Michael Hadac
2003-11-09 22:04:00 UTC
An Open Letter to my American neighbors
by "Susan"
Like you, I woke up today, got dressed and settled down to a steaming brew
and
the morning newspaper before heading out to work. Unlike you, I read that
dozens of my fellow citizens were arrested for carrying copies of the
Buffalo
News. The newspaper contained information about a trial here that the
powers-that-be did not want us to read. It is that simple.
It is now 11:15 p.m. Minutes ago, I turned on the Buffalo television
station,
hoping to see on my TV what could not reach us through the newspapers. I am
now
looking at a blank screen. We received about 10 seconds of the trial
controversy, and suddenly my screen went blank. A message appeared on the
screen explaining that because of the contravention of a ban, the station
was
prohibiting broadcast of the news. Along with the sign was a high-pitched
whistle that sounded like the air-raid sirens the British used during World
War
II.
As I sit here alone, I realize that my blood is running cold at the sound of
that whistle.
This could never happen here.
Not in Canada.
You must wonder about a country that would deny its own citizens the freedom
to
read. As a Canadian, I have done a lot of hard thinking about it.
I guess the powers have their reasons for the ban. Censorship always has its
reasons, but, believe me, when you are on the receiving end of government
censorship, no reason amounts to a hill of beans - and that is why I am
writing
to you.
It is my hope that you will read this Canadian story and "wake up and smell
the
coffee" - while you still have [something] to read along with it.
I have always loved the United States of America, and I know that you are
now
making critical decisions about the role of government in your lives.
Many years ago, we in Canada were at a crossroads in our decision-making
that
is similar to the one you are at now. I wish our decisions back then had
been
very different. Then maybe I wouldn't be sitting here looking at a blank
screen.
Some two decades ago, Canadians were concerned with how government could
best
help its citizens. We looked around at countries with a comprehensive social
welfare system and envied them their cushions of comfort for everything from
universal medical care to national day care.
We were a country that held individual freedom in high esteem. Surely, we
thought, it was possible to take the best aspects of socialism and weave
them
into the fabric of a free society. After all, this was democratic Canada and
not the Soviet Union.
Over the next 20 years, we developed an extensive social support network at
both the federal and provincial levels of government. The government spent
money on every conceivable program. We spent and spent. Still, no one was
ever
really satisfied.
When you adopt an extensive government agenda, you soon discover that all
the
entrenched programs and layers of bureaucracy become impossible to budge.
Much
of the population works for the government; about one of every four
Canadians
now draws a government paycheck.
People learn to depend on government, and all governments, even those whose
leaders warn against this dependency, learn to love the power that flows
from
it.
As for the threat to individual liberty, newspaper censorship is, frankly,
the
tip of the iceberg. Government intervenes in our lives constantly, and
individual liberties are abrogated in new and ever more imaginative ways
each
day.
Canadians who dare to get a haircut or a car tune-up across the border are
being photographed and prosecuted upon their return to Canada. Why? Because
they have secured these services without having to incur the 7 percent goods
and services tax slapped onto our ever-burgeoning provincial taxes. Even
insurance plans are now taxed.
A black market has sprung up, mainly in liquor and cigarettes, which carry
the
heaviest taxes. Don't think that the taxes will end there, though.
You will find that after a time, your state and federal governments - even
those of a different political stripe - will join forces to make their task
of
tax collection easier.
Our entire education system, up to university level, is governed by a
centralized bureaucracy called the Ministry of Education, which dictates
what
can and cannot be taught in the schools and how it is to be taught
Universities
are mainly government-funded.
I realize that the issue of government-run programs is particularly
important
to you now because of the state of your health-care system. I sympathize
with
you completely. I cannot imagine a world where one could be left bankrupt
because of illness. .
I suggest that you look upon it as you do your police protection: a guard in
place for the physical and mental well- being of your citizens. The real
danger
in socialized medicine is the attitude of entitlement it engenders.
The stories you have heard about us are largely true. It is not uncommon to
pick up a newspaper and read about "The frightening wait for cancer therapy"
here in Ontario, and the situation is no better in the other provinces.
There
is a shortage of the most advanced diagnostic technology. Thousands of the
health cards that ensure access to medical care have been issued
erroneously.
