Sunday, October 26, 2014

AN OPEN LETTER TO CANADA


Dear Canada,
            Regretfully, I haven’t given you much thought lately. For the longest time now I guess I just thought of you as our big quiet neighbor to the north. Arrogantly even, a sort of extension of the United States, a really big fifty first state. When per chance you have materialized into my consciousness, visions of hockey, beer, Mountie’s on horseback, and forests filled with pelt bearing animals appeared. However, the events of the past week have changed all of that.
            The unfortunate attacks that took the lives of two of your most selfless and brave citizens, whether an act of terrorism or simply the results of deranged minds with a warped view of their religion, have taught the world and hopefully my own country in particular, a lesson in dignity, grace, and a deep commitment to freedom and democracy. As I watched the news reporting of these incidents I was struck by the absence of something. At first I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. But, as I watched the interviews with members of your parliament, your Prime Ministers address, and the words of your ordinary citizens on the street, I realized what it was. Nobody was calling for the building of walls, closing of borders, or the dropping of bombs. Absent too were the blaming, name calling, and the questioning of patriotism for political gain. No one was calling for the curtailing of civil liberties, but instead pointed to liberty as a critical foundation that would not be tampered with or allowed to be weakened by acts of madness. I saw no politician’s grand standing for political gain or pointing fingers at them or those people. Hopefully this will stay the course and not descend into the polarizing atmosphere of paranoia present in my own United States of America.
            You have taught the world a lesson Canada, and you have reminded us all of the greatness and freedom so valued on this continent. I will think of you more often now. I will think of the similar roads we have travelled through the centuries, and the great allies we have been. I will think of the example you have set, and of how a free and democratic nation should respond to those who would seek to destroy it. Thank you Canada.

Warmest Regards,
Joe Quinn

Citizen of the United States of America