Teejay32
<font color=green>Wanders off too much<br>
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2000
- Messages
- 4,053
Thought you guys would like reading this.
The 'silent majority' speaks up - 4/6
Pro-America rally gives voice to those who fear they're not being heard
By LINDA WILLIAMSON -- Toronto Sun
As I shivered in the freezing rain the other day at the incredible "Friends of America" rally, it helped to close my eyes and think of Baghdad, where coalition troops were closing in - and the forecast high was 30 C.
But that wasn't the only thing that gave me a warm feeling despite being pelted with ice pellets in Friday's stinging storm (the nearest Canadian equivalent, it seemed to me, to an Iraqi sandstorm).
The very fact that so many of us were standing outside at all in such weather - many huddling under a giant U.S. flag for protection, providing a nice bit of symbolism - was cheering. The whole point, after all, as event emcee Ted Wolyshyn put it, was to show "we're not fair-weather friends" to our great friend and superpowerful neighbour.
That point was made, loudly and repeatedly, from the moment the loudspeakers started playing tunes like Lean on Me and New York, New York to the moment young Torontonian Erica Basnicki spoke about losing her father in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and I got a lump in my throat.
It was an unabashed show of support for the U.S., but - and this is where so many critics of the war and America get it wrong - it was 100% Canadian. I could hear it in the way everyone belted out O Canada (and gamely attempted the notoriously hard-to-sing Star Spangled Banner, even if many didn't know the words). I felt it when I walked smack into another demonstrator - and he said "oops, I'm sorry."
That such a show of support was organized so quickly - it literally began two weeks ago with e-mails between three friends angered by recent outbursts of anti-Americanism - was impressive.
That it peacefully coexisted with a small counter-demonstration by anti-war types - whose chants were lustily drowned out with choruses of "U.S.A! U.S.A!" - was reassuring.
But that it drew such a huge and diverse crowd in the middle of a day when no sane person should have been outside was downright eye-opening: a sign that something new is happening in this country.
It started a week ago in the pro-U.S. demonstrations in Calgary, Winnipeg and elsewhere. It surfaced in the polls that showed Canadians split virtually half-and-half on PM Jean Chretien's decision to keep us out of the war. It was acknowledged by the federal Liberals' own pollster, who has said the polls so far have seriously misread the public mood.
What struck me (along with the ice pellets) was that this was not a typical protest - and certainly not a typical protest crowd. These were the sort of people who have read story after story about how "most Canadians" oppose the war, seen endless coverage of anti-war demonstrations and watched repeated displays of anti-American behaviour. And they've finally said to themselves, "this just isn't right ... this doesn't represent my views."
Rally co-organizer John Cooper put it this way: "We are embarrassed and ashamed by the rhetoric of certain Canadian politicians and citizens who have spoken and acted against our American friends. These people do not speak for us, the silent majority of Canadians."
That's it, exactly. What we're hearing now, in these few rallies, in the letters to the editor and vociferous debate across the country, is the voice of people who increasingly fear they're not being heard.
Support the troops
Even more remarkable is that the things they're saying are the sort of things that used to go without saying: We support our American and British allies; we support democracy; we support the troops our government has committed to a war it claims not to support.
A few politicians, of various stripes, are listening - a refreshing change from the attitude of our PM and his handful of unrepentant U.S.-bashers. Among those at Friday's event were Ontario Premier Ernie Eves (who received louder cheers than he's heard in a while), Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper (who has never sounded so good or so passionate), federal Tory leadership candidate Scott Brison (who had a wonderful line about patriotism being about pride, not paranoia) and even a few Liberals like MPs Dennis Mills and Albina Guarnieri (who were roundly booed, but deserve kudos just for showing up).
Such events are aimed at telling Americans they are not alone. The thrilling side effect is that many of us Canadians who have felt unheard and ignored for a very long time are discovering we're not alone, either.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda Williamson is the Toronto Sun senior associate editor. She can be reached by e-mail at linda.williamson@tor.sunpub.com.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com.
