How much religion is acceptable at a Remembrance Day Ceremony?

Today,  for the first time,  I left a Cenotaph Ceremony angry.

For me,  Canada’s most solemn moment of any year is at 11am on November the 11th.

This has grown even more important with recent conflicts and tragedies affecting our nation’s military.

As has been our custom since I moved to Stratford,  my friend Gord and I attended the ceremony at the cenotaph here in town.

We served together,  and eventually both ended up working at the same hospital in our civilian lives.

One of the things that we’ve found irritating is how the minute of silence in Stratford is always early.  We’ve noted people rushing to the cenotaph to show their respect at 11am,  only to have missed that solemn moment.

This was not what caused my anger this morning.

When we arrived,  someone was being introduced,   I didn’t catch who it was,  but I heard his words,  these aren’t quotes,  but the meaning is there…

“First we must love God,  then love our country…”

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard….

What followed was a meandering sermon discussing terrorism,  and how loving and obeying God can make things better.

I heard very little in this sermon (that’s what it was) about those who we had come to honour.  The veterans, and those that sacrificed their lives in service to this country.

I did hear that apparently,  those that died in service to Canada actually did so in service to God.   I verified this with Gord afterwards.

Towards the closing,  it was suggested that keeping God in center of family and society was essential to avoid straying from the path (or something).

The implication here is that if you don’t keep God in the center of your life,  you are somehow lesser,  or flawed.

When I heard this I wondered if the speaker  realized that many terrorists do things like shout “Allah-u akbar!”,  and that means of course “God is great!”,   and that the God they’re referring to is the same God as his.

And that these people most definitely keep their version of Him as the center of their lives.

Don’t get me wrong,  I don’t have a problem with his beliefs.  My objection is how he took the focus away from our veterans, both living and dead,  and their service and sacrifice,  and made it about religion.

That’s fine from a church pulpit,   but from in front of a cenotaph,  where Canadians of all creeds have gathered to show respect,  and thank those that preserved our freedom,  its inappropriate.

I’m hopeful that those that organize future ceremonies will be mindful of the fact that many who gather to pay their respects are not Christians,  and may find being lectured on how important it is for them to obey God offensive.   Perhaps, they could also time things so that the minute of silence starts at 11am…not sometime between 10:45 and 10:55.

The Poppy: The Ultimate Pro-Peace Symbol

Remembrance Day (Photo credit: Lauren Cathy Turner)

As Remembrance Day approached I read several posts in various places that stated that the ceremonies honouring our war dead was glorifying violence.

This is one of the most ignorant things I’ve ever heard.   I’m presuming that people who believe this presume that we thousands who attend cenotaph ceremonies are in fact honouring those characters who have died in video games like Medal of Honor,  or ummm… Ms. Pacman.

Remembrance Day is not about the glorification of war.  It is about REMEMBERING the dead,  those that suffered the ultimate consequence of war.   An annual reminder that war sucks by way of listing off sons and daughters who have sacrificed everything so dipwads can go around talking about how an activity that reminds us of those sacrifices is glorifying death and destruction without anyone kicking in their door and explaining it to them at gunpoint….or whatever despots do when offended.

Yes, we honour the dead in these ceremonies.  But look at it this way…..if you are fighting in a war,  would you rather go home alive,  or in a box,  eventually only to be remembered on one day of the year?  We honour those who fell to give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy today.

It has been said that with our growing immigrant population that some have family who died fighting for the other side and therefore may object to the ceremonies.

I do not see how this is even relevant.   People are permitted to believe, and say,  whatever it is they want.    It is the sacrifices made that gave us this peace,  and maintain it.   No one who enjoys the freedoms of living in Canada has any right to denigrate in any way our Veterans,  or our Fallen,  it is because of them that you are free.

Those who think the poppy glorifies violence need to remember that it symbolizes the loss of life (real, flesh and blood lives),  and the horrors that armed conflict brings.

It is the ultimate pro-peace symbol as it should remind of us of the stark reality of war.

 

Related articles

• Why I’ll Wear a Poppy on Remembrance Day (studentlife.ryerson.ca)
• SIMON KENT – Canadians want Remembrance Day to have bigger role (sunnewsnetwork.ca)
• Wear your poppy with peaceful intent | Ted Harrison (guardian.co.uk)
• Quotes for Remembrance Day (onthehomefrontandbeyond.wordpress.com)

I AM HONOURED TO DO THIS! (debunk a chain email that is)

I received an email today…a chain email.  It was an innocent and heartfelt thing, and I very much appreciated the sentiment.   But,I am a skeptic and hence the chain of events that lead me to typing here.

I mean no disrespect to anyone whose forwarded these, I’m a world-class skimmer and can hardly fault anyone else for being the same 🙂

I never forward chain emails and have been known to send nasty responses down the line as some of these things are just silly (like the one where Bill Gates emails you and tells you you’ll get money for forwarding the email for helping test Microsoft’s email servers /sigh).

This one is insidious and at this time of year plays on people’s heart strings.  The email is full of images of remembrance.  Poppies, pictures of Canadian soldiers, etc. etc.

Wrapped in amongst the pictures is a diatribe about how the ACLU is suing the US Government to prohibit prayer in the US Military.

Okay…2 points.  The A in ACLU stands for American…  and well the bigger point is that its bullshit.

Here’s a link  It contains the text I mention below.

It does play on the emotions though.  I contemplated forwarding it to my address book, simply because of what the email was crafted to convey.  Remembrance and gratitude to those that serve.   But, thankfully I have a strict policy of breaking any chain mail or email that comes my way. For some reason I scrolled down and saw sloppily inserted captioning that made no sense to me.

