Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

America’s poet laureate Robert Frost claimed “good fences make good neighbors.” I know there are numerous interpretations of the phrase, but I currently find myself wondering about the meaning of his statement in light of today’s world.

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Perhaps beginning by defining a good fence is the best place to start. What embodies a “good fence?” What is most important, strength, materials, positioning, size, height or design? What defines a fence? The United States Canadian border is practically invisible to the sight and minds of most Americans. Few have a need to cross over unless traveling for a ski trip, excursion or regularly for business. As a Detroiter I am well aware of what crossing into Canada entails. Until recently no passport was necessary between the U.S. and Canada. There was free access and easy entry between both nations. It worked well, very well despite the occasional zero hour check (stopping cars randomly and stripping them for contraband) or when a naturalized citizen happened to forget necessary documentation. Of course, those were unique times. Different ideals existed and neighbors possessed a sense of trust. I was always frightened crossing the border much the same way your stomach instantly turns over when you see a policeman in your rear view mirror, even when you’re doing nothing wrong. Good fences make good neighbors. I crossed into Canada frequently. Visiting relatives, escaping to Toronto for a fun weekend with friends, just a day of shopping in Windsor for a change of scene, or ashamedly just some English chocolates. Two options existed, Ambassador Bridge or tunnel. Truth be told, I was never truly happy with either. The bridge made me nervous. The tunnel presented me with a sense of awe and wonder at the fact no water was able to pass through the white paneled wall. I prayed every inch of the journey through it would remain so. Good fences? Can a bridge or tunnel be classified as a good fence? The border guards on the Canadian side were never friendly, never welcoming and Lord knows a sense of humor was as foreign to those guys as a rational thought to Kim Jong Il. They weren’t there to be nice or friendly. The sign at the border proudly displayed “Welcome to Canada” as you crossed. The tunnel and bridge prominently displayed American and Canadian flags to mark the borders, and it was always fun to cross between the flags to the other side. No, the guards weren’t the welcome wagon. It wasn’t in their job description. You knew you were welcome to Canada because quite simply, they allowed such easy entry. Good fences, even bridges and tunnels, make good neighbors. A new Canadian law makes a passport necessary to cross the border from America to Canada. I shutter to think what the border guards are like today. I shuddered then, before, when the world was different and a far easier place in which to live. Children traveling alone to Canada are stopped in airports to ensure they are not runaways. The Canadians are suspicious of everyone, all the time. The fences haven’t changed, have the neighbors perhaps? Is the U.S. visitor not as happily welcomed today? Good fences. Can they make good neighbors? Israel built a fence. Unlike Canada and the U.S. it wasn’t built to allow free access between countries, boasting border guards designed to frighten those who would dare bring illegal drugs or even an expensive blouse across the border unnoticed. It was designed to save citizens from terror. It quickly achieved its goal by almost eliminating the free passage of those with explosives strapped around their bodies who came in to bring death with them. It was created as a means of protecting children from murder and chaos, a way to keep out an enemy intent on destruction and killing. It allows 17 and 18 year olds to go dancing at a club and twenty or thirty somethings to sit at a bar, unafraid that the next person coming in will explode killing dozens, injuring countless others. The world says it is a bad fence that makes bad neighbors. In truth, it is a very good fence allowing reasonable people to live peacefully. If good fences make good neighbors, did Frost consider the intent of the fence an issue? The United States has no fence with Mexico, yet Mexico has a very strong fence on its southern border. It demands free passage into the USA, while preventing passage from its neighbors to the south. The USA is building one at present, but like Israel’s it is judged and deemed a bad fence by many. Could this bad Mexican border fence be why Canada requires a passport, or is it the lack of a fence that creates their fear? Why? Like Canada’s it prevents strangers from crossing into the country to do harm. Is it because it isn’t a bridge or tunnel? Is it because like Israel, some believe it will prevent crime, terror and chaos? Do people want these evil things entering their country? Have they ever? So what is a good fence or a bad fence? Is it merely to establish borders? If so, what is the benefit if borders are not respected? Good fences don’t separate, they draw together. Establishing boundaries is the cornerstone of a strong and healthy relationship, whether for countries or for human beings. You need not delegate behavior, the borders are in place, some fences high, others low. Good fences create good comfort zones. There has always been a border between the U.S. and Canada. They have never been at war, never been at odds and never shared conflict. They have however, shared visitors, trade, respect and a free exchange of ideas and products for the mutual good of both nations. Perhaps good fences do make good neighbors. Perhaps Robert Frost got it right. Maybe it’s time the world did as well.