When Samuel Johnson declared in the late 1700’s that “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel,” he accurately foresaw the manner in which our Prime Minister and his henchmen, the Minister of Defense, and the Commanders of our Armed Forces have managed to convince many naïve men and women to join in foreign battles, whose result has been only to enrage those countries to retaliate against us on our own soil.
And who can blame them?
It is the marked worthiness of most people in Canada who insist that in trying to establish a conduct of an “eye for an eye” only results in bloodshed in both countries.
Why not, instead, hold out our hand in peace? Why not take the millions of dollars we plan to spend to rebuild our forces over the next decade, while trying to become Harper’s “warrior nation,” and which only feeds the off-shore bank accounts of our captains of industry, and spend the money on food and shelter for the poor within the warring factions of the Middle East?
Peace there will only be attained if all of us extend the hand of friendship. Peace will only be attained if we rid ourselves of our warhawks in our military and the war mongerers among our politicians in Ottawa.
Frank Martens
Summerland