We do wait two hours for an appointment booked weeks in advance. Despite our
world-class doctors, many patients can't get treatment in time because of
overcrowding. When you are faced with a life-and-death medical situation,
you
don't mind paying whatever it costs. Under the government-dominated medical
system, however, you can't even buy your way in - unless, of course, you go
to
the United States.
I am employed in administration at a prominent Ontario university that has
historically enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. Last summer, my president
wrote
a letter to the staff explaining that the government had expressed an
intention
to take a more active role in the management of university affairs. He
described this as an enormous threat to our autonomy as a free-thinking
institution, and in the end the government retreated - for now.
As I sit here tonight, it is simply beyond my comprehension that such a
well-intentioned and beloved country as my own could go so far astray so
quickly. And it is all the more remarkable that it has taken place without
grand conspiracies or intricate plots.
Indeed, most Canadians are as offended by the images of totalitarian
government
as you are. We shared your joy at the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
crumbling
of the Soviet bloc; we value freedom. And yet we have fallen into a trap
where
we are not free.
As with that other well-known road, we traveled this one with the best of
intentions.
To those who would dismiss me as an alarmist, I issue this invitation: Read
our
newspapers, watch our news broadcasts (what is left of them) and see for
yourselves. Prove me wrong. I wish you could.
When you make critical decisions about the role of government in your life,
please think about me, about this letter and about Canada.
Really think about what it could mean when you hear about a government
initiative that sounds too good to be true. Thank God for a free press, even
when you find yourself criticizing the media for broadcasting stories that
you
would rather not hear about. The recent publication ban is not the first
one.
There are others, and their number is growing.
Listen and learn, America. Cup your ear to the wind and hear the
blood-chilling
wail of the siren whistle as it drifts down across your border.
If just one of you reads this letter and pauses, even for a moment, to think
about what unchecked government can do, then it has been worth the writing.
I have faith in you, America. Your road is tough and not perfect. Nothing
is.
Your road will keep leading you to freedom - the freedom to read and think
and
be exactly who and what you are - if you only let it. Treasure that freedom,
love it and resolve never, ever to let it go.
_____
by "Susan"
Like you, I woke up today, got dressed and settled down to a steaming brew
and
the morning newspaper before heading out to work. Unlike you, I read that
dozens of my fellow citizens were arrested for carrying copies of the
Buffalo
News. The newspaper contained information about a trial here that the
powers-that-be did not want us to read. It is that simple.
It is now 11:15 p.m. Minutes ago, I turned on the Buffalo television
station,
hoping to see on my TV what could not reach us through the newspapers. I am
now
looking at a blank screen. We received about 10 seconds of the trial
controversy, and suddenly my screen went blank. A message appeared on the
screen explaining that because of the contravention of a ban, the station
was
prohibiting broadcast of the news. Along with the sign was a high-pitched
whistle that sounded like the air-raid sirens the British used during World
War
II.
As I sit here alone, I realize that my blood is running cold at the sound of
that whistle.
This could never happen here.
Not in Canada.
You must wonder about a country that would deny its own citizens the freedom
to
read. As a Canadian, I have done a lot of hard thinking about it.
I guess the powers have their reasons for the ban. Censorship always has its
reasons, but, believe me, when you are on the receiving end of government
censorship, no reason amounts to a hill of beans - and that is why I am
writing
to you.
It is my hope that you will read this Canadian story and "wake up and smell
the
coffee" - while you still have [something] to read along with it.
I have always loved the United States of America, and I know that you are
now
making critical decisions about the role of government in your lives.
Many years ago, we in Canada were at a crossroads in our decision-making
that
is similar to the one you are at now. I wish our decisions back then had
been
very different. Then maybe I wouldn't be sitting here looking at a blank
screen.
Some two decades ago, Canadians were concerned with how government could
best
help its citizens. We looked around at countries with a comprehensive social
welfare system and envied them their cushions of comfort for everything from
universal medical care to national day care.
We were a country that held individual freedom in high esteem. Surely, we
thought, it was possible to take the best aspects of socialism and weave
them
into the fabric of a free society. After all, this was democratic Canada and
not the Soviet Union.
