Wisdom From The Great White North

An article about Hurricane Katrina by Canadian columnist David Warren, who writes for the Ottawa Citizen, cited in Eric M. Kendall's blog lead me to explore the other essays and the archives of Warren's site, where I found nuggets like this, on the struggle in Iraq:

The good news from Iraq -- i.e. the side of the coin that is considered not to merit press coverage -- is the resilience that Iraqis are showing in the face of bombardment. In Iraq, as in Afghanistan, amid explosions and in despite of threats, millions were willing to go out and vote in national elections, and very likely will do so again in the approaching constitutional referendum. An obvious and overwhelming majority in both countries support the establishment of constitutional democracy, and in Iraq's case, right in the heart of a region where such serious reforms have not been attempted since the 19th century.

And this, written the day after 9/11:

America did not create the poverty of the world but raised itself out of that condition. America did not seek to humiliate the poor and downtrodden of the world. But simply by rising above that station America became the external target for the failures of the world -- the mirror that reveals the truth of their condition the mirror that they seek to smash.

And this unconventional, even blasphemous, view of the relationship between President Bush and Karl Rove:

Since pundits have a knack for getting things backwards, let us entertain the opposite proposition, that Mr. Bush is actually quite smart (99th percentile, according to the tests when they let him into the military); and Mr. Rove a reasonably competent Texas backroom boy, who followed his patron slightly out of his depth to Washington.

While I don't always agree with his conclusions, Warren writes clearly and logically, even lyrically at times. I am indebted to Eric M. Kendall for introducing me to this writer, and encourage everyone to visit Warren's website.