Historians Know That It's Not An Old Wives Tale That "History Repeats"

Country Joe and The Fish "Fixing To Die Rag" Going To Viet Nam

IF ONLY SOMEONE OF AUTHORITY WOULD LISTEN TO THE WARNING CRIES OF THE HISTORIAN

HISTORY REPEATS? JUST WATCH!

     THERE ARE CITIZENS ALL OVER THE WORLD, RIGHT NOW, FED UP WITH THIS UNDERLING THING! SMART, ENTERPRISING FOLK, WHO WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO OUST SOME LEADERSHIP-KNOBS FROM OFFICE. THERE ARE MANY OF US DAY TO DAY'ERS, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE MEANING OF LIFE, AND WHY WE CAN'T LIVE IN HARMONY. EVEN THOSE WHO LIVE IN HARMONY CORNERS, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, ARE FINDING LESS OF IT THESE DAYS, WITH ALL THIS MILITARY AND POLITICAL POSTURING, AROUND THE GLOBE.
     THE POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS, THE MUSICIANS AND THE ARTISTS, ARE EXPRESSING THEMSELVES IN OH SO MANY WAYS, YET THOSE WHO CARRY THE BIG GUNS, ARE TRULY THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. PLAYING GOD. THE WINNERS AND LOSERS. THE GIVERS AND THE TAKERS. WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF THERE WAS A SUPERMAN, OR THE KIND OF SUPER HEROES THAT WOULD KEEP SUPER-POWERS HUMBLE? WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE PRIZE FOR POLITICAL AMBITION? FOR MILITARY SUPREMACY? WILL THE ULTIMATE CONFLICT OF THE TITANS PRODUCE THE RESULTS THAT WERE MAPPED OUT IN THE WAR ROOM? OR IS IT ALL A BIUG GAMBLE ON PROPAGANDA, TO GET DESIRED RESULTS? I'M PRETTY SURE, THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD, AT THIS MOMENT, ARE FED-UP WITH THE CHEST THUMPING STUFF, THAT ONLY ACCOMPLISHES WHAT FEAR ALWAYS DOES! TAKES YEARS OFF OUR LIVES. BUT THEM AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE. HISTORY IS REPEATING. BUT THEN, THIS SHOULDN'T BE A SURPRISE.
     I'M A REGIONAL CANADIAN HISTORIAN. THAT SIMPLY DEFINED, MEANS I KNOW SOME OLD STUFF ABOUT THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO, IN THE NATION OF CANADA. THE FACT THAT I OCCASIONALLY COMMENT ON WORLD HISTORY, AS I HAVE DONE RECENTLY, IS A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL STRETCH OF EXPERTISE, WHEN IT COMES TO COMMENTING ON THE FLARING INTERNATIONAL CRISIS IN THE UKRAINE. I FEEL THAT MY UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN HISTORY, WAS NOT WORLDLY ENOUGH, AND TRUTH IS, ON MY DIPLOMA, IT NOTES CLEARLY, THAT I HAVE A DEGREE IN CANADIAN HISTORY ONLY. NOT WORLD HISTORY. I'M NOT QUALIFIED TO BE A PANELIST ON A CNN NEWSCAST, AND I HAVEN'T EVEN TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY IN EUROPE, SO I COULDN'T EVEN TELL YOU WHAT THE UKRAINE, OR RUSSIA LOOKS LIKE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. GEEZ, I HAVEN'T EVEN TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY IN CANADA. SO WHO IS THE GUY BEHIND THESE WORDS, AND WHY DOES HE FEEL THE NECESSITY TO WEIGH-IN ON SUCH A SENSITIVE WORLD ISSUE, AS RUSSIA INVADING THE UKRAINE. WELL, BY GOLLY, I GET MAD WHEN THE LOCAL SNOW REMOVAL CONTRACTORS, SEND THE SNOW FROM MY NEIGHBORS OVER TO OUR HOUSE, INCLUDING THE NEWSPAPERS MANGLED IN THE DRIVEWAY. SO IF ALL OF A SUDDEN, OUR NEIGHBORS BANDED TOGETHER, AND PUT ALL THEIR SNOW ON OUR PROPERTY, OUR HOUSE WOULD COLLAPSE. IT'S A MOOT EXAMPLE, BUT BEING INTRUSIVE ISN'T THE CHARACTER OF A GOOD NEIGHBOR. NOW IF I WAS LAYING IN THE DRIVEWAY, AFTER SUFFERING A HEART ATTACK, I WOULD APPRECIATE THEIR INTRUSION. OR IF FLAMES WERE LEAPING OUT OF THE ROOF. JUST NOT INTRUSION FOR INTRUSION'S SAKE. SO, AS A CITIZEN OF THE WORLD, AND A PROPERTY OWNER WHO GETS HIS SHARE OF SOMEONE ELSE'S CAST-OFFS, I FEEL A GROUND LEVEL DESIRE TO COMMENT.
