Posted on 09/21/2002 3:10:55 PM PDT by knighthawk
Even in the wake of last year's terror attacks, anti-Americanism is pervasive in Canada, especially among the country's ruling caste. We don't want "U.S.-style" health care here -- or "U.S.-style" gun culture, "U.S.-style" foreign policy or "U.S.-style" capitalism. Indeed, one of the surest methods to stifle public debate on any issue is to accuse one's opponent of importing "U.S.-style" solutions.
Nowhere has this attitude been more prevalent than at the Toronto Star, where anti-Americanism is the in-house religion. So it was an act of courage when, in her Friday column, Star columnist Rosie DiManno not only defended U.S. policy on Iraq, but also upbraided her own paper for its arrogant dismissal of America's grief on the anniversary of 9/11.
Ms. DiManno has a strong case. One Star writer recently dismissed America's commemorative ceremonies as a "mourn-a-thon." A parade of others criticized the Americans for not having a sufficiently sophisticated understanding of the "root causes" of terrorism. Such snide remarks are part of a larger campaign. George W. Bush, the U.S. President, is routinely dismissed as a brain-dead cowboy. Gordon Barthos, who writes the Star's foreign-affairs editorials, claims that now that Afghanistan has been liberated, the war on terror "is not Canada's quarrel."
"I don't think it makes me a better Canadian, or a better journalist, to be so insufferably ... sanctimonious toward the United States," Ms. DiManno wrote. "And I hope never to indulge in the kind of casual cruelty that would ridicule a nation for honouring its dead. That's not journalism. It's polemic masturbation." Amen, Rosie.
Whew! I thought for a moment that Rosie O'Donut had married her hand! LOL!
There was certainly grief, but there was also pride, gratitude, anger and particularly that unique American resolve. WWI, WWII, the Cold War...this is a weird situation we find ourselves in, but we'll handle it.
Thanks Rosie and thanks KH for the post & ping.
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