Dear Editor,

There’s a crisis arising in the U.S.A., which could lead to a civil war. The US government, in a rush to enact ethnic cleansing on its population, is attempting to invade and occupy California. On the pretense of capturing “illegal aliens”, masked, armoured and unidentified agents are nabbing children at grade schools, shoppers at hardware stores, workers in the fields. All this, without a hint of proper procedure, is tantamount to war against the communities where these people live, work and pay taxes.

I’ve never felt more grateful to be miles north of the border, in the relative safety of Canada. But even from here, this development is going to hurt. It’s going to hurt us all, whether you believe that people deserve a chance to join society or not. Injustice unresolved, even at a great distance, undermines the fabric of our society, and diminishes the trust that is a necessary part of a comfortable social contract.

To quote songwriter Stephen Stills, “Paranoia strikes deep, Into your life it will creep, Starts when you’re always afraid, Step out of line, the Man will take you away.” It’s happening right now, in California. It could happen here, if we allow it. “Stop children, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down . . . ”

Robert Wills, Shawville and Thorne