     I GUESS ALL I CAN FALL BACK ON, IS THAT I READ A LOT, AND BECAUSE OF MY LENGTHY TENURE IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION, I HAVE ALWAYS MADE IT A POINT, TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD. I'M A RABID NEWS WATCHER, AND THAT IS SOMETHING I GOT FROM MY PARENTS. THE NEWS BROADCASTS IN OUR HOUSE, WERE TRUMPED ONLY BY HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, AND THE GREY CUP. SO OVER MY LIFETIME, I HAVE TRIED TO EDUCATE MYSELF TO ALL THE LATEST WORLD EVENTS, WITH MY WELL-WORN ATLAS AT MY SIDE; BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE; WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, THESE EVENTS CAN ALTER AND LIMIT THE WAY WE LIVE. YOU JUST HAVE TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH. LIKE ASKING THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED THROUGH THE WAR YEARS, AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION, WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO "DO WITHOUT." WHATEVER OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS LIVED WITHOUT, ON THIS CONTINENT, THOSE LIVING IN THE WAR ZONES AND BEYOND, WEREN'T JUST INCONVENIENCED BY SHORTAGES, BUT DEPRIVED. HARDSHIPS SO EXTREME, TODAY THE YOUNG GENERATION, READS ABOUT THEM AS IF THEY ARE WORKS OF FICTION. THE MOST FRUSTRATING PART OF THIS PRESENT SITUATION, IN THE UKRAINE, IS THAT MOST HISTORIANS FAMILIAR WITH MILITARY CRISIS, AND ITS CHRONICLE THROUGH THE AGES, SAW THIS PRESENT CONFLICT BREWING A LONG, LONG TIME AGO. IT'S NOT LIKE THERE HASN'T BEEN A LOT WRITTEN ABOUT THINGS HAPPENING IN THE CRIMEA AREA OVER THE CENTURIES. AS FOR THE RUSSIANS, AND THEIR MOST RECENT CLAIMS THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO INVADE THE UKRAINE, (NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND), TELL ME, WHAT IS THE NEW DEFINITION OF A "LIE." IT SEEMS LIKE THE DEFINITION DEPENDS ON WHAT COUNTRY YOU ARE REPRESENTING. WHEN I TOLD A LIE TO MY MOTHER, I GOT A CRACK ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD. EVEN IF IT WASN'T A LIE, BUT SOUNDED LIKE ONE, I GOT A CRACK ON THE HEAD. RUSSIA'S LIE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD? NOW, IN THE REVISED-TO-SUIT DEFINITION, "NO" MEANS "YES." "WE'RE DEFENDING OUR RUSSIAN CITIZENS," COMES THE CLAIM. NOW THERE'S A GOOD ONE. ALL THE REASON IN THE WORLD TO INVADE ANOTHER COUNTRY.
