"Lay of the Last Minstrel (Extract)

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd,
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd,
From wandering on a foreign strand!
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung."

Scott's poem--although usually just the Sixth Canto--is so well known that it almost doesn't require attribution. That said, I wish to echo my friend, ard.

In recent years there has be a resurgence of schools playing the Canadian National Anthem each day in an effort to increase that cheapest of all patriotisms: nationalism. It is that that breeds a shallow understanding of patriotism in our children, and perforce in our future.

When I think of this country I think of our relative freedom and the responsibility that goes with it. I think of a general officer who told both the UN and his bosses in Ottawa that 'No, we are staying in Rwanda because if we leave the 20,000 people we are protecting will be slaughtered'.

"Romeo Dallaire who, as the former head of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force witnessed unspeakable horrors in Rwanda, as extremist Hutus massacred over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus in the space of a few days in 1994. General Romeo Dallaire did everything he could, pleading for 2000 more peacekeepers to be added to his insufficiently equipped 3000 man force. If they had answered Gen. Dallaire's pleas, the U.N. could have stopped the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Rwandans. instead, following the deaths of 10 Belgian Peacekeepers assigned to protect the President, his forces were cut down from 3000 to a mere 500 men, who had to watch as one of the most horrible genocides in human history took place before their very eyes. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, frustrated, and disheartened by the U.N.'s passive attitude, nonetheless stood for his beliefs, repeatedly confronting his superiors who did nothing to prevent the horrific events from unfolding." A face of Canada.

He exemplified what I think is best in the human character. He--more than most--paid a deep and steep price for my ability to sit back and be proud of this country I call home.

I can't recall the name of the American(?) who first used the phrase "sunshine patriot", but it is clear that it's easy to love one's homeland when things are good. However, I wonder where my country has gone when far too many children (in Canada) are living in a disgraceful poverty and Canada turns its face away. My good friend Beardedbruce has so effectively pointed out, and in doing so 'forced' me into writing letters that likely put me on CSIS's radar because it upsets me that we do sell asbestos products to countries and thus signify to the world that we like to talk the talk but we can get a bit short on walking the walk. And I look at Dallaire and look at asbestos, back and forth, and begin to appreciate a distinction between patriotism and--and what? Love of the good this country and its people can accomplish demands that well-meaning Canadians speak against our country when it does wrong. I think that should be the rule regardless where on Earth one lives. Sadly, . . .

As parents we have the responsibility ot shepherd our children until such time as they can successfully find their own way. We do that with love and the occasional "Are YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" I feel we are in fact the parents of our countries, and when our countries do wrong we have failed as parents. So lemme ask: when our kids do wrong should we support them in that? Patriotism would prompt me to say no.

This has been kinda rambling, but one word answers aren't adequate.

Alan, you start maybe one thread a year, but man they are awesome.