Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:04 am
We've had this conversation before. The reasons to be pacifist are numerous, there has never been an attack on canadian soil by a foreign power since the 1812 war. The idea that angry chinese or belligerent americans are going to come waltzing in has no basis in reality. Even after the second world war the cold war had Canada fighting, not against immigrants, but its own population. THe communist party was a political force, not a violent one, but still it was railroaded out of existence. The fear was exactly what happened-that socialists would gain political power in Canada. That in fact Canadians themselves would subscribe to it. <br />
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The reasons to be militarist are plenty, however, the reality is the opposite of what people claim. In the international community Canada is now usually the bad guys from many canadians 'left' point of view. Intervention needs very clear justifications, not only have these not been met in Haiti and Afghanistan, even Bosnia, they have been shown to be illegal.<br />
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Canadian intervention occurs not only by government but by lax export laws which sees Canada as a major military supplier to the US and others, including the dictators we are supposedly trying to rid the world of. Canadian is so far from 'pacifist' that I've never even read a single article critically examining the structure and function of our military.<br />
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IF the NDP were so 'pacifist' they would be calling for withdrawal of canadian forces-they are not. They say 'we will only act with international authority', which ISN"T pacifism, just do a little research on Haiti. <br />
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As for spending, nobody has said 'get rid of the military', which, incidentally, was a citizens initiative in Switzerland that everybody voted on (and rejected). Pacifism would of course mean dismantling the military, which I haven't heard from credible sources ANYWHERE. Even the NDP is far from advocating it. <br />
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As we saw before, Canada's military spending is right along the same lines of the majority of countries in the world, so the argument that we are not spending as much as the US, Great Britain, or China-countries 10 times our size, makes no sense. The military offers excellent reimbursement for soldiers and job security, something few jobs in the country offer. If equipment is necessary, simply create jobs, industry and tax concessions to create them within the country. Virtually nobody in the maritimes is going to complain if they re-open the St.John shipbuilding port, and nobody in Manitoba is going to complain if they start building jeeps there. But THAT is not going to happen and we all know it.<br />
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There is the stance of 'armed neutrality', such as the Swiss advocate, and the Scandinavian countries are semi-restricted to. Again, the idea of keeping canadian forces within Canada and only defending the national territory is FAR from even being contemplated in Parliament. The government doesn't even mention it as a possibility. The NDP's position is not exactly that since they don't define 'international' agreements. They could well be NORAD or NATO, neither of which are actually international, but as said, it's pretty easy fo r the NDP to say "we're pulling out of Haiti and Afghanistan". Nobody even in the party will say that, in fact during the last election on television they wouldn't even TALK about it.<br />
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The reason PEOPLE are pacifist, just like the majority of people around the world are pacifist is simply because you don't NEED to justify inaction. You ALWAYS have to justify aggression, yet the world has become a place where the aggressors have simply run amuck and offer no justifications. When militarization means aggression, it's quite clear WHY pacifism's definition is changed to simply mean 'lack of aggression'. Armed neutrality is FAR from 'pacifist', in fact the Swiss are among the most militarist nations, just not in armed buildup.<br />
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In Switzerland EVERY man is a permanent member of the militia, they each own a gun and uniform, they each practise target shooting at least once a month, and marksmanship is part of the recreational lifestyle. In fact, like ancient Greece, a banker's son will find himself fighting right next to a street vendor and realizes that in battle his life may well depend on him. That breeds a kind of nationalistic community mindset that is sorely lacking in Canada. In the second world war France fell in two weeks because they had a 'professional army', yet the german generals kept resisting openly attacking the swiss partly because of its geography, but also because they knew damn well that they'd have to fight a war for every square inch of Swiss soil against every swiss person who is brought up to defend with his life his country. Hitler wanted to be the 'butcher of the swiss', however, it's interesting to note that this tiny country in the middle of a hostile continent escaped two world wars relatively unscathed. Lots of people consider that 'cowardice' because they weren't on 'our side', but that just reflects personal opinion. <br />
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However, even in Canada, where democracy is supposed to reign, you never even hear 'neutrality' mentioned. So pacifism is so far off the political radar that it can be said to not exist. Maybe somebody knows a guy who is a pacifist, or some local church groups are pacifist, that occurs in every nation, and is even rampant in the states. However, the NDP certainly isn't preaching it.
