s the things we’re most sure about that we generally don’t analyze properly.  And so I’m finding myself wondering if I’ve failed to take certain aspects into account.

I’ve said before that the difference between left and right isn’t so much that people have different opinions on what is good, but they look at the world through different size scopes.  And what seems appropriate on a small scale often changes when you widen the scope.  All of which means I’m wondering if my scope is too narrow, or is it that so many others have too narrow a scope.

I also noted this week that Statistics Canada has reported that the gulf between the top 10% and 1% has pulled even further away from those below them.  This is a statistic that should be of concern, because there have been several studies that link income inequity to bad results over the longer term, but, oddly, this is one I’m not worried so much about because the major reason for this is that COVID supports have ended.  This is just returning us to the status quo, which isn’t a great place to be, but doesn’t signal that we’re on a trend of a widening gulf.  Since in previous years (even before COVID) the gap was slowly narrowing, I expect that’ll be what happens next year as well.

But this issue, we start off with a new Minds We Meet, where Ana Sabo, a newer writer for The Voice Magazine lets us know what brought her to AU and her plans.

Also this week, the second part of Aleksander Golijanin’s examination of radicalization and terrorism, and another fun little piece of flash fiction, the last one we’ll have for a while I’ve been informed.  This one is like a fable, with a bit of a surprise twist.

Something else that’s happening this week is AUSU is conducting their annual survey.  If you haven’t yet, go fill it out.  AUSU uses this survey not only to help them figure out which of the various things they spend student funds on you consider useful, but you can also use it to find out some of the things AUSU does that you might not be aware of. And, if you’re a student, you might even win one of some fairly decent prizes.

And don’t forget all the other great Voice content: scholarships, events, advice, inspiration, and more.   Enjoy the read!