Over the next 20 years, we developed an extensive social support network at
both the federal and provincial levels of government. The government spent
money on every conceivable program. We spent and spent. Still, no one was
ever
really satisfied.
When you adopt an extensive government agenda, you soon discover that all
the
entrenched programs and layers of bureaucracy become impossible to budge.
Much
of the population works for the government; about one of every four
Canadians
now draws a government paycheck.
People learn to depend on government, and all governments, even those whose
leaders warn against this dependency, learn to love the power that flows
from
it.
As for the threat to individual liberty, newspaper censorship is, frankly,
the
tip of the iceberg. Government intervenes in our lives constantly, and
individual liberties are abrogated in new and ever more imaginative ways
each
day.
Canadians who dare to get a haircut or a car tune-up across the border are
being photographed and prosecuted upon their return to Canada. Why? Because
they have secured these services without having to incur the 7 percent goods
and services tax slapped onto our ever-burgeoning provincial taxes. Even
insurance plans are now taxed.
A black market has sprung up, mainly in liquor and cigarettes, which carry
the
heaviest taxes. Don't think that the taxes will end there, though.
You will find that after a time, your state and federal governments - even
those of a different political stripe - will join forces to make their task
of
tax collection easier.
Our entire education system, up to university level, is governed by a
centralized bureaucracy called the Ministry of Education, which dictates
what
can and cannot be taught in the schools and how it is to be taught
Universities
are mainly government-funded.
I realize that the issue of government-run programs is particularly
important
to you now because of the state of your health-care system. I sympathize
with
you completely. I cannot imagine a world where one could be left bankrupt
because of illness. .
I suggest that you look upon it as you do your police protection: a guard in
place for the physical and mental well- being of your citizens. The real
danger
in socialized medicine is the attitude of entitlement it engenders.
The stories you have heard about us are largely true. It is not uncommon to
pick up a newspaper and read about "The frightening wait for cancer therapy"
here in Ontario, and the situation is no better in the other provinces.
There
is a shortage of the most advanced diagnostic technology. Thousands of the
health cards that ensure access to medical care have been issued
erroneously.
We do wait two hours for an appointment booked weeks in advance. Despite our
world-class doctors, many patients can't get treatment in time because of
overcrowding. When you are faced with a life-and-death medical situation,
you
don't mind paying whatever it costs. Under the government-dominated medical
system, however, you can't even buy your way in - unless, of course, you go
to
the United States.
I am employed in administration at a prominent Ontario university that has
historically enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. Last summer, my president
wrote
a letter to the staff explaining that the government had expressed an
intention
to take a more active role in the management of university affairs. He
described this as an enormous threat to our autonomy as a free-thinking
institution, and in the end the government retreated - for now.
As I sit here tonight, it is simply beyond my comprehension that such a
well-intentioned and beloved country as my own could go so far astray so
quickly. And it is all the more remarkable that it has taken place without
grand conspiracies or intricate plots.
Indeed, most Canadians are as offended by the images of totalitarian
government
as you are. We shared your joy at the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
crumbling
of the Soviet bloc; we value freedom. And yet we have fallen into a trap
where
we are not free.
As with that other well-known road, we traveled this one with the best of
intentions.
To those who would dismiss me as an alarmist, I issue this invitation: Read
our
newspapers, watch our news broadcasts (what is left of them) and see for
yourselves. Prove me wrong. I wish you could.
When you make critical decisions about the role of government in your life,
please think about me, about this letter and about Canada.
Really think about what it could mean when you hear about a government
initiative that sounds too good to be true. Thank God for a free press, even
when you find yourself criticizing the media for broadcasting stories that
you
would rather not hear about. The recent publication ban is not the first
one.
There are others, and their number is growing.
Listen and learn, America. Cup your ear to the wind and hear the
blood-chilling
wail of the siren whistle as it drifts down across your border.
If just one of you reads this letter and pauses, even for a moment, to think
about what unchecked government can do, then it has been worth the writing.
I have faith in you, America. Your road is tough and not perfect. Nothing
is.
Your road will keep leading you to freedom - the freedom to read and think
and
be exactly who and what you are - if you only let it. Treasure that freedom,
love it and resolve never, ever to let it go.
_____