Sometimes world events trigger memories. Years ago, a dozen of us were hunkered down in our tents as a blizzard and snowstorm raged outside.

It got so bad the tents and tent frames were literally in danger of blowing away. So, we rolled some full fuel barrels inside to hold them down.

Then someone said, SA国际影视传媒淲ell, things have to get bad before they get worse.SA国际影视传媒� Then someone else said, SA国际影视传媒淚snSA国际影视传媒檛 it that things get worse before they get better.SA国际影视传媒�

So, a literary and philosophical debate got going for several hours about what the saying really was and what it meant. No one came up with a definitive answer to this riddle. However, there is a sort of principle that some people have that things do have to get bad or even worse before they get better, and it certainly seems that we are heading in that direction. Sometimes you just have to hunker down and wait out the storm.

History shows that, at times, some countries will try to take over or annex their neighbours. The Incas did it, so did the Romans, the Egyptians, the Chinese, the British and the countless other countries, cultures and peoples. History is full of examples of it.

In the 1800s, the United States was mostly situated along the Atlantic seaboard, and then they started to move west. They came up with 'Manifest Destiny' SA国际影视传媒� with the objective that they would eventually rule all of North America. It was their destiny. They did take over the west all the way to the Pacific Ocean, but at the time they decided that north part, which is Canada, was too cold and the southern part, Mexico, was too hot.

Apparently, because the north and south have natural resources that people are now craving, some in the USA are looking to annex other countries, or at least parts of them. Each country has to be prepared to defend itself economically and militarily. A strong military can also come in handy when it comes to fighting forest fires, floods, natural and unnatural disasters. They can do a lot to solve some of our social needs like infrastructure and housing.

In high school, when I got too old for Boy Scouts, I joined the militia, which is now called the reserves. I was in the 7th Field Squadron of the Royal Canadian Engineers. I was a recruit working towards becoming a sapper. A sapper is a soldier who gets to carry a shovel along with their rifle. A shovel was a useful tool to have and a symbol of engineering skills. You got paid for the time you spent in the militia SA国际影视传媒� not a lot, but pay is pay. I learned to march, salute, shoot a machine gun, fire a rocket launcher and how to build a bridge in a hurry because someone could be shooting at you.

When I left to go to college, I had to resign service, which was allowed, but there was a little caveat in the deal. In an emergency, you could be recalled, reinstated or conscripted. I havenSA国际影视传媒檛 gotten a call yet, so I assume the government is not in a full crisis mode. I am a little rusty at shooting rocket launchers, and, at my age, we would have to negotiate nap times.

Some people forget that the military or an army has all sorts of different units doing different things, from medics to cooks, from drivers to communications, from engineers to clerks and paymasters. My transition from Boy Scouts to militia to mineral exploration went well SA国际影视传媒� and they all involve getting out and doing things rather than sitting in buildings endlessly talking about doing things.

So, Canada might think about this. They could form a branch to deal with communities, neighbourhoods and rural areas. Just imagine all the things they could do to make things better. It would also give a lot of people part-time jobs. They could help house the homeless, feed the hungry and help to take care of the sick or elderly, as well as making the country safer and clean up some of the messes created in the past. Times have changed, so maybe our institutions should change with them. Something to consider.