Be careful what you ask for. That’s always good advice. But it’s especially relevant with America in the midst of another election cycle. Maybe you missed it, but Canada just offered a harrowing example of what happens when you neglect that life lesson. (Bernie and Hillary voters take note.)
Some background for context: A little more than a year ago, Canada was one of the few voices denouncing Russian meddling in the Ukraine, it held a military commitment to fighting ISIS, and the headline in a British article read “Israel loses ‘best friend’ as Justin Trudeau defeats Stephen Harper.”
About that time, Ottawa made the news when an armed gunman was shot dead in the Parliament Buildings, within the very seat of Canadian Government power. That was before Canadians elected their own version of Obama: the Selfie-taking, magazine-cover posing, Social Justice Warrior, Justin Trudeau.
When it came time for elections, one guy promised fiscal restraint, solid foreign policy, and a cautious acceptance of some refugees in limited numbers. The other guy promised (promised!) to raise debt, to fast-track thousands of refugees and give people free stuff.
Naturally, (with a lot of help from unions) people voted for free stuff. Foreign policy didn’t even enter many people’s thinking. But the “free stuff” was only a bribe to enable an ambitious Social Justice Warrior’s hands to seize political power. Now we’re up to speed. What was the price of the free stuff he promised?
His treatment of the military, for one. Trudeau is pulling military support out of the campaign against ISIS, and at the same time, he is building mosques on military bases. Canada will be using seven military bases to house some 6000 refugees long-term.
(His disdain for the military had already been shown by his infamous slur “…rather than whip out our CF-18s and show them how big they are”.) Clearly, the hard lessons from Europe’s refugee experiment are lost on Trudeau.
What are the problems here? I mean, besides the idea that the PM is oblivious to any problems.
— Ghetto creation. By ghetto, I mean, of course, not poverty, but a community-within-a-community, more or less contained in its own little bubble.
In such an environment they will not — cannot — integrate with other Canadians, learn the language, and adapt to local customs. They will be surrounded by their own people, language and customs. This only reinforces their self-exclusion from the rest of the nation, and hampers social integration. Worse still, this isolation and disconnectedness from Canada makes them less resistant to the rhetoric of would-be Islamist recruiters.
— Preferential treatment for Islam. Trudeau campaingned in mosques … a lot … and appointed the troubling Omar Alghabra (a proponent of Sharia Law) as “Parliamentary Secretary to the foreign minister.” So preference isn’t surprising.
We’re building mosques, buying Korans and giving prayer mats. With taxpayer dollars. The mosques are being built on base, on government land. Let’s ask the related question: would we build similar centers, and offer comparable worship materials for other religions? Suppose they were Russian Orthodox and living on base. Would they get buildings and prayer ropes on the government dime, too? Or is this a specifically Muslim privilege. And what happens to the non-muslim refugees?
— Security. That’s the big issue. Trudeau speaks dismissively of hazards. Strange reaction for someone who had an armed gunman invade his workplace only 15 months ago. When I was an Air Force brat and lived on base, we couldn’t enter the base without stopping at a checkpoint. Visitors had to be signed in by someone from the base who knew them and could both vouch and be responsible for them.
But Islamists are actively seeking ways to exploit this refugee crisis, and insert sleeper cells into it. They want to exploit our charity and nievite. (Read: willful blindness.) We are putting our own military — who already have written that famous “blank check” in service of the country while deployed — at risk in their own homes and communities. Worse still, we are exposing their families to the same risk.
Remember Fort Hood? The Parliament shooter? Men and women in uniform are a preferred target for Islamists. And we already know the cowardly Islamists prefer unarmed and unsuspecting targets. The brave servicemen and women they couldn’t possibly defeat on the field of battle would be juicy targets visiting the local grocery store or relaxing at the park with their family.
Hidden agenda? Ignore all that, voter. Remember the free stuff.
Because if Socialists have learned anything about human nature, they’ve learned this: “Largess is the opiate of the masses.”
