Thanks heavens when people speak for those who never asked to be spoken for:
Jason Kenney, the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, said the issue has nothing to do with gender. While neutral on the panel report, he said the government opposes lowering the flag for each death in a military mission because it could send a mixed message regarding those who died for Canada during the past century. "We shouldn't just rush to some emotional judgment on this very important issue."Mixed message - what a ka-ka-me-me idea. Would we not, then, keep up with the lash and keelhauling out of respect for those in the navy who were lashed or keelhauled in the past, too? Times change. Nice, too, to see the shadow of the OJ Simpson trial and the "rush to judgment" reach across the years giving the comfort of befuddlement to those without a real reason for their position.
Thankfully, there are the thoughtful out there - though perhaps not so prominently in the public debate. Chris Taylor - CT or "The Hammer" to you - wrote this the other day:
I am not the world's foremost expert on Canadian contributions to the Boer War, but I pass a memorial to it on a semi-regular basis. It is readily apparent to me, from the prominence of that memorial—in the median of University Avenue—that 1) this city sent forth a worthy contingent of her sons, and 2) the citizens honoured that sacrifice and wanted future generations to honour it as well. You want to honour the dead who gave their all? Start collecting money for a permanent memorial. Lowering flags is great but all too ephemeral.Excellent point. When we travel on weekends into the states, we make something of a point of noticing the civil war monuments in smalltown NY. In Charlottetown, the Boer War monument is the most recognized, sitting in front of the Provincial legislature. And in Halifax, a dandy Crimean monument sits in the downtown. These things last and if the cause is worth honouring it is worth honouring for the decades to come.
Comments
sean liddle - April 3, 2008 10:05 am
Kenney needs a professional speech writer with no political affiliations.
Anywho, I think that flag lowering is a silly old fashioned custom at the best of times, no one notices it when it happens frequently and it becomes background.
Then again, I do notice with a wry smile that a few local funeral homes lower their flag everytime they have business, which is pretty much every day. It would be easier if they just got a neon vacancy sign.
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2008 5:49 pm
"2: procedures"
I don't find it overly silly, but it is one of those things that, were it to become overly common, would lose all sense of significance.
When I was a kid I always tended to notice when federal offices flew their flags at half-mast because it was usually something you'd hear about beforehand or see on the news after school. Dead former Prime Minister, SCC justice, someone from the House of Windsor, that sort of thing.
Now it happens all the time for just about anyone and it's threatening to become just another bit of background noise.
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2008 5:50 pm
And thanks for the link Alan. Meant to put that in the other comment but got distracted.
sean liddle - April 3, 2008 8:42 pm
Sort of like calling every woman who sings moderately well, a diva and everyone who's job does not take place in an office a hero... ;)