     I CAN REMEMBER THINKING, BACK A FEW MONTHS, THAT THE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE SHOULD SERIOUSLY RE-CONSIDER, SHUTTING DOWN THE GAMES. THERE WERE WARNING SIGNS, AND NOT JUST FROM KNOWN TERRORIST ACTS. IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TIME, THAT OLYMPIC GOODWILL, WAS USED FOR POLITICAL ADVANTAGE, AND THE SPREAD OF PROPAGANDA THROUGH SPORT. A SMALL GUY LIKE ME, ON A REALLY BIG PLAYING FIELD, SHOULD JUST KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT, AND HIS FINGERS OFF THE KEYBOARD. RIGHT? BELIEVE ME, I KNOW MY PLACE. IN THIS CASE, HOWEVER, SO MANY FINE HISTORIANS, WHO KNOW THEIR MILITARY HISTORY INSIDE AND OUT, SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSULTED AND LISTENED TO, PRIOR TO THE GAMES; BECAUSE MY HUNCH IS, THAT WHEN THEY WOULD AGREE, THAT "HISTORY REPEATS," SOME PREPAREDNESS MIGHT HAVE BEEN INITIATED IN ADVANCE. IF A LITTLE SCHMUCK LIKE ME, HOLED-UP IN A SMALL MUSKOKA TOWN, COULD SEE THIS INVASION HAPPENING WEEKS AGO, I'M SURE THE SCHOLARS OF WORLD HISTORY, WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT IT....USING THE PARALLEL EVENTS OF THE PAST. BUT IF ANYONE, OF MY STATION IN LIFE, HAD DARED TO SUGGEST, THE OLYMPICS SHOULD HAVE BEEN CANCELLED, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF BLASPHEMY TO THE GOD OF SPORT. THE GOD OF HIGH HOPES. IF ONLY OUR HOCKEY TEAM COULD BEAT THE AMERICANS AND THE RUSSIANS.....HOW POWERFUL THIS WOULD BE IN BUILDING NATIONAL PRIDE. I'M JUST GOING TO THROW THIS OUT THERE, BUT HOW DO WE FEEL NOW, WHEN WE HAVE CANADIAN PARA-OLYMPIC ATHLETES, IN RUSSIA, DURING THIS TIME OF CRISIS. DO WE CALL THEM BACK RIGHT NOW, CONSIDERING WE'RE ADVISING CANADIANS IN THE CRIMEA TO GET OUT WHILE THEY CAN? I HAVEN'T READ, OR HEARD, ANY REFERENCE TO THEIR POSITION, AS GOODWILL PAWNS, IN A COUNTRY, THAT HAS JUST INVADED ANOTHER. IT'S ONE THING TO ANNOUNCE WE MAY NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS SUMMER'S G-8 IN RUSSIA, BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR ATHLETES THERE RIGHT NOW; ONE IN FACT FROM OUR OWN COMMUNITY.
     I CAN'T HELP WONDERING, WHY IT IS, WITH ALL OUR EXPERIENCE IN HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS, WE CAN'T GET IT THROUGH OUR HEADS, THAT BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN GREED IS ALLOWED TO RUN ITS COURSE. GOSH, I LEARNED THAT IN THE SANDBOX, WHEN RAY GREEN HIT ME IN THE HEAD WITH A TOY TRACTOR, BECAUSE I WAS CROWDING HIS PLAY-SPACE. I LEARNED IT AT SCHOOL, WHEN THE BULLIES DECIDED THAT I SHOULD BE BEATEN EVERY DAY AT RECESS, BECAUSE I WAS NEW TO TOWN. I FOUND OUT MORE ABOUT ASKEW REASONING, WHEN A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER, AND A PRINCIPAL, INFORMED SUZANNE AND I, THAT OUR SON WOULD HAVE TO MAN-UP IN THE PLAYGROUND, IF HE DIDN'T LIKE BEING PUMMELED. I'VE NEVER BEEN VERY GOOD, AS TINY A MAN, AS I AM, ACCEPTING THAT GREED AND BULLYISM ARE STATUS QUO SITUATIONS. SO AS I NEVER BACKED DOWN TO ANYONE, AND BELIEVE ME, THAT COST ME A LOT OF SHOTS TO THE BEAK, I SHARE WITH A LOT OF FREE CITIZENS OUT THERE, WHO WANT THE WORLD TO JOIN FORCES TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE UKRAINE; BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING FOR THE FREE WORLD, WHICH WE HAVE ENJOYED SO MUCH, FOR SO LONG, ON THIS CONTINENT.
