February 14, 2003
Rt. Honorable Jean Chretien
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2Dear Mr. Chretien,
In honor of your position as the highest elected representative of our nation, I am pleased to gift you with my video movie titled WE THE PEOPLE. It features the combined sentiments of over 200 Canadian citizens regarding the possibility of Canada waging war against Iraq. Clearly, these citizens are opposed to the use of deadly force in any attempt to resolve this conflict.
On a personal note, I wish to share with you what I consider to be an exemplary view of war and encourage you to join me in adopting it. It is a view expressed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama who was once asked : "Why didn't you fight back against the Chinese?" He responded by saying: "Well, war is obsolete you know." Then, after a few moments his face grave, he said, "Of course, the mind can rationalize fighting back, but the heart....the heart would never understand. Then you would be divided in yourself--the heart and the mind--and the war would be inside you."
May both your heart and your mind act in harmony with one another, as you navigate our ship of state through the perilous waters that lay before us.
Yours sincerely,
"Art degraded, imagination denied, war governs the nations." Wm. Blake RETURN