Babbling about the ACLU…(A stands for American and this was a very Canadian email…if you went by the pictures).

It ends in a very Christian prayer “for the troops”…and mentions “Marines”  (for those of you unaware, Canada does not have Marines).

When what was contained in the email struck me, it made me mad.

I served in the Canadian Military for 17 years.  I am proud of that.  I am proud of our military.   But some festering [expletive deleted] decided that they would forward this nonsensical urban legend, cashing in on a FAKE tribute to Canada’s war dead to ensure it would be circulated!

Its an insult, plain and simple.  Not only to our dead, but those who served, and to Canadians in general.

I’m going to be sending this email to everyone whose address is on the one that was sent to me.    I suggest you do the same if you get it!

Subject:  I am honoured to do this! (Debunk an offensive chain email)

You may have received an email with pictures of poppies, Canadian soldiers, and other symbols of Remembrance.
You may or may not have read the words contained, but if you did you would see that they spoke of action the ACLU are taking to remove prayer from the US Military.

This is an urban legend.  A pure falsehood.

I am proud to do this.  To ask you to spread the word to stop this offensive chain email in its tracks.  The use of the memory of our war dead to spread a lie is insulting to our fallen, our soldiers and our nation.

Pass it on.

The email is below…Wordpress is kind of flaky with images….so its just the text…

 

 

LOVE  & PEACE  IN 2011 I  AM HONOURED TO DO THIS I   AM  HONOURED TO DO  THIS!! Did   you know that the ACLU  has filed a suit to  have all  military cross-shaped headstones  removed.    And   another suit to end  prayer from the  military completely.  They’re making  great  progress. The Navy Chaplains can  no  longer mention Jesus’ name in   prayer thanks to the  wretched ACLU and our  new administration.     I’m   not breaking this  one.    If   I get it a 1000 times,  I’ll forward it a  1000  times! Let   us pray…    Prayer   chain for our  Military… Don’t break it.   Please   send this on after a short prayer.  Prayer  for our  soldiers Don’t break   it! Prayer:    ‘Lord   Jesus, hold  our troops in your loving  hands Protect them  as they protect us  bless them and their families for the   selfless acts they perform  for us in our  time of need.   Amen.’   These  Colours Don’t Run Prayer   Request:  When you  receive this,  please stop for a moment and say  a prayer  for our troops around the world. There is  nothing  attached.  Just send   this to people in your address  book.   Do not let it stop with you.  Of all  the  gifts you could give a Marine,  Soldier, Sailor, Pilots,  & others  deployed in harm’s way, prayer is the very   best one.  GOD   BLESS YOU FOR PASSING  IT  ON! They died for us! Can’t we at least Stand Up for them??!!

 

 

 

et tu Royal Canadian Legion?

Well, here’s another thing that got my blood boiling….this latest rage is brought to you by the good people at the Royal Canadian Legion.  Here’s a link to the story that got my attention

So, synopsis for you non-link clickers…there is a group of Canadian Vets who’ve formed a Riding Club whose vision, according to their website is

Our vision is to grow the membership Nationally and use our shared enthusiasm for motorcycle riding, to make Veterans and Veteran Supporters feel welcome, and to do charitable works related to Veterans’ Organizations and serving members of the Canadian Forces. Other charitable works (such as the Ride for Dad) will also be supported but the emphasis will be on supporting veterans and serving Canadian Forces members.

Pretty good stuff eh?   The problem that the Legion has with them is that they dared use the poppy in their crest, so small that its “a bit difficult to see”.

The president of CFVR, Michael Blow (a retired Captain with 35 years service) received a letter from lawyers representing the RCL giving them 2 weeks to “provide a satisfactory response” or risk further legal action.

According to Bill Maxwell, the Legion Secretary, the reason that the poppy is trademarked is to prevent personal or commercial gain, or “inappropriate use”.  According to the linked article, he goes on to add:  “That’s because it’s not being used as a symbol of remembrance, but as part of a logo.”

Unless Sun Media has taken to misquoting people, he actually said that…it’s being used as the crest of an organization of military veterans, and he doesn’t think its being used a symbol of remembrance.   So, if I understand his point the use of the poppy symbol by non-Legion veterans is inappropriate, even if they are in fact an organization supporting veterans.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I have nothing against the Legion as a whole.  They do some great work. I was really pleased to see their program aimed at helping homeless vets. With any large organization there are people who have this unbending devotion to the rules with what appears to me to be a complete lack of common sense.

Let me put it this way….when you think about remembering Canada’s Fallen what symbol comes to mind?  If I have to tell you the Poppy then come seek me out so I can kick you in the nads. (and I’ve been doing a lot of XBOX Kinect aerobics and zombie killing, so I can kick pretty hard)

That being said, if the poppy has a monopoly on Remembrance, why then does the Legion have a monopoly on the Poppy?  The Legion’s own website states:

The Poppy also stands internationally as a “symbol of collective reminiscence”, as other countries have also adopted its image to honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Poppy Fund does good work, so I will, as I have every year, drop a few toonies in the collection box and wear my poppy proudly….I will repeat this process several times as they seem to always fall out.   I will be at the Cenotaph Ceremony here in Stratford at 11am on November 11th as I always am.

But I have to call on the Legion to show some decency towards other veterans.  You were made wards of the Poppy symbol in 1948 to prevent its abuse.  In denying the rights of other veterans to use it for non-commercial purposes, you yourselves are abusing it.