In the couple of years I've been posting about issues, I've tried to keep a certain emotional distance between what I've written and what I really feel. The idea I follow is to seek out information and present it in as objective a manner as possible, though it may be clouded, at times, by my own perspectives. But a recent discussion on Fox News's Red Eye with host Greg Gutfield leaves me somewhat apoplectic.
Gutfield and his guests made some "observations" in response to a recent comment from Lt.Gen. Leslie Andrew, the commander of Canada's land forces, that after years of toil in Afghanistan in which our soldiers have endured four times the casualty rates of American troops, perhaps our warriors could use a break. Let me repeat: four times the casualty rates of American troops.
“The Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white capri pants,” said Gutfeld. "Isn't this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country?," he then asked panelist Doug Benson, who quipped, "I didn't even know that they were in the war."
For the life of me I cannot understand why Americans vilify Canadians like this. Have you no honour? Jesus, as I write this, my next door neighbour is deployed to Kandahar and there are four more coffins coming home from Afghanistan containing the bodies of soldiers who have died trying to protect to us - all of us here in North America. One is from my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie.
If this is how you treat your friends, God help you.
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3 comments:
Unfortunately, our right win fringe has fallen off the deep end. Add to that the fact that most Americans are uninformed about what happens overseas and you can see how they immediately vilify countries that seem to disagree, or even seem to want to rest from an engagement. It's been disastrous and was something many of us hated during the Bush years. It'll take some time to flush out of the system.
As for me, I'm grateful for all the sacrifices Canada has borne in Afghanistan on our behalf. Please don't judge us by the fringe in our midst, and especially not by Fox News.
“However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood,”
What a jerk.
http://tinyurl.com/d5mq9r
Appreciates the comments, guys, and I really don't judge my American cousins by the comments made by Gutfield and his guests. My own experiences while in Bosnia and Kosovo showed great respect on the part of American forces to Canadians, with great inter-operationability between us.
We Canucks just sometimes get fed up at being overlooked, and belittled, for our commitments to ensuring the safety of both our countries.
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