     WHERE IT GETS A LITTLE STICKY, JUST AS IT WAS DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, IN THE EARLY 1960'S, IS THAT RUSSIA DOESN'T CARE WHAT WE THINK ABOUT THEIR LATEST FORAY INTO THE CRIMEA. THERE ARE SAGE MILITARY STRATEGISTS, AND SCHOLARS, WHO MAY KNOW DIFFERENTLY; SO I'M HOPING THAT THEY'RE SITTING SIDE BY SIDE THOSE WITH BIG GUNS, TRYING TO INFUSE SOME REASON AT A CRITICAL JUNCTION; BECAUSE OUR EARTH COULD BE REDUCED TO DUST, IF ALL THE WEAPONS ARE FIRED OFF INTO GREAT BLUE BLUE YONDER AT ONCE. THIS COULD BE A BIG BANG ARGUMENT, FOR SURE. EVEN AS A REGIONAL HISTORIAN, WHO HAS WRITTEN QUITE A BIT ABOUT MUSKOKA'S CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD WARS, I KNOW A LOT ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO LIVE BACK THEN, KEEPING THE HOME FIRES BURNING, AND SO MUCH MORE TO HELP THE WAR EFFORT. WHAT WAS IT LIKE LIVING WITH RATION BOOKS AND FOOD TOKENS? A WORLD CONFLICT WITH RUSSIA, WILL NECESSITATE A LOT OF CHANGES FROM THE GOOD LIFE, MOST OF US TAKE FOR GRANTED; AND CONSIDER IT THE ENTITLEMENT THEY DESERVE. IT SCARES ME MORE THESE DAYS, TO THINK ABOUT THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE OF WAR, ON THE HOMEFRONT, SIMPLY BECAUSE WE ARE SO ILL PREPARED AND NAIVE ABOUT WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR ALL OF US. BEING WITHOUT A CELL PHONE FOR A WEEK, COULD CAUSE CANADIANS TO HAVE NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS. RATIONING GAS? ARE YOU MAD? RATIONING MEAT, MILK, EGGS? HEAVEN FORBID. YET SO MANY NEW CANADIANS, ARRIVING HERE OVER THE PAST THIRTY YEARS, HAVE COME TO THIS COUNTRY FROM AREAS AROUND THE WORLD, THAT WERE WAR-TORN AND IMPOVERISHED AS A RESULT. CANADA IS A SAFE HAVEN. THE ONLY POLITICAL TURBULENCE THESE DAYS, COMES FROM THE SCANDAL IN THE SENATE, AND WHAT'S HAPPENING AT TORONTO CITY HALL. SO HEARING AND READING ABOUT THE LATEST INCURSION, INTO THE CRIMEA, AND WONDERING WHAT IT MEANS WHEN RUSSIAN TROOPS, ARE DIGGING TRENCHES ALONG THE BORDER, FORGIVE ME, IF I THINK IT'S TIME FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA TO BRING OUR PARA-OLYMPIANS HOME NOW. BUT WHO AM I TO SUGGEST SUCH A THING? A REGIONAL HISTORIAN WHO DABBLES IN ANTIQUES? I'M PROBABLY ATTRACTING NATIONAL SECURITY ATTENTION, BY STATING THIS....BUT, WELL, IT'S THE SAME THING MANY OTHER CANADIANS, WITH EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND IN WORLD AFFAIRS, ARE THINKING AT THIS TIME; THAT THE OLYMPIC GROUNDS ARE NOT SAFE ENOUGH, WHEN NOT SO FAR AWAY, SOLDIERS ARE PREPARING THEMSELVES FOR BATTLE. OR ARE THERE OTHER REASON FOR DEPLOYING SOLDIERS TO DIG TRENCHES? MAYBE THEY'RE FOR IRRIGATION.

SO HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR "THE BIG ONE?"

     I remember, as a kid, growing up in Bracebridge, watching American draft dodgers, sunning themselves, on the rocks along the Muskoka River, above the swimming hole, we called "Bass Rock." In the late 1960's, my parents warned me about the arrival of a few draft dodgers, who had escaped to Canada, to avoid having to fight in Vietnam. I knew a lot about Vietnam, because, even in my early teens, I was a heavy consumer of news print, and anything deemed newsworthy by the electronic media. I had heard my parents, and some of our neighbors, talking about draft dodgers, and from what I picked up from reading, and viewing news reports, it seemed quite exciting, and exotic, that these folks were landing in our little town, here in the woodlands of South Muskoka. All of a sudden, we were in the international spotlight, for harboring fugitives. Neat. We didn't make a lot of news, here in Muskoka, so it was something to talk about.
