Post 83—It’s Christmas Time

Post 83—It’s Christmas Time                                                     

Merry Christmas to you all! Yes, it’s that day and that season. The season that many of us dread because of the tremendous pressures we put upon ourselves with our frantic buying. When I see the crowds in the malls—I only see them on the screen!—and listen to the shoppers interviewed by reporters, I shake my head and thank God for the wise decision that we have made. Seeing that giving presents is often a matter of bringing coal to New Castle, that is to say, giving presents to people who already have more than they need, we do our gifting to charities who make sure the poor are taken care of.  So, instead of pressures, my wife and I are free to enjoy the season with its many instrumental and choral concerts, joyful church services, street events, etc., etc. We love this season, not the least because of the parties that come with it.

“Merry Christmas” is the traditional if no longer the most popular greeting.  “Merry”—it sounds rather flippant and superficial.  “Let us eat, drink and be merry,” as the Biblical saying has it.     But “merry” became a tradition because in the past it had a much deeper meaning with a spiritual undertone. I insist on using it along with the term “Christmas.” For others who have no reason to celebrate Christmas, fine, let them make do with the superficial “Happy Holiday,” but holiday for what? What are they celebrating? Yes, for some, great family time and that is indeed important and worth celebrating. But today so many have no families or they are far away. In fact, for many it’s a sad and lonely season.

Of course, originally the time was marked by a pagan feast that Christians recast in order to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The rest of this post is devoted to the Old Testament passage of Isaiah 9, where that birth was prophesied in the words of the people of Israel thousands of years ago. That means in words and concepts that we do not immediately understand, but I believe the basic thrust of the passage should make clear what the major concerns were that Jesus came to address.

There are many, many different Bible translations. Most of them are not created to compete with or correct other translations. Rather they all have different purposes and, especially, target audiences. A major purpose is to make the Bible more easily understood to today’s reader. The first translation is from the English Standard Version; the second, from The Message. But both are translations of the same passage.

`

                        A New Day Is Coming

             (From English Standard Version)

9 But there will be an end to the gloom those people suffered. In the past, people thought the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was not important. But later, that land will be honored—the land along the sea, the land east of the Jordan River, and Galilee where people from other nations live. ² Those people lived in darkness, but they will see a great light. They lived in a place as dark as death, but a great light will shine on them.

³ God, you will make the nation grow, and you will make the people happy. They will rejoice in your presence as they do at harvest time. It will be like the joy when people take their share of things they have won in war. ⁴ That will happen because you will lift the heavy yoke off their shoulders and take away their heavy burden. You will take away the rod that the enemy used to punish your people, as you did when you defeated Midian.^[a]

⁵ Every boot that marched in battle and every uniform stained with blood will be destroyed and thrown into the fire. ⁶ This will happen when the special child is born. God will give us a son who will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be “Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.” ⁷ His power will continue to grow, and there will be peace without end. This will establish him as the king sitting on David’s throne and ruling his kingdom. He will rule with goodness and justice forever and ever. The strong love^[b] that the Lord All-Powerful has for his people will make this happen!

               A Child Has Been Born—for Us!

              (From The Message)

9 But there’ll be no darkness for those who were in trouble.

Earlier he did bring the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali into disrepute,

but the time is coming when he’ll make that whole area glorious—

 the road along the Sea, the country past the Jordan, international Galilee.

^2-7 The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—
    light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation,
    you expanded its joy.
Oh, they’re so glad in your presence!
    Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration,
    sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—
    all their whips and cudgels and curses—
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance
    as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops,
    along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will be piled in a heap and burned,
    a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for us!
    the gift of a son—for us!
He’ll take over
    the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
    Strong God,
Eternal Father,
    Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
    and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He’ll rule from the historic David throne
    over that promised kingdom.
He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing
    and keep it going
With fair dealing and right living,
    beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
    will do all this.

