Tod MaffinCanadian Commentator, From Far and Wide · Emotional Support Canadian

When Compassion Liberates #history #news #military #ww2

5 May 2025 · 3 min

Watch on YouTube

2:59

In this YouTube monologue, the speaker confronts a claim by former President Donald Trump that Canada’s military is weak or irrelevant. He systematically refutes this by detailing Canada’s pivotal contributions during World War II, especially the liberation of the Netherlands. He recounts how Canadian forces landed on D‑Day, advanced northward, cleared crucial waterways, and broke German control over Dutch cities. He highlights the Dutch royal family’s exile in Canada, the extraordinary legal act that made the maternity ward extraterritorial so Princess Margriet could be born a Dutch citizen, and the unique honor of the Dutch flag flying over Ottawa’s Peace Tower. The speaker notes the sacrifice of 7,600 Canadian soldiers, the ongoing Dutch gratitude expressed through tulip gifts, memorial practices, and the adoption of Canadian graves by Dutch families. He contrasts Canadian military ethos—fighting out of compassion and for liberation—with the United States’ focus on defeating enemies, arguing that Canada’s impact is evident without needing loud proclamations. The piece ends with a call to recognize Canada’s meaningful role in global peace and history.

Chapters

You know, Donald Trump says a lot of stupid things, but one of his most insulting lies rarely gets called out by the media. That Canada's military is weak, or irrelevant, or somehow doesn't exist. It's not just wrong, it's offensive. And I don't mean just to Canada, but to the countless countries that we have stood beside. Take the Netherlands. Ottawa blooms with tulips each spring because the Dutch send them in gratitude. Gratitude for liberation. After landing in France on D-Day, Canadian troops pushed north, fighting through mud and fire to reach the Netherlands. We cleared key waterways that blocked Allied supplies. We launched offensives that broke the German grip on Dutch cities. Meanwhile, the Dutch royal family fled to Canada. Crown Princess Juliana was pregnant, but to ensure that her child could inherit the throne, Canada declared the maternity ward of that hospital extraterritorial. Territorial for just that day, Dutchland, so that her daughter would be born a citizen. That baby, Princess Marguerite, still visits us from time to time and thanks. After her birth, the Dutch flag flew from Ottawa's Peace Tower. That's the only time a foreign flag has flown there alone. Meanwhile, back in Europe, our troops were clearing house to house, freeing millions. And on this day, 80 years ago, German forces in the Netherlands surrendered. The cost was deeply painful: the lives of 7,600 Canadian soldiers. Today, their sacrifice is taught in schools over there. Canadian flags fly in cities all over the country. Families adopt the graves of Canadian soldiers and care for them. They consider it a duty. They pass it down from generation to generation, just that that one grave that their family is responsible for. So if you ever wonder whether what we do as a country matters, look to the Netherlands. Look to the tulips. Look to the faces of the veterans embraced by new generations in the cities they saved. I guess in a way Trump is right. Our militaries are different. Ours don't fight because we have to, we fight because we choose to. We don't fight for conquest. We fight for compassion. For deliverance, not dominance. America counts victories in enemies defeated. We count ours in lives restored. And sure, the US military is big and shiny and loud. But you don't need to shout when history speaks for itself. For you.