Let’s stick up for Canada

Back in 1973, a Canadian journalist recorded a radio editorial that later became a best-selling recording. It was entitled “The Americans: A Canadian’s Opinion” and centered around how the American Red Cross had run out of money due to the number of natural disasters. He talked about the altruism of Americans and how Americans were always the first to rush in and offer aid to others throughout the globe.

It’s time for Americans to reciprocate our feelings about Canada and Canadians.

It’s incumbent upon each and every one of us to let any Canadian we know or have contact with that President Donald Trump’s ignorant and truly disgusting comments regarding our most staunch and trustworthy ally are his, and his alone, and in no way represent the feelings of the American public at large (“Trump complains about traveling to Canada ahead of Singapore summit with Kim,” June 6). Canada has been there for this country in so many ways, at so many times throughout the centuries that for President Trump to say that Canada’s steel industry represents a national security threat to the U.S. is beyond belief for any sane person.

Canada has stood by our side through all the wars — from the trenches of World War I to the storming of Normandy to Afghanistan after 9/11 to name only a few. Remember it was the Canadian Embassy that hid our diplomats in Tehran in 1979 during the overthrow of the Shah and the imprisonment of the American Embassy personnel. It was the Canadians who took in all of the passengers forced to land in Newfoundland on 9/11. It is the Canadians who share with us the longest undefended border in the history of the world.

There have never been any two countries so intertwined, so culturally similar, so dependent on one another both economically and socially as Canada and the United States. This is not an alliance for Mr. Trump to break. This is an alliance for the American people to celebrate.