Post 82—The “Christmas Spirit” at McDonald

Today we are going a bit lighter as well as a bit shorter to give you the time you otherwise may not have to do your final Christmas shopping.  If you wonder how come I have the time to write this post when I probably should be shopping feverishly, well, it’s simple: I don’t. Period. Now don’t jump to the conclusion that I—or, rather, my wife and I-- are cheapskates. Remember: before you judge, if at all, be sure you have all the facts at your command. That fact is that we have decided this year to spend our gift money on persecuted people, including refugees. We see little sense in spending fortunes on gifts no one among our family and friends needs. Writing a few cheques or sending monetary gifts online or by Paypal takes off a lot of pressure—and allows me the time to write this post.

The Denison Forum recently featured a story by one Nick Pitts under the heading “250 Mcdonald's Drive-Thru Customers 'Pay It Forward'.” Since it’s a Christmassy kind of story, it is a fitting  post in this Christmas week. In Pitts’ own words, it goes like this:

·          

Marisabel Figueroa probably started her shift at the Lakeland, Florida McDonalds where she works expecting that day to be like any other. However, one woman's generosity set off a chain reaction that, several hours later, would leave her saying that she'd "never experienced something like that before." It all started when Torie Keene decided to pay for the order of the car behind her and specifically asked Figueroa to tell the driver Merry Christmas, rather than Happy Holidays, when she delivered the news of the free meal. 

As the cashier described, when the other driver was told that her meal had been paid for, she was so grateful that she decided to do the same for the driver behind her. The pattern continued for almost the entirety of Figueroa's six-hour shift, as some 250 customers decided to "pay it forward." 

"I just kept giving everyone the same message, and they were all so stunned and so happy,” Figueroa explained. “One lady even paid for the meals of the next three cars behind her."

After a local news station picked up the story, Keene contacted Figueroa via Facebook to express her surprise, saying that she was "only trying to brighten someone's day." It seems clear that she did that and more as the story has now made national headlines. 

I don’t know just where Pitts’ story ends and where Denison of the Forum takes over. The next few paragraphs amount to a kind of Biblical application of this apparently true story.

The thing is, most of the people that experienced the gift of a free meal and decided to continue it paid roughly what they expected to pay when they arrived at the drive-thru window. The difference is that, because someone had already covered their debt, their actions from that point forward became voluntary rather than necessary. They were given the freedom not to pay but chose to use that freedom for the betterment of others rather than just themselves. 

It's a living example of the mentality Paul describes in his first letter to the Corinthians when he spends the majority of the Epistle writing on the need to think of others before yourself and to place their rights above your own (1 Corinthians 6-14). He is clear that we are not called to make that choice out of an obligation to them but in order to simply be better representatives of Christ in their lives. As he wrote to the Galatians, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). 

Because of Christ's sacrifice, we have been set free from the burdens of the Law. Will we use that freedom to model the kind of life to which He has called us or will we view his grace as a license for disobedience? How we answer that question speaks volumes about the nature of our relationship with God, and an unbelieving world is watching closely for our response. 

So this Christmas season, let's be intentional about using the freedom that God has granted us for His purposes rather than our own. Our heavenly Father has given us the gift of unhindered access to Himself through Christ and asked us to "pay it forward" by helping others to understand that offer as well. Will you?

The only thing I question in the above few paragraphs is that italicized clause that there was/is no obligation at work here. Presenting ourselves as better representatives of Christ is our obligation. True, it’s also our privilege, but you cannot eliminate the obligation part. And what is the problem with that?  

Maybe this “little” is a reflection of a divide between Lutheran and Calvinist thinking with the former tending towards a negative attitude towards obligation and law while the latter emphasizes that law and grace always go together. 

Perhaps the non-obligatory part is also a reflection of the influence of the general Western antipathy to law that stems way back in our history to the so-called Enlightenment.  The roots of our thought patterns go so deep and long to the point that most of us are not even aware of them; we just act, speak or think along those patterns without any further second thought. 

One of the purposes of this blog is to lay bare for you readers the reasons and roots of our accepted thought patterns or worldview. This obligation thing may be one of those unexamined items in our Western culture. 

I guess I ended up not so short after all nor so light. Next time just read the story without the comments, enjoy it and ponder it for yourself. Maybe even go to Burger King and initiate the same story to see what happens, Christmas or not. Oh, sorry, it was McDonalds, not BK. No matter, for when it's spring, can summer be far way? When you see Big Mac, can BK be far away? 

