April 21 2015
RE: letter to the editor “Not so proud to be a Canadian”
Anyone who cannot be proud to be a Canadian has never left Canada toappreciate what Canada is all about. We are the only country on theplanet which one person cannot know where one has to leave it tounderstand; we are not like any other country. Our armed forces werecreated for the same purpose as any other armed force on the planet: tokill the enemy! Peacekeeping is just one of the many duties assignedto Canada and to virtually every nation at one time or other.
To compare our country to the Swiss shows blatant ignorance. Switzerland isnothing like Canada if it was we’d be among the largest best armedmilitary forces per capita than any on the planet. We’d also haveuniversal conscription to name another difference. Our forces on otherhand numbering only 70000 are strictly voluntary.
Of course we’ll bedropping bombs on Iraq and Syria – that’s where the enemy is! Never mind that all war is stupid wrong and full of hypocrisy wasted lives andlies. Anybody in the armed forces will tell you this. If we don’t bringthe battle to them the enemy would be at our gates and we’d be dropping bombs on Canadian soil. Is that what you want? Good idea: Then wewouldn’t have to send our boys “over there” – they could stay at homeand drop bombs on the enemy among our own innocent women andchildren!
We sent six fightercraft and 500 support personnel in therecent battles in Iraq and Syria our contribution to the cause. Ourso-called “huge military-industrial complex.” A paltry provision in thescheme of things where $2.5 million compared to contributions of othernations is quite measly.
Of course going to war is wrong and stupid andnot the thing to do. But in the real world we don’t live in some fantasy novel of peace and good will; we live in a jungle where the rule of law is kill or be killed. If we do not fight the predators at theirdoorstep the predators will come to our gates and eat us alive. Ourmain worries wouldn’t be health care or education any more.
Ed Burke
Minden
