Why I’ve Got To Support Canadian Truckers

Why I’ve Got To Support Canadian Truckers

– By Ed Kociela –

I think the Canadian truckers who blocked entry to the United States at the busiest land crossing points between the two nations are complete and utter whackjobs.

Their reason for blocking the crossings is because they don’t like mask and vaccination mandates, which is ludicrous as many are still losing their lives to COVID.

Being fully vaccinated and wearing a mask represent the two most important steps we can all take to end this damned pandemic that has wasted a couple of years of our lives.

Still, I support them for shutting down business. It may seem extreme, but these are extreme times.

The truckers participating in this blockade are risking a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. They could also lose their rigs.

That’s a fairly large risk that takes a large commitment. And, just looking at the raw data, I am confused. You see, about 80 percent of all Canadians are vaccinated. Among the truckers who deliver goods across North America the numbers increase, with about 90 percent of them fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border.

Still, they have gathered to bottle up the crossings with blockades and followers on the sidelines chanting “Freedom,” or singing the Canadian anthem.

That’s where the chain of logic falls apart. Look, if you are fully free to come and go as you please, why buck the system? Obviously, if you have taken the shots, you believe they work, right? But, if you are willing to pay a hefty fine, go to jail, or lose your rig, you have to believe that there should be no mandates for vaccinations and masks.

Despite this lapse in logic and my confusion about it all, my heart falls in with the truckers, if only because I believe in the right to free speech and will defend it vigorously.

Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects freedom of expression, much like our 1st Amendment. It is the fabric of the culture for our friends to the north, much like it is in the United States, and as such, should be one of their most guarded and protected rights. Like in the U.S., there are, of course, what is called reasonable limits to prevent hate speech, obscenity, and defamation. But, you pretty much have the same voice up north as in the U.S. that even cops with tear gas, mace, and billy clubs cannot shake and even the most wicked conservative judges cannot undo. Look at our current members of the Supreme Court. Even they would come down unanimously in favor of protecting the 1st Amendment whether defending Hustler magazine or the Wall Street Journal.

So, while I may totally disagree with their reason, I have to respect the rights of those truckers who have decided to put it all on the line for what they believe in.

The blockade posed some hardships on both sides of the border. Businesses on the U.S. side are missing deliveries while providers in Canada are at an economic loss as long as those goods in the back of the trucker rigs sit parked on the border. Eventually, of course, it will all settle down, deliveries will catch up and the exchange of goods for services and products will return to normal so the long-term impact will be minimal. I seriously doubt that mask and vaccination mandates will be erased, but the blockade might have some effect on how long the mandates stay in force or may influence future rules.

One thing this blockade most certainly establishes is the dependency we have on our delivery system. Every physical product you have ever purchased spent some time in the back of a truck, from the food you ate for breakfast to the device you are reading right now.

Truckers are the unsung heroes who spend long, lonely hours on the road whether they are bringing you your latest Amazon purchase or delivering the daily mail. It is a fragile economy that is heavily influenced by such things as weather, infrastructure problems, or fuel prices. And, not just any yahoo can climb into the driver’s seat of a big rig. Special training is required to protect the driver, cargo, and others on the road. I know for a fact that my attention span is not long enough to spend countless hours of dodging Smokies and idiotic drivers day in and day out from dawn to dusk on America’s ribbon of highway. Not exactly my cup of tea, so I applaud them for keeping us well-stocked and fed.

I must underscore that I think most of this is also the fact that we have all lost so much over the last couple of years as we isolated ourselves from a norm that was pretty open and flexible.

I understand the importance of quarantines to help block the spread of COVID.

I hate wearing a mask as much as the next guy, but I understand how important it is to do so.

I also like to keep my distance from doctors and nurses and needles. I’ve been poked and prodded a lot and am grateful for what they have done for me. But, I could really go without rolling up my sleeve again for another shot.

Most importantly, as an elder of the Tribe, I place great value on this thing we call time and have seen too many years whittled away because of COVID and the lifestyle changes it required. In other words, this old horse is looking forward to the day, if it ever happens, when we can leave the barn unfettered. It’s not that I have any place special to visit, I just would like to go on my terms, in my time, without restrictions. So, on that level, I am 100 percent understanding of the desire of those truckers to hit the road unencumbered.

But, that doesn’t make it right.

With freedom comes the responsibility to be respectful of each other, to be accountable for our actions, to consider the greater good of humanity rather than selfishly pursuing our personal needs.

The best suggestion I can come up with is for the Canadian government to open up and put a couple of truckers on a committee to figure out how to fix this problem.

I hate compromise, but sometimes it’s the best you can do.

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