From hero to zero in less than a minute
I was fifteen years old when the Berlin wall came down and communism ended in eastern Europe. I watched with horror as the police and sometimes the military took part in suppressing the revolts by the people to change their governments. The police blatantly beat people into submission in Prague, Bucharest, Moscow and other European cities. But they stayed loyal to the regimes all the way to the end…
What motivated them to do this? What kept them loyal to evil tyrannies even though, past a certain point, it was obvious that the tyrannies will lose? Was it their love of their wage? The promise of a fat pension..?
Today we may never know…
Becoming a soldier
I am not entirely sure whn I decided to be a soldier but I do know that nothing in life ever interested me as much as the military. not surprisingly I Joined the Army at seventeen and with all my heart I believed that this was my last job. I was proud. In my mind the Canadian flag on the shoulder of my olive combat uniform was a symbol of freedom, justice and the epitome of everything good in the world. I knew I was on the right side, part of NATO and in one of the finest armies with some of the best troops in the world.
A world shattered
The year was 1995. I had been in the military for several years by now and Canadian Liberal politicians were wreaking havoc in Canada. Among other things, Bill C68, the Canadian long gun registry, received royal ascend and became a law. One of the stipulations of this bill was the mandatory registration of all privately owned long guns. In other words, the government had a need, to know where all the guns in Canada were kept and who had what kind of a rifle or a shotgun.
I could not understand. Why would the government want to know what sort of guns do people have? Having lived in a communist state in Eastern Europe, I understood very well why tyrannies want their people disarmed. It was because the tyrants knew thry were tyrants and couldn’t take any chances in having the people rise up against them. Weaponry of any kind make such uprisings much easier… But in Canada?!?!
What made this even harder to swallow were the rumors that the RCMP will go around door to door to ensure compliance. And since there were not that many RCMP officers, the army was to provide the manpower needed to accomplish this task.
That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach...
I was sick. I couldn’t sleep and couldnt concentrate on anything. The thought of me, as a soldier, enetering someones home to ensure he told a government official about the duck hunting shotgun under his bed made me want to vomit. What if we found some grandpa who neglected to register his deer rifle. Were we to arrest him? Were we to haul him in front of a judge or throw him right into prison? Were we to confiscate his lawful property?
So many questions…and no answers. Visions of evil policemen beating people, in the name of “public Safety”, just to prop up evil regimes for another hour or another day were flooding my mind. Suddenly I saw myself as an evil communist thug who’d do anything if ordered.
Looking for compassion in all the wrong places
I needed someone to talk to. I wonder what all the other guys are going to do. How are mass refusals of orders going to be hadled by the military brass?
I walked into the Junior Ranks Club and spotted my buddy Ryan in the corner, flipping through a Hustler magazine. I grabbed a beer from the bar and sat down next to him. After a little small talk, I should have known this conversation wouldn’t go far as Ryan never even looked up from his captivating literature.
“I can’t do this.” I finaly declared. “I can’t go into peoples houses and do this job. What are you gonna do when they make us do this?
“Meh…order’s an order.” was Ryan’s reply.
I was stunned.
“You mean to tell me that you’d follow any order given? What if they order you to kick down the door of your father’s house, beat him and take his stuff. Will you do it?” I asked.
Now annoyed, Ryan replied: “I am here to follow orders and that’s it. I don’t care!”
I looked around and realized two things. First of all, vast majority of all people in uniform, not all but vast majority, are complete morons and they will do whatever is ordered. Even if it means harming their communities and their families. And secondly, I realized that my career in the military is over.
Time goes on
The rumors of RCMP and military personnel going door to door and checking compliance with Bill C-68 never materialized. However this experience left a deep mark on mu soul. I have not spoken to Ryan since that day. I left the Army half way to a full pension and many times regretted my decision.
Then in 2019 a pandemic was declared and the majority of Canadian law enforcement showed it’s true colors. Harmful inoculations were forced on the people as well as children, degrading lockdowns were implemented and small businesses were destroyed. Those who disagreed had their bank accounts frozen. And through all of this, the police stood faithfully by their evil masters, dishing out any and all forms of violence just like the communist thugs of eastern Europe in 1989.
I was forever grateful that I learned this lesson over a beer and a smut magazine and not when it was time for me to stand and face the people with a rifle in my hand.
Orders must be followed
Orders must be followed. But can you imagine how much pain, suffering and death could have been avoided of police officers and soldiers remained honorable and disobeyed orders that cause harm?
What would the world be like if tyrants lost the support of their thugs and “followers of orders”? That woman on parliament hill wouldnt have been stomped on by the officer on horseback, people wouldnt get their bank accounts frozen, that young man would not get beat up for skating by the calgary police officers and all those people would not get loaded on to the cattle cars and shipped to concentration camps during the second world war. 1.3 million people would not get slaughtered in the killing fields by the communist party of Kampuchea. 1.6 million people would not die in the Gulags during the Soviet era.
Hopefully most Canadians now know where they stand…hopefully.