In Minister MacKay’s speech he highlights some very real liberties that exist in that country today because of the mission we are doing. Minister MacKay said it best when he stated: “we have really won the lottery to be born in Canada.” We enjoy great freedoms in this country on a daily basis and we don’t have to worry about those freedoms being taken away by any radical group (…except for our dear friend Mr. Levant and the CHRC, but that is an issue for another day).
Matt Altheim (left) with Minister of Defence, Peter McKay (right)Many of us know that in the Taliban Afghanistan, female children could not attend school. Just think about that for a moment and let it really sink in. It’s shocking this was really the case; if you are a young girl then education was not an option for you. I could not imagine what even my future would be like, without a solid education.
Minister MacKay drew a strong point when he gave the fact that since Canada has been in Afghanistan, there are now millions of children in school, in a country where once education was out of reach for so many. We know that a good education leads to a stronger economy and a better developed youth. Imagine the next generation leading Afghanistan in a future that sees the harvesting of wheat versus the poison of the poppy fields.
A big reason of discussion (and rightly so) was the ballot box “stuffing” and election fraud that had been reported all over Afghanistan. This is a very relevant issue and one that needs to be addressed. But just imagine that a few years ago, when elections were not even held in that country.
Freedoms in Afghanistan have come at a great loss to Canadians. Many of us have lost friends and family members who have served most honorably in the Canadian Armed Forces. At the next deployment in October, I too will be saying farewell to many of my friends who will depart for another tour of duty.
My first public speaking event (2007). "Support our Troops" fundraiser for the Military Family Resource Centre. My friend, Joel Gilbert (left), Matt Altheim (centre), and Brian Webster (right).Why are we in Afghanistan? Because the Afghanis have placed hope in us and that hope means the successful future of their country.
Education is paramount in any country still developing in the esteemed areas of freedom and creativity. It is reassuring to hear that such difficult struggles are bearing fruit where it really matters. We still naturally shudder at the cost of our own very human investment in this far-away land; and our losses don't seem worth it, particularly in light of the negativity and futility put forth by the MSM. In the "big picture", the sustained efforts of brave Canadians WILL HELP in the long run. Generosity and the pain of giving. We've known it well, for the last century or so.
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