SLOBODIAN: What's not to love?

Today millions of Canadians, born here and elsewhere, will sing O Canada, emotionally, respectfully, with gratitude knowing we’re blessed to be “glorious and free” in a world where so many are trapped in tyranny’s snare.Among them will be countless young Canadians who take time to study Canada’s history, think for themselves, and understand that preserving: “True patriot love in all of us command” will protect and preserve their futures. It’s what keeps a nation united and strong. A divided nation fails and falls.They understand that: “From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee” isn’t about the country being geographically “big,” like one young Canadian who said our national anthem is “boring.” She believes Canada is flawed. Therefore, it doesn’t meet her standards.‘O Canada’ is everything that’s wrong with this country, is the headline is a June 24 Toronto Star article written by Nadia Khan.“When I was 8-years-old, I nearly fell asleep during my Canadian Citizenship ceremony,” she wrote. “It was during the playing of ‘O Canada’ when I began to get a little droop-eyed and even now, reflecting on the maple cookies I was given that day inspires more national pride in me than our national anthem ever will.”It’s understandable that a bored eight-year-old couldn’t comprehend the magnificence of what was transpiring. Canada welcomed her and her family with open arms offering unlimited opportunity. It's different when at 21, she still doesn’t seem to appreciate it.That Khan doesn’t like the national anthem is her prerogative. “Let’s face it: O Canada is boring. It’s inoffensive to the point of being offensive,” she wrote, criticizing it as “melodically stagnant” and failing to “inspire anything close to patriotism.”I’ll continue with her musings, not to embarrass her — an editor at the taxpayer subsidized newspaper — already did that by allowing this to be published, after likely having a hand in crafting the message. But only to get to the greater point because this is but a symptom of a big problem.Wrote Khan:“But on some level, O Canada is just one more illustration of our country’s collective inability to define who we are, both on the international stage and to ourselves.”“O Canada tells you nothing about Canada — and, in the process, everything wrong with it too.” “Our anthem’s current lyrics seem to recognize that our borders extend ‘far and wide.’ Is that really the best-selling point our country has — that we’re big?”As Lt. Col. Douglas Martin, a 42-year veteran of the Canadian Army, put it to me, “far and wide” is geographical.“To me, far denotes standing on guard in foreign countries, while wide means standing on guard across Canada.”But, Nadia Khan wants a new anthem.“The chief issue with O Canada is that it’s too self-consciously polite to say anything concrete about its heritage.”“We’re bound by nothing except our imaginations here — so why not pen an anthem that meaningfully explores reconciliation?”“Rather than merely talking about our First Nations communities in the context of national wrongs and guilt-laden land acknowledgments, perhaps we ought to create a new anthem that fuses together traditional Indigenous chants and the organ sounds of a Quebec church in the 1600s.”The beauty and strength of O Canada is its simplicity. “We” leaves no one out. And all are equal.This article appears to try, albeit weakly, to support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s dangerous idea that Canada has no “core identity.” Translation? Get rid of democratically elected governments.It smacks of teachings by ideologues who plot to change Canada to fit their visions — Marxists, radicals of all sorts — who have contempt for honouring this country, but wildly wave other flags and belt out other preferred national anthems.Born here or not, they are the ones who grab ‘maple cookies’ — jobs, positions, power, education, pension, assistance, health care, protection, freedom — the cry that it’s never enough, howl that Canada is no good, and try to discredit and destroy the foundations it was built on. They are a cancer in this land.And they spread the cancer, victimizing youth, particularly in universities, by manipulating thinking with this twisted ideology.Blame is easier then reflecting on individual responsibility. There’s never gratitude expressed for all who broke their backs building a magnificent country for them to be born in or migrate to. Only accusations and bleating about how wronged they are and how hateful and racist Canada is.But enough about them.I asked retired Lt. Col. Dave Redman — a great patriot who served this country in uniform 27 years and continues to fight like a warrior to challenge and expose anything or anyone getting in the way of our national interests — to break down what O Canada means to him.From far and wide:“The incredible mosaic of our country, of people who came here, from far and wide, for freedom, a life where you could own property and prosper, a place where you could have a family and raise it without fear,” said Redman.“A place where your children could have more than you did, a place where people worked together to achieve a vision of a future, based on the confidence that, based on a proud past that they had observed from afar, all of the above would continue and strengthen.”“Based on shared ethics and values.”O Canada:“A strong, proud, resilient nation.”“Proud and learning from our past, building resiliency in our present based on a vision for our future, confident in an actual plan for our future.”We stand on guard for thee:“We, the citizens, cherish and protect with our lives against all who would try to destroy or diminish our unity, national security, democratic institutions, rights and freedoms, economic prosperity and growth, personal and societal wellbeing and quality of life.”“All citizens, not just those in uniform or defined role, each and every day.”Khan’s allegation that O Canada is “just one more illustration of our country’s collective inability to define who we are, both on the international stage and to ourselves” merely echoes hollow talk by sheltered academics and inept politicians who have a naïve worldly view and limited firsthand knowledge.What a silly insult to faithful Canadians who know exactly who they are, what they stand for, and why they are singing O Canada.The current Liberal government has defined itself on the international stage as incompetent and not to be trusted. Canada and Canadians have defined what the country is and who we are in a magnificent way.“What I saw in my tours, far and wide, was how people looked at Canada and wished they were able to become Canadians,” said Redman.I’ll back that up. I saw it too in every one of the many countries I’ve visited. The problem is people here who don’t appreciate what we have and haven’t defined who they are. So really, what’s wrong with Canada?“We have a beautiful country and excellent citizens. Unfortunately, we currently have dangerous and destructive leadership, in many positions in our institutions — elected officials, civil service, schools, academia, health care, policing, courts and media,” said Redman.“Canadians must decide if they mean any of the words in our national anthem.”And those who call it boring should try to understand what it means. There’s so much more than maple cookies to inspire national pride.Happy Canada Day!

SLOBODIAN: What's not to love?

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