Copyright vernonmorningstar
Many years ago (1971?) I had the opportunity to meet U.S. science fiction writer Philip Dick in Vancouver. Although he may have had a troubled life, he was very prescient in recognizing that the U.S. was a proto-fascist state. I understood that there was some truth to this even though I did not fully understand it. His novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, that became Blade Runner seemed too far in the future. However The Man in the High Castle gave a very dark glimpse of Germany and Japan having won the Second World War and colonized the U.S. This dystopian (alternative history) novel has relevant parallels with modern U.S. and Israel, fascist entities joined at the hip. I recently wrote an email to Mark Carney, our Prime Minister, regarding his recent recognition of the statehood of occupied Palestine as did Australia and the U.K. I felt that was honourable and just but not leading to clarity and peace. Unfortunately, Canada does not offer Gaza and West Bank the hope of a free state where their government can be formed with the will of the Palestinian people. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) expresses the ruling that a Palestinian state would have the right to determine what kind of government the Palestinians want and who (what political entities) would set up the national governing body. Why is Canada not demanding that equal scrutiny of Israel, the Zionist oppressor of Palestinian lands and people? It is not up to Canada to demand that Hamas must be disqualified from any future participation in Palestine’s post-colonial existence. As a Canadian citizen living near Vernon, I experience all the amenities of living here: plentiful food, heat and light, a home, health care, libraries, news and entertainment, and much more. From groups such as Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and other truth tellers, I am reminded daily about the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people yet I feel despairing of an appropriate solidarity with them. Our government does not embargo the weapons going to militarize the Israelis either directly or indirectly through charities and arms contracts. Canada does not boycott Israeli products and enterprises or sanction them. Canadians support Palestine but our government doesn’t. The world of the high tech fascism sponsored by Israel, the United States, and countries like Canada is endangering the whole world. Civilians are starving, being bombed, rendered homeless and dehumanized. Ukraine is like West Bank and Gaza except Ukraine has the backing of powerful countries to fight back, a permission not given to Palestine. The world is becoming less secure and more immersed in global chaos. Readers, please let us give our hearts and minds to working for peace. There is no out and like The Man in the High Tower, the resistance to oppression is waged by ordinary, relentless people. Nina Westaway
