When I was in New York last fall, I visited the Statue of Liberty. The first thing I noticed as I got off the ferry, besides the lady holding the torch was that the American flag was at half mast. Assuming that someone of importance had passed away, I asked the security guard. He told me that it had been at half mast since the 9-11 bombings out of respect. As horrendous and beyond comprehension the Islamic terrorist bombings were, flying the flag at half mast 4 years after the fact seemed strange to me. The message I took from it was not one of strength and determination. It felt like prolonged and unending mourning. Memorials, tributes, statues...........they all passionately provide remembrances that individuals and communities can rally around.
Reading the stories and arguments today about the Canadian Government not lowering the flag out of respect for the most recent fallen soldiers, I thought of my initial feelings in NYC first and then I thought of all the other fallen soldiers in our country's past who were respected and remembered without lowering the flag.
Why is this an issue? It's not like this was a light news kind of day...........so why is this even an issue? Like I need to ask. It's another navel gazing attempt to skewer a Conservative government. Yeah, I got it.
There are many ways to support the families and troops who are in mourning today. There are many ways of remembering the people in our Country's history who lost their lives. The simplest way? Take time to stop for a minute every now and then and think about them. Say a prayer full of kindred strength and hope.
Major General Lewis MacKenzie stated today:
"For an old soldier it has been heart-warming, to say the least, to witness the outpouring of sympathy across Canada for the recent loss of four young Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan. By coincidence -- because these types of policy decisions take time to prepare -- Ottawa's concurrent announcement that flags would no longer be lowered on the Peace Tower and across the country each time a soldier is killed was the victim of really bad timing. Nevertheless, it was the right decision."
"In the case of fallen soldiers, the flag is lowered at National Defence Headquarters and at the Canadian Forces Bases where the soldiers were stationed prior to deployment and in the villages, towns and cities where the soldiers had an association at the discretion of the local political leadership."
"Would you feel the same way if one of our soldiers was killed in the Sudan, Congo, Golan Heights as has happened in many missions in the past 10 years and absolutely no one called for the flags to be lowered — as they are now at many locations associated with the soldiers today. All soldiers deserve to be treated equally."
Let's fly our flag proudly as an ongoing remembrance of those who have fought for it and continue to represent our Country.
Reading the stories and arguments today about the Canadian Government not lowering the flag out of respect for the most recent fallen soldiers, I thought of my initial feelings in NYC first and then I thought of all the other fallen soldiers in our country's past who were respected and remembered without lowering the flag.
Why is this an issue? It's not like this was a light news kind of day...........so why is this even an issue? Like I need to ask. It's another navel gazing attempt to skewer a Conservative government. Yeah, I got it.
There are many ways to support the families and troops who are in mourning today. There are many ways of remembering the people in our Country's history who lost their lives. The simplest way? Take time to stop for a minute every now and then and think about them. Say a prayer full of kindred strength and hope.
Major General Lewis MacKenzie stated today:
"For an old soldier it has been heart-warming, to say the least, to witness the outpouring of sympathy across Canada for the recent loss of four young Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan. By coincidence -- because these types of policy decisions take time to prepare -- Ottawa's concurrent announcement that flags would no longer be lowered on the Peace Tower and across the country each time a soldier is killed was the victim of really bad timing. Nevertheless, it was the right decision."
"In the case of fallen soldiers, the flag is lowered at National Defence Headquarters and at the Canadian Forces Bases where the soldiers were stationed prior to deployment and in the villages, towns and cities where the soldiers had an association at the discretion of the local political leadership."
"Would you feel the same way if one of our soldiers was killed in the Sudan, Congo, Golan Heights as has happened in many missions in the past 10 years and absolutely no one called for the flags to be lowered — as they are now at many locations associated with the soldiers today. All soldiers deserve to be treated equally."
Let's fly our flag proudly as an ongoing remembrance of those who have fought for it and continue to represent our Country.
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