By Doug Aldridge
Sunday, July 15, 2007
As Canada recently celebrated the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge; the battle historians say defined us as a nation; it was sad to hear the bitter whinging of retired Major-General (now Liberal Party of Canada Senator) Romeo Dallaire. He took umbrage with a decision to honour the thousands who honoured Canada, in life and death, with a great victory, by giving a place of honour to the flag they fought under...The Red Ensign.
The General still suffers dreadful psychological effects of the atrocities that happened in Rwanda while he was heading a U.N. Peacekeeping mission in the mid-'90s. That mission a clear warning that the United Nations is so administratively disorganized that it couldn't take a bus-load of sailors to a brothel and get the job done. The General is best to enjoy the peace of the Red Chamber.
The Red Ensign is part of our Canadian history. Ever since Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the socialist-cultural-intellectual, elitists have done everything in their power to strip away the natural historic link we have with Britain and the senior members of the Commonwealth, the Australians and the New Zealanders.
The people we fought beside and together shed blood in two world wars weren't good enough for Trudeau and his revisionist successors. Better to become a non-aligned, multicultural, third-world country, with no definable culture...except of course...Quebec's.
Now I don't have any trouble with Quebec protecting and preserving its language and culture. Too bad the rest of Canada has been denied this. Having a constitution which recognizes no definable culture is why Quebec wouldn't sign-on then...and will never sign on...EVER!
Sadly, our children are being "taught" to be ashamed of our "English" culture, heritage and "War-Time" achievements. The teachers' unions are among the most virulent revisionists when it comes to screwing around with history.
The War Museum has an exhibit that veterans of Bomber Command consider defamatory. Canada's museum bureaucrats are among the snootiest of the Political Correctoids.
The Red Ensign is the prime symbol of that heritage and history. No wonder the Dallaires of this world and the vast majority of the effete intellectuals who glide through official Ottawa want to suppress the flag our fathers fought under. Most of their daddies were hiding in the bush from '39 to '45. And if that sounds harsh...it was meant to.
Canada is a country of immigrants. Remember though that the early immigrants to this British Dominion came here because it represented a better, more civilized and fair society than the ones they were leaving behind. In the two world wars of the last century, young Canadians of English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, French, Native and Eastern European descent stood with those of German, Italian and Japanese heritage who voluntarily joined the Royal Canadian Navy, The Royal Canadian Air-Force and the several Royal Regiments of the Canadian Army. They fought for King and Country...and were proud to do so.
Once again Canada is participating in a war. Recruitment is up 40% from a year ago. Who's joining up? The grandsons and granddaughters of those who fought for Canada, in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Battle of Britain, at Ortona, Juno Beach, The Scheldt, Hong Kong and Kapyong. The fighter pilots, like my uncle who got shot down once...but ended the war with seven confirmed.
My father joined the RCAF, September 9, 1939. He was de-mobbed, November 11, 1945. He was part of a bomber crew. I resent some cologne-soaked, white-wine sipping, intellectual correctoid, branding him and his crew-mates as war criminals.
It's time for us to stand up for our history and our heritage. To tell our children how their grandfathers and grandmothers sacrificed and then worked hard to give them the comforts they enjoy today.
The old Canada knew what it was and that's why when people came to Canada, they became Canadians...and they fought to preserve that Canada. Can we say the same for some of our newcomers?
What must they think of a people, which officially shuns the history and the culture that made this country come alive? Can they be counted on to stand first for Canada, as we counted on the loyalty of the newcomers to this country who came from the late 19th century and up to the seventh decade of the 20th.
Sadly, we have evidence that there are those among us...even native-born, whose values and beliefs are so strong that they have been accused of plotting terror as a vehicle to impose those values and beliefs where they are not wanted.
The correctoids and intellectuals get the vapours at the very thought that Canadians might ask such a highly-charged question. However the feeling is growing every day that it is a question to which the majority of Canadians not only deserve an answer, but are beginning to demand one.
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