We were driving back from Montreal on Shushan Purim and could not believe the discussions that were taking place on the radio. It didn’t really matter which station we turned to—it was everywhere! The latest vital information regarding the presidential race in the Republican Party had to do with the candidates’ very private lives, each candidate blaming the other for revealing and showing all kinds of unnecessary facts about their opposition.
We always felt that in many ways Canada lagged behind in being up to date on some cultural norms. Fortunately we can proudly say that this is one area that our northern neighbors do not consider it necessary to catch up with. Candidates’ lives and in particular the most private parts of their lives are rarely mentioned at all. We would assume that if Mrs. Harper, the former first lady of Canada, walked down the street in Montreal some would know her, but we think that the average person would have no idea who she was. Only the fact that she would have security with her might give the secret away. The newly elected Prime Minister’s wife would only be known in Montreal circles as she walked the streets quite freely until recently. Isn’t this the way that it should be? Why would anyone care anything about the spouses of the candidates?
For that matter, on the other side of the voting booth, who really knows anything about Bernie Sanders’s wife? Interestingly no one cares nor does anyone seem to inquire about the personal life of Sanders himself. We are sure that there are things to be found if the same investigative team used on the other side would dig deep enough. Certainly, there is more than volumes that could be written about Mrs. Clinton and her relationship with her husband. His trysts in the White House and probably outside of it as well were documented throughout the world. No one, including his wife and the other Democratic candidate, feel there is any reason to mention them. Honestly this November there are going to be difficult choices to make.
We do have one solution that might offer us all another chance at not having to make this painful decision. We did become Canadians while living in Canada and have the privilege of bearing dual citizenship. We would be happy to sponsor any of you who would like to try the colder winters, cleaner government, more boring news reports, poutine (yum) and the advantage of having US dollars in a country where the Canadian dollar is now worth about $1.30 US. Let us know and we will immediately charter a bus from Monsey Tours for a “walk through.”
By Rabbi Mordechai and Nina Glick
