We're Doing All Right

For all the things we're messing up in our usual haplessly fruitless attempts to get them right as a society, it's nice to know there are some things we're getting right. (We're not doing so badly on the home front with our record of inclusiveness and equality under our laws of universality.) However timidly and carefully. Standing by our principles, our standards of ethics and moral values. As part of the world community, doing our best to carefully pick our way around the landmines inherent in errors of judgement.

Canada has of late been a trifle more careful in its relations with our great good neighbour to our south, the United States. We're cordial and relatively co-operative - to a point. While at the same time optioning our sovereignty, in contrast to speedy agreement when points of contention arise, as they so often do in the political arena. Not doing so well, unfortunately, on the economic-partnering agenda, but that'll come, too. One can only hope.

Relations have been re-balanced slightly with China, that great economic juggernaut whose products are everywhere, relentlessly unavoidable. For which condition we have no one, alas, to blame but ourselves. Good for China that her huge and skilled labour force has upended traditional manufacturing in other areas of the world, beggaring their work force while economically enabling hers.

But while we embrace ongoing trade relations with China, we also reserve the right to observe and comment on modes of internal conduct unbecoming a responsible government which too often overlooks the basics in human-rights entitlements. Which is to say any country has the right to reserve the scope of its future contact with another on the basis of its responsiveness to its peoples needs.

And when a country, in its haste to extend its economic embrace stands down from its international obligations to use all the diplomatic means at its considerable disposal to entreat or encourage its allies to observe basic human rights for its population (think Sudan, Iran, for example) that country sometimes requires a little nudge to recall its international obligations.
Canada stands as guilty of those occasional lapses as any country it singles out for same.

But look, here is Canada's newest prime minister, readying to officially greet the Dalai Lama, that very outstanding individual of huge repute and renown shut out of Tibet by China's One China policy. China's longstanding argument of ownership of Tibet, has led to its brutally shutting down dissent and jailing Tibetan dissidents. This act of solidarity with the head of another country under great political and social duress will not go down kindly with China.

Canada is preparing to serve notice within the United Nations that Iran's behaviour is counter to its obligations as a member-state that requires it to embrace and to adhere to human-rights-obligatory conduct. Conduct becoming any official entity representing a great nation, but shrugged off by Iran as it pursues an agenda inimical to human rights, both internally and externally.

Canada has been sympathetic to Taiwan's aspirations to achieve neutral severance from Greater China. Under China's unrelenting drive to achieve its One China policy, and world wide recognition of its greatness as an immense and strong nation, it has forbidden Taiwan on pain of violent upheaval (invasion and war) to continue its struggle for full independence and final sovereignty. Canada's surreptitious diplomatic exchanges with Taiwan will not further endear her to China.

And now, what's Canada up to? Aggravating Greece and Canada's own tens of thousands of Greek-Canadians by agreeing to formally recognize the naming of Macedonia, the country neighbour to Greece. Greece complains it has a province thus named (who knew Philip of Macedonia came from Greek Macedonia?) and strenuously objects to Canada's venture into empathy with one party while angering another ally.

That Canada finally also took the required steps to ally itself unswervingly with Israel as a member-democracy, in support of that country's need of recognition of its untenable position vis-a-vis her neighbours' aggrieved posturing bordering on overt hostility is also a matter of deep satisfaction. Recognizing terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah for their violent purpose and labelling them as such adds to the treasury of Canada's human-rights obligations fulfilled.

It's tough work being a member-state of the world. There are so many fractious enmities and distractions of one kind or another. You do the best you can. And we're doing all right.