The 'silent majority' speaks up - 4/6
Pro-America rally gives voice to those who fear they're not being heard
By LINDA WILLIAMSON -- Toronto Sun
As I shivered in the freezing rain the other day at the incredible "Friends of America" rally, it helped to close my eyes and think of Baghdad, where coalition troops were closing in - and the forecast high was 30 C.
But that wasn't the only thing that gave me a warm feeling despite being pelted with ice pellets in Friday's stinging storm (the nearest Canadian equivalent, it seemed to me, to an Iraqi sandstorm).
The very fact that so many of us were standing outside at all in such weather - many huddling under a giant U.S. flag for protection, providing a nice bit of symbolism - was cheering. The whole point, after all, as event emcee Ted Wolyshyn put it, was to show "we're not fair-weather friends" to our great friend and superpowerful neighbour.
That point was made, loudly and repeatedly, from the moment the loudspeakers started playing tunes like Lean on Me and New York, New York to the moment young Torontonian Erica Basnicki spoke about losing her father in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and I got a lump in my throat.
It was an unabashed show of support for the U.S., but - and this is where so many critics of the war and America get it wrong - it was 100% Canadian. I could hear it in the way everyone belted out O Canada (and gamely attempted the notoriously hard-to-sing Star Spangled Banner, even if many didn't know the words). I felt it when I walked smack into another demonstrator - and he said "oops, I'm sorry."
That such a show of support was organized so quickly - it literally began two weeks ago with e-mails between three friends angered by recent outbursts of anti-Americanism - was impressive.
That it peacefully coexisted with a small counter-demonstration by anti-war types - whose chants were lustily drowned out with choruses of "U.S.A! U.S.A!" - was reassuring.
But that it drew such a huge and diverse crowd in the middle of a day when no sane person should have been outside was downright eye-opening: a sign that something new is happening in this country.
It started a week ago in the pro-U.S. demonstrations in Calgary, Winnipeg and elsewhere. It surfaced in the polls that showed Canadians split virtually half-and-half on PM Jean Chretien's decision to keep us out of the war. It was acknowledged by the federal Liberals' own pollster, who has said the polls so far have seriously misread the public mood.
What struck me (along with the ice pellets) was that this was not a typical protest - and certainly not a typical protest crowd. These were the sort of people who have read story after story about how "most Canadians" oppose the war, seen endless coverage of anti-war demonstrations and watched repeated displays of anti-American behaviour. And they've finally said to themselves, "this just isn't right ... this doesn't represent my views."
Rally co-organizer John Cooper put it this way: "We are embarrassed and ashamed by the rhetoric of certain Canadian politicians and citizens who have spoken and acted against our American friends. These people do not speak for us, the silent majority of Canadians."
That's it, exactly. What we're hearing now, in these few rallies, in the letters to the editor and vociferous debate across the country, is the voice of people who increasingly fear they're not being heard.
Support the troops
Even more remarkable is that the things they're saying are the sort of things that used to go without saying: We support our American and British allies; we support democracy; we support the troops our government has committed to a war it claims not to support.
A few politicians, of various stripes, are listening - a refreshing change from the attitude of our PM and his handful of unrepentant U.S.-bashers. Among those at Friday's event were Ontario Premier Ernie Eves (who received louder cheers than he's heard in a while), Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper (who has never sounded so good or so passionate), federal Tory leadership candidate Scott Brison (who had a wonderful line about patriotism being about pride, not paranoia) and even a few Liberals like MPs Dennis Mills and Albina Guarnieri (who were roundly booed, but deserve kudos just for showing up).
Such events are aimed at telling Americans they are not alone. The thrilling side effect is that many of us Canadians who have felt unheard and ignored for a very long time are discovering we're not alone, either.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda Williamson is the Toronto Sun senior associate editor. She can be reached by e-mail at linda.williamson@tor.sunpub.com.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com.
