By Linda McKellar
Perhaps I am not a good Canadian because I actually like to promote my country at home and abroad.
Jimmy Carter, then U.S. president during the “Argo” caper, gives bulk of credit for escape of Americans to brave Canadians like Ken Taylor and to a friendly Canadian government that backed Taylor up..
Such words as “pride” and “patriotism” often seem foreign to the Canadian lexicon and are considered impolite. I don’t want to come off as a braggart but perhaps it is time we start speaking up when blatantly disrespected.
Many are flocking to see “Argo”, the American-produced film that received an Oscar for best picture at the Academy Awards this February. But not me because this film represents a gross distortion of historical events.
Yes, I know Argo is not a documentary, but it is an all too common example of American braggadocio. Unfortunately many people get their “history” from movies and the misrepresentations are taken as fact.
Some of the more famous examples include “The Great Escape,” the 1963 film starring Steve McQueen where, in reality, there wasn’t a single American in that POW camp, “U-571” where the Americans are depicted capturing a Nazi U-boat and the Enigma Code when, in fact, the captures were made by the British.
Movies become folklore and all too often, folklore becomes historical “fact.” True history is lost.
On Piers Morgan’s CNN talk-show program, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter emphatically stated that 90 per cent of the Argo “caper” was initiated and carried out not by Americans but by Canadians, including a special secret session of Parliament to provide illegal false passports. He also stated that people like John Sheardon, a Canadian immigration officer at the time who played a prominent role in harbouring hostages for months with no diplomatic immunity and would have been executed if caught, whereas Tony Mendez, the CIA agent depicted as a hero in the film, was in Tehran for one and a half days, and almost blew the whole escape with inaccurately dated documents.
Ken Taylor, then-Canadian ambassador to Iran who also risked his life playing a lead role in hiding the six Americans and helping them escape from the country, was made a somewhat peripheral character in the film.
I recall signs along the Niagara River on the Buffalo side thanking Canada when this happened. We were proud to help our neighbours and do the right thing. Carter should know the facts. He was in the White House when Ben Affleck, the producer, director and lead star in Argo, was in diapers.
I realize movies embellish things (like the runway chase and market expedition) but saying a movie was based on facts while twisting the truth beyond recognition to glorify someone at the expense of true heroes is a slap in the face. A few weak apologies came Canada’s way but stuck me as pretty insincere and done under pressure.
How would Americans feel if one of their iconic personages was relegated to insignificance? A big thanks to Jimmy Carter for a REAL apology and the FACTS!
You can view a segment of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s interview with Piers Morgan and the real role of Canada in the Argo caper by clicking on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr5XJ8dbJtg&feature=em-share_video_user .
Linda McKellar is a Niagara, Ontario resident who has contributed numerous comments to Niagara At Large since our inception as an online news and commentary site.
(Niagara At Large welcomes all visitors to this site to share their views on this post or any other posts NAL has posted. Divergent views are most welcome in the spirit of NAL’s goal to operate as a virtual town hall for discussing and debating issues of interest and concern to our communities and countries across the greater Niagara region and beyond.)
Niagara At Large 
Thank you, Linda, for an excellent NAL piece! The truth may not always be appreciated. /wfh
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Right on Linda!
I agree with William Hogg MD. Your article is excellent.
Canada is commonly treated like a junior partner. Sure it’s nice that we received supportive comments from President Carter. However I was in business during those years and remember the economy in the dumper. We had nearly everything on back order.
The perceived weakness of the U.S. economy emboldened the radicals in Iran to kidnap the Americans. Once President Reagan was elected Iran released the hostages.
The rich and famous of Hollywood ignored Canada’s contribution of our Canadian heroes but the American people did not ignore us.
Canadians received complimentary remarks wherever they traveled in the U.S.
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President Carter was probably one of the most honest Presidents that country ever produced yet he is constantly vilified by Republicans in a general…..Then again he was and is a DEMOCRAT and that seems to be more than enough in the eyes of certain elements in the U.S.A.
God Bless You Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter… for your contributions to sanity and to the peoples of the world including Canadians………….. AS I read “An Hour Before Daylight” Your upbringing, your family and your ethical values are deep rooted….It is too bad that does not count with so many Americans of lesser stature.
Thank you for your courage in praising the Canadians and Canada which once again illustrated the connection and friendship that exists between Canada and the U.S.A. citizens…….amen
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Joseph, I think Carter is the best ex-President of the 20th century. He was an honest and moral man and still is doing wonderful and selfless work even at his age. I met him in Nepal 4 years ago and he and his wife were dynamos (then in his 80’s) and VERY friendly and down to earth. I have heard others say the same. No pretentions at all. He has done so much good with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Foundation with international negotiations and diplomacy and in the past year his health foundation, which is active in over 80 countries, eliminated the deadly “guinea worm” disease for the first time in known history. In spite of this many Americans treat him as a failure. I should aspire to be such a failure.
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My husband and I often have differences of opinion on movies and in this case, I will use his phrase to me, when I find fault with some bit of the screenplay, or production values: “It’s just a movie!” Argo is not a documentary; and creative license allows an author, playright (think Shakepeare’s RIchard III) to play fast and loose with the facts. Just sayin’; it’s just a movie.
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Linda and Gail I respect both of you ladies for you speak and write reality based on factual evidence….I guess I try to emulate your wisdom, honesty and truth in my writing and I do incur the wrath of peoples whose head is, sorry to sa,y buried where the sun does not shine.
Doug you are a paragon of truth and have given a platform for all to speak their thoughts and ideals as long as those thoughts are not too negative or ever threatening.
That any supposed “sane minded” person would skewer a true (Yes Chris GENTLEMAN) whose very apparent mission in life was to make living on this planet as pleasant as possible without poisoning the very, soil, water and air needed to sustain life. Jimmy Carter is the individual I watched with admiration and respect as he attempted to instill integrity into the hearts and minds of nations already steeped in Greed and self righteous entitlement.
I am not going to bother with the nay Sayers any more than I did in Zellers that day…… long ago.
Doug, Ladies and those who value life and the life of this planet I thank you with all my Heart. God Bless You All.
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Jimmy Carter, A President who used his knowledge and standing to help save millions of third world people from the dreaded guinea worm is vilified by the GOP , and another President who has caused unbelievable deaths and havoc on millions of ordinary people is held up as a great defender of the American way of life. That is how screwed up American society has become. Jesus said ” Blessed are the peacemakers”
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