*Sigh*
When I saw the news report about theU.S. beginning air patrols south of Canadian Prairie border, I can't tell you how much that saddened me.
It's probably very difficult for people who don't live in Canada, or even people who don't live close to the border, to understand the closeness of the Canada-US relationship. Ever since 1812, we've been probably two of the closest nations on earth - partly because we do have similiar values... It's been said for a long time that we have the longest undefended border in the world... well, no longer. :(
Even 5 years ago, it was so different. If you were bored, had nothing to do, you might cruise over the bridge (into the US)... just because. It was a nice thing to do on the weekend. Go shopping. Look at things. My dentist was in the states. Whenever we went out for ice cream, it was usually over the bridge.
In some places, where the bridge was short enough, people would just walk over, buy some shoes, toss the old ones, and come back (to Canada). Lots of kids even play sports in the states, travelling back and forth from games in the US, to games in Canada.... The US was never another country... it was just.. over the bridge. It was easier to get to than any other city, even.
We would always buy stuff like cake icing over the bridge, because they have a way better selection. And now, it's like... we have to have passports... or something similiar??? It's just... wrong... We're closer to the states than we are to other provinces... or we were... Some European countries must be the same - Britain and France... and Spain...
There was even "debate in Washington on whether to erect a 3,000 mile wall, (perhaps a Berlin style one with watchtowers and minefields?) between the US and Canada. This time the wall's intentions would be to keep people out rather than to keep them in." Granted, it was dropped, thanks to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, but the fact that it was actually part of a (draft) bill shows how far we've come.
It's all understandable, I suppose. We learned about this in uni, in poli sci classes - how politicians create fear to manipulate the populace. And it's working so well :( Just like the Russia-bear-commercial era. And as for the 'security' aspect, the justification that they're patrolling the border to stop terrorists.. well, that's just... illogical for so many different reasons. Just another way to create fear - make americans fear canada... and that's just sad.
And Canada isn't Mexico, or some other country, with people trying to sneak into the US. Why would canadians want to??? Often, the Mexicans, etc, who want to get into the US are poor and want a better life... Well, Canada is much more of a welfare state than the US is, so it would be much easier for poor people to get help in Canada.
Anyway, every time something like this happens, I think of due south, and Frasier. :( And the longer Bush is in office, the more I like Clinton. All he did was get a bj. And some other stuff...
When I saw the news report about theU.S. beginning air patrols south of Canadian Prairie border, I can't tell you how much that saddened me.
It's probably very difficult for people who don't live in Canada, or even people who don't live close to the border, to understand the closeness of the Canada-US relationship. Ever since 1812, we've been probably two of the closest nations on earth - partly because we do have similiar values... It's been said for a long time that we have the longest undefended border in the world... well, no longer. :(
Even 5 years ago, it was so different. If you were bored, had nothing to do, you might cruise over the bridge (into the US)... just because. It was a nice thing to do on the weekend. Go shopping. Look at things. My dentist was in the states. Whenever we went out for ice cream, it was usually over the bridge.
In some places, where the bridge was short enough, people would just walk over, buy some shoes, toss the old ones, and come back (to Canada). Lots of kids even play sports in the states, travelling back and forth from games in the US, to games in Canada.... The US was never another country... it was just.. over the bridge. It was easier to get to than any other city, even.
We would always buy stuff like cake icing over the bridge, because they have a way better selection. And now, it's like... we have to have passports... or something similiar??? It's just... wrong... We're closer to the states than we are to other provinces... or we were... Some European countries must be the same - Britain and France... and Spain...
There was even "debate in Washington on whether to erect a 3,000 mile wall, (perhaps a Berlin style one with watchtowers and minefields?) between the US and Canada. This time the wall's intentions would be to keep people out rather than to keep them in." Granted, it was dropped, thanks to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, but the fact that it was actually part of a (draft) bill shows how far we've come.
It's all understandable, I suppose. We learned about this in uni, in poli sci classes - how politicians create fear to manipulate the populace. And it's working so well :( Just like the Russia-bear-commercial era. And as for the 'security' aspect, the justification that they're patrolling the border to stop terrorists.. well, that's just... illogical for so many different reasons. Just another way to create fear - make americans fear canada... and that's just sad.
And Canada isn't Mexico, or some other country, with people trying to sneak into the US. Why would canadians want to??? Often, the Mexicans, etc, who want to get into the US are poor and want a better life... Well, Canada is much more of a welfare state than the US is, so it would be much easier for poor people to get help in Canada.
Anyway, every time something like this happens, I think of due south, and Frasier. :( And the longer Bush is in office, the more I like Clinton. All he did was get a bj. And some other stuff...