Wednesday 27 March 2013

A Revelation of Ignorance

One thing that is revealed about Canada when the Jewish refugees were rejected is that Canada wasn't always as accepting of immigrants and helpful as it appears today. It is a disappointing and shameful contrast of how Canada seems to be a safe haven for international immigrants and refugees now, but in the 1930s  Canada (among other countries) had a blatant disregard for the needs of the Jews and failed to provide assistance to them like any human being should be allowed, an example of this being the passengers of the MS St. Louis being denied entry into the country for safety from prejudice. I find it troubling that the country had a strong Christian religious background and ignored the Jews in their time of need, when a huge portion of Jesus Christ's teachings were to love your neighbour, and to treat them no worse than you would treat yourself. These Christians turned their backs on the Jews, contradictory to Jesus' messages. It may have been fear, ignorance, selfishness, hatred or a combination of all of these things, but at this time Canada was ignorant to the needs of Jewish refugees.

3 comments:

  1. Josh, this is a very passionate post. I like how you make the comparison to Canada then and now. Also, I never thought about the issue in terms of religion. You are right. Canada, with its Christian background, did not heed the teachings of Jesus Christ.

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  2. I agree with you on Canada being ignorant and your supporting arguments are really well done.

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  3. How could William Mackenzie King have help the Jews without losing popular vote with the citizens of Canada?

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