op/ed-American politics.

Well,I've just been officially chastened for the second time in three days for having an opinion on American politics.The logic of both these people,one living in the United States,the other in Canada,is that since I'm not American and will not be voting in the upcoming election,I should refrain from expressing an opinion on American politics.My immediate reaction  was that,while I am indeed not American,all thinking people on this small planet that we share need to be informed about American politics.America casts a really huge shadow.So,while I agree that the upcoming American election is in the hands of American people to decide,it is beyond me how anyone could think that no person living outside the United States "has a right"to an opinion.Not only do I have a right,but I,like any thinking citizen of this world has a responsibility to be involved in the discourse because,as goes America,so goes the free world.

In 2001,America asked for our support on 9/11,and like nearly everyone I know,I was happy to stand with America.Their cause,so far as it was directed at global terrorism was righteous.I would note further,that I had to set aside my liberal leanings to support a Republican president,but,as I say,the cause was righteous.Setting partisan ideology aside was easier than one might imagine.In the following few years,Canada supported America militarily in Afghanistan,but not in Iraq.And again,while this happened in an atmosphere of deepening conservatism here in Canada,I supported our country's decision.It was,hopefully,a decision rendered independently of American influence,left in the hands of Canadian people and their elected representatives.

As for myself personally,when I put up a yellow ribbon,it was for the safe return of American soldiers,as well as Canadian fighting men.When we prayed in church,it was for all of our military personnel,as well as their families at home,regardless of what side of the border they  lived on.And I was only too proud to do that,because it was a righteous cause.Now,in fairness,not everyone here in Canada supported American causes.Some of our politicians though you were"stupid" or said"I hate the bastards."And I stood firmly among the many who asked those ill informed politicians to resign.You see,we've shared the same continent for a few hundred years now,and that in my estimation makes us brothers.And,while I do not have ultimate control over my brother's(or sisters) behavior,or political policy as it may be,I have a vested interest in seeing that my brother is the best brother he can be.I need to not be ill informed politically,philosophically or socially as to what is happening south of my own border.Living in safety and health depends on it.

There are apparently those south of the border who seem to agree with me.To the point that they make extraordinary efforts to influence what it is I think,and,in a larger sense,how America is perceived in the rest of the world.Not to mention any names,Fox,CNN...oops.So.if I'm supposed to not have an opinion,if I'm supposed to sit with an idle brain and a wired jaw,then why does American propaganda,dogma and legitimate discourse as well,keep invading my living space?

There are a lot of things which don't affect me directly which I think about on a daily basis.For instance,I do not have cancer.That does not mean that I am not affected indirectly by cancer.I've watched loved ones suffer from it's ravages.I've even lost people I know to cancer.And I'm only too happy to support the cause against cancer in any way that I am able.It might,after all be of vital importance to me someday,if indeed it is not already.I don't own an animal either,but I support the idea of having a home for every pet.I only mention these two examples because a great deal of my Facebook friends support these causes and ask me to be engaged on the issues.But that was before the American elections.Now I'm being asked to take a stand(hopefully an informed stand)on something that supposedly doesn't affect me directly.What,then,I ask is so sacrosanct about American elections that I supposedly "don't have a right"to render comment on the matter?

Why do I go to the effort I do to inform myself on all issues American?Because I live with you all on a planet that is getting smaller everyday.And,with that in mind,quality control is everyone's business.I respectfully disagree with your opinion that I should never never take a side in American elections.When can you expect my abstinence of commentary to began?Just as soon as CNN and Fox stop trying to gather Canadian sheep into their American fold.Or perhaps I'll wait until Saudi Arabia freezes over.

music by Corn Fed Girls

calgary-early light

calgary/fish creek park III

calgary/fish creek park II

music by Ozark Alliance

memoir chapter II-continued

The outside of our house in Moncton was quite different too.We had a backyard to play in,rather than a driveway and a barnyard,and there was a house between us and the street out front,which was not nearly as busy as the road that passed in the front of our previous house.There was no pen at the side of the house either because,I suppose my sister had grown some and my mother did not fear so much that she would end up running out into the street.We could play in the front yard if we wanted to,but mostly we were encouraged to spend our days in the back yard.Around the side of our house,between our house and Mr.Cormier's house,it was shady and very pleasant when the weather was hot.In the back yard it would stay sunny for most of the morning,then become shady as the sun passed into the front yard later in the day.

At first I don't recall much about the surrounding streets and houses.But later,our neighborhood,which was still being built grew to have a lot of activity.I discovered,though,at some point that there were children living just behind our back yard.Most of those children were girls,and most were much older than my sister and I.There were two children ,though,who looked exactly alike,so that I could not tell the difference between the two.My mother said they were twins.I'd never seen twins before.Well,not really.The Mormon children that lived up the road in Redmondville looked very much one like the other and it was often hard to tell them apart even though they were of different ages.But these twins looked so much like one another that I never could tell which was which.

I never seemed to notice what went on in the one house beside us.That's where the Clarks lived.There were a few trees and bushes between our house,and our back yard really opened up the other way,so it was much easier to see into the Cormier's yard.Neither neighbor had children our own age,so seeing or going into their yard was not something we did much.Mr.Cormier would come out and work in his garden a lot.When the weather was warm he was almost always outside,when he wasn't working.He was a strong,sturdy looking man with square shoulders and slightly curly hair that was already beginning to turn grey.To use my fathers words,he was "built like a brick shithouse."Both he and his wife worked out in the yard when the weather was good.Although my parents got along well with the Cormiers,and,for that matter all the neighbors,they didn't seem to talk a lot.I can only ever recall Mr.Cormier ever being to our house maybe once or twice,and his wife not at all.Both of my parents would always speak to them when they saw them,but really only just to say hello.

Our driveway,as I remember it was gravel for the first few years we lived there.There was no garage for the car,just a driveway.And,there was a chimney halfway down the side of the house.Growing all around the chimney were bunches of yellow flowers that looked like sunflowers but were not.They were hard to get around even when we were not very big,as they seemed to reach out a long way into the driveway and were two or three times taller than I was.My father complained that they would scratch the car and my mother called them weeds.To me,they were flowers,but very different kinds of flowers than the ones my mother had begun to plant in the front,under our windows.The main difference was that nobody liked the flowers in the driveway.