They're all tent dwellers

That brilliant take on the never-ending and insoluble Arab/Israeli wars was uttered 50 years ago by my late husband, Bob Russell, may he rest in peace.  

Frankly, I side with the Arabs in this real estate war.  Not because I agree with the Arabs on many fronts -- especially their treatment of women -- but because they're the ones who had their land stolen by the British at the end of WW 1 and handed over to the Jews as a homeland.  It was an economic decision on the part of Britain because Britain was broke and could not afford to service Palestine, along with all the Commonwealth countries they had on their backs.

War, my friends, is all about real estate.

Then Israel decided to expand its reach and grab the left bank, encroaching further into Arab territory.  So, with the Arabs' penchant for teaching their children to carry on fighting past injustices, this just continues.  It's the same with the natives' inter-generational plaints and woes here in Canada.  Most of those going on about the evils of colonialism and residential schools have never actually attended one.  But hey, who cares if it means more money!

I have a friend who has lived and raised her family in Israel for 50 years, but one subject I never raise is the war with the Arabs because I know what she will say.  As with the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, they all must have the same opinion -- as do the francophones in Quebec.  Discussing the matter on a trip to Montreal, another Quebecois friend said, "Every francophone is a separatist, so don't kid yourself."  And so it is with the natives; they must hate and battle other Canadians.   

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And now a word about Bill 96.  Of course, it's completely unconstitutional and illegal, but with Trudeau eyeing an election to secure a majority, he needs all the seats he can muster in Quebec.  He doesn't give a fiddler's farthing about the West because there are few seats to be had and none are -- or likely to be -- held by Liberals.  And who's going to challenge it?  Not the other provinces because they see an opportunity to pull the same unilateral move on other files they object to.  Now it's a free-for-all and damn the constitutional torpedoes.  

Canada is fast becoming what Kevin O'Leary called Greece:  A non-country.  The constitution is in tatters and I'm fast aligning with those here in Western Canada who want to go it alone.  What a great job, Trudeau!