R.T. Wells is a veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy.If you believe him or not, Donald Trump’s threat of taking Greenland has drawn a line in the sand, leaving us to make a choice: do we uphold the European status quo, or join our southern neighbour?The knee-jerk reaction seems to be that we defend Europe at all costs. Lord knows that history is replete with examples of Canadian sacrifice abroad. The World Wars are a gimme, but it doesn’t stop there. What about Yugoslavia, Kosovo, or the Balkans? What about the support we’re sending to Ukraine right now? Peacekeeping in the United Nations was our own brainchild, and we have no one to blame but ourselves for its existence, or the impossible task it placed on our soldiers. .JÄGER: A secular nation has no business funding religious animal slaughter.But Greenland is different. This isn’t a mission in ending genocide or stopping religious factions from murdering children in their beds. The citizens of Greenland are in no danger of being killed or held under a repressive regime. This is nothing more than a changing of the guard, and not surprisingly, Europe doesn’t like it.Like a long-lost uncle who only appears on the doorstep when he wants something, Europe is once again crying out for support. Canadians are meant to instinctively understand that due to our Commonwealth status and our British and French heritage, we’re supposed to show up whenever called. It doesn’t matter that they’ve done an awful lot of calling over the years or that they’ve given us next to nothing for our troubles in return.In fact, as Trump threatened to annex our nation at the start of his second term, Europe was conspicuously silent. Despite having never asked for their help with so much as a flat tire, let alone a potential invasion, they opted for the duck-and-cover approach rather than risk a bump in trade with the United States. Our sovereignty versus their car exports? It’s clear that our century of sacrifice has meant nothing..Now let’s review the facts. The United States has been our closest friend and ally for about 200 years, long before we could even call ourselves an independent nation. And though their current administration has made it very clear they’re not batting for our team, it doesn’t erase the past — or the future.When our forests have burned, the United States has been there with air tankers, firefighters, and supplies. When our cities have flooded and our water mains have broken (thanks for nothing, Nenshi), they’re the ones who showed up..MACLEOD: The great betrayal — the Laurentian elite’s war on Alberta’s north-south axis.Europe, on the other hand, has not. We seem to let this slide under the banner of geography, using the excuse that they’re too far away. But what about South Africa? Last time I checked, their nation was significantly further from Alberta than Great Britain, and yet they sent 300 firefighters to Fort McMurray in 2016. In fact, a quick perusal of articles from that time shows everyone from Russia down to Mexico offered to lend a hand — everyone that is — but Europe.It’s also not lost on me that Greenland is strategically important, mineral-rich, totally underdeveloped, and entirely vulnerable. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s also an accurate description of our own Arctic, a place we’re incapable of defending. One could argue that ignoring Greenland’s annexation is to condone a fate that could just as easily be our own. There is logic to this, but it overlooks one uncomfortable fact: we’re going to lose this country either way..In a century where use-it-or-lose-it is a growing theme, the days of sticking flags in the ground without a military base next to it are over. The world’s population is rising, resources are in greater demand than ever, and global weather patterns are changing where we live. Once insignificant places are becoming valuable, and those who have the ability to harness that value will ultimately be the owners.Unfortunately for us, we missed the boat. And no amount of money is going to fix that now. As our regions become increasingly unique and provincial choices manifest into distinct ideological differences, the old bonds will break and so will our border. This is not a Doomsday forecast or a declaration of some mighty apocalypse to come — this is historical fact. And whether it comes true in six months or sixty years is anybody’s guess, but one thing is certain: empires and vast nations collapse, and ours won’t be the exception..SOLWAY: Where science and faith come together — in search of a new grand unified theory.So here we stand in our global living room, and Mom and Dad are fighting. European ideology is being tested by American authority, and we’re stuck in the middle. In a classic case of damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don’t, the real question isn’t who’s right — as neither one of these parties has come here with a higher moral mission to improve the lot of Greenlanders. Nor is this about who will treat us better, as Europe has already shown its true colours. As a kid having to choose between parents, the only real question is this: who would you rather live with?R.T. Wells is a veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy.
