History Has Shown

I love these three little words. Everyone is a historian these days. To the untrained mind, it's a beast that can prove elusive to tame. It may very well make you look foolish.

There is a mini-debate in Canada about this country's decision to remain in Afghanistan for another two years in an effort to stabilize and rebuild that country. Canada will be part of a difficult mission alongside 35 other nations.

We've heard many people use a now all-too-popular phrase that stipulates 'peace and democracy cannot be won by the barrel of a gun.' Apparently, history has shown this. Indeed, like all intoxicating snapshot versions of the past, it is not that straightforward or entirely accurate. The conclusion almost always arrived at by this thinking is - and I deliberately muse here - "Let us leave and let the CIA sort the whole mess out," with no apologies, of course, to Afghani's who welcome the helping hand.

For those who think along these lines - in what falls dangerously close to parochial posturing - what would they say to President Karzai when he practically begs for Canada to stay? "Sorry, rednecks made the decision to come here. Not me. Damn, Yankees. That'll learn 'em?"

Canada is a nation that, left to its own devices, would avoid conflict. Good for us since we have no true global responsibilities thrust upon our shoulders.

However, at times a nation simply needs to throw its hat into the ring to project and solidify the values it holds dear. Canada legislates so-called progressive laws not because it is enlightened but because we are lucky to be in the position to do so and - to a cynic - it is politically popular to do so. Never mind the constant infringement of individual liberties.

Canada has done much talking with little concrete action for quite some time. We dithered and we skated like aimless hockey players for years. Little 'big intellectual and political ideas' comes from Canada. Too bad. Canada sits at the table of nations. It is a member of several international organizations and it must make all efforts to ensure it tables genuine and practical thoughts to the world around it. It is simply ridiculous (if not downright immoral) to pretend the post 9/11 world is an American problem mostly brought upon themselves.

They say that a people without memories of history is a happy one. This notion is playing itself out in Canada swimmingly well.

Canada is not alone. We are globally culpable for increasing our vulnerabilities to intellectual impostors. They are all around us. They are in self-congratulating newspapers and narcissistic films. They are in the cafés and they are in the chattering classes on bus rides home.

History has shown, well, the more we know, the less we understand its nuances. It will also look back on our times and wonder if this is a 2nd Dark Age. Heck, the Dark Ages look good next to the crud we see today. If Dante or Chaucer were alive today they would not win a Pulitzer or Nobel Prize. I'll let readers guess why.