The Editor:
It is hard for me to fathom why our U.S. President would take the world’s largest and most successful world power and turn it into a chaotic, emotional mess.
Economic and social chaos is the order of the day, along with alienation and mistrust of our historic allies. It is time for the reasonable members of our societies to reflect and remind ourselves and others of our commonality.
For 200 years, Canada and the United States of America have shared the longest undefended border in the world, in friendship and in trust. We shared respect, support, peace, loyalty and trade. Why on Earth would anyone wish to destroy that in this day and age? It is like we have declared war upon ourselves and there will be no winners.
It is time to revisit our common Peace Arch monument in Blaine. The Peace Arch represents the lasting friendship between our two countries. The inscriptions engraved upon the Peace Arch state: “Brethren Dwelling in Unity,” “Children of a Common Mother,” and “May These Gates Never Close.” What happened? We should serve ourselves well if we revisited and recommitted to our common history and purpose.
That’s how I see it.
Brian Calder
Point Roberts
The Editor:
Garden of the Salish Sea Curriculum hosted a beach cleanup at Marine Park in Blaine last Sunday. A group of volunteers worked to clean up beach debris to improve the health of our watershed.
Support for Garden of the Salish Sea Curriculum is provided in part by a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology, Alicia Rule in the Washington State Legislature, Whatcom Coalition for Environmental Education, Whatcom Community Foundation’s Sustainable Whatcom Fund, Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, and volunteers who are vital to helping us run our programs. We kindly thank them all.We acknowledge and respect the treaty rights of the Coast Salish Peoples to the lands and waters of the Salish Sea, and we recognize their stewardship since time immemorial.
Ellen O’Toole
Garden of the Salish Sea Curriculum
Lummi Island
The Editor:
Joe Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada, asked Canadians to engage with their American friends and neighbors to bring down the temperature of the present situation.
I want to do my bit. I thought the best way to broaden my impact would be to write a letter to the editors of smaller local newspapers. As I live in a very small community on the west coast of Canada, I want to focus on Alaska and Washington state, our neighbors to the north and south.
Many Canadians are concerned about the threats of tariffs and the unwanted calls of Canada becoming the 51st state. What happened, and does the U.S. have to take such drastic actions? Any problems between friends and neighbors are best resolved by negotiations, where mutual respect and facts are the main ingredients for the success.
Naturally, people become incensed if their country’s sovereignty is questioned. Only a miniscule number of people in Canada would consider joining the U.S. There is nothing wrong with the U.S. as such; it is that both countries are different in many respects, and it just is not a good idea. We have good neighbors in our community and are good friends, but they don’t want to live with me, and I not with them.
Canada has always stood by its neighbor; when U.S. Embassy personnel were threatened in Tehran in 1979 or on 9/11 when U.S. citizens were stranded in Newfoundland. Canadians fought on the U.S. side with our troops in Korea and Afghanistan.
What I’m asking you to do is to talk to your Senators and Congressional representatives to encourage the present administration to engage with Canada more constructively to keep our 150-year friendship growing for the benefit of the people on both sides of the border. The U.S. and Canada have more to gain by cooperating than by having a full-blown hissy fit.
With all the uncertainty in our world, let’s show that we can be a beacon of cooperation and mutual respect of culture and aspirations.
Lutz Budde
Oona River, B.C.
