Just a brief post.
As a parent of two and a grandfather of one (our granddaughter was born last August), I do not have the stomach, the heart or the psychic strength to really contemplate the ongoing horror that is the United States. Nor can I read or watch the protracted coverage in the media of the self-induced, oh so predictable, massacres that have become a regular part of that blighted landscape.
Although we in Canada have had our share of terrible shootings, the fact that they are rare is largely attributable to the sanity that undergirds our gun laws. It really is as simple as that. Contrast that with all of the misdirected comments about mental illness in the U.S. when the inevitable happens again and again there, with nary a mention of the real underlying cause, the American love of the gun and the the weak laws that fuel that love.
One final note: despite the dimensions of the tragedies, I don't see why Canadian media are spending so much time and so many resources covering what has happened in that alien country. It will not bring back the victims, and, I believe, it blurs the distinctions between us and them.
Note to the U.S. It is time you changed your national motto to one more reflective of your befouled character.
There was a 'show' on CBC radio today where a US Republican noted that the USA is on a slippery slope to disintegration, not now but in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe premise of the 'show' was that we, Canadians should distance ourselves from the USA.
What was, in the limited time of an interview, not discussed is how we should do so.
Perhaps the much scorned Canadian content rules should find a new voice in our outlook?
Distancing from US foreign policy would have saved innocent lives and enhanced our world position in this age of hate for profit!
With the simplistic trucker convoy and it's copy cats view of life bending a disproportionate view of Canada for the sake of sensationalism sells ( Fox News like) Canada would be well advised to turn off that US news channel that provokes rather than report on reality.
TB
That a certain segment of our population is so heavily influenced by Fox News propaganda is lamentable, TB. But I think the horse is out of the barn, in that people have also gravitated to the array of internet sites that cater to a distorted and deranged view of reality.
DeleteIn terms of the disintegration of the U.S., that clearly has already begun and, in my modest opinion, could ultimately work to our benefit. If, in the future, they become a series of disjointed republics, it is less likely they will be able to foster sufficient unity to invade our country for our resources, most notably our water. The chance of invasion may sound alarmist and unlikely, but when have the Americans ever felt bound by international conventions, laws and rules?
Canada was founded in the wake of the American Civil War, Lorne. When it comes to our relationship to our southern neighbour, we should never forget that fact.
ReplyDeleteWe suffer from deficient memories when it comes to history, Owen. No doubt there are some that see the Civil War as the failed fight for freedom it was not.
DeleteOddly, sarcasm intended, the cries for freedom are seldom , if ever, for everyone..The freedumb fighters of Canada are testament to that.
DeleteNowadays the fight seems to be one to be free of responsibility.
That point should be laid at the feet of our children's educators !
TB
The notion of freedom without responsibility is a willful and childish notion, TB, representative, I suspect, of the low-level mentality that guides many, if not most, of these people.
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