The following is inspired from a post from my other blog that has become stagnant.
You can read the original here:
http://gebrauchmusikblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/republic-of-canada.html
I have decided to edit it and add a bit more to make it relevant.
A good friend of mine and I were talking a number of days ago about an officer at the Royal Military College who disagreed with the military’s rule that members of the forces must toast the reigning monarch. Refusing to do this it would be considered disloyal, which has accompanying punishments, all of which I am unsure of and so will not quote here.
To me, this brings up two very interesting issues:
1 - What role does Empire (both American and British) have in Canada?
2 - Would shedding our imperial heritage really hurt Canada?
Some dear friends of mine say that the Monarchy and our ties with the UK are what defines us and keeps us from becoming American. I disagree with this statement. Canada has done a fine job of feigning off Americanism albeit in the name of the “Commonwealth and Empire,” however, our reluctance to define what it is to be Canadian and our reliance on pretending to remain loyal to The Empire (that never gave a damn about us anyways) has skewed reality.
But, a friend told me, the monarchy recognizes the importance of Canada! The Queen Mum once replied to the question as to whether she was English or Scottish and replied that she was Canadian – she was probably drunk, and good on her for it! Much like her reply, our perception is based on selective memory, and gin.
It is because of the insecurities we have about our identity that we keep the Governor General, the Lieutenant Governors and our constitutional monarchy. Canadian tax payers are supporting institutions that archaic at best and wasteful at worst. It is time to perfect the grand American experiment. It is time for a Canadian Republic.
Our clutching to the constitutional monarchy is not surprising though, as WASP Canadians have for time immemorial had a romantic relationship with the Empire (a romantic and very one-sided relationship). Canadians have died for the follies of Empires over and over again. Canadians have been willing to gulp up the tripe fed to us. much like the rhetoric we see south of our boarder today. Much as the Spanish American War was fought because of WR Hearst's jingoism, so too Canadians were easily convinced that the Boers in South Africa were barbaric and a direct threat to the morals and authority established by the Empire (as defined by the so-called ‘White Man’s Burden’). Does this situation sound familiar?
Six times more during the 20th Century Canada would both directly and indirectly come to the aid of Empires that had created their own messes. In each of these situations, just as in the Boer War, many Canadians wanted to, and did, believe in the nobility of their fight and fought proudly and valiantly. It is in these wars that we are told we defined ourselves as a nation. But at what price was this nationhood, and who determined the currency? As it turns out, blood, slaughter and victory are the price – decided by those who used the same to build the Empires we have so gallantly defended. We’ve been lied to and abused and we should be very pissed off.
WWI
The slaughter/blood bath that was Belgium and France between the years 1914-1918 is where we tell ourselves that Canada finally became a nation. Vimy was where the stupidity and incompetence of the French and British generals was finally tossed aside. The Canadian contingent decisively beat the ‘Huns’ holding the ridge and marched into history as an army that wasn't lead by idiots and half-wits, an army that wasn’t lead by the imperial generals. The cost for this, however, was a great deal more than the trials of Vimy.
We also had to endure the Somme, Ypres, Passchendaele, the Marne, and countless others. Why? Because the "Great" Empires of Europe had been pointing loaded guns at each other for 50 years, just waiting to see who pulled the trigger first. The "Dreadnought Gap" (sound oddly familiar?) fuelled the first major arms race that lead to the Great War. And when the first shots were fired, Johnny Canuck gladly picked up his rifle and marched to the Maple Leaf Forever to the killing fields of Europe in support of the only thing we ever knew - the Empire.
WWII
This was the only war with an actual cause. A downtrodden and vanquished Germany that had been allowed to rot and fester for 10 years wanted revenge and respect. The Second World War really started the day the Treaty of Versailles was signed. In 1919 the victors basked in their dismantling and humiliation of the defeated Germany, when they were just as responsible for the war as she was. The apathy of three empires - British, French and American - let Germany rise once again, this time to single-handedly terrorize two continents under a ruthless and brutal man. These Empires’ lethargy in actually carrying out the stipulations laid out at Versailles led to Canadians once again being called on to defend the Empire that partially created its own mess. “The New World” came to defend the old (as paraphrased from Churchill when he was calling on the USA to aid Europe). But who was already defending the Old World? The Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Merchant Marine, the RCAF and the Canadian Army - we fought in North Africa and Italy, and had our own beach at Normandy. How was Canada rewarded? Dieppe. After all of our dedication and success we were still colonists; we were still guinea pigs.
Korea
A change in Empires: the Huns had been punished, and now the ‘commies’ were the enemy – the threat to freedom and liberty. Was the Korean War a police action or a flexing of might? This war was a challenge to the American Empire’s dominance in the Pacific. The world was once again convinced of the validity of the fight and marched in step with an Empire asserting its might.
Vietnam
Superficial defiance though the protection of dissenters (draft dodgers) masked the silent compliance and assistance to the American cause. Economically Canada was very supportive of the US war effort, of our big brother to the south.
Iraq I
A brutal dictator (who was openly supported economically and militarily by the US government) finally disobeyed his American masters. After the spin and jingoism were done, there was still lots of room on the bandwagon for Canada and the rest of the world to jump on. “How dare Saddam invade the small, peaceful, liberty-loving nation of Kuwait?” we all asked. But the real question was “How dare Saddam fly in the face of Washington?” Suddenly, the US government claimed to care about the human rights abuses that occurred in Iraq (such as the use of gas on Kurdish Iraqis); conveniently overlooking the fact that that gas had been procured from the United States. We weren’t told about that and suddenly, the world was ready to fight for freedom once again.
Afghanistan
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” syndrome led to American support of the extremist Taliban in fighting off the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Afghanistan, a very progressive country, was left as spoils to the Taliban after the Soviets withdrew. They did what they wished with the population, human rights be damned. As the Russians withdrew, so, too, did the concern of the Americans. And today, Canada is left, once again, fighting a war caused by the ignorance and arrogance of an empire - exactly where we found ourselves 100 years ago.
Why are we in Afghanistan? Because a CIA-trained, American-supported “freedom fighter”-turned-America hater decided to molest American interests around the world. Only after this campaign culminated in the 911 attacks did the American government become “concerned” with human rights abuses in Afghanistan (which, let us not forget, were perpetrated under the very people they had armed and left to govern it).
Once again, our men and women are fighting a noble fight to right wrongs and establish peace, order and good government following the meddling screw-ups of our imperialist neighbour to the south.
At what cost do we continue to support such imperial ambitions? We have already forgotten the lessons learned from Britain’s lofty ambitions, and now fondly remember, as we wave our Union Jacks and sing Land of Hope and Glory, a time when the “sun never set on the British Empire” (a saying to which Henri Bourassa once shot back that it “only goes to prove that not even god trusts the British in the dark”).
It is time to move on and away from our imperial mother and big brother countries. We need to lead by example, through tolerance, understanding and democratic rule. The American Republic was an experiment in those values; the outcome has so far proven to be another empire.
The Republic Canada would be a grand experiment, and one in which I believe we would succeed.
