In accordance with the Fair Dealings Act, this is the letter that Noreen Goffman wrote to The Independent, as passed around with many of Rick Mercer's reply in emails that are crossing the country:
Blowing in the wind . . .
Between mouthfuls of fruitcake and blissful stretches of catch-up sleep, you
couldn't ignore the war (oh, sorry, is that peaceful restoration work?) in
Afghanistan during the holiday season if you tried. On the one hand, you
were given license to let go and savour slow food, idle afternoons, and the
constant pleasure of friends and family-in other words, fully appreciate the
privileges of life in the West; on the other hand, you were constantly
reminded of Our Boys our on patrol, eating reconstituted turkey in the
Afghan desert-in other words, invited to feel guilty for not chowing down
sand and fighting the war on terror.
Every time you opened a newspaper or listened to the news, especially on the
CBC, you were compelled to reach for the box of tissues. If it wasn't a
story about some poor sod's legs being blown off then it was an extended
interview with some dead soldier's parents. Indulging in another bite of
dark chocolate was meant to be more painful this year. Here, have a plate of
guilt with your second helping, my dear, and pass the self-reproach.
Amidst all the cranked up sentimentality and the daily barrage of stories
from the likes of reporter Christy 'one of the boys' Blatchford or Peter
'not exactly on the front lines' Mansbridge, The Globe and Mail's television
columnist, John Doyle, dared to question the nature of the coverage. Doyle
openly wondered, as is his right and responsibility, what in the world the
public broadcaster was doing, let alone his own privately owned newspaper,
devoting so much mawkish attention to the Canadian troops?
It's one thing to pay full respect to the men (and some women) who have
chosen a life in uniform and are therefore more or less voluntarily enduring
punishing conditions, risking their lives many thousands of miles away from
the comforts of home.
It is another to report on their presence in that unfamiliar place without
so much as a hint that they don't belong there, that the campaign to restore
order and keep the Taliban from returning to power might be doomed, that
blood is obviously begetting blood and that Canadians, and especially the
Newfoundlanders who comprise such a disproportionate percentage of the
overseas troops (compare with the number of African-Americans fighting in
the doomed project of Viet Nam), are destined to return in body bags.
Shouldn't we-the media, our public intellectual, citizens in general-at
least be questioning, not merely glorifying or going sloppy over this fact?
Any time anyone questions the coverage, as Doyle did and as this column is
venturing to do, you can practically hear the rage mounting in the neck
veins of the military huggers. Peter Mansbridge threw a public hissy fit,
obviously protesting too much. And Doyle told his readers that he'd been
receiving some pretty nasty hate mail after his columns in December, not
surprising, really, when you consider how defensive people are about the
troops. I expect I'll get some ugly stuff, too. It is a trite irony that you
are chastised for daring to question the purpose of the military mission
when that very mission is allegedly about restoring democracy and freedom of
speech.
Which leads me to kick at another sacred cow--that is, Rick Mercer and that
whole lot of star Newfoundlanders who went over to entertain Our Boys (and
Girls) over Christmas, reportedly flown to unmarked destinations and,
presumably, forced to share some dehydrated food and wear really ugly
clothing for a few days.
What in the world is going on? Where are the protest songs of yesteryear? I
guess, when General Rick 'MUN Graduate' Hiller invites you to come along and
share the joy ride you have to join up faster than you can say 'Bob Hope is
dead.' Reading Mercer's widely circulated piece on the joys of serving gravy
to the grateful Canadian boys was almost as painful as watching Peter McKay
flirt with Condoleezza 'Condee' Rice.
Just when did the worm turn? When was it suddenly acceptable for your garden
variety progressive, satire-loving celebrity to hug the troops, praise
military actions, and pass the ammunition without so much as a hint of
dissent or any questioning of the value of the mission, not to mention its
obviously USA-linked agenda? Can you imagine popular talk show host Jon
Stewart flying overseas over for a few feel-good shows in Iraq?
What looking-glass world have Rick and his talented cronies walked into?
Inevitably, in the United States the right-wing White House mongers who
first encouraged the post 9/11 invasion of Iraq are now retreating faster
than a camel in heat. It's taken an awfully long time and thousands of body
bags, but public opinion is finally forcing an undignified about face. The
buzzword for 2007 is 'exit strategy.'
But not here, not if you listen to Stephen Harper, not if you are getting
all warm and fuzzy about how meaningful it is to stand in line waiting for a
double double at the Tim Horton's shop in Kandahar, not if Christy
Blanchard's columns make you cry, and you want to make Rick Mercer and his
buddies honourary soldiers.
It is really hard to see how the road to open debate, let alone peace, can
be paved with military offensives and the song and laugh shows of
Newfoundland talent, and there is something deeply disturbing about the
unquestioning belief that it can.
