S is for SORROW

It is a dark and stormy day here in my little village on the south-west coast of British Columbia, just south of the third largest city in Canada (Vancouver).  As I peer through the heavy raindrops, I see the giant cedars, birch, and poplars swaying in the wind as they drop their final few leaves.  Less than a week ago, November 11th dawned clear and sunny, and we headed down to Memorial Park to celebrate Remembrance Day.  That day, I was so thankful that Canada has been spared any real danger in the face of any of the wars being fought across the continent and the oceans.  Today, the sky weeps in sorrow at how quickly things can change.

France is at war now.  France - one of the founding countries of our nation.  Explorers arrived on our shores as early as 1534 when French explorers under Jacques Cartier celebrated Canada’s first Roman Catholic mass, at their camp of Brest on Labrador’s coast.  The following year, Cartier became the first European to sail into the St. Lawrence River, which he believed was a route to Asia. Two sons of Iroquois Chief Donnacona, who were guiding Cartier, referred to their native village as Canada, the explorer’s first exposure to the name.  For more history of the connection that Canada has to France, see here.

There have been wars from the beginning of time, and if you think about it, most have been fought in the name of religion.  Many continue to believe that the terrorists who today sabotage peoples' freedoms and rights are fighting in the name of their religion.  They are not!  The President of France, François Hollande said in his speech to the nation yesterday that these terrorist are "uncivilized cowards."  He also stated that "we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless. Because when terrorists are capable of committing such atrocities they must be certain that they are facing a determined France, a united France, a France that is together and does not let itself be moved, even if today we express infinite sorrow.”  I say that these cowards will face a determined world, a united world, that will unite to annihilate them forever. 

VIVE LA FRANCE
 

 

VIVE LE CANADA
 

 

VIVE LA GUERRE
 

There is no deeper sorrow than when innocent people are mowed down by bombs and military weapons.  And I will not even stoop to mention the name by which these terrorists are known.  We all know.  And with the greatest respect to all ABC Wednesday contributors, I apologize for this rant. But we must stand tall and proud and defiant in the face of these tyrants.

 

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