Post 81--Better Help to Refugees

Douglas Todd of the Vancouver Sun (VS) wrote a very sensible column under the title “Poviding better help to refugees” (Nov. 28, 2015, D5) that I am going to partially summarize for you. And unless I come across something else spectacular on the subject of refugees, I will try to let the topic rest for a while after this one. Notice the careful nature of this promise? “I will try….”

Todd reports how almost every Canadian supports Trudeau’s efforts to welcome refugees, thousands of them. There’s a lot of Canadian compassion floating around in Canada’s frigid airspace, along with sympathy. Many people look at it as a “feel-good policy,” a phrase Todd borrows from Oxford’s economist Paul Collier.

You see how we all borrow from each other? I borrow from Todd, who borrows from Collier and others whom you’ll meet in this post. Except perhaps for the most brilliant among us, we all do so borrow. It’s a borrowing world. We are “homo mutuatis,” a "somewhat Latin" for “borrowing man,” a phrase I just concocted from a more classic expression. And sorry for the exclusive male reference. That’s just the way Western cultures formed their languages in the past. There might be some alternatives: “Thinking person” would be something like “persona mutuatis,” while “thinking woman” might come out as “femina mutuatis.”  Don’t mind me. I just like to play around with such expressions, even when I’m not sure of their exact forms.

All this “feel good” stuff turns it into an emotional issue for many. Now there’s nothing wrong with emotions, but when it beclouds reasonable judgement, it can become dangerous, especially if it involves the destinies of many thousands of people and even of nations. When I expressed my misgivings about the 25,000 goal and the need for proper vetting to a retired professor for whom I have high respect, he dubbed my reaction as “paranoia.” Me paranoia?  Me, who has lived for 30 years in a country that now has some 80 million Muslims, who has throughout all these years kept a research eye on events around me and collected research materials on the subject all these years, me who ultimately published a series of eight volumes on Christian-Muslim relations in that country and numerous other articles? (Go to www.SocialTheology. com/Islamica.htm.) That went too far for me and, though I hid my reaction from him, I felt insulted at his unthinking (?) dismissal of my experience and surprised that someone of his stature could be so misled by emotions as to isolate him from larger reality. Remember my earlier warning that compassion, like love, should not be blind. As to the impossibility of proper—and, thus, safe--vetting, also remember that letter to the Prime Minister in Post 78. 

But maybe I am doing the same thing, when I so dismiss the man’s opinion about paranoia. He is an experienced psychologist and thus knows a thing or two about paranoia as I do about Christian-Muslim relations! Now where do I go?!

But sympathetic as most of us are, polls also indicate that roughly half of us question the Government’s asylum programme.  We mostly approve of their intentions but doubt the way it is being done. The CBC, being aware of the deep suspicion floating around in our collective mind, has gone out of its way to make the process of accepting individual refugees transparent, In the meantime, even the Government itself has already scaled back from its campaign promise of 25,000 by end 2015, which, truth be told, could only be described as something close to ridiculous. Germany and Sweden, two countries who are accepting far more refugees per capita than we are, Todd reminds us, are having second thoughts about their “carrying capacity.” Sweden, in fact, has since “closed its borders.” 

Todd also adduces the opinions of recognized experts on refugees such as Michael Teitelbaum of Harvard and Collier, whom you’ve already met. Since the number of refugees accepted by the West, though perhaps overwhelming for the host countries, in reality represents only a tiny fraction of displaced persons, the money spent on that fraction would go a lot farther if spent on helping “the ten million Syrians who are living safely, but in poverty, in refugee camps or on the margins of society in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.” The West, according to Teitelbaum, needs to far more support the UN refugee agency, which is “chronically underfunded.” Todd quotes Teitelbaum that this is “hardly a humanitarian” situation. “It is well established that most refugees would prefer to stay near their home countries in hopes of returning when conditions stabilize.”  “The same funds now spent on refugees “could protect far more people in need.”  Germany alone has budgeted $ 7 billion for its refugee programme. That’s more than one-third of the amount needed by the UN to adequately fund its programme for the entire global refugee situation. That one-third would proportionally help a lot more people than Germany’s expected 800,000.  The same would be true of the Canadian budget.

