American civilian defense group begins patrols of Canada-U.S. border - Yahoo! News

This article suggests that this might be the beginning of the end of the longest undefended border in the world, and yet is has nothing to do with a dispute between governments.

It's all about fear. Fear of terrorists illegally entering the United States to commit ill-will.

Generally, I wouldn't have thought much of this story, except that I watched Michael Moore's Academy-Award epic Bowling for Columbine last night, and the themes explored in the documentary struck a chord within me.

And that chord rang again, when I read the above story.

Now before I get all kinds of hate mail, let me just say that even though I love Moore's documentaries, I would never say that all he spouts is gospel. Of course there is a spin to the left. But if you thought Bowling for Columbine was all about gun control; you missed the entire point of the show.

It's about fear.

It's about fear of being exploited; fear of terrorism; even fear of failure. And countless corporations have gotten very, every rich by preying on America's fears.

Which is exactly why a US-civilian militia will be patrolling the Canada-US border indefinitely. Personally, I really don't care if civilian Americans patrol the Canada-US border, since it will not affect my life. I have only been in the United States twice in my life, and the last time I was there was some fifteen years ago. If it's going to let American civilians believe that they are safer in their homes, then let them patrol the border.

If the American family would feel safer by staying up all night, patrolling their houses with shotguns, then let them. As long as everyone is aware that firearms are dangerous things in the hands of paranoid people -- and it is in this context that most people are shot.

Back to Bowling for Columbine, I thought Moore was out to lunch until he visited Canada, to put to rest some old myths -- and then I began to see what he was trying to elicit in his documentary. Us Canadians do feel safer than our friendly neighbors to the south. We often forget to lock our doors. We have plenty of firearms, though they remain locked in display cases, or in basements, unloaded.

We are not much different from American society. We are robbed, assaulted, raped, murdered, and terrorized. We even shoot each other. But for some reason, we feel safer.

Now, Michael Moore's statistics regarding gun-related deaths in Canada were a bit skewed, if you were not aware. I do not doubt his numbers, but you must take into consideration that the United States population is ten times that of Canada. If you examine the number of gun-related deaths per capita, you would see that the rate is only a third that of the United States. It is still significantly lower, but not to the degree that Moore boasted.

The real kicker of Moore's documentary centered around fear and profit. He had no real evidence, but you could almost tell that he was trying to construct a conspiracy theory between the corporate/government sector, who would profit on the American public's fears; it was never directly stated, but implied. I personally think that those arguments likely went a little too far. But I think that fear, is very real, but due to many factors -- some which may have been intentional, but most have been circumstantial.

The American media is mostly to blame. Here in Canada, we don't see so many news reports of vicious acts of violence -- something which Michael Moore identified in his documentary. I do believe the American media strikes fear into its' viewers, not intentionally, but because certain types of news sells better than others. It's not that Canada is a less violent country; you must remember that Canada's largest television network is publicly owned (the CBC), and competitions for profit and ratings aren't as fierce up here.

If Americans want to feel safer at home, my only suggestion would be to turn off the television, and be a little more selective on the news stories they choose to read.

I wish we, as human beings, could trust one another better. I generally trust the people in my city, but even now and then I am struck with fear -- especially when I see strange people, or when I am in a rough neighborhood. I live in an area of town that I would consider a slum; two years ago a gentleman was stabbed in the face in the street -- on the very block I live on. It was disturbing, and yes, I was a little scared. But it didn't make me feel any less safe than I did the day before. It did not make me want to go the sporting goods store the next day and buy a firearm, and there are no more locks on my door than what there where when I moved here.

Does this mean I'm insane? Reckless? Irresponsible? Ignorant? Maybe I just have a little more faith in the human spirit than most.