LETTER
by Tom Myrick, Sooke ~ October 8, 2018
During this election period, there have been a group of candidates (do I dare say a “slate”), wanting to preserve Sooke’s “small-town values” (a line also used by Sarah Palin in the 2008 United States election). What is implied is that these small-town values are somehow more wholesome or “better” than the alternative.
Are the small-town values that served Sooke well in the past relevant, or even desirable, for the present and future Sooke? Sooke now has over 13,000 residents and is the second-fastest growing community in British Columbia. It is very different than it was even one generation ago.
One candidate, in attempting to define Sooke values, says “it’s about embracing community values and not about how long you have lived here”. The candidate then proceeds to list activities that happened in the old days, that only people who have lived here all their lives can relate to.
I have lived in Sooke for nine years and care deeply about this community. However, I have never felt more like an “outsider” than after reading this article from the candidate.
This group of candidates wants to apply these small-town values to a municipality that is nearly a city. The reality is that Sooke is no longer a small town. More and more people will move here, and more and more tourists will visit this beautiful area. We need to elect candidates that understand this reality and will plan for this inevitable growth.
There is a lot of nostalgia and romanticism for the “good old days”, and that is human nature. However, it is also human nature to remember only the good times and forget the bad times. There is value to reminiscing about the past and learning from the mistakes made back then.
However, the past is gone, we live in the present, and we can influence the future. My votes are going to candidates that don’t live in the past.
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