Collier describes Western refugee policies as “often short-sighted.”  “Encouraging the mass emigration of their most enterprising young people” is not helpful in the long run. Canada today is struggling with a lack of skilled labour and professionals. Perhaps behind the scenes of government our refugee approach is less compassion than a cynical and calculated effort to supply our own manpower needs.  Who knows? Governments are extremely clever in their public relations. 

I am reminded of the colonial era during which Western governments hoodwinked their citizens with the ideology of a God-given “white man’s burden” for other races and nations.  In reality it was our own economic self-interest that was the real motivation. Believe me on this one, for here, too, I published a dissertation on the subject, a summary of which can be found on my < www.SocialTheology.com/boeriana.htm >.  

But then again, perhaps the Canadian Government’s motive is a combination of compassion wedded to self-interest, but that would then be short-sighted compassion for thousands of individuals while it short changes their home countries. No doubt someone will come out with a book explaining the full picture for us. I am eagerly waiting….

In the meantime, let us welcome with Christian grace and compassion all the refugees Canada is accepting. I am happy I am member of the Vancouver Christian Reformed Church that “happens” to be next door to the world’s very first refugee welcoming centre that is soon to open its doors to the incoming crowds and that does not constitute a welcome into a refugee camp. Even if their arrival is/were (The correct form of the verb depends on your opinion of the situation!) the result of short-sighted policies, since they’re coming, let us embrace them wholeheartedly. They need all the love and compassion with which many Canadian hearts are overflowing. Let's not waste that.

Unfortunately, the name of the highly respected long-established organization that will operate the centre is “Immigrant Services Society”—ISS! The greatest of people, but that name! My advice? Change that name! Don’t fill your incoming guests with fear and suspicion even before they cross your threshold! Let them feel welcome, loved and secure at that moment.

Post 80—Oppression of Muslims

It is claimed by Christian experts that Christians are the most persecuted people in the world. Now those who study Christian persecution may be experts in Christian persecution, but are they also experts in persecution in general? Do they know as much about persecution of Muslims? 

My universe of discourse here is persecution because of their faith, not because of political circumstances.  How many of the Muslims streaming into the West these days are Muslims persecuted for their faith rather than victims of politics or immigrants seeking better economic circumstances?  

In the case of African Muslims crossing the Mediterranean, it is fairly safe to regard most of them as economic immigrants. In the case of Syrians Muslims, I expect that many are victims of their civil war in the same way as are many Christians—in other words economic and political victims, not victims of religious persecution. But many Christians among them have also been persecuted for their faith by the same Muslims who now are their fellow refugees. Remember the story in Sweden a few posts ago?  So, many of them are these three types all rolled into one. 

Syrian affairs are complicated these days. These refugees are not all victims of the Syrian civil war. Many of them, both Christian and Muslim, are also victims of ISIS violence. That is above all a religious war with serious economic and political consequences. Those who are dislodged because of ISIS can be considered persecuted Christians and Muslims.  The same thing is true with Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.  They persecute fellow Muslims as much as Christians. In fact, more, for Muslims outnumber Christians in that far north east of the country. I do not know whether these persecution “experts” study that aspect of persecution. Neither do I know whether there are Muslims who are experts in persecution of Muslims. I guess I could go online and check it out. Perhaps you would find them mostly among human rights advocates.

But one thing is sure, namely that in most Muslim countries in general, Christians are the most numerous among those persecuted, for there is hardly a Muslim-majority country where Christians are not persecuted, whether by government or by the people, whether officially or unofficially, whether by pure violence or various forms of discrimination.   

And yet, in a country like Nigeria, Muslims have for decades complained about persecution. Not the violent kind that kills or maims, though that also occurs during times of demonstrations, but in terms of discrimination in cultural, political, legal and educational forms, persecution by colonialists and by Christians. When the British established the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, the colonial Governor, Lord Lugard, a secular man, promised that the British would not touch their Muslim religion. This is known as the "Lugard promise." There would be freedom of religion for the Muslims. In fact, for many decades Christian missionaries had less freedom to spread the Gospel than Muslims had for theirs. So, why did northern Muslims complain so bitterly about persecution, while Christians suffered at their hands? 

