Many people will write letters about the war in Europe just begun; I’ll keep my comments brief.
The way this violent event followed so swiftly on the resolution of the Ottawa freedom-occupation could not be bettered as a teachable moment for Canadians to reflect on the meaning of being free.
Since 1945, the West – Europe and Anglo-America as its heartland – have lived in a state of peace. We are so fortunate, so sheltered from danger, so comfortable in cultural, material, and technological affluence we enjoy in our first-world, democratic, rule-of-law state.
China and other foes of Western global hegemony see the world differently, not admiring our way. We expect that NATO will be our shield against war coming to Canadian territory; we don’t expect nuclear missiles could actually be used.
This sudden eruption by Russia into its European neighbour makes me fear history has reversed. The world I grew up in and took for granted has been passing away. The pandemic, the Ottawa event, and Putin’s war, the 2009 near-meltdown of our economies, climate crisis: milestones in our twilight. I very much fear the world I was born to, with the peace I believed would last and expand, is gone. Another era such as the one that blessed the West for 75 years might return, but for now it’s passed.
Charles Jeanes
Nelson