     I heard the rumors, that these draft dodgers, had been welcomed into the monastery, above Bass Rock, operated by the Society of St. John The Evangelist. I don't think the community, at large, cared about this, but there were pockets of residents, who wanted them removed, as they might negatively influence our own sons and daughters. Some called them criminals, and hippy activists, who smoked pot and listened to the music of rebellion.....although I don't ever remember them attributing it to a particular band or artist. The more I heard about these draft dodgers, the more the Hunt's Hill gang wanted to see them. So despite the warnings of parents, to stay away from Bass Rock, we were down there twice as often. It's not like they were wearing signs that identified them as draft dodgers, so we had to forge our own conclusions, based on what we witnessed, in and around the rapids of Bass Rock. We really did expect to see reefer smoking, long-hairs, with the American flag sewn on to the ass of their jeans. What was mildly disappointing, is that they were nothing like what we were told to expect. They were just young men, alive and well, sunning themselves on the river bank, while, arguably, some of their contemporaries were being killed in the jungles of Vietnam.
     You know, I never saw a hippy at the SSJE property, or down by the river, where there was a small dock and a canoe shed, I believe it was. I did see a number of neatly attired young men, who would swim in the river when the water was low, and who would sun themselves while reading a book. The Fathers from the monastery used to do the same thing, and sometimes they weren't wearing their black robes. You really couldn't tell the draft dodgers from those who were members of the SSJE. I'm not sure if the local newspaper, or even national media, ever did a story on them, although I do seem to remember something of this nature. They sure didn't look like what I imagined, were fugitives from justice. They didn't appear to pose any threat to the thirty or so kids, who would gather at the rocks, to swim on hot summer days. What was inspired from their stay in our town, however, was an attitude. I'd like to think the so called draft dodgers enjoyed their stay in our fine town, and Muskoka, but I can tell you, it left an impression on all of us, who to that point, had been a little too young to understand the full consequences of Vietnam; and the thousands of lives it affected. Here then, was a spin-off, from that unwanted war, on an unsuspecting Muskoka community, that had to adapt fast, about how to deal with national policy on returning deserters. Let's just be happy with the fact, they got to stay in Canada until the eventual amnesty in the united States. Although our contact was limited, and only a few of my chums had actually communicated with them, their presence put us a lot closer to the anti-war movement....and those songs of protest.....which kind of gave us a leg-up, understanding why draft dodgers were here in the first place. So as far as being corrupted by the draft dodger? It was the kind of disruption in our naive lives, that we needed, in order to understand our true moral place in the world.....which at times was pretty frightening.
     I want to close off today, by making one final comment about past wars, and pending conflict. Suzanne and I grew up with parents who had served overseas (and on the seas) during the Second World War. Norman was a tank specialist in the military, and my father, Ed, was a gunner onboard the ship "Coaticook," serving with the North Atlantic Squadron. There was one common reality in both households. War service was not discussed. It wasn't until my father's final hours on this earth, that he opened up about what he had seen, of death and destruction, in his service of home and country. Norman had come upon mass graves, and had pulled bodies out of plane wreckages, and even to his final days, all he would extend to his daughter, and his grandsons, were a few dog-eared old photographs of himself, at the site of some of these wreckages. In fact, many years now since his death, Suzanne was just this week, able to secure a photograph of her father and mother, from a cousin on the west coast. It was taken sometime during the war, as Norman is in military dress. So that's it. This is what we learned about the war, as baby boomers. Maybe your exposure was different and more thorough. So we were left to piece it all together, which we have been doing ever since. We know why they didn't want to talk about it. That's the problem. They were our instructors....our tutors, to prepare us for the eventuality, history would repeat. I know that if both men were alive today, they would watch the news with great trepidation of that looming potential, there will be another world war.....one of these days.
     Let's pray it doesn't come to this, and the peace loving people of the world, can pull this one back from the brink of calamity.