{"id":1428,"date":"2020-07-23T20:30:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T20:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/?p=1428"},"modified":"2020-07-23T20:30:13","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T20:30:13","slug":"a-serious-question-why-waste-billions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/?p=1428","title":{"rendered":"A Serious Question: Why Waste Billions?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CC board member Eric\nUnger sends open letter to his local MP <\/em>Terry Duguid <\/em>and Prime Minister Trudeau<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear\nFriends in High Places (or should I say, People with Serious Influence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People\nare often curious as to why, or how, I could be so deeply opposed to war. I’m\nnot sure if I’ve ever asked them why they<\/strong> are so deeply attracted to<\/strong>\nit. Perhaps it’s because my point of view is in such an obvious minority that\nI’ve always felt on the defensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\nnow I’m turning the tables. I’m asking you both (and any of your colleagues\nwith whom you care to share this note) to tell me: Why are you so utterly\ndetermined to have our country (once perceived by much of the world to be an\ninternational beacon of peace) armed to the teeth with the latest in military\nhardware? Why are you so totally okay with spending tens of millions of dollars\njust to research<\/strong> which military jets are most suitable for the types of\nviolence in which you are willing to engage? Wouldn’t it make more sense . . . I’m\nasking you a serious question here<\/strong> . . . wouldn’t it make more sense to\nwork towards peaceful coexistence than to prepare for mutual destruction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s\nnot impossible of course, but I suspect you have not seen Secretary-General\nAntonio Guterres’ brief plea for a complete cessation of war. It seems that he\nand I are on the same page in this regard. It appears that he is, like me, attempting\nto use his influence to end war!<\/strong> And he’s a much smarter person than I am! I\nwould like you to read Guterres’ words below and tell me where, and why, you\nthink he’s nuts. Seriously, let me know!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do\nyou agree with his point of view, or do you not? If you do<\/em>, then why\nwould you want to waste the federal treasury’s diminishing resources on 88\ncustom-made-for-Canada military jets and negate EVERYTHING he is calling on\nworld leaders to do \u2013 that is, end the sickness of war? If Canada subscribes to\nthe ideals of the United Nations, if Canada truly thinks peace is better than\nwar, if Canada has the balls to be a pioneer in leading the world towards real\npeace, than why not invest (heavily) in a Department of Peace instead of a\nDepartment of War? Why not, at least,<\/strong> give us<\/strong> the freedom of\nconscience to which the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms entitles us,\nand allow us<\/strong> to pursue Guterres’ hopes? Why not invest (heavily) in\nmoving towards a cleaner and healthier physical, social, and intellectual\nenvironment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I await your responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respectfully,

Eric Unger
Winnipeg <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n

ANT\u00d3NIO GUTERRES<\/h3>\n \n

“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19. The virus does not care about ethnicity or nationality, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly.<\/p>\n\n

Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world. The most vulnerable \u2014 women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced \u2014 pay the highest price. They are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n

Let\u2019s not forget that in war-ravaged countries, health systems have collapsed. Health professionals, already few in number, have often been targeted. Refugees and others displaced by violent conflict are doubly vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n

The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.<\/p>\n\n

That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.<\/strong> It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.<\/p>\n\n

To warring parties, I say: Pull back from hostilities. Put aside mistrust and animosity. Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes.<\/strong><\/p>\n \nThis is crucial\u2026\n

    \n
  • To help create corridors for life-saving aid.<\/li>\n
  • To open precious windows for diplomacy.<\/li>\n
  • To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

    Let us take inspiration from coalitions and dialogue slowly taking shape among rival parties to enable joint approaches to COVID-19. But we need much more.<\/p>\n \n

    End the sickness of war<\/strong> and fight the disease that is ravaging our world. It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now. That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    CC board member Eric Unger sends open letter to his local MP Terry Duguid and Prime Minister Trudeau Dear Friends in High Places (or should I say, People with Serious Influence) People are often curious as to why, or how, I could be so deeply opposed to war. I’m not sure if I’ve ever asked…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-promote-peace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1428"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1431,"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428\/revisions\/1431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.consciencecanada.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}