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August 29, 2005 Americans: Americans terrify me. Well, your average, individual, run-of-the-mill American doesn't terrify me, but their government does. And since the American government seems to hold incredible sway over the emotions and beliefs of its citizens, and since the American government terrifies me, I am terrified of Americans. If A = B, and B = C, then A = C. Case-in-point: Winter 2003 The Bush administration was banging the war-drum trying to gain support for the tragic war in Iraq. France, a member of the UN Security Council, opposed this illegal war (as did most members of the UN, if memory serves me correctly). Within the space of days, the American media/press/"news" whipped up a furor of rhetoric and hatred against France. "Freedom Fries". "Freedom Toast". Restaurateurs dumped bottles of fine wines and cognac into the gutter. FOX News spent untold hours lambasting French 'values'. Goebbels would have been clapping his hands in girlish glee. Now this reminds me of when, here in Canada, the City of Berlin changed its name to Kitchener during the Great War. In fact, anti-German sentiment ran so deep then within the Allied nations that dachshunds, pinschers, and schnauzers were killed in the streets. During those years, south of the border, sauerkraut was dubbed "Liberty Cabbage". History repeats itself. Though I'd like to think that humanity can learn from its experiences and improve itself, such is not always the case. Could Canada be driven to this kind of thoughtless acquiescence to the will of the state? I'd like to think that 60 years of a political tradition of peace-keeping could avoid it. A population made aware of the inhumanity of war might be more reluctant to participate in actions not sanctioned by more sober, international bodies. America, however, seems to thrive on conflict. Ever since the Lend-Lease Act, the U.S. has equated warfare with massive profits. And now with the most recent fuel crisis, what further hysteria will the American media drum up? Venezuela is one of the largest oil suppliers of the US, and the right-wing religious camp is stirring up trouble - Pat Roberston's recent call for the assassination of the Venezuelan president Chavez is one indication of what might lie ahead. Canada has massive mineral, water, timber, food, and fuel resources. I await with dread when America becomes so desperate in their need for commodities that they begin to ramp up their rhetoric against us. I know it will come. The softwood lumber dispute is a prime example. Economic warfare will be declared, and Canada will be crippled into acquiescence. It is a tactic the America has used to success in the past, predominantly in Central America. In recent history, America has proven itself a poor business/trading partner - WTF and NAFTA decisions are largely ignored unless the decision favours the US. Our only hope is an educated/skilled workforce, capable of countering future American interferences, and able to offer services/products to the world market which America cannot. (Japanese auto manufacturers have recently chosen not to open plants in the Southern States simply because the workforce there is under-educated to the point that employees must be trained with pictograms rather than literature.) That's all I have to say for now. If you have any disagreement with my facts, simply do a Google search. Let me know if you find anything disagreable. By the way, I do not consider FOX News a reliable source of information (although it's bloody entertaining!).
"The Seal's Lair", Bougainville Road, US Navy Exchange, San Diego (courtesy of Google Earth). |
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