Sunday, June 04, 2006

Home Grown Terrorism

Many many column inches will be filled by all sorts of MSM and bloggers alike with fact, analysis, supposition and opinion on the 17 arrests in Toronto on Friday. There will not be a great deal that this blog could add to that discussion, so I will limit my thoughts to a personal reaction to the news.

That reaction is simply to feel profoundly saddened that it has come to this in Canada. When my wife and I landed in Canada just over ten years ago to begin a new life in a new country, one of the best things we found here was a sense of personal safety. After some time in the military in the UK, during which I was not allowed to appear in public in uniform, and always had to check under my car for bombs before every journey, it was surprising to see uniformed military folks on the streets of Ottawa.

Similarly, after commuting to London and enduring endless security alerts, stations with no garbage cans, and so forth, it was reassuring to feel completely safe using Ottawa's bus system. It took some time for us to stop reacting at the sight of an unattended piece of luggage, but that comfort was a great thing about our new home.

Now that is lost, and it can never be regained. Whatever the rights, wrongs or causes, I am sad that Canada has lost something that she had held onto for longer than so many other countries.