The reason is to be found in the Lugard promise.  He made his promise from his secular perspective on religion, which is a reduced version of religion that is restricted to church/mosque and private life, but not to affect public life, for that is supposedly secular and neutral. His promise was that Muslims were free to attend mosque and practice their religion privately. 

But to Muslims, religion is a wholistic affair that touches on and influences all of life, not just private or mosque life. Without either party being aware of it, they misunderstood each other. Muslims thought they would be free to practice their religion wholistically in all spheres of culture. 

The British proceded to secularize the Muslim community. Though they left sharia (Muslim law) in tact at the level of mosque, the private and family levels, in other spheres secularism became the dominant worldview on basis of which public life was organized. A major tool was education. Another was switching the Hausa language from Arabic script to Western so as to reduce the influence of Arabic ideas.  Ever so slowly the secular spirit took hold among Muslims—until the revolution of Khomeini woke them up. Suddenly they realized they “had been had.”  Suddenly they began to realize what had happened to them and they burst out in anger. They had been fooled, slipped a poison pill and put to sleep, while an antithesis had developed between the two systems. Everything public had gone secular, something that most Muslims reject with a passion, especially in northern Nigeria. Before long, the demand for the revival of sharia came to the surface with a vengeance. They felt discriminated against and, yes, persecuted--and justifiably so.

If you wish to pursue the topic of Muslim persecution, I urge you to read both volumes 4 and 6 in my series Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations. That series opens the Islamica page of my website < www.SocialTheology.com/Islamica.htm. >  You will find a strong sense on the part of Muslims of being persecuted by colonial secular forces, the antithesis to Islam. Boko Haram is an extremist reaction to that secular force. Its central tenet is buried in its Hausa name, which means “Western education (secularism) is forbidden.”  

Post 79—Prayer for Canadian Governments

                            

In my recent posts about refugees I guess I have given kind of a negative or doubtful impression of our new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  To be honest, I actually do entertain such a picture of him. That’s not only because of the doubtful refugee programme, but also simply because he is Liberal. A major thing I have against Liberals is that they show little respect for traditional social structures and feel free to replace them or experiment with these replacements in a careless way, that is, without having any idea what the new one will look like or what its long-term effect may be. This holds especially true for family and sexual affairs.  Trudeau Sr. simply introduced multi-culturalism without any idea about its limits or whether it is even possible for a society to exist in a completely multi-cultural way. I just find them irresponsible in so many ways. Too wild. 

At the same time, I am aware that the Chretien Liberal government did a great job managing the country’s economy, something that helped the succeeding Harper Conservative government weather the 2008 economic storm better than almost all Western countries. 

In addition, coming back to our current situation, when I see pictures of reunited refugee families with great joy on their faces and other new arrivals displaying such a great sense of relief at finally being in a safe place, even if extremely cold, then I begin to feel bad about the doubts of the refugee programme I have expressed. How can anyone with a heart object to such a policy?  And when I see Prime Minister Trudeau, in informal attire with his sleeves folded up, at the airport personally embracing the new comers, then I am moved to deep compassion and appreciate his passionate display of sympathy and welcome.  There was nothing to remind me of the haughtiness and pride that characterized his father.

Nevertheless, though I feel bad about the doubts I am expressing, I am not now reversing my opinions on this score. As I have written earlier, compassion, like love, must not be blind. 

This is Sunday, the day Christians in most countries go to prayer—where they are free to do so. So, I end this short post with a prayer for our new Prime Minister and his Government as well as all other tiers of governments in the country.  

