Progress is good, but sometimes it gets lost in frivolity.
A private members bill, put forward by dying MP Mauril Belanger, proposing a change in the lyrics of the Canadian national anthem, passed the Senate’s third reading on Wednesday, June 22 and is expected to become law.
While the suggested change in lyrics from “In All Thy Sons Command” to a more gender-neutral wording of “In All of Us Command” is dividing the country according to popular opinion polls, it changes neither the meaning, nor the overall theme of our nation’s anthem.
It does however, raise the question of what will be changed, manipulated or removed at the whim of another politician down the road.
Will we, like the Americans, remove God from our national anthem too?
The editorial staff of the Barrhead Leader certainly hopes not.
We acknowledge the multi-cultural and religious background of our residents, and indeed, our fellow Canadians nation-wide, yet we would also suggest that some things should not be changed.
The original lyrics were penned in 1880 by Adolphe-Basile Routhier, in French, and are much more militant than the English version, written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir.
The French wording suggests a brow adorned with garlands of flowers, of an arm ready to wield a sword, and a willingness to carry the Christian cross in defense of our nation.
The English version of O Canada, revised several times over the last century, was formally adopted as the national anthem in 1980.
One could argue that as our demographics change, so too should our national image, and a single word is not going to change the underlying principles or morality of our country, but opting to bend to the will of a particular individual’s private wish verses the interest or opinions of an entire country is undemocratic.
Canada ranks among the foremost of progressive, developed countries in terms of equality, human rights, living conditions and more, but our country is focused on a line from a 136-year-old song, while our Aboriginal women continue to go missing and lethal drug use is on the rise, our provincial economy has taken a thrashing, and the government is pushing forward legislation that the opposition says nobody wants.
Is it worse that we are risking the alienation of all of those veterans who gave their lives for the freedoms we take for granted?
In reality, it is a small change, and a step towards gender-neutrality, but is it really worth the heartache, familial divide and strife?
Chances are the change will go unnoticed by most Canadians anyway.
