Closing The Divide, 11

I am not suggesting here that we could create a perfect society. I only can wish. But I am hoping that in these little rants on my blog that maybe I could encourage at least a few good people to think and see what they can do in their own garden. Greed is such an inherent feature in our human nature. I am going to suggest here that the more distant we become from one another, the more selfish we become. It turns into the gift that goes on giving. I walk almost every day in our wealthiest neighbourhoods, not because of envy but because the streets are beautiful and tranquil and do much to facilitate contemplation and prayer. There are also plenty of hills making for some very good exercise. I see these giant homes. I do appreciate a lot of the old ones for their beauty and heritage value. But how many families of four really need to live in twenty room palaces? Now, I don't believe that everyone who lives in those big fancy houses are psychopathic monsters whose great interest in life is their investment portfolio, their bank accounts in Grand Cayman and Lichtenstein, and doing everything they can to keep the great unwashed out of their neighbourhood. There likely are some who are like that, but I have come across friendly individuals who like to say hi to strangers, a really sweet natured elderly Chinese man who seemed to enjoy stopping to chat with me in front of his house, and a lady who sweeps the sidewalk in front of her mansion and enjoys stopping to chat. And chat. And chat. I don't know any of these people well, but they are pleasant. I have noticed with them a kind of childlike unawareness of the big horrible world around us, given the protective shelter of their luxury homes and neighbourhoods. By the same token, it is not my wish to demonize them. Still, this living apart and away does make people rather ignorant of the realities that their less fortunate neighbours have to live with, and this can really hamper the growth of empathy. A lot of the mansions don't appear to be lived in, or not lived in that often. They are investments, I believe. Cottages for the obscenely offshore wealthy, perhaps? I don't know. But There is something inherently wrong bout these neighbourhoods, not because they are beautiful, because they are, but because by their very nature and existence, they have to be exclusive. This will probably never happen, but I really hope to see our principal wealthy neighbourhood, Shaughnessy Heights, come under public ownership. That's right, Gentle Reader, just like they did in Russia following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Especially with our growing population, it should not even be considered that anyone should have the luxury of this much living space for themselves: a ten bedroom mansion on an acre of land. The rest of us have to struggle in increasingly shrinking private and public space, so why should offshore millionaires be allowed to buy this very privilege that the rest of us are being denied. Well, the answer is, of course, in my question. It's because they can buy the privilege. It is because money, capital and wealth have prior status and if we are going to see the divide close then we are going to have to start opening this debate. The sooner the better. One little idea, here. We don't have to fill in the beautiful green spaces in Shaughnessy, but First Shaughnessy, anyway, the oldest part with the most magnificent houses, could be turned into a public park. The heritage mansions could be repurposed for public housing, community centres and museums and other public purposes. The lavish grounds and gardens could be turned into greenways with benches and walking paths (sorry cyclists, that's what streets are for), quite transforming this exclusive neighbourhood into something inclusive, vibrant, beautiful and socially redemptive. Worth a try?