If I were 20 years old on September 12, 2001, I would have enlisted. It's the price of having a genuine war hero for a father. There's that genetic imperative: Get out there and find who you really are. Are you brave? Will you sacrifice your life for others? Or will you cut and run? . . .
Canadians may not be in Iraq, but we're close, just on the other side of Iran, in Afghanistan. We're dying, just like the tender faced Yanks that appear every night at the end of the news on PBS. And we're doing the hard work there - it's not just "peacekeeping," the shadow-play that mocks and imitates the greatness we once displayed. Fifty-four Canadian soldiers have died in that battle. We're re-building the great army that Jean Chrétien gutted. Some day soon we might even show up with the geopolitical relevance we had 50 years ago.But there's a lot of cowardice to live down. The rest of the world still calls "the cut and run crowd." The phrase, "Canada's Cut and Run Crowd" appeared in the Wall Street Journal on May 14th. Were they wrong?
Before you answer, let's be clear. A popular joke says the Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the world. All the other newspapers are read by people who don't. So that's the evaluation of the people who actually count. Canada? We cut and run.
Are you happy with that? Or are you one of the women who calls for "peace" and "tolerance," while Islamic fundamentalists behead the innocent? When I was growing up, the phrase "privilege breeds responsibility" was hammered into my soft little brain. Canada is the richest country in the world, the most welcoming of countries, the most blessed in terms of natural resources, in stability, in unity. To me, that means we have a responsibility. Responsibility is not just about the calculations of self-interest; it's about being there, tools in hand, ready to help when needed. That is the only way to ensure peace.
"Peace" is what happens after war. The 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s were peaceful because we won World War II. If we don't win this war for the greater Middle East, our grandchildren will live under the threat of terror. And we'll be the people who decided to sit out the great battle between good and evil, so we could watch Canadian Idol, shop online and go to our kids' soccer practice. Make no mistake; we'll have ceded the future to tyranny.