Do I Want to See More Support our Troops Ribbons?
An Anonymous comment made on my previous post, got me thinking. Instead of leaving it in the comments, I have put it in a new post.
S/He was refering to my comment:
In Canada, while support for the war is controversial (so controversial, that a reporter was suspended for supporting the troops), I see more Support our Troops ribbons on cars than I've seen in my recent travels to the US.
Anonymous:
I live in Canada and I don't see any.
Why don't you just say what you mean...you'd like to see more yellow stickers?
Here is my response:
Would I like to see more ribbons on cars? Yes and no.
I would like to see more support from Canadians on a UN-sanctioned mission/war. This is not Iraq. Canada did not invade another country.
Canadians often compare themselves to their closest neighbour because of our similarities in culture, language, etc. I even did it in this blog post. But our missions in other countries, and our foreign policies are completely different; however, the media does manipulate this, in my opinion. The current mission in Afghanistan is much more politicized today compared to other Canadian missions in the past, since the Korean war.
The trouble is that nationalism is dying and more and more people are identifying not with their country, but rather their interests. We now live in an age of special interest groups, and identity politics. We are living in an age where our enemy/conflict is not with another country but attitudes against different cultures.
I guess I just don't understand what is so controversial about supporting our own rebuilding another country? What is so controversial about helping another country put more girls in school and less girls subject to female circumcision or other atrocities? What is so controversial about getting rid of a political force (the Taliban) and trying to develop a democracy where all members of a country have the oppotunity and right to share their voice.
While yes, we are imposing our "Western ways" of thinking/running a country, but truthfully, I don't see anything wrong with it. A more educated population is good for the world, a country whose people are not poor and whose voices are heard in the democratic system, is good for the world. I make no apologies about that.
S/He was refering to my comment:
In Canada, while support for the war is controversial (so controversial, that a reporter was suspended for supporting the troops), I see more Support our Troops ribbons on cars than I've seen in my recent travels to the US.
Anonymous:
I live in Canada and I don't see any.
Why don't you just say what you mean...you'd like to see more yellow stickers?
Here is my response:
Would I like to see more ribbons on cars? Yes and no.
I would like to see more support from Canadians on a UN-sanctioned mission/war. This is not Iraq. Canada did not invade another country.
Canadians often compare themselves to their closest neighbour because of our similarities in culture, language, etc. I even did it in this blog post. But our missions in other countries, and our foreign policies are completely different; however, the media does manipulate this, in my opinion. The current mission in Afghanistan is much more politicized today compared to other Canadian missions in the past, since the Korean war.
The trouble is that nationalism is dying and more and more people are identifying not with their country, but rather their interests. We now live in an age of special interest groups, and identity politics. We are living in an age where our enemy/conflict is not with another country but attitudes against different cultures.
I guess I just don't understand what is so controversial about supporting our own rebuilding another country? What is so controversial about helping another country put more girls in school and less girls subject to female circumcision or other atrocities? What is so controversial about getting rid of a political force (the Taliban) and trying to develop a democracy where all members of a country have the oppotunity and right to share their voice.
While yes, we are imposing our "Western ways" of thinking/running a country, but truthfully, I don't see anything wrong with it. A more educated population is good for the world, a country whose people are not poor and whose voices are heard in the democratic system, is good for the world. I make no apologies about that.
posted by Spitfire at 6:54 PM
4 Comments:
I don't see too many support the troops ribbons on cars here in Montreal. I have one that I got through a friend in Ottawa, but at that time it was only in English. I think if more people knew where they could get them, that would help. I know you can get them through the Legion's web site.
As for the support for the war, I guess a lot of people lump Afghanistan with the Iraq mission and think we are bombing civilians in large numbers or something (I keep reading those figures of the number of deaths in Iraq, even though most of the deaths are of the other side and by the other side).
Also people are afraid it will become a 'moneypit' and we should use our ressources and men elsewhere.
As a woman I think it is fantastic we are helping the women there, but I am under no illusions that this won't take a long time.
The US didnt invade Iraq any more than Afstan.
The US removed a dictatorship in Iraq after they removed a dictatorship in Afstan.
The US are rebuilding Iraq in the same way they are rebuilding Afstan.
You think Canada's carrying a heavy humanitarian role in Afstan than the USA? - The USA is spending 50 times more in money and manpower.
A third of the money going into Iraq is the same type of spend - rebuilding infrastructure.
The only difference is that the UN went along with the Afstan mission and not the US mission - both were and are US started and led.
Now, ask yourself, why did Russia and those European countries in the UN not support the Iraq event? Could it be because they get their oil from Iraq.
Leave it up to you to fact check.
Cheerspc
Too bad Canadian Tire doesn't carry them. Then there'd be a lot more out there.
You know its a damn shame that the military now has people fightin' stead of being a place for bilinguals and gays and wack jobs to get a job when there is nothing else or they don't want to think for themselves. (real conservative)
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