However, before presenting the prayer, I encourage you to check out the National House of Prayer in Ottawa. This is all about praying for government. Go to < www.nhop.ca >. I insert this plug at this point rather than at the end of this post, for I want to close with the prayer.                                                      

Excerpts from Psalm 72

(From the Old Testament)

God, help the king be like you and make fair decisions.
    Help the king’s son know what justice is.
² Help the king judge your people fairly.
    Help him make wise decisions for your poor people.
³ Let there be peace and justice throughout the land,
    known on every mountain and hill.
⁴ May the king be fair to the poor.
    May he help the helpless and punish those who hurt them.
⁵ May people always fear and respect you, God,
    as long as the sun shines and the moon is in the sky.
⁶ Help the king be like rain falling on the fields,
    like showers falling on the land.
⁷ Let goodness grow everywhere while he is king.
    Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.
⁸ Let his kingdom grow from sea to sea,
¹² Our king helps the poor who cry out to him—
    those in need who have no one to help them.
¹³ He feels sorry for all who are weak and poor.
    He protects their lives.
¹⁴ He saves them from the cruel people who try to hurt them.
    Their lives are important to him.
¹⁵ Long live the king!
Always pray for the king.
    Ask God to bless him every day.
¹⁶ May the fields grow plenty of grain
    and the hills be covered with crops.
May the fields be as fertile as Lebanon
¹⁷ May the king be famous forever.
    May people remember his name as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him,
    and may they all bless him.

¹⁸ Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel!
    Only he can do such amazing things.
¹⁹ Praise his glorious name forever!
    Let his glory fill the whole world.
Amen and Amen!  

           

Post 78--Refugees: Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

This document consists of a widely-circulated forwarded open letter to Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau, Members of Parliament and Premiers about refugees. It is not the complete letter, for I have deleted a secondary issue embedded in it.  It is also not completely up to date, for it was penned before the PM extended the date for bringing in 25,000 refugees by December 31, 2015. However, the issue remains equally urgent.

November 16, 2015

To the Honourable Justin Trudeau, Members of Parliament, and Provincial Premiers:

Will We Learn Nothing From Paris?

I am a proud Canadian, and proud of our heritage of being a true global leader in Humanitarian efforts. Given the events of recent years and more importantly the recent week, however, I believe prudence requires a pause in our assistance package for Syrian refugees, and indeed all refugees and asylum seekers. I say this not in a tone of political partisanship, but one of Citizenship. Any Parliament, be it Liberal, Conservative, or NDP has as its first mandate the protection of our country and its citizens. This must take precedence over all other considerations and activities.

As a Retired Firefighter/Fire Officer of the City of Calgary, I have an experience I believe is timely and valuable. In my final assignment at the end of my career, I asked for and received a transfer to work on the Airport Crash Rescue Unit at the Calgary International Airport. A requirement for all staff working at the Airport is to undergo a police background check. In between the time the background check is initiated, and the time it is completed, an employee must be accompanied by another employee who has the appropriate screening and credentials. I can’t remember precisely how long it took for the RCMP to conduct my check, but it was several months. Bear in mind that this is for a person who was born in Calgary; completed primary, secondary and post-secondary education in Calgary/Lethbridge; had passed a security clearance to gain employment as a Calgary Firefighter, and had worked in this civic institution for 18 years at the time. I had also been vetted by the Provincial Government’s Lieutenant Governor Norman (Normie) Kwong to sit as a long-term member of the Alberta Labour Relations Board. In short, it would not be difficult to find information on me. I was also required to be finger printed as part of the process.

When the day arrived and I was notified that I had passed the security clearance, I was escorted to the terminal building by a colleague to pick up my coveted airport pass. While in the waiting room, I met and visited with what seemed to be a very nice man of Arab descent, who if memory served me right, was from Jordan. During our discussion, he indicated that his pass had only taken two weeks to get, as opposed to the months mine had taken. He left after receiving his pass, and so when my turn came I asked the RCMP Sargent why on earth it would take so long for me to acquire a clearance when this person who indicated he was a recent arrival to Canada received his in two weeks or less. The answer I received haunts me to this day.

The answer:

 “We can’t really do that much of a search on these people. They often arrive without even a passport or Birth Certificate, and unless they appear on an INTERPOL watch  list, we generally let them pass. Often the police departments from these fractured  countries are unable or unwilling to provide information or detailed data, and we simply  have to go with what we can learn. We also make sure they have no criminal record while  in Canada, which for many of  these folks is a very short period of time”…….or words to that  effect.

