Rick Mercer for PM!!

The text speaks for itself. Thanks Rick!!

By Courtesy (St. John's)
The Independent
Friday, January 26, 2007
By Rick Mercer

For The Independent

Poor Noreen Golfman. She wrote in her Jan. 12 column (Blowing in the Wind …
) that her holidays were ruined by what she felt were incessant reports about
Canadian men and women serving in Afghanistan. So upset was Noreen that, armed
with her legendary pen, sharpened from years in the trenches at Memorial
University’s women’s studies department, she went on the attack. I know I should
just ignore the good professor and write her off as another bitter baby boom
academic pining for what she fondly calls “the protest songs of yesteryear,” but
I can’t help myself. A response is exactly what she wants; and so I include it
here. After all, Newfoundlanders have seen this before: Noreen Golfman, sadly,
is Margaret Wente without the wit.

Dear Noreen,

I am so sorry to hear about the interruption to your holiday cheer. You say
in your column that it all started when the CBC ran a story on some “poor sod”
who got his legs blown off in Afghanistan.

The “poor sod” in question, Noreen, has a name and it is Cpl. Paul
Franklin. He is a medic in the Forces and has been a buddy of mine for years. I
had dinner with him last week in Edmonton, in fact. I will be sure to pass on to
him that his lack of legs caused you some personal discomfort this
Christmas.

Paul is a pretty amazing guy. You would like him I think. When I met him
years ago he had two good legs and a brutally funny sense of humour. He was so
funny that I was pretty sure he was a Newfoundlander. You probably know the type
(or maybe you don’t) — salt of the earth, always smiling, and like so many
health-care professionals, seemingly obsessed with helping others in need. These
days he spends his time training other health-care workers and learning how to
walk again. That’s a pretty exhausting task for Paul … heading into
rehabilitation he knew very well his chances of walking again were next to none,
considering he’s a double amputee, missing both legs above the knee. At the risk
of ruining your day Noreen, I’m proud to report that for the last few months he
has managed to walk his son to school almost every morning and it’s almost a
kilometre from his house. Next month Paul hopes to travel to Washington where he
claims he will learn how to run on something he calls “bionic flipper cheetah
feet.” The legs may be gone but the sense of humour is still very much
intact.

Forgive me Noreen for using Paul’s name so much, but seeing as you didn’t
catch it when CBC ran the profile on his recovery I thought it might be nice if
you perhaps bothered to remember it from here on in. This way, when you are
pontificating about him at a dinner party, you no longer have to refer to him
simply as the “poor sod,” but you can actually refer to him as Paul Franklin.
You may prefer “poor sod” of course; it’s all a matter of how you look at
things. You see a “poor sod” that ruined your Christmas and I see a truly
inspiring guy. That’s why I am thrilled that the CBC saw fit to run a story on
Paul and his wife Audra. I would go so far as to suggest that many people would
find their story, their marriage and their charitable endeavours inspiring. Just
as I am sure that many readers of The Independent are inspired by your
suggestion that Paul’s story has no place on the public broadcaster.

Further on in your column you ask why more people aren’t questioning
Canada’s role in Afghanistan. I understand this frustration. It’s a good
question. Why should Canada honour its United Nations-sanctioned NATO
commitments? Let’s have the discussion. I would welcome debate on the idea that
Canada should simply ignore its international obligations and pull out of
Afghanistan. By all means ask the questions Noreen, but surely such debates can
occur without begrudging the families of injured soldiers too much airtime at
Christmas?

Personally, I would have thought that as a professor of women’s studies you
would be somewhat supportive of the notion of a NATO presence in Afghanistan.
After all, it is the NATO force that is keeping the Taliban from power. In case
you missed it Noreen, the Taliban was a regime that systematically de-peopled
women to the point where they had no human rights whatsoever. This was a country
where until very recently it was illegal for a child to fly a kite or for a
little girl to receive any education. To put it in terms you might understand
Noreen, rest assured the Taliban would frown on your attending this year’s
opening night gala of the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival. In
fact, as a woman, a professor, a writer and (one supposes) an advocate of the
concept that women are people, they would probably want to kill you three or
four times over. Thankfully that notion is moot in our cozy part of the world
but were it ever come to pass I would suggest that you would be grateful if a
“poor sod” like Paul Franklin happened along to risk his life to protect
yours.

And then of course you seem to be somehow personally indignant that I would
visit troops in Afghanistan over Christmas. You ask the question “When did the
worm turn?” Well I hate to break it to you, but in my case this worm has been
doing this for a long time now. It’s been a decade since I visited Canadian
peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and this Christmas marked my third trip to
Afghanistan. Why do I do it? Well I am not a soldier — that much is perfectly
clear. I don’t have the discipline or the skills. But I am an entertainer and
entertainers entertain. And occasionally, like most Canadians, I get to
volunteer my professional time to causes that I find personally
satisfying.

As a Newfoundlander this is very personal to me. On every one of these
trips I meet Newfoundlanders who serve proudly in the Canadian Forces. Every day
they do the hard work that we as a nation ask of them. They do this without
complaint and they do it knowing that at every turn there are people like you,
Noreen, suggesting that what they do is somehow undignified or misguided.

I am also curious Noreen why you refer to the head of the Canadian Forces,
General Rick Hillier, as “Rick ‘MUN graduate’ Hillier.” I would suggest that if
you wish to criticize General Hillier’s record of leadership or service to his
country you should feel free. He is a big boy. However, when you dismiss him as
“Rick ‘MUN Graduate’ Hillier” the message is loud and clear. Are you suggesting
that because General Hillier received an education at Memorial he is somehow
unqualified for high command? We are used to seeing this type of tactic in
certain national papers — not The Independent.

You end by saying you personally cannot envision that peace can ever be
paved with military offensives. May I suggest to you that in many instances in
history peace has been achieved exactly that way. The gates of Auschwitz were
not opened with peace talks. Holland was not liberated by peacekeepers and
fascism was not defeated with a deft pen. Time and time again men and women in
uniform have laid down their lives in just causes and in an effort to free
others from oppression.

It is unfortunate, Noreen, that in such instances people like yourself may
have your sensitivities offended, especially during the holiday season, but
perhaps that is a small price to pay. Best wishes for the remainder of 2007; may
it be a year of peace and prosperity.