SHARKS, FEDS AND DRUG DOGS

A number of things in the news over the past little while have struck
me as oddly related: sharks, drug-sniffing dogs, federal politicians,
and the Langley Walk.

Sharks are, like human beings, deadly predators that are capable of
killing indiscriminately and without compassion or remorse.

Maybe that sounds like a bit of a harsh indictment. After all, sharks
at least stay within their element to do their killing -- we humans
kill on land, in the air, and in and on the sea.

Soon, if we find anything killable out there, we will kill in outer
space and on other planets.

We will kill just about anything that has life to take.

Sharks, on the other hand, prefer to kill things they can eat.

Consequently, I find it ironic that, when one of us jumps into the
ocean and attracts the attention of a hungry shark by flailing about
as uncoordinatedly as a badly injured seal, we rant our indignation
at the mindless shark whose only sin was to be looking for food -- in
what we know to be his own domain -- where we chose to go swimming.

If we can't immediately identify -- and kill -- the specific
perpetrator of the lunch hunt, we clinch our indignant rant with
calls to kill all sharks that ever existed.

Frankly, I think it makes us all look like a pack of disturbed monkeys.

It's that same kind of over-reaction that sends us into paroxysms of
protective frenzy whenever someone does something silly, or downright stupid.

If a fool gets drunk and crashes his car, we blame the drink, we
blame the car, we blame the inopportune curve in the road...
practically everything but the dead fool.

Death somehow absolves us of our stupidity.

Judges are these days taking that mindless protective reflex to new limits.

Our personal privacy must be protected at all costs -- including
costs to others who are innocent of stupidities that claim so many lives.

Highway patrol officers used to be able to pull you over, just to
check car and driver to ensure that they were both in running order.

Now, they have to have a "reason."

Okay, fair enough. That makes it harder for the police to harass
specific individuals.

But tell me why they can no longer use drug-sniffing dogs to catch
people who may be carrying illegal drugs.

Remember, the operative word here is "illegal."

Dogs are actually pretty smart (and are chosen for their incredibly
sensitive noses).

They know the difference between grass and alfalfa, if you know what I mean.

Who is really being protected here?

By about now, you're wondering how I'm going to tie federal
politicians and the Langley Walk into this rant.

Federal politicians are easy: I've already mentioned sharks, dogs,
and stupidity.

The Conservatives' in and out scandal makes my point for me,
especially considering that all of that was going on while they were
beating their chests in outrage over the Liberals' Adscam fiasco.

The Conservatives, whose local representative once lamented to me, as
an opposition member, that the arrogant, power-hording Liberals
ignored reason and the public wishes, now are doing the same.

And the Langley Walk?

Well, that's where I'm going on Sunday to think about fresh air,
green grass, pretty flowers, and (hopefully) sunshine in a blue sky.
Through the distance of a few relaxing footsteps, I'm hoping to
momentarily forget about sharks, drug-sniffing dogs, and stupid politicians.

The Walk's founder, Pete Swensson, admonished us to "Walk away your ills..."

It starts in Fort Langley, at the community park, at about 11 a.m. on Sunday.

I hope I'll see you there.