In the couple of years I spent at the airport, I never stopped thinking about that. These people were everywhere: loading aircraft luggage, cleaning the airport with access to virtually all areas right up to the jet ways, acting as security guards and everything in between. It was then and there that I realized that the issue of security was truly an illusion in our country. I do not say these things lightly. I represented Calgary and its 1500 members as the President of the Calgary Firefighter’s Association in New York in 2002 at the 911 Memorial which was attended by 77,000 firefighters from all over the world. The hole at ground zero was still a testament a year later as to the impact of what can happen when a country lets its guard down.

So my questions to the Current Government and to the two opposition parties, and to our provincial leaders, in light of the recent events in France are:

1. “Who are the refugees”? How can you possibly screen 25,000 people adequately in such a  short period of time to ensure that none of these people pose a threat to me and my country?

2. What specific process(es)  is/are  engaged to determine the identity of who these people are?

3. What agency is tasked with performing the background checks, and has the capacity to  conduct appropriate checks on what amounts mathematically to about 800 people per day if  they are all to arrive by Christmas. I note that in the U.S.A., the head of the Department of  Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson admitted that “we don’t know a whole lot about these  people” and that we have “no real protocol for screening refugees” – My guess and fear is if  they can’t do it between the DHS, FBI, and CIA, there is no reasonable hope that Canada can  possibly have any credible system. I believe Canadian citizens are entitled to know this. I would  commend to you the words of Governor Greg Abbot of Texas who today said: “Given the  tragic attacks in Paris and the threats we have already seen, Texas cannot participate in any  program that will result in Syrian refugees — any one of whom could be connected to  terrorism — being resettled in Texas.” That seems like a very reasoned approach at the  moment.

4. Bill C-45 (2003), which became an amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada after the  Westray Mine accident, allowed the courts to find officers of corporations criminally  negligent if their actions either willfully or by gross negligence contribute to the preventable  death of an employee. Does this legislation reach to the political elite if, in the future, an innocent citizen is harmed or killed by a refugee because the sitting government failed to  properly screen them? If not, we need to amend it. As I read the Act, Clause 1(1) extends the  reach of Bill C-45 to “all organizations”…..which I assume includes political parties. Would you  concur with this view?

5. What is the projected, long-term cost per refugee and what current, existing  benefits will  suffer because of this for existing citizens?

6. What is the demographic make-up of the refugees being allowed into the country? What  percentage are women, children, married men accompanying a family, and single men?

7. Will refugees be required to undergo a polygraph test, be finger printed, and be drug tested  as is required of several types of employment for Canadian Citizens such as the Calgary Fire  Department?

8. Will Refugees be screened for infectious diseases including TB, HIV, hepatitis, leishmaniosis,  meningitis, and the host of other physiological problems which have been identified with these  disadvantaged people?

9. Why are neighboring, wealthy countries of Syria with similar cultures such as Qatar, Saudi  Arabia and Kuwait not accepting ANY refugees?

10. There are reportedly 19 million refugees globally from places as diverse as Libya to  Myanmar. Are we to take them all?  In the case of Syria, is it not better to spend our money  pushing for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed and contributing our resources in that  fashion so that these people can have the opportunity to stay put and rebuild their own  country? How we managed the war in Cyprus comes to mind. Is that not the road we should  be following instead of pretending that  we are blind to what the USA and Russia are doing  there?

In all of this, I am not suggesting that as a nation we turn a blind eye to those in need. We do have an enviable reputation in the world that each of us is proud of. Having said that, we unfortunately live in an ever-changing world.  For all of the forgoing reasons, I would ask that the sitting government halt the refugee program until it can be demonstrated to all Canadians that every single refugee being allowed access to our country, and being offered benefits that most of us have worked a lifetime to fund, have been thoroughly vetted. In closing, are we going to learn anything from Paris? While social media is replete with people stating, “We are Paris”, my suggestion is we make immediate alterations to the issues noted above, before that Facebook slogan changes from an echo of support to a prophesy.

Respectfully,

D. S. (Scott) Wilcox
Cold Lake, Alberta.

My (Boer’s) question is what you think of this letter and what will you do about it?