Hillarysworld

This article regarding Hillary's candid statements in Canada recognizes that Hillary had the gumption to speak honestly and frankly, and that Canada should be mature enough to listen to her.  Here is an excerpt:

For me, I say, “Way to go, Hillary.” I don’t agree with her on everything (I support, for example, the full withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan in 2011 as planned.) But good heavens, can we not be grown-ups and accept a little criticism? Sometimes you need your best friends to be honest with you. Otherwise they’re not doing their job as friends.

One of the lessons my mum taught me growing up was that if you really believe in your opinions, you shouldn’t be afraid to have them challenged. Indeed, she said wisely, you should welcome the challenge, because if you can’t articulate or defend why you believe something, maybe you should rethink your view. Clinton had the courage to challenge Stephen Harper and his government – several times, and very publicly. Where have the rest of us been?

On the issue of maternal health, most politicians seem incapable of even saying the “a” word. Clinton, refreshingly, pulled no punches. It’s called “abortion,” and yes, access to legal and safe abortion, particularly in developing countries, is a fundamental component of reproductive health. On Afghanistan, we still have Canadians dying over there, but where is the public debate in this country on what we should and shouldn’t do?

It’s too bad that we needed Clinton to say these things – but she knew that she had the political gravitas, particularly being non-Canadian, to make a point. Good for her. It may be unfortunate, but if our superiority/inferiority complex means that what the U.S. secretary of state has to say about us has more effect than what some of us say ourselves, then so be it.

So I say, “Thank you, Ms. Clinton,” for having the courage to poke at the Harper government, and at all of us. When a good friend criticizes, as a good friend should be able to do, we should be able to listen.