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with themselves. A rally was held on Monday, March 13th,

in front of the Canadian military recruiting centre in
Vancouver to protest the 10 dead Canadians. Sure, there’s
been 11 killed so far, but since when have facts had any-
thing to do with protesting? »

Of those 11, four were killed by friendly fire in the
2002 accidental bombing by a doped up Yankee pilot, two
have been killed by landmines, and a few others by bad
driving, shitty roads, and the atrocious jeeps we sent over
there that, until recently, were about as protective as rick-
shaws. Eleven dead Canucks, protecting millions of
Afghanis, in a country that used to use a stadium for pub-

lic executions—fuck those damn soldiers.

Td call that a noble sacrifice, not a national tragedy. But
then again, what is death if not a poster board slogan
opportunity?

And self-determination? In a nation where women were
routinely sodomized and stoned to death for having effem-
inate thoughts, where men were murdered for attempting
to teach anything other than Islamic extremism, do you
seriously believe that self-determination is possible when
the Taliban rats remain hidden amid the high-water marks
in the hills?

Unless, of course, self-determination is a dressed-down

code for civil war; in which case yes, by all means, pull out
and watch the bloody wonders of self-determination
unfold before the camera crew’s eyes.

But MAWO doesn’t believe in civil war. Most activists
don’t. They'd chant “We don’t need your civil war” except
that they're more Bob Marley than Guns ‘N’ Roses.

Fence Sitters or Bridge Builders?

There is a balance here. Rather than being known either
for our airy-fairy social views, as per the Conservative’s
hard-line beliefs, or for our zealous commitment to
American military aspirations, as per the New Democrat’s
allegations, perhaps we could be both. Rather than being
political fence sitters we could be international bridge
builders. Like the hockey player who’s hard as nails in the
corners but has soft hands in front of the net, we can be
both graceful in action and carry a big stick.

It is vital we stay in Afghanistan; it’s equally important
to champion equality at home. In a perfect world, in an
ideal Canada, we'd be the best man at a gay wedding in
Kits on Saturday before heading out to be the strong man
in the Sudan on Monday. There’d be a day in between, of
course, to recover from the savage hangover from strong
beer and sweet Crown Royal. And the Tragically Hip
would’ve been the wedding band.

Canada is easily the greatest nation in the world. What
made this so was, and is, our amazing balance of compas-
sion and determination. If you truly have a global con-
scious, then you’d want to share this with the world; we
may have the longest coastline in the world, but we are not
an island. We’ve never had a civil war and yet we have a
very distinct sense of self; we’ve never started a war but
we’ve always fought onthe side of good and won. We are
a nation unafraid to take shit or give it out. Like our
nation’s father, Sir John A. MacDonald, might have said:
“Don’t ever start a fight, my sons and daughters, but
always finish it.”

Grow up, kids. Stand up for Canada and not for a
shameless, gutless cause.

 

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