When I read Amnesty International's recommendation that Canada should arrest George W. Bush and have him tried for war crimes including torture, I giggled. It sounds a bit like an Onion article, similar to the one where Canada invaded the States (because they had reason to believe they were harboring weapons of mass destruction). But after reading it I realized they were serious. They want us to risk a major international incident just to bring George to heel.
Maybe we should though.
Perhaps it will force them to start taking us seriously. Recently the Department of Homeland Security came under fire for posting a website depicting Ontario as a safe haven for pedophiles, and offering to set up a 'vacation'. When pressed on the ethics of this move, the department shrugged and said that they had 'informed Windsor police about it'. The ruse resulted in four arrests but there is no known number to how many people read the site, then chose an alternate means to travel to Canada for this purpose. To use us as bait clearly demonstrates how little they care for our safety and sovereignty.
Perhaps it will force them to start seeing us differently. The Federal Heritage minister has a goal in mind - to educate all Canadians about the war of 1812. Personally, I think the best way to do this would be to give Kate Beaton an unlimited budget and unrestricted access to all forms of advertising within Canada, not to mention the good it would do for morale, but I digress. The States is apparently honoring the war in their own fashion; by claiming they won. SPOILER ALERT: They didn't. As George Orwell pointed out, "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." It's time Canada control its present. History is an integral part of our growing identity and we cannot allow it to be altered by someone else with an agenda.
But enough daydreaming. After the Good Fences issue, there is certainly no way we would arrest Mr. Bush and run the risk of an international incident. But I like that there is a hint, even a wiff that we might do it. I like that we're talking about it. Because that means, somewhere, in America, on some agenda, there is a bullet point that deals with 'how to negotiate with Canada'. It might just be an emergency back-up plan, they might not even believe we'd do it, but it's there. I feel warmer just knowing it.
Maybe we should though.
Perhaps it will force them to start taking us seriously. Recently the Department of Homeland Security came under fire for posting a website depicting Ontario as a safe haven for pedophiles, and offering to set up a 'vacation'. When pressed on the ethics of this move, the department shrugged and said that they had 'informed Windsor police about it'. The ruse resulted in four arrests but there is no known number to how many people read the site, then chose an alternate means to travel to Canada for this purpose. To use us as bait clearly demonstrates how little they care for our safety and sovereignty.
Perhaps it will force them to start seeing us differently. The Federal Heritage minister has a goal in mind - to educate all Canadians about the war of 1812. Personally, I think the best way to do this would be to give Kate Beaton an unlimited budget and unrestricted access to all forms of advertising within Canada, not to mention the good it would do for morale, but I digress. The States is apparently honoring the war in their own fashion; by claiming they won. SPOILER ALERT: They didn't. As George Orwell pointed out, "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." It's time Canada control its present. History is an integral part of our growing identity and we cannot allow it to be altered by someone else with an agenda.
But enough daydreaming. After the Good Fences issue, there is certainly no way we would arrest Mr. Bush and run the risk of an international incident. But I like that there is a hint, even a wiff that we might do it. I like that we're talking about it. Because that means, somewhere, in America, on some agenda, there is a bullet point that deals with 'how to negotiate with Canada'. It might just be an emergency back-up plan, they might not even believe we'd do it, but it's there. I feel warmer just knowing it.
1 comment:
I, for one, whole-heartedly support Amnesty International. And I am unanimous in that.
Norbert
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