"O Canada" banned in NB School - outrage at Principal

This item on CBC TV caught my attention on Thursday January 29 and I decided to email a call for sensibility on the issue. From how it was presented, the Principal - Mr. Eric MILLET of Bellisle Elementary in Springfield NB, decided to drop singing O Canada - our national* anthem because it's religious overtones made a few students "feel uncomfortable".

This rampant kind of mendicant "knee-jerk, zero-tolerant PC" response as soon as anyone voices a concern has become a huge problem in this country. And ironically, even those who we entrust to teach our children math, science, arts, history, geography and foreign languages - appear to completely lack the critical reasoning skills and social modeling behaviours needed to deal with relatively simple issues.

1) No one can compel anyone to sing our national anthem. That would be insane! We do not (yet) live in a Police State where where citizens are jailed for sedition. One just hopes they feel a sense of pride and attachment to our country to occasionally reflect on our duty and responsibility to keep it going instead of moving elsewhere in disgust.

2) It is possible that anyone could be offended by our national anthem - atheists, Muslims, pacifists, environmentalists, even non-Canadians yet is being offended for frivolous reasons sufficient to ban the national anthem for all, especially if they are the majority?

3) Another point for atheists, Muslims, pacifist, environmentalists and other new-Canadians to remember is that they are only perched on the shoulders of many others that came before them.

Here was the content of my email to Mr. MILLET, his (PC) MLA Bev HARRISON, the NB Education Minister, (Lib) Kelly LAMROCK, (Lib) Premier Shawn GRAHAM and (PC) MP for region, Greg Thompson. (It took quite a bit of effort to find these addresses.)

Principal Eric Millet and
Vice-Principal Heather Wilson
Belleisle Elementary School
1775 Route 124 Springfield
Kings County, New Brunswick E5T 2J91
T: (506) 485- 3025
F: (506) 485-3036
E: eric.millett@nbed.nb.ca

Re: CBC news item on your decision to ban singing the National Anthem.

I am absolutely APPALLED that you supposedly banned singing our National Anthem because 2 children felt “uncomfortable”. For heaven sakes, what about the rest of the school. And I suppose if they felt uncomfortable learning math you would grant them an exemption as well? (But it is probably not in your authority to flout the curriculum so obviously.) You model leadership by example and Civics is a duty you must teach just as much as any other subject.

As it was - this issue seems to have been resolved satisfactorily - in large part due to many Canadians across our country who were aghast at this incident. That is a wonderful endorsement of many things. 1) School Principals are accorded a large degree of authority within their their communities so they can respond quickly to local issues. 2) Despite such "decentralized" decision making, School Boards have final say and do listen and act on concerns of parents especially when it comes to policy matters. 3) Canadian's across the country can be very engaged on issues that they feel are central to their beliefs about Canadian identity - notwithstanding being physically far removed from the issue. This speaks well of our nation's dedication above and beyond partisan politics, but it may not serve the ends of some political ideologues. These are all good outcomes.

Regards,
Christopher R. JONES
Edmonton AB

cc: Hon. Greg Thompson, PC, MP Minister of Veterans Affairs House of Commons Room 175 East Block Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 T: 613-995-5550 F: 613-995-5226 E: Thompson.G@parl.gc.ca	Hon Shawn GRAHAM – Premier New Brunswick Centennial Building P. O. Box 6000 Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1 T: (506) 453-2144 F: (506) 453-7407 E: Shawn.Graham@gnb.ca	Hon. Kelly LAMROCK – Minister of Education Place 2000 P. O. Box 6000 Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1 T: (506) 453-2523 F: (506) 457-4960 E: kelly.lamrock@gnb.ca
Mr. Bev Harrison MLA Hampton-Kings Room: Unit 4 46 Keirstead Avenue Hampton, NB E5N 5A4 T: (506) 832-6464 F: (506) 832-6466 E: bev.harrison@gnb.ca

*Incidentally, here is the current version. The French lyrics have never been altered but the English lyrics (different) have been changed twice since adopted in 1908.

English – Current O Canada! Our home and native land! 1True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! 2From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee

French – Official Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux, Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux! Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. Et ta valeur, de foi trempée, Protégera nos foyers et nos droits Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

French – Translated O Canada! Land of our forefathers Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers. As in thy arm ready to wield the sword, So also is it ready to carry the cross. Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits. Thy valour steeped in faith Will protect our homes and our rights Will protect our homes and our rights.

Footnotes: 1) In 1914 Weir changed second stanza from “thou dost in us command” to "in all thy sons command". 2) In 1980, "From far and wide, O Canada" was changed from repetitive "We stand on guard."

World War II - VJ day

In reading about the end of WWII, I was intrigued about the race to Berlin by the Russian Red Army leading upto "Victory in Europe" Day (VE Day was May 9, 1945). I wondered why the Allies had faced greater challenges in terms of terrain and perhaps resistance. I am not sure if this really even relevant, but I will investigate further in another post.

I was , however, drawn to review developments in the Pacific Theatre that led to VJ Day on Aug 15, 1945 - some 4 months later. After the Japanese rejected terms of surrender proposed at the Potsdam Conference on Jul 26, 1945, President Truman was faced with the worst outcome as described by his military intelligence - that the Japanese would defend every inch of their homeland according to what Emperor Hirohito called the "One Hundred Million" honour. This meant a "kamikaze defense" to be mounted by all citizens to repel invaders known as Operation Ketsu-Go.

General McArthur expected his men to face fierce resistance and be virtually guaranteed hand-to-hand combat until he reached Toyko. The combined invasion force required for the U.S plan (Operation Downfall 1) was 766,700. From May until late July 1945, intelligence estimates of Japanese troop strength rose steadily from 500,000 to 750,000 (8 battle divisions to 10) reinforcing concern about the outcome of invasion. In addition the Emperor and Japanese High Command were strongly influenced by the fateful experience of the 1905 Russian-Japanese War in which a last decisive battle set the stage for a more generous peace settlement.

General McArthur anticipated casualties (killed, missing and wounded) in the final invasion forces to mirror those of the hard-won, sea-land battle for Iwo Jima and Okinakwa (U.S casualties of 20,000 and 46,700 versus Japanese 25,000 and 119,000 - a ratio of U.S/Japanese of 1:1 and 1:2). Losses were placed around 200,000 - 250,000 (50,000+ dead and 150,000+ wounded) - and deemed unacceptable to the American public. These considerations played heavily in the decision to drop the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on Aug 6, and then Nagasaki on Aug 10.

Final Terms of Surrender were made on Aug 14, 1945.

Footnote:

1) Operation Downfall consisted of two plans - Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet - expected to begin in October 1945.

Map of 1) Completed Allied Operations in the Pacific Theatre - Jul 1945

2) Japanese Troops Dispositions + Plan for Operation Downfall

Illustration of LARGE NUMBERS

In helping my daughter with Gr 8 Science this past year she did "Rocks". Among the stats she was expected to learn was the "age" of Pre-Cambrian rocks. I am not a "creationist" but 600 million years is a BIG number and it started me thinking of how to illustrate it for myself, her and perhaps others!

So, here goes. (Remember, it has been just over two millennium's since the Death of Christ). I hope it helps!