Don’t bash U. S.

Re: Yes another excuse for U.S. isolation, Kelly Mcparland, March 20

Surely your headline writer meant to say “Yet another excuse for U.s.-bashing”?

Do we not have enough COVID- 19 issues to deal with in this country without using this event to hurl insults at our neighbour? Yes, Donald Trump may have soft- pedalled the potential dangers of this pandemic at its outset, but he was hardly alone in that analysis. More importantly, after the initial misstep, he has led a very robust and comprehensive battle against COVID- 19, earning praise even from the likes of Ilhan Omar. It can be argued, with some credibility, that the American response to COVID-19 (starting with the ban on travel to and from China) has been more effective and more co-ordinated than Canada’s.

And the gratuitous slap at Fox News in a media world dominated by such progressive outlets as MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post is simply laughable. Fox may be over the top on occasion but at least it’s only on occasion as opposed to the incessant sniping and sneering one sees in the left-leaning media.

Finally, criticizing Americans’ “isolation” ignores their historic oscillation from engagement to withdrawal, always acting in what they deemed to be in the best interests of America. That’s what a government is supposed to do, especially when its enormous economic and military power require some level of introspection and caution. Canada has no meaningful influence in this world, it certainly possesses no measurable military capability, so does the condescension and hypocrisy reflected in Mcparland’s article have to be our only major contribution to the international community?

Mr. Mcparland is like that crotchety geezer who borrows a stick of butter from his neighbour, then complains that it’s not the name brand he buys. We all have butter on our tables, in no small part thanks to our proximity to and the protection of America. Can’t we express our gratitude once in a while rather than always finding a way to condemn whatever they